The Scholarship of Engagement for Politics: - Higher Education ...

The Scholarship of Engagement for Politics
The scheme was extremely well organised, and we were well looked
after by the project team, all practical considerations such as health and
safety were covered, and we were encouraged to use an online ‘blog’ to
record our activities and stay in touch with the team.
Aside from the practical support we received, this scheme differed
from traditional ‘work experience’ in that we were seen as researchers; this
had already been set up by the placement coordinators, so that our time on
placement, whilst short, was well spent.
My placement was predominantly research-based, and my activities
during the week covered many different areas. I was given casework to try
to remedy, correspondence to write, press releases to research and even
draft legislation to comment on.
There were clearly academic benefits: my knowledge of the
European political system increased dramatically, and I felt I was learning
the practical aspects of the European parliamentary system, such as the
amount of time things take. I learnt about the importance of the media
within European politics and gained a good understanding of what being
an MEP entails. My placement influenced my decision to write my finalyear
dissertation on the EU, as my first-hand experience had increased not
only my knowledge but also my interest in the subject.
During my one-week placement I was working to much shorter
deadlines than I had experienced at university, and this improved my
study skills. The environment in which I was working was also highly
pressured, which improved my performance as other people were
depending on my work. Once I returned to university I was much more
career-focused and determined to do well in my degree in order to secure a
good job. I also became much more aware of different career options open
to me.
As someone who had never worked in an office environment before,
I gained experience of how to work and behave in such a setting. This may
sound trivial, but it was a real learning experience, filing, letter-writing,
even office politics. Whilst this was clearly not an aim of the project, it is a
benefit that helped prepare me for subsequent jobs.
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