The Queen Mary Global Policy Institute opened up its doors to its first cohort of Policy Associates in 2020.
The Policy Associate role is a paid internship with a commitment of 10 hours per week, that lasts over eight weeks.
We encourage Queen Mary students with an interest in international issues and policy development to apply for the Policy Associate positions. We welcome applications from Queen Mary students from all degree levels – undergraduate, masters and PhD.
2024 will be the first year in which we work with the Mile End Institute on the Policy Associate programme.
The Policy Associate role can be a great way for our students to gain experience in policy, research, communications and many other fields of work.
Policy Associates have made a remarkable impact since we first started the scheme. They have worked to enhance the university’s reputation through their personal energy, initiative and commitment to the Global Policy Institute’s research, communications, events and policy agendas.
Priscilla, one of our Policy Associates, made a video to show you what a day at the Global Policy Institute looks like.
"My name is Amie, and I am a first year History and Politics student at Queen Mary. I am particularly interested in looking at the UK political scene, focusing on topics such as: violence against women and the rise of the right-wing ideas in Britain."
"My name is Katarzyna Makowska and I am from Poland. I am a Fourth Year Politics and International Relations with a Year Abroad student. I have spent my last year in the George Washington University in Washington DC. During my time at the exchange I was an Intern in the Political Section of the Polish Embassy, which is where discovered that I would like to focus my career on diplomacy. I am interested in European Politics, with a focus put on gender and populist/radical right-wing politics."
"I am a second-year undergraduate student studying International Relations with Business Management. In the future, I would like to pursue a career in diplomacy and start my own company back in Poland. I am a big fan of Formula One, and I also love to travel."
"My name is Margaret and I am a fourth-year medical student at Barts and the London, Queen Mary University of London. I am passionate about health policy making, migrant health and in general global health."
Shania Essah (she/her) is an LLM student who is currently assisting Dr Maria Berta Ecija and Professor Stella Ladi on the Global Policy Institute's 'The Use of Expertise in Public Policy in Brazil' project. Given her affinity for empirical, interdisciplinary, and participative research methods relating to public law and policy, Shania Essah is keen to learn more about ways in which academia can act as a bridge between local communities and public policymakers.
Yazan Farhat is a healthcare professional from Lebanon. He said: "I have experience in community, hospital, and corporate settings. I am pursuing an MSc in Global Public Health and Policy at Queen Mary University of London, with a strong passion for promoting healthcare equity and reforming systems to reduce inequalities and improve patient access."
Final year Politics and International Relations student at Queen Mary University of London with a focus on international development and state building efforts in Sub-Saharan Africa. He said: "I am aiming to pursue interests in policy drafting and writing through this upcoming internship."
Hinal was a Policy Associate in the final year of her BSc Biology degree at Queen Mary. Her interests are largely around fungi, environmental sustainability and making the world a better place in general. She supported the development of the new resilience and sustainability pathway, which focuses on biodiversity, sustainability and planetary health. By identifying dominant research themes across the university, her findings will contribute to the pathway’s future direction and create an interdisciplinary team for policy impact. She looks forward to supporting the Global Policy Institute in the future and continuing to improve her awareness on environmental policy impact.
"As a Policy Associate, I have supported the development of the new resilience and sustainability pathway, which focuses on biodiversity, sustainability and planetary health. By identifying dominant research themes across the university, my findings will contribute to the pathway’s future direction and create an interdisciplinary team for policy impact."
Liam worked as a Policy Associate as part of the Global Policy Institute's summer programme, and during his internship helped utilise the Overton and PolicyMogul tools to showcase how AI can help Queen Mary map the policy impact of its academic community. He also worked on a variety of cross-departmental tasks, such as updating the Institute's research awards rolodex and helping draft case studies of Queen Mary-sponsored entrepreneurship projects. Prior to this, he was studying at Queen Mary as a Politics and International Relations student and is currently on a year abroad at the University of Pennsylvania.
"I’ve learned invaluable skills and become proficient in research tools that will be essential for my own future studies such as my dissertation. As a Politics and International Relations student, I hope to use the applicable skills learned at the Global Policy Institute in the public policy sector, giving me an advantage for research, data analysis and communications."
Maria Camila Gomez is in the process of completing her MSc in Public Mental Health, after completing her undergraduate in Psychology. She supported Jonathan Filippon and his colleagues on their project - Nutrition Environments and Primary Care Networks in Brazil. Prior to working as a Policy Associate, she worked in Health and Wellbeing consulting, developing solutions for organisations to improve the mental and physical health of their employees before, during and after the pandemic. Recently she worked as a researcher with a community-based charity analysing data on the mental health of men from minoritised ethnic communities in London.
"I feel I have achieved a strong understanding of diverse global challenges through research and engaging discussions with subject matter experts from across the world. I feel like the knowledge and skills I have acquired have really helped me refine my career goals."
Mathilda is a law student from France who undertook the double degree in English and French Law between Queen Mary and La Sorbonne. After completing her masters in International Law, she decided to specialise in Environmental Law with the aim of working on indigenous peoples' rights, corporate accountability and international environmental law. During her internship, she created a podcast on these topics. Prior to this, she attended the pre-negotiations for COP28, interned at both English and French law cabinets, volunteered for the International State Crime Initiative and numerous environmental protection NGOs.
"As a future PhD student, I will (hopefully!) use the knowledge and experience gained as an associate to enrich my work, in order to make research more accessible to a wider audience and reinforce its links with public policymaking."
Priscilla is a recent graduate of Politics and International Relations at Queen Mary University of London. She is currently a master's student at the University of Oxford reading for the MSc Refugee and Forced Migration Studies.
She also currently works at the Young Trustees Movement, a social impact organisation that aims to increase the number of young people in charity boards.
Holding a strong belief in intergenerational governance and in the importance of intersectionality in diverse teams, Priscilla's academic values are reflected in her work.
"As a Policy Associate I got to see the behind-the-scenes of an academic’s life... It was enlightening to see this other side of academia. Being a Policy Associate also developed my analytical, research, and project management skills in a completely new way. Now I feel better prepared to engage with different audiences and plan my future postgraduate thesis."
Greta assisted on two Research England funded projects: Radionuclides for Health UK and Air Pollution Statistics and Water Quality Monitoring. She has a degree in Politics and International Relations, as well as an extensive background in product development and marketing, specialising in consumer and market research. Greta is passionate about policy development and diplomacy, especially around climate change and sustainability, and wishes to work addressing these issues in the future.
Mariangeles is studying for a Masters in Global Development at Queen Mary University of London. As a Policy Associate she assisted with two Research England projects. Previously, she has worked in copywriting, marketing and advertising, social media management, event planning and content research for the likes of CitiBank and Charles University in Prague, Czechia. She gained her bachelors degree in International Relations and Development from the University of Westminster.
Saif is a dentist from India who completed an MSc in Dental Public Health from University College London. He supported Manu Mather on his Research England funded project: No Health Without Oral Health. Prior to this, he helped researchers from the Public Health Foundation of India in a review to support research on Enhancing People’s Participation to Propel Universal Health Coverage in World Health Organization South-East Asia Region countries. He is also a part-time research assistant for the Dental Public Health group at University College London, where he helps with the NIHR funded TOPIC study, which is a multi-centre, cluster randomised controlled trial assessing the feasibility of an intervention to improve the oral health of older people (65+) in care homes.
Trang assisted Professor Paola Subacchi on her project Debt and Sustainability after the Pandemic. Prior to this, she was an alumni postgraduate at the Queen Mary School of Business Management, majoring in MSc Management. She worked as an understudy at a non-government association in Hanoi, Vietnam, called the American Chamber of Commerce, which helps form business connections with worldwide firms and the Vietnamese government. She is originally from Vietnam but now lives in London.
Angela Khanali Mutsotso is a natural resource legal practitioner with six years of experience working in the non-profit sector. While at the Global Policy Institute, Angela worked on research on the energy transition, climate change, and African countries' response to the first wave of Covid-19. She previously worked within civil society, where she focused on upstream petroleum legislative and policy development, access to information and contract disclosure and led research on the environmental and social impacts in Kenya's oil and gas sector.
María finished her LLM in Human Rights at Queen Mary, where she also worked as a Policy Associate at the Global Policy Institute and as a volunteer at the International State Crime Initiative. She got her first degree in General Law from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA). She was visiting researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, and she worked as a lawyer at the Argentinean Human Trafficking Prosecutor Office. She was also Legal Intern at the Human Rights Clinic of the UBA, where she participated in the draft and submission of various Amicus Curiae presented before regional human rights tribunals. She wrote different articles on human rights, human trafficking and social rights.
Nina worked on numerous projects as a Policy Associate. Her first masters degree in General Law at University of Split, Croatia, before pursuing her true passion at the Human Rights LLM programme at Queen Mary. She has years of experience in organising charity events, fundraisers and public lectures as part of her volunteering experience with Rotary Club Split Novi, of which she is a founding member and past president. She is currently working as a Teaching Associate at Queen Mary's School of Business and Management and contributing as an intern at the International State Crime Initiative.
Suyash was one of our Policy Associates in 2021. He is a PhD candidate at the School of Business and Management at Queen Mary. He is researching the interconnections between urban infrastructures, informal entrepreneurship, cultural politics, and citizenship taking the case study of the local cable television network in Mumbai. He comes from a background in film and media production and has worked as creative producer on commercial and developmental projects.
Terence was a Finance Attache of the Department of Finance in the Philippines. In 2020, he was able to structure, negotiate and implement $6.1 billion of loans and projects and led a team to issue $3.68 billion worth of foreign currency-denominated bonds for the country. He had previously worked as a commercial and financial technology associate for two distinguished law firms in the Philippines. Terence is a graduating student of MSc Investment and Finance at Queen Mary. He also graduated his Juris Doctor and Business Administration (Cum Laude) programmes from the University of the Philippines.