The alumni were asked to speak about their career paths, which involved political research, private consultancy and fundraising in the NGO Charity sector.
Politics postgraduate alumni discuss careers
On the 23 November, the SSIS Employability team and Dr Beverley Loke, this year's head of Politics Postgraduate employability, welcomed the return of four recent graduates who had previously undertaken postgraduate degrees within the politics department. The line-up consisted of 2015-2016 MA: Conflict, Security and Development graduates, Emily Bellis (SolarAid), Joshua White (International Centre for Parliamentary Studies) and May Muhtadi (International Centre for Parliamentary Studies), as well as 2013-2014 MA: International Relations alumnus, Joe Barrs (BearingPoint).
The alumni were asked to speak about their career paths, which involved political research, private consultancy and fundraising in the NGO Charity sector. They stressed the importance of proactive volunteering, seeking work experience opportunities, and the value of the work placement module of the MA: Conflict, Security and Development programme. The panel were also in agreement that postgraduate degrees opened many doors; more specifically their MA programmes gave them opportunities to develop key career contacts and highly desirable employability skills and experience. It was made clear to the audience that a postgraduate qualification alone was not enough, however. In these very competitive industries, building a strong network and showing a willingness to undertake new challenges and opportunities at every possibility is essential.
The evening’s activities came to a conclusion with a networking session, accompanied by drinks and nibbles, in which the audience were able to come and talk one to one with the panel.
Our thanks go to the alumni for taking time to speak to current students. The department looks forward to hosting further events with Politics alumni in the Politics Postgraduate Careers talks series throughout 2018.
Date: 5 January 2018