Mia Perry completed her dissertation, Theatre as a Place of Learning: The Forces and Effects of Devised Theatre Processes in Education, in 2010. She looked at contemporary cultural practices, specifically professional devised theatre, in relation to the pedagogical affordances therein for inquiry, critique, and representation in secondary arts education. Funding at UBC (SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship, which enabled her to conduct research in the UK, and a Graduate Entrance Scholarship) enabled Mia to create networks and establish a reputation in her field from the early stages of her academic career.
Today, Mia is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Education at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. She works in the area of community and life-long learning, social arts, and research theory and methods. Mia is an active researcher, currently working on a research project in partnership (with another former UBC PhD student) called “YoMo: Youth Mobilities in Cultural and Digital Spaces.” In addition, Mia is developing an interdisciplinary research portfolio with colleagues in physical and cultural geography looking at the pedagogical and social aspects of environmental sustainability in southern Africa. As well as lifelong friendships and professional networks, Mia says she received the best possible preparation for an academic career at UBC, for which she is very grateful.