07/09/2026
“If we only needed journalists to describe events, the invention of the camera would have marked the end of the profession,” says Fattouma Ben Abdallah (UK), a new master’s student in the School of Social Sciences majoring in International Affairs. A graduate of the University of Oxford, Fattouma was influenced by its centuries-old pedagogical tradition and realized that the “right answer” is often the result of collaboration and curiosity.
During an internship at a perfume company, Fattouma discovered a stark reality: workers handpicking delicate jasmine flowers for a £1,000+ fragrance were paid very little. “Sometimes, the darkest stories hide in the prettiest places, and we need only to look for them,” she shares. Working alongside her peers to publish an exposè on administrative controversies in her final year at Oxford, which almost wasn’t published, she came to appreciate the grit and tenacity of those who continue to report from even the most dangerous of places.
Fattouma once thought she understood China through the books she had read and speeches she had watched. After visiting the country twice, however, she realized that grand geopolitical narratives and catchy headlines often fail to capture a country's vibrant reality. Recognizing that future global challenges require ambitious, forward-thinking, and creative solutions, she is eager to broaden her international perspectives and embrace the experience of being a beginner in as many things as possible at Tsinghua.
