PIPS Internship Organisation Name 

The Home Office

Location 

London

When deciding on your internship, what did you want to experience and what did you hope to gain from that experience? 

I wanted to gain experience in how Government make policy and use evidence to support this. I hoped I would learn how a Government department is ran and how they work on implementing the Governments agenda.

Did you get the experience you were expecting and did you achieve the personal development you had hoped to make? 

My experience was restricted due to me primarily working from home, but I did visit the Home Office a handful of times and meet the Home Secretary. I was happy that I developed my understanding about policy and learnt a lot about the different departments in the Home Office.

Did you discover anything about yourself or make any achievements that you were not expecting? 

I learnt that I am very passionate about the work the Home Office do, I found it rewarding to have worked on Domestic Abuse which has a direct impact on people's lives. I did not expect to work at the Home Office during the Afghanistan crisis, where I was fortunate to attend meetings and see how hard they are all working.

Has the internship made you feel differently about potential career options and has it helped to put the skills from research into a broader context? 

I learnt that the skills from my PhD are widely transferable and beneficial for that field of work, a lot of people in the civil service come from a similar background. I am aiming for a career in politics/policy which I think my PhD and PIPs experience will be valuable for.