We’re now past mid July and while we’re busy ensuring that our next class of MPP and DPhil students are able to join us in September, our current MPP students are well into their Summer Project placements.

They are working with organisations in the UK and around the world, tackling policy challenges and issues such as infrastructure investment in sub-Saharan Africa, youth unemployment in Alberta, Canada and sustainable financing for mental health policies in low-middle income countries.

“It’s fantastic to see our students working on such a variety of topics,” says Anne Currie, the Blavatnik School’s Professional Skills and Alumni Manager. “The Summer Project provides an opportunity for our hugely talented students to take the knowledge and skills developed on the MPP course and apply these to real-world policy issues. In previous years, it’s been really exciting to see the impact of our students’ work, whether that’s been through contributing to published reports or having findings implemented by host organisations.”

The Summer Project also enables students to experience life in a different working environment. Anne continues: “For example those students who have worked for the government in their home countries before coming to Oxford often use the Summer Project to experience how a different government works. For others, it’s about looking at issues from a new perspective, perhaps that of an international organisation or a private sector firm. Others are keen to analyse a specific policy challenge in depth. The great thing about the Summer Project is that a student can really tailor it to their unique interests.”

This year’s host organisations are as varied as their locations and include – to name just a few – the Cabinet Office (the department responsible for supporting the UK’s Prime Minister), the International Monetary Fund, the independent policy institute Chatham House and the City of Kigali in Rwanda.

At the end of the Summer Project the students will submit a final report including an analysis of a policy issue that they’ve encountered and a reflective essay on the experience.

“We are constantly reviewing the Summer Project to improve the experience for both the students and the host organisations, so it’s important that students take time to reflect on what they have learnt and how that has influenced their views and actions,” Anne explains. “I was really proud to hear one of our alumni recently describe the Summer Project as a pivotal point in his career, opening up opportunities which he had never previously considered.”

We look forward to sharing our students’ summer placements in the coming weeks – in the meantime, check the infographic about the Summer Project destinations to find out in which countries and organisations our students are spending the summer.

If you are interested in hosting an MPP student for a Summer Project please email summerproject@bsg.ox.ac.uk