Carl is interested in the movement of education policies across borders. He studies the growing salience of the ‘competency-based education’ discourse in national education policymaking, which correlates with a tendency for education to become increasingly ‘economised’ in an age of neoliberalism and international development. Applying a postcolonial perspective, he investigates the role of international organisations such as the OECD in fostering this trend. His doctoral project aims to trace the philosophical and socio-historical origins of ‘competency’, reflecting on why education has become linked to economic development and how socio-economic problems are often framed as educational ‘crises’. He plans to explore this topic through a range of methods, including archival research, citation network analysis, and expert interviews.

Carl holds a BA in Education, Policy, and International Development from the University of Cambridge, where he graduated with ‘Class I with Distinction’ and ranked in the top 10%. He subsequently pursued an MPhil in Political and Economic Sociology at Cambridge. He has previously worked as a research intern at Cambridge Assessment and has extensive experience teaching and supporting children and teenagers in both school and non-school settings.

Outside of education, Carl is also a vlogger, chef, creative writer, comedian, gym-goer, e-sports gamer, music artist, and board game expert — and above all, a person with a compassionate heart (or at least, that is what he strives for).