Aleksandra Heflich

After graduating with an MA in International Relations in Warsaw University, spending a year as an Erasmus student in Sciences-Po Aix, and having worked in the Polish EU Affairs ministry, I wanted to deepen my knowledge on EU affairs and study abroad. The LSE European Institute was a natural choice: because of EI’s top scholars, the possibility to experience the reputed Anglo-Saxon education system, and to live a Londoner life for some time. Moreover, I was awarded the Francesca Swirski Postgraduate Scholarship, without which my arrival to London would not have been possible.

Studying at LSE allowed me to sharpen my critical thinking and formulate my arguments both orally and in writing: a skill without which I would not be able to build my future career. I received back my first essays at LSE with comments calling for an approach that is more critical and emphasising my own point of view, something that I was not encouraged to provide in my previous educational experience.

Studying at LSE also means making friends with and learning from your peers from around the world, and to study LSE programs other than yours. These relationships broaden your horizons, last for many years and sometimes might even change your life. My year at LSE also meant benefitting to the maximum from what the school has to offer in terms of public events and conferences with top academics and world leaders. Lively discussions with colleagues and professors continued in the George IV pub. 

For the last eight years, I have been working as a policy analyst in the European Parliament’s administration - in the European Parliamentary Research Service. My role is to deliver evidence-based, objective, and authoritative analyses requested by the European Parliament’s committees mainly in the fields of climate change, environment, energy, and transport. The studies I prepare and present to the committees of the European Parliament evaluate the impact that EU action and/or no-action could have. In this way, EU policymakers can make well-informed decisions. Graduating from LSE definitely added value to my professional curriculum and allowed me to swiftly pursue a career in a multicultural environment of EU affairs, where I have been working for over thirteen years now.