Uncovering a Career Path at Summer School

Coming to the London School of Economics and Political Science has the potential to amplify personal interests and further clarify one’s career path. Personally, as a political science student specialising in international relations, I have found it difficult to choose a particular focus area, as there are so many of interest to me. Some of the academic areas I’ve considered include global security, international law, environmental politics, international political economy, and developmental politics.

Attending LSE Summer School enabled me to figure out my academic interests. By studying the Summer School course IR120: Trade, Development and the Environment within the Department of International Relations that focused on trade, development and the environment, I strongly connected with the subject of the political economy of development. I enjoyed actively understanding and discussing real-world issues related to colonial institutions, inequality, and the role of business power.

I was able to connect with this area of study due to Summer School’s enabling environment to be outspoken about concepts, case studies or theories that personally stand out. We were provided with exciting opportunities to intellectually engage with ideas such as free trade and climate adaptation. Personally, as a previous intern of a well-established agri-trade facilitation organisation and agri-fin tech start up - theories related to agri-environmental development captured my attention. Openly sharing my fascination with these concepts allowed me to connect with LSE PhD researchers within the field.

Apart from the exciting academic adventure, LSE Summer School offers extra-curricular events through their Spark programme to help you explore your career path and gain the necessary skills. The wide range of career events empowers one to gain insights on entrepreneurship, digital skills, wellbeing, and much more. You are also prepared for the job market through workshops on excelling in internships, enhancing professional CVs and interview preparation. Moreover, Spark’s online platform, Gettwoit, enables interaction between LSE Summer School students across disciplines and identifies peers with similar interests. Both the events and platform are golden as they facilitate fruitful connections in person and virtually! Arranging coffee chats or meet-ups with dynamic fellow students from the platform allows one to learn from other people’s career journeys. Participating at LSE Summer School enables you to connect with likeminded people that could potentially inform your career path. There are so many opportunities to network - from Spark events to online communication platforms to informal conversations at breakfast at student residential halls. Advantageously, engaging with like-minded career enthusiasts provides a cohort of people to walk with on the journey of uncovering one’s career path.

Overall, the future can be made clear as long as one makes efforts to continually shine the light and gradually uncover their own suitable career aspirations. As demonstrated by experience it’s possible to progressively uncover one’s career by taking the time to understand your interests, and trying new things. LSE Summer School’s vibrant atmosphere enables you to do just this, as well as enhance necessary career skills and connect with incredibly inspiring people.

 

This blog was written by one of our 2023 Student Ambassadors, who are here to share their stories and help you understand the summer school experience at LSE.