Career Discussion Marks School of Public Policy Opening

The School of Public Policy at CEU marked the opening of the academic year for its inaugural class with a public roundtable discussion on Public Policy Education and Careers for the Public Good on Sept. 12. In his welcoming address, CEU President and Rector John Shattuck said “we don’t need to look any further than the front pages of the newspapers to see the chaos which global public policy is currently in,” but pointed to the hope SPP’s new students have brought to the beginning of their public policy education.

SPP Dean Wolfgang Reinicke introduced the speakers and Assistant Professor Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick moderated the discussion.

The discussion brought together three graduates of leading professional schools to reflect on their careers in the public and non-profit sectors: Jeremy Barnicle, chief development officer and chief communications officer at Mercy Corps, the global humanitarian organization; Orsolya Farkas, regional manager of the Africa & Middle East Team at Triple Jump, a microfinance and sustainable investment organization; and Mathieu Lefevre, executive director of the New Cities Foundation, which promotes urban innovations through partnerships among government, business, academic, and civil society entities.

Farkas advised students to prepare for the entrepreneurial side of public policy work through developing practical skills  important for the growing field of social impact investment such as accounting, budgeting, and basic management, which are not often considered in an academic public policy education.

Barnicle cited soft skills such as public speaking, networking and negotiation skills as among the most important things he learned in the course of his studies. Skills as simple but easily forgotten as the ability to draft a well written email in a hurry were also noted by the panelists. These skills have become a part of what he refers to as his "political entrepreneur tool-kit."

Barnicle went on to explained his belief, shared by the other panelists, that public policy schools need to start looking beyond the usual public sector interfaces to partnerships with the private sector that can be leveraged for social change. 

Each of the panelists agreed on the importance of being prepared to take risks and grab opprtunities. For Farkas, this meant being prepared to look beyond the establishment and work with startup organizations. In fact, she still works with the startup organization that she joined at the start of her career. Both Barnicle and Lefevre emphasized the importance of gaining field experience early in a career. Once people begin to settle down and have families, field work becomes something that they simply cannot take the time to do; and there is no way to replicate the experience.

The panelists also offered some advice to SPP itself. Lefevre stressed that educators must help students to find out what it is that truly drives them, and that students identify their passions in order to build a convincing story around themselves that will help them to stand out in a crowded non-profit employment market.

Something that all of the panelists definitely agreed on was that they would study again for an MPA every couple of years if they could; the years of their public policy studies remain among the most exciting and inspirational in their lives. 

Students of SPP’s inaugural class were joined by members of the wider CEU community and the public for the discussion which was also streamed live online.

Read more about the launch of the School of Public Policy at CEU.