The next big thing: Susheel Bal, 20

The next big thing: Susheel Bal, 20

Like most people Susheel Bal thought the days of radical student protests were over; after all, not many students took to the streets when the controversial tuition fees were introduced, and even fewer made their voices heard when hikes to those fees were announced last month.

So Bal was surprised when Miss University London – a beauty contest she entered and won – led to noisy protests. Angry students came out in force and chained themselves to the entrance of Crystal, a central London club, where the competition was held. This led to arrests after the police and fire service were called. "I felt really bad that the event had caused diversion of resources from people more in need," Bal remembers.

During the hour-long event, the 13 contestants, mainly from colleges that make up the University of London, appeared on stage dressed to the nines in floor-length frocks and high heels. "It wasn't like a cattle market with male students leering or jeering at you; the crowd consisted mainly of our female friends," she says.

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The contest went on even after the protestors stormed the stage and made their feelings known. "They were concerned that we weren't being asked intelligent questions such as the pros and cons of Barack Obama as president," Bal says. She was asked what she would take with her to a desert island and she said a manual to build a boat. "Now I wish I had said a Germaine Greer novel, just to appease the protestors!"

She was thrilled to win the contest, along with £350 prize money and vouchers to spend at Arrogant Cat, a boutique in central London.

London-born Bal, who is of Scottish and Indian descent, was asked by her friend, one of the organisers, to enter the competition, which raises thousands of pounds for Cancer Research UK. Unlike most beauty contest winners, Bal doesn't have a long list of engagements to fulfil: "My only task will be to hand over my crown to next year's winner."

The lack of engagements suits her because her law degree is demanding and she's involved in lots of extra-curricular activities such as a university business club, which meets regularly to inform students of city-based career opportunities.

Her other extra-curricular activities include photography and travelling. In February her boyfriend whisked her off to New York for an early 21st birthday present. "I'll be 21 in May, but I'll be busy with exams then," says Bal, who lived in Spain for two years with her family.

In the summer she will begin a 10-week internship at an investment bank in the city. She hopes this will lead to a career as a private wealth manager when she graduates next year. "Eventually, I want to set up my own venture capitalist fund specialising in green investments," she says.

Adeline Iziren

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