Category Archives: Events

Events, Final Year, First Year, Post graduate, Second Year, Skills development

Upcoming POLIR Careers Events

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The School of Politics and International Relations has a number of exciting careers events and opportunities coming up this term.

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Careers in Diplomacy with guest speaker Owen Traylor
5th March 2020  * 11am – 12pm * GS6
There’s no such thing as a typical Diplomatic career. You could be based in London or working in one of the Foreign Office’s small, challenging or remote embassies, or working on global issues in one of our large embassies in Washington and Paris. Find out more at our Careers in Diplomacy Event. Guest speaker Owen Traylor, former Deputy Ambassador at the British Embassy in Israel will speak about his career in the Foreign and Commonwealth Service. Owen served for more than three decades in the British Foreign Service; including on the Cabinet Office Committee on Northern Ireland in the run-up to the Good Friday Agreement; in Turkey; Japan and Israel.

Brussels Trip to the European Parliament
13th- 15th March 2020
PolIR, EUROSOC, the Global Europe Centre and CAS are organising a student trip to Brussels. It will include a guided tour of the European Parliament, other Brussels-based institutions, museums and the city highlights. If you are interested, please sign up by Thursday, February 27th. The estimated price of the trip is £120 and includes a return bus from Canterbury and 2 nights in a central Brussels hotel with breakfast.

Women in Politics – Careers Panel  – 20th March 2020
From 6pm – 7pm in GLT3 with a reception in the Grimond Foyer
To celebrate International Women’s Day we have invited a panel of accomplished women with careers in a wide range of Political fields. Hear them speak about their career journeys followed by a networking reception with refreshments. CANCELLED 

Careers in International Affairs Forum
POLIR Fully Funded Field Trip – 30th April 2020
Careers in International Affairs Forum is an annual meeting in which students, graduates, recruiters and experts will network, share their offerings and exchange insights in the field of international affairs. Young people interested in pursuing their careers in foreign relations and diplomacy will have a chance to meet and hear from key employers such as think tanks, NGOS and humanitarian organisations. 

Civil Service, Events, Final Year, First Year, Second Year, Skills development

Careers in Diplomacy Event 5th March

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There’s no such thing as a typical Diplomatic career. You could be based in London or working in one of the Foreign Office’s small, challenging or remote embassies, or working on global issues in one of our large embassies in Washington and Paris.

Find out more at our Careers in Diplomacy Event

Date: 5th March 2020
Time: 11am – 12pm
Location: Grimond Seminar Room 6

With Guest Speaker Owen Traylor

Owen Traylor, Senior Research Fellow in our Conflict Analysis Research Centre and former Deputy Ambassador at the British Embassy in Israel will speak about his career in the Foreign and Commonwealth Service.

Owen served for more than three decades in the British Foreign Service; including on the Cabinet Office Committee on Northern Ireland in the run-up to the Good Friday Agreement; in Turkey; Japan and Israel.

Events, Final Year, First Year, Graduate Jobs, Post graduate, Second Year, Skills development

Careers in International Affairs Funded Field Trip – Apply Now

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The School of Politics and International Relations is funding a field trip to the Careers in International Affairs Forum on the 30th April 2020 in central London.

To be considered for a place (event tickets and coach travel from the Canterbury campus to London*) please email aspirations@kent.ac.uk with a short motivational statement by 25th February 2020 .

* Please also advise if you will want coach travel from the Canterbury campus to the event in London, or if you plan to make your own way there. 

Careers in International Affairs Forum

Is an annual meeting in which students, graduates, recruiters and experts will network, share their offerings and exchange insights in the field of international affairs. The fifth edition will take place on the 30th of April 2020. Young people interested in pursuing their careers in foreign relations and diplomacy will have a chance not only to meet representatives of prospective employers but also of the academic institutions .

Pursuing a career in international affairs is an exciting path that requires a multitude of skills and knowledge as prerequisites before embarking on this international journey.

Multi disciplinary background sounds to be crucial especially for practitioners career path in foreign service, international organisations and media rather than research career path in think tanks or universities. Understanding of complex interrelationships, profound knowledge of other countries, political systems, and different mentalities, in addition to interest in people and the ability to combine this knowledge are qualities of successful international affairs professionals.

One of the ways to acquire these competencies is a postgraduate degree which provide participants, in addition to knowledge, with global network of contacts valuable as they progress in their careers. Learning foreign languages is another factor that is necessary in pursuing a career in international affairs. If you speak Arabic, Russian or Chinese in Europe and United States, it will definitely give you an advantage in your career in the field. Interpersonal skills are very important for a successful career in this field as it is required to be able to build and maintain good relationships – ultimately between nations, but starting with individuals and smaller groups. International experience such as studying abroad or volunteering for an NGO is an asset for an international career.

It is a competitive career , the more professional courses you can take, the better- the more internships and summer jobs that are relevant to the field, at places people have heard of, the better, the more relevant skills and competed projects that you can talk about in your interviews.

 

Events, Internships, Interviews, Skills development

Get Career Ready! Careers Service Workshops

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The Careers Service are hosting a number of small workshops this term to assist students to Get Career Ready!

Click here for more information and to book.

Get career ready! – Finding experience (All students)

Are you looking for work experience opportunities either in the UK or abroad?

Join this informal group Q&A to discuss ways of gaining relevant experience, job hunting resources, and how to talk about your experience.

Get career ready! – Succeeding in applications (Finalists)

Are you struggling to get through the application process?

Join this informal group Q&A to discuss the various methods used in selecting and recruiting candidates and some of the techniques that can be used to maximise application success.

Get career ready! – Where to find jobs (Finalists)

Do you have questions about where to find graduate jobs?

Join this informal group Q&A to talk to us about job hunting resources, networking, social media recruiting, speculative applications and how to focus your job search.

Get career ready! – Interviews & Assessment Centres (Finalists)

Are you getting to interview or assessment centre but not getting selected, or would you just like to know how to prepare for them?

Join this informal group session to share and learn from the experiences of others to better prepare yourself. We can suggest how to research formats of interviews and assessment centres, and how to identify likely questions you may be faced with.

Events, Mentoring, Post graduate, Second Year, Skills development

Women in Academia Careers Event 23rd January

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As part of the panel series “Female Leaders” this careers event introduces successful women pursuing a career in the highly competitive field of academia.

The event aims to inform and motivate women and to encourage building effective networks. The speakers will share their career path, challenges and advice in moderated rounds.

We welcome questions for these rounds in advance via the following email: aspirations@kent.ac.uk.

The session will conclude with an open Q&A session and networking with refreshments afterwards.

Date: 23rd of January 2019 at 5:30 – 7pm
Location: Templeman Lecture Theatre

Panellists:
Dr Nadine Ansorg, Senior Lecturer in International Conflict Analysis
Dr Heejung Chung, Reader in Sociology and Social Policy
Dr Andrea den Boer, Senior Lecturer in International Relations
Dr Harmonie Toros, Reader in International Conflict Analysis

 

 

 

 

Civil Service, Events, Graduate Jobs, Internships

Careers in Diplomacy meet the FCO on Campus – 19 November

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Working for the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO)
Careers Event

The FCO is the UK government department responsible for protecting and promoting British interests around the world, through the FCO in London and diplomatic posts in 168 countries and territories. Roughly a third are UK-based British Civil Servants; and around two thirds are employed locally in British Diplomatic missions overseas (such as an Embassy, High Commission, or Consulate).

Dr. Jennifer Medcalf who is Head of the Defence and International Security Research Group (DISRG) at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is joining us on campus to discuss the range of career options they offer to students and graduates:

Date: 19th November 2019

Time: 4pm-5pm

Location: COLT 2  (Cornwallis Octagon Lecture Theatre 2)

All students are welcome to attend.

Charity Sector, Civil Service, Employability Points, Events, Graduate Jobs, Skills development

Careers in the Public Sector: Panel Q&A

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Wednesday 6th November, 2pm – 4pm in Grimond LT3

Interested in a career that’s rewarding and makes a difference? This is your chance to hear from leading public sector employers, including Kent alumni, who work / have worked within Government, public bodies and local government. They’ll share their career backgrounds, experiences of working within the public sector and career tips, followed by a Q&A with the audience.

Book your place here: https://careers.kent.ac.uk/leap/event.html?id=4855&service=Careers+Service

Earn 15 Employability Points!

Panellists:

Amy Perkins, Assistant Parliamentary Counsel, Cabinet Office
Amy’s role as an APC is to assist in drafting and handling Government bills and provide legal and procedural advice to Government departments. This is a training role, which can lead to the role of Parliamentary Counsel (who take the lead on drafting and handling bills, and providing the necessary advice).


Martin Parr, Principal Consultant, The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory
Martin’s work focuses on identifying where major public projects are working well, and where they are not, in their journey from feasibility though to full maturity; and to help the key stakeholders of these projects to understand how complexity impacts on their project. To assess complex projects and transformation activities so that the key issues and decisions can be dealt with in an evidence-based way. To assess technology in our major projects and consider how changes in technology or environment might impact on a system in the future.

Perry Holmes, Chief Legal Officer, Medway Council
Perry is an experienced local government leader, with particular expertise in local government law and elections. He has practiced as a solicitor for 25 years, moving to local government in 2001 and has worked at County, District and Unitary Councils. He has over 10 years’ experience as a Monitoring Officer ensuring that Councils and Councillors work within the law. He joined Medway Council in 2012 and is very proud to lead a set of excellent teams; the Capital projects, Category Management, Democratic Services, Elections & Member Services, Legal & Licensing and Property teams. He has developed close strategic links with the University of Kent, and in 2016 was delighted to receive their “External Innovation Champion” award.

Daniel Pollitt, Project Manager, Network Rail
Daniel is currently responsible for developing the ‘On Network Sections’ (everything at surface level/not in a tunnel) of Crossrail 2. This involves managing a team of design consultants, and working very closely with TfL and the DfT to develop a business case, and prepare a hybrid Bill to submit to parliament. He is a Kent alumni, who graduated from Kent Law School.

Paul Smart, Former Senior Government Policy Maker, Scottish Government
Paul retired from the Scottish Government in December 2018 with twenty years’ service, his last post being Deputy Director of the Colleges, Young Workforce and Scottish Funding Council Sponsorship Division. Prior to this Paul spent time helping deliver over £300m of CAP investment in Scottish farming, three years as programme director for establishing Historic Environment Scotland, and several years working in the Justice Directorate of the Scottish Government.  During his time with Justice he was Head of Operations at the Scottish Tribunals Service during which time he led the merger of five tribunal administrations into a single administrative unit.  Still with Justice, Paul started as Head of the Victims and Witnesses Unit before becoming Deputy Director for Victims, Witnesses, Parole and Life Sentencing. Previously he headed-up the Scottish Executive’s Race Equality Team, following a secondment as Chief Press Officer for Environment and Rural Development and, before that, was Head of Rail Policy.  Before joining the then Scottish Office in 1998 Paul held a number of posts with Scottish Homes, the then national housing agency, after spending several years as an academic, finishing up as a lecturer in the Politics Department at Edinburgh University during which time he gained his PhD. He graduated from UKC (Eliot) in 1979 with a BA Hons in Politics and Government.

Events, Politics, Skills development

Exciting Opportunity to be a part of Model NATO – APPLY NOW!

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The School of Politics and International Relations has been invited to send six student delegates to represent the University at a Model NATO conference being run by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Fifteen UK universities will be taking part in the Model and each university will represent two NATO members.

Model NATO will take place at the main Foreign Office building in central London on Monday, 2nd December 2019. The event will conclude with a reception hosted by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the early evening.

All travel expenses will be covered.

APPLICATIONS

Students in their second year and above, including post-graduate are invited to apply.

To be considered for this exciting opportunity please email no more than 100 words explaining why you would like to attend to:

N.V.Lanfray@kent.ac.uk and R.Whitman@kent.ac.uk

By midnight on the Monday 28th October.

Successful applicants will be informed on Tuesday 30th October and will be required to attend a briefing meeting with the FCO in Rutherford College on Friday 1st November. 

MODEL NATO IN ACTION

The business of the Model NATO committees and their working methods will be explained to the selected participating students in a separate document to be sent in the coming weeks.

In brief, the Model will be principally concerned with reacting to a crisis scenario. That crisis will be presented at the beginning of the working day and elaborated upon by means of news and intelligence injects as the day proceeds. The committees will replicate NATO’s working methods – including, importantly, the requirement that decisions are reached by consensus.

Each NATO member delegation at the Model will be split between three committees: the North Atlantic Council (the NAC), the Military Committee, and an ad hoc Crisis Response Committee. Each university will have two people on each of these three committees – representing two separate NATO members.

The task of the Model is to respond to the crisis by mobilising NATO’s political and military resources. In undertaking that response, delegations will need to act in accordance with known national policy positions.

To assist the students in this endeavour, you will be sent:

  • Model NATO Handbook (containing Rules of Procedure, draft Agenda for the three committees and other important information);
  • Crisis Briefing 1 (outlining the crisis your students will need to prepare for – a second Briefing will be given at the commencement of the Model);
  • A guide to NATO policies and processes (‘NATO 101’);
  • Briefings on the two NATO member countries your university is representing, and a
  • Document on Model NATO’s working methods.

On the day of the Model, academics, staff from the FCO and NATO officials will be on hand to offer specific advice.

To arrive at an agreed response will be the test the students will face on the day – debate and negotiations in committee will be the means by which that test is met.

Each student will also receive a certificate of participation. There will be a small number of awards given separately to outstanding delegates/delegations. The day will conclude with a reception in the Foreign Office building.

Model NATO is intended to have experiential learning benefits for the participating students.

The Model will raise students’ awareness of NATO and give them direct exposure to an activity that replicates inter-governmental negotiation and policy making.

ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITY: NATO ENGAGES

Two of the selected participating students will be invited in advance to attend ‘NATO Engages’ on the following day, 3rd December 2019 immediately prior to the NATO leaders’ meeting in London at Westminster Central Hall.

The consortium running NATO Engages includes Kings College London, the Atlantic Council, the Munich Security Conference, RUSI and Globsec.

For more information about NATO Engages please visit:
https://nato-engages.org

The two students will have accommodation provided for them in central London on the night of the 2nd December at the Travelodge Covent Garden.

These students will have the opportunity to further analyse the outcome of the Model held the previous day, and potentially meet heads of state/government at the event.

The NATO Public Diplomacy Division are providing a grant which will meet all the students accommodation and travel costs.

Please note: that once a student receives an email invitation from our partner Globsec to attend the event, the registration process will take around 45-60 minutes and includes a questionnaire and uploading a photograph for the conference ID. Given the likely presence of heads of state/government at the event, the process also entails some background security checks. Notification on the success of a registration comes within a couple of days usually. If your registration is declined on security grounds and any such outcome will be outside of our control.