Shakil Reja Efti is a media studies researcher and creative practitioner pursuing a PhD at Curtin University. He is a sessional academic in Curtin's School of Media, Creative Arts and Social Inquiry and a recipient of the John Curtin Graduate Research Scholarship. His doctoral research focuses on disability media and is supported by the Australian Research Council's 'Digital Disability' project.

Shakil completed both his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Journalism at Istanbul University, Türkiye, as a recipient of the fully funded Türkiye Scholarships (Türkiye Bursları). As part of his master's research, he conducted thesis research at Charles University in Prague as an Erasmus+ Exchange Scholar.

Shakil's research has been published in leading academic journals, including Disability & Society. His current research interests include disability media, audio media and podcasting. He has presented his work at international conferences and symposia organised by the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA), the International Communication Association (ICA), and the Centre for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the Arts (CEDIA) in Birmingham. In 2025, he received the Most Original Research Prize at the 1st ECREA Radio and Sound Postgraduate Conference, awarded by the Media, Communication and Cultural Studies Association (MeCCSA, UK), for his research on the sonic representation of disability.

Shakil is also a published author and podcaster. His memoir of Istanbul, Amar Istambul, along with his other books, has attracted a wide readership. He is passionate about literary translation and has translated notable works of Bengali literature into Turkish. In addition, he works to document and archive endangered cultural heritage through his platform, Take Me Home.