Politics and International Relations alumni advise on career opportunities at What Comes Next event

The event took place in Fyvie Hall at Regent Street Campus on 21 February, and was co-organised by Westminster's Alumni Relations team and Dr Magdalena Frennhoff Larsen, Assistant Head of School in the School of Social Sciences, who also served as panel chair.

The alumni panel included Saman Haque, Trade Policy Advisor at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; and Samira Azir, Commissioning Team Assistant at West Sussex County Council. Both of them are graduates of the Politics and International Relations BA course. They sat on the panel with Zeenat Khan, Change and Tech Management Graduate at Zurich Insurance Company, and alumna of the International Relations and Development BA course; and Wasim Nawaz, Mid-Market BDR & Public Affairs Consultant at Vuelio, who graduated from the International Relations MA, and also from the Politics and International Relations BA courses.

Talking about her experience as a speaker, Samira Azir said: “It was an honour to speak at this event. Such a lovely day seeing old and new faces. I am more than happy to take part in any future events the University may have planned as it was great practice for me.” 

During the event, the alumni discussed graduate possibilities and finding an area of interest, along with advice on job hunting, such as interview preparation techniques, CV building and the importance of networking. They highlighted the significance of the employability resources and events that the University provides, such as Careers fairs, the Future Ready Mentoring programmes, and other What Comes Next? events.

As the public sector is very competitive, the alumni suggested doing as many work and volunteer opportunities as possible. They also advised Politics and IR students to join Westminster’s Democratic Education Network (DEN), as it gives them the opportunity to practice communication, and organise events and initiatives in an international environment. 

At the end of the event, a Q&A session was held for students and graduates, who greatly engaged in the discussion. This was followed by a social session with refreshments and nibbles, where the audience could freely approach the speakers with additional questions.

Reflecting on the event, one student said: “I especially enjoyed that the speakers were working in different fields, so I got to listen to different experiences.” 

Another audience member said: “Really supportive words and gave me a better outlook on postgrad life.”

Watch the full recording of the event on the University of Westminster’s YouTube channel.