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Joséphine Anselin is studying for a PhD in Applied Mathematics and Physical Oceanography at the British Antarctic Survey and the University of Cambridge. Here she reflects on her motivation for applying for a policy internship at CSaP and what she got up to as part of it.
Before I started my PhD, I worked as an engineer in the offshore energy industry and as a strategy consultant in different industries. However, I came to realise that I really missed science and this prompted my return to academia where I am using numerical modelling to understand the physical process driving ocean-driven melting of the Antarctic Ice Sheet.
While my PhD directly relates to questions that are policy relevant, it was often difficult to see tangible connections between my research and real-life policy applications. One of the reasons that I came to CSaP was to better understand how academic research can feed into policy and how this can create real impacts for people and for the environment. One thing that the internship taught me is that there is not just one ‘process’, but there are lots of ways that research and policy can come together. Some are more formal—like parliamentary inquiries—while others are more informal—such as the policy workshops that CSaP runs.
"I got a sense of how processes of research-policy engagement work and a better understanding of practical steps that researchers can take to input into this and to influence policy."
As part of working with CSaP, I was put into contact with a diverse range of people working in science and policy. These discussions really helped develop my own understanding of the UK science policy landscape and by listening to their experiences and advice I was able to start thinking seriously about potential post-PhD career paths. One thing that I realised is that this ‘field’ is made up of people who come from so many different backgrounds and everyone adds something new by virtue of their background—there really isn’t necessarily a ‘set path’ towards a career in science policy.
As part of my internship I supported the development of a report for policy makers on the costs, risks, and opportunities of net zero for the UK. This work is being led by Cambridge Zero who are able to draw on their multidisciplinary network to move beyond vague ideas and furnish UK ministers with practical tools to help steer the UK towards a green economy. By engaging with this project, I was exposed to different approaches and by participating in workshop discussions I became more aware of the kinds of questions that policy makers are interested in (and this is not necessarily the technical details!).
"If there is someone reading this thinking about doing a CSaP internship, I would advise anyone, even those who know that they want to stay in academia, to apply. Doing a policy internship gives you new perspectives that you can then take forward in your academic career to influence policy […] There are only good things that you can learn from an experience like this."
A project that I pitched as part of the internship was a podcast on coastal resilience. This is an area that I am personally very interested in. However, while I am familiar with the issues from an oceanography point of view, I wanted to learn more about this topic from the policy perspective(s). This project, therefore, provided a great opportunity to make contact with researchers and instigate a discussion about the interrelated science and policy questions that attach themselves to coastal resilience. The podcast was a fantastic output from the internship and it has laid the bed for further interest in this topic. Since finishing the internship, I have also engaged with the Cambridge Journal of Science & Policy to produce a paper on the topic of coastal resilience based on content discussed during the podcast episodes. Before CSaP, I thought that policy sounded interesting, but I did not really know that much about the roles that were available in this space, I did not know where to look for them, and I was not clear about the day-to-day activities. I now have a much better view of what is available, and I have ideas about where I could add value.