I joined UPEN in March 2024, whilst studying for an MA in Social Anthropology at SOAS. I decided to study Social Anthropology as I’ve always been interested in the ways other people and cultures live. Having grown up in council housing, in a mixed-race family, I experienced first-hand how people on low incomes and people of colour can be affected negatively by policies that don’t consider their lived experience. As such, I was drawn to the fact that when practised in a decolonial, co-productive manner, Social Anthropology can provide first-hand insights into different communities social, cultural and economic lives and the affect of policies on them. However, when I began the course, I wondered what the point of gathering qualitative data was, asking people to share their lives and the impact of policies on them, for it to only be shared within academic circles.
I was lucky enough to study with Professor David Mosse who teaches the module Mind, Culture, Psychiatry at SOAS. His class examines the way the mind and mental illness are understood and treated in various cultures, emphasising the impact of racial, social and cultural difference on the treatment and outcomes patients receive. His practice is committed both to researching and supporting affected communities, using his findings to guide and inform policy and make real-life changes to mental health practice. Intrigued by David Mosse’s involvement in academic-policy engagement, I started to research organisations that promote links between academia and policy makers. I found the internship at UPEN and thought it would be a great opportunity to learn more about the practicalities of bringing academics and policy makers together.
I came into the policy-engagement space as a complete newbie. Looking back over the last 10 months at UPEN, what began as a confusing mix of abbreviations has slowly started to come together. Through putting together the newsletter every week, I have learnt so much about the different roles available for those interested in academic-policy engagement, from knowledge brokerage to roles focussed on measuring impact and inclusion, facilitating fellowships, managing programmes and communications. It highlighted how many funding opportunities there are in the sector for academics and researchers to engage with, from fellowships to funded PHD’s. Every week there is an abundance of sector-wide news and events to feature, which speaks to the growing demand and need for policy-engagement centres and resources. As someone new to the sector, reading back through UPEN’s resources has been a great way of learning more. CAPE’s toolkits and blogs and Policy Leeds resources have been equally helpful.
Attending UPEN’s Annual Conference, and the Annual Members meeting were also incredibly informative. Both events brought together academics, professionals and policy makers to share their expertise with each other and collectively plan the future of UPEN’s work. Both events highlighted the work of UPEN’s sub-committees, which shed a light on the different areas of interest in the sector, from promoting EDI, to focuses on ARI’s, devolved and place-based academic-policy engagement and more. Seeing how many people are actively engaged with the UPEN network, working not just their day jobs, but giving their free time and experience to the policy-engagement community was inspiring. It is a sector filled with passionate people, looking to make a difference through their research and policymaking.
This internship has given me the confidence to explore roles within academic-policy engagement and to consider pursuing academia further, knowing there are collaborative ways to ensure it has real-world impact. I’d like to thank everyone that met with me to talk about their career paths, and share their journey’s with me, and thank-you to Laura Bea for her trust and confidence in me and for encouraging me to grow and develop new skills.
