Thato Kutu
MSc Behavioural Science
2024/25
Learn more about Thato's background and experience as an AKO scholarship holder in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science.
I cannot emphasise enough the positive impact of my cohort on both my personal and academic growth.
Hi Thato! We’d love to get to know you — could you tell us a bit about your personal and academic journey before arriving at LSE?
Hi! Before arriving at LSE, I had just graduated from my BA (Hons) degree specialising in Psychology at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, and was working as a lay-counsellor for the South African Depression and Anxiety Group, the national suicide hotline. A key aspiration while completing my undergrad was to become a clinical psychologist primarily supporting adolescents (and their families) struggling with varying degrees of mental illness. However, this changed slightly over the course of my degree as I learned about complex social structures in my other majors, sociology and anthropology. It was through engagement with these disciplines that I began developing a critical filter and perspective that led me to a broader passion for the social sciences and how they interact with psychology.
Why did you choose to study the MSc Behavioural Science programme? Why LSE and PBS?
The MSc Behavioural Science programme allowed me to pursue an interdisciplinary approach that I had begun developing during my final years of my undergrad. This afforded me the opportunity to continue to think and engage with literature from various disciplines with an intellectual freedom that few other programmes would permit. I believe context and nuance are key to forming coherent, factual beliefs and knowledge systems and in my opinion the best way to embrace this is by developing an interdisciplinary curiosity, which I believe is key to acknowledging what behavioural science can offer. What drew me to LSE specifically was the platform it provided to interact and form connections and friendships with a truly international student body in one of the most diverse cities in the world.
What stands out most when you think about your time at LSE — were there key subjects, collaborations, or mentors that guided your path?
Building on what I mentioned above, I cannot emphasise enough the positive impact of my cohort on both my personal and academic growth. The lovely people I’ve met in my programme, hailing from different corners of the world, have taught me that home comes in various forms. However, they also challenged me to think in different ways, which was not always easy. Additionally, the opportunity to attend seminars, panel discussions with leading scholars from across the world has been quite a treat.
Can you share a time when things didn’t go as planned during your studies, and how you found the resilience to keep moving forward?
During the second term of the year I had a pretty big group project that I had to work on for one of my modules. This project was to be worked on throughout the course of the term and presented to our lecturer, fellow classmates and external graders. I had yet to complete a project of this scale in an area I was not well-versed in. I did not feel competent with regards to both the content and the technical skills the project required, and my lack of experience with a project like this left me quite overwhelmed and severely stressed. However, while the project was not the most positive experience, it taught me the importance of grit, perseverance, perspective and community. It was through the help of my classmates and close friends that I was able to put one foot in front of the other and see the project through to its conclusion. Through this experience I learned that my capacity for endurance and resilience was greater than I could have ever imagined, and this has helped me navigate similar stress-inducing experiences with more confidence.
What future goals or opportunities are you pursuing after your time at LSE, and in what ways did your time in PBS and the AKO scholarship support help shape those ambitions?
Once I have completed my studies at LSE, I am looking towards working in the sports business industry, with a greater aspiration of tapping into the industry’s unrealised potential in Africa. With the hopes of establishing a robust infrastructure for the development of sports more generally and the business of sport more specifically. The aim is to tackle economic growth by leveraging the capabilities of the continent to better serve the people of the continent. The structure of my course was quite ideal in that it encouraged independent engagement with course work and content (with support from teaching staff). This flexibility allowed me to explore various interests and passions which ultimately helped me narrow down my focus on what I wanted to pursue in the future. The AKO scholarship has been invaluable throughout my time in London, for the ease it provided me with while navigating both academic and personal pursuits. London is not the easiest city in the world to find your feet, but the financial support of the scholarship addressed concerns such as time, allowing me to dedicate my energy to my school work and exploring what London has to offer.
How can incoming AKO Master’s Scholars make the most of both the academic and personal opportunities available to them at LSE?
From my personal experience I would say be clear on what you want to get from this experience. While that takes trial and error, it is important in a city such as London and a school such as LSE, where there are ample opportunities and resources at your disposal (super easy to get overwhelmed) to have some kind of clarity and focus regarding what you need from your time here. Additionally, the most valuable resource you will find is the community you build during your studies. I would encourage an openness towards classmates, staff and the experiences on campus and beyond. Be open to the city and it will reward you with the most invaluable and unforgettable moments you are sure to cherish for years to come.
If you had to sum up your PBS experience in just three words, which would you choose — and why?
Growth, Perseverance, Special – these words encapsulate the challenges I’ve had to overcome but the many moments of magic that have come about as a result of these.