After graduating, I gained an opportunity to work in the Economic and Domestic Affairs Secretariat division of the Cabinet Office.
During my five month graduate internship, I was able to gain an insight into the role and function of the Cabinet Office in the Whitehall machine, understanding how it contributes to the policy process.
My duties over the course of the internship varied. I spent time initially working as an Assistant Business Manager to the Director General and Director of the department over the General Election period.
I was then rotated into a different team where I learnt about the importance of Cabinet Committees, Implementation Taskforces and collective agreement in the policy process.
Finally, I was given exposure to a specific policy area, being able to understand how cross-Whitehall departments interact with one another to implement policy.
Mrudula Podila
The experience allowed me to compare the theoretical policy process taught at Bristol with what occurs in practice, enabling me to identify and question the discrepancies between academia and reality.
The opportunity for this internship cropped up in the middle of my MPP at Bristol, and I am incredibly grateful for all the support and encouragement given to me by Noemi and the staff at the School for Policy Studies.