For Louisa Chinedu-Okeke (MPP 2018), the Master of Public Policy (MPP) provided a stepping stone from consulting for the public sector to a career at the heart of the Nigerian government, where she now works as Special Assistant to the President on Finance.
“I viewed working in the public sector as an opportunity to make significant change,” Louisa explains. “I’ve gone from providing advice to government to supporting policy creation and implementation.”
Louisa’s decision to apply to the Blavatnik School was influenced by the programme structure:
“The MPP allows you to engage with a broad spectrum of policy areas without feeling restricted. The applied elements of the course enable you to go beyond the theory and develop a diverse set of skills that are integral to working in public policy.”
Louisa’s current role is embedded within the Vice-President’s office, where she contributes to weekly economic reports that analyse policy impact and give the Vice-President a snapshot of the country’s economy and finances. “The MPP helped me to understand the economy of the nation”, she says. “The lessons on writing policy memos and briefs have also been invaluable for my current work.”
Louisa came to the School as an Africa Initiative for Governance (AIG) Scholar. “Not only did the scholarship make it possible for me to come to the School; it also provided an outstanding support network,” she says. “My fellow AIG Scholars were a ready-made community that helped me navigate the programme and settle into life in Oxford, and the AIG were always on hand to provide advice and support.”
Recently, Louisa has been working with a committee set up to monitor and evaluate the implementation of Nigeria’s economic sustainability plan, created in response to the economic impact of COVID-19. With a focus on job retention and creation, this work enables her to play a role in alleviating the impact of the pandemic on Nigeria’s citizens.
Louisa was an Africa Initiative for Governance (AIG) Scholar
July 2021