Spotlight on the programmes team

They make sure that each student receives the individual support they need to make the most of their experience at the Blavatnik School, from the moment they walk through the front doors, often until well after they leave (many of the students keep in touch with the team, checking in and asking for advice on future career moves).

The team has a kaleidoscope of talents and backgrounds. Between them they speak a range of languages, from Japanese and Mandarin to Italian and Arabic, and come from a range of cultural backgrounds, equipping them to serve a diverse student body which each year hails from over 50 countries around the world.

“The students always praise the speed and efficiency with which we work”, says Jackie Liu who heads up the team. “I always tell them, if we can”t work at this level of efficiency, how can we be expected to teach you how to work in the fast-paced environment of public service!”.

Jackie Liu knows the degree programmes more intimately than most; he was a student himself on the MPP programme, enrolling in 2016. After a career in Hong Kong working as a senior civil servant, he came back to the School. The students now benefit from his dual experience both in their shoes as a former student and later as a successful public servant.

“It’s not just about big thinking, it can be small things we teach, like how to present yourself in an email,” notes Jackie. The team provide a range of support for students beyond the classroom, from one-to-one mentoring sessions and personalised career coaching. Anne Lim (MPP 2022) for example, credits the team’s session on speculative outreach to employers for a career-defining placement at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Bangkok over the summer, which led to a long-term position for Anne after the MPP.

When the students are nearing the end of their year in Oxford, the team design extensive assessment simulations based on real-world scenarios to put students’ practical skills to the test. Simulations might include a COP climate negotiation, where the team go the extra mile to make it look and feel like the conference. “It’s this kind of attention to detail and concern for each individual student that makes the course so memorable and meaningful for students”, explains Professor Thomas Hale, Director of the MPP.

“We’re so grateful for everything the programmes team do to make this experience so special,” says Aoife Keating Fitzpatrick, a Political Leadership Scholar from Northern Ireland. “We benefit so much from their expertise, helping us expand our skills and networks to take the next steps after our studies back into the impactful public service careers we are here to pursue.”

The students always praise the speed and efficiency with which we work. I always tell them, if we can’t work at this level of efficiency, how can we be expected to teach you how to work in the fast-paced environment of public service!

Jackie Liu, Head of Degree Programmes