{"id":3796,"date":"2021-08-16T17:15:37","date_gmt":"2021-08-16T17:15:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/?p=3796"},"modified":"2021-08-16T17:26:03","modified_gmt":"2021-08-16T17:26:03","slug":"after-kent-catching-up-with-simeon-onaji","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/2021\/08\/16\/after-kent-catching-up-with-simeon-onaji\/","title":{"rendered":"After Kent – Catching up with Simeon Onaji"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many students have passed through Kent but what are they up to now? In the After Kent series, we talk to\u00a0Simeon Onaji<\/strong><\/a> about his journey After Kent. Simeon studied BA (Hons) in Politics and International Relations <\/a>between 2015-2018.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What do you miss the most about studying Politics at Kent? \u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

As someone that enjoys the fine art of debating, I have fond memories of fascinating discourses that I had with fellow peers in seminars across the arrays of POLIR modules I took during my 3 years in Kent. From assessing the merits of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s social contract theory in my first year to debating Edward Said\u2019s thought-provoking seminal work, Orientalism, in my third year \u2013 which remains particularly pertinent and relevant in our contemporary context. What I especially appreciate from my time studying Politics in Kent, is the efforts that lecturers put into anchoring the module content to meet the changing political landscape. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What are you up to now? \u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I currently work in the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO)<\/a> where I lead on several multimillion-pound projects providing capacity-building support to countries in Africa, South America,\u00a0and Southeast Asia.\u00a0Before\u00a0FCDO, I worked as a Policy Adviser in the Home Office, supporting the management of the department\u2019s \u00a3500m of\u00a0Official Development Assistance\u00a0(ODA)\u00a0expenditure\u00a0in the areas of transparency, safeguarding, and strategic planning.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How has studying Politics at Kent prepared you for the future\/current position?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Studying Politics at Kent\u00a0helped me to develop critical skills and knowledge that I\u2019ve\u00a0applied to my jobs on many\u00a0occasions.\u00a0Understanding how the political system operates, communication, and knowledge of the UN system are all valuable skills that have enabled me to progress in my Civil Service career.\u00a0Modules\u00a0like \u2018Modern Political Thoughts\u2019 embellished my\u00a0critical-thinking skills, while\u00a0the\u00a0\u2018Fact, Evidence, Knowledge and Power\u2019\u00a0module for instance\u00a0pushed me to learn how to use tools like SPSS which I\u00a0leveraged\u00a0to great effect as an analyst in the Department for International Trade.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What advice would you give potential\/current Politics students?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The old\u00a0aphorism\u00a0\u2018university is the best time of your life\u2019 is debatable,\u00a0but\u00a0the 3+ years spent at Kent will certainly be one of your most memorable experiences for years to come, so my advice would be to make the most of it. Beyond the routine of Politics lectures and seminars \u2013 joining one of the many societies that Kent has to offer is a great way to meet new people and make friends. The Model United Nations Society which I was a member of is a popular choice for POLIR students, but don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and\u00a0try some of the more niche ones like the \u2018UKC Hogwarts Society\u2019.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What do you plan to do in the future?\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In the medium term, I plan to continue working in the international\/development space, leading on policies and programmes that deliver multiplier effect for beneficiaries, and value for money for UK taxpayers. There is nothing more gratifying than seeing the positive impact you make on people\u2019s lives particularly individuals from some of the most impoverished countries in the world \u2013 so longer term I hope to continue contributing to development and prosperity outcomes for socio-economically disadvantaged populations.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you are a POLIR alumni and studied either an undergraduate, postgraduate or PhD degree with us and would like to share your story, contact us, we would love to hear from you!<\/p>\n

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Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many students have passed through Kent but what are they up to now? In the After Kent series, we talk to\u00a0Simeon Onaji about his journey … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75556,"featured_media":3797,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[807],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3796"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75556"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3796"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3796\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3802,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3796\/revisions\/3802"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/polir-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}