Musaiyib Nasir

Musaiyib Nasir is a Mastercard Foundation Scholar from Nigeria pursuing an MSc in Higher Education at the University of Oxford and is a member of Lady Margaret Hall. His interest centres on narrowing social hierarchies through widening access and participation in higher education, especially for first-generation students.

Before Oxford, Musaiyib became the first in his extended family to progress to university. He read BSc (Ed) Health Education at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he graduated as the best student of his cohort, earning both the HOD’s Award of Excellence and the Exemplary Scholar of the Year. As an undergraduate, he was already publishing peer-reviewed research and presenting at national and international conferences. He also received an award for an outstanding paper presentation after presenting his work at the 26th National Annual Conference of the Nigerian Association of Health Educators.

Prior to joining the Oxford Department of Education, Musaiyib was a lecturer at one of Nigeria’s higher education institutions, where he taught and mentored future educators. Alongside volunteering with Kayode Alabi Leadership and Career Initiative, where he led outreach projects targeting disadvantaged students and equipped them with the knowledge and confidence to pursue university education, Musaiyib also founded the Barau Youth Mentorship Programme in his community to support first-generation students’ transition into higher institutions.

At Oxford, Musaiyib hopes to engage with a wide range of policy issues across higher education systems and the role they play in the economy and society from theoretical, historical and empirical perspectives, while also advancing his expertise in research design and methodology. In the long term, his goal is to lead research and policy initiatives that dismantle barriers for vulnerable groups, ensuring that university access in Nigeria and across Africa is shaped by equity rather than privilege.