The Khazra Research Lab (KRL) is not a classroom simulation. It is a working research lab where students participate in real projects, real data, real papers, and real seminars. Launched gradually between the summer session of 2025 and the start of the fall semester, the KRL has already brought six students into the heart of applied economics research, where the excitement, and challenges, of working with large, complex datasets is part of everyday life.
From day one, students in the KRL confronted the same challenges faced by professional researchers: messy data, unanswered questions, and the responsibility of producing evidence that matters for policy and society.
Learning How Research Actually Works
At the core of the lab is a simple but powerful mission. Students are not just assistants on a project. They are researchers in the making. By contributing to ongoing studies, they learn how to frame meaningful questions, interrogate data critically, and understand how evidence-based policy shapes social and economic outcomes.
Mentorship, curiosity, and inclusive research practices define the lab’s culture. Projects span applied machine learning, household finance, inequality, gender issues, and big data applications in economics, mirroring the breadth of modern academic research agendas.
Real Projects with Real Policy Implications
Current KRL projects are grounded firmly in applied economics and public policy. Research teams are examining homelessness policy and housing markets, analyzing how sales taxes affect menstrual product consumption, and studying diversity within economics programs across Canadian universities. These are the kinds of questions that appear in academic journals and policy briefings, and KRL students are working on them now.
That reality is clear in the lab’s weekly meetings.
“We’re working with the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics household expenditure dataset,” Leran Xu, a 4th year New College student working on the menstrual product sales tax project explained at a recent team meeting.
The data was difficult to work with from the start. Formatting issues made even basic exploration a challenge, forcing the team to wrestle with the dataset before any analysis could begin.
“This dataset is making you work for it!”
“How do we determine it was a staggered treatment and then look at who has been treated longer?”
Professor Khazra responded with a mischievous grin. These moments, equal parts confusion and discovery, are exactly what new research assistants must learn to navigate. Students begin with close faculty guidance, then gradually move toward independence, working in small, agile research groups.
Recurring challenges like these is what inspired the creation of the KRL After watching students encounter the same obstacles year after year, Khazra recognized that learning research skills through hands-on practice opens doors to graduate school, policy work, and academic careers.
From Coursework to Discovery
Students quickly realized that research demands a different mindset than coursework.
“I expected most of the work to be technical, but I learned quickly that the hardest part is understanding the question and designing the right approach,” said Mashiat Abonty, a 4th year Victoria College student. “It felt more like detective work than anything else, which I enjoyed.”
The lab experience pushes students beyond structured assignments and predefined steps.
“Being able to take a dataset and dive in is something you do in classes, but this is different because it’s unstructured and novel,” said Emerson Schryver, a 3rd year Victoria student. “Instead of following a set of steps, ‘do this, then this’, you’re talking with the professor about how to approach it. It’s incredible to gain hands-on research experience in a way that you just don’t do in 100- and 200-level courses, even most 300-level courses.”
For many students, the challenge is exactly what makes the experience rewarding.
“Working at the K.R.L has been an amazing experience, as I get to collaborate with people who are just as passionate about economics as I am,” said 4th year New College student Hal Glover. “Being part of real research projects has shown me how economic ideas are applied to real-world policy questions.”
Mentorship That Changes Trajectories
Several research assistants remember struggling with independent projects before joining the lab.
“Last year I was doing a project on how patent litigation varies across different economic periods,” remembered 3rd year St. Michael’s College student Polyna German.” I was struggling with it, and that’s how I met the professor. She had this wonderful opportunity called ‘Walk and Talk.’ It was after class when you could just walk with her and talk about your project or whatever you wanted. And I really used that opportunity. I loved it.”
For German, who bridges computer science and economics, joining the KRL felt like a natural next step.
“Economics is a social science, and that’s the right way to say it, because it’s about people around us and life around us. When you start to dig in, you realize it’s about the quality of life. I honestly think economics research is one of the most powerful tools in our world right now to influence change. It combines data, the actual numbers, with the social aspect.”
That connection between numbers and lived experience is central to how students learn in the lab.
“Working with the K.R.L has taught me data serves as a guide, helping us navigate complex issues and revealing truths we might otherwise overlook,” said Kaiden Beskers, a 3rd year Victoria College student. “Behind every chart and statistic are real individuals whose stories give those numbers meaning.
Close collaboration with faculty is one of the lab’s defining features.
“If you think I’m passionate about what I’m doing, I’m nothing compared to Professor Khazra,” Xu said. “She’s so passionate it’s contagious. You become passionate because of her.”
That shared energy now extends beyond the lab itself.
Sharing Research with the Community
Students will soon present their findings through the KRL monthly Seminar Series, beginning on January 9 2026. Seminars will be held the first Friday of each month from 4 pm to 5 pm in the Max Gluskin House lobby. Open to all students, the series will feature formal research presentations, Q&A sessions, and networking opportunities.
This is where KRL students step fully into the role of researchers, sharing original work with a broader audience and sharing their findings.