![\"Jazz](\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/files\/2024\/11\/WhatsApp-Image-2024-11-13-at-11.40.16-1-e1732203793365-1024x901.jpeg\")
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The\u202f<\/span><\/i>Health Policy MSc<\/span><\/i><\/a>\u202fat Imperial College London is led by the Institute of Global Health Innovation<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Jazz Walker, a Year 2 Health Policy Master\u2019s student and Biological Capabilities Policy Advisor at the UK Health Security Agency, \u00a0attended our recent in-person student workshop and shares her experience of the MSc programme.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Jazz:<\/span><\/b> I applied for the programme mostly for career progression reasons. I\u2019d gone through education\u2014originally, I did an English degree\u2014and then I got into health policy.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n One aspect that drew me to it is that, particularly in the policy world, you don\u2019t often gain experience outside of your job\u2019s specific focus. It\u2019s really difficult, especially in busy areas, to get opportunities to branch into other fields.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Personally, I found the finance and economics section quite interesting. Due to the way my career has progressed, I\u2019ve always kind of avoided working on those areas. But this programme provided a nice, non-pressured way to learn about those elements of the job without needing to seek permissions for work shadowing. My organisation is keen to promote learning and development, but I personally haven\u2019t found their traditional pathways very effective for learning this type of information.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I found the Health Policy MSc programme more helpful because it requires you to work on a problem statement, rather than just absorbing theory that\u2019s delivered to you, with no practical application. It provides a way to demonstrate how you\u2019d approach and apply these examples in real situations. Those are the key things I value: gaining skill sets I can\u2019t acquire in my job. It\u2019s been very interesting, and I\u2019m pleased to be able to work with people from diverse backgrounds on the course.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Jazz:<\/span><\/b> I think it’s going really well so far. I particularly enjoyed last year\u2019s module on Health and Society, as it connected to my work at the time, which was related to threat relevance. Having an entire module focused on various threats helped me better understand the organisation I was working in. This was especially useful because my employer is funding my studies to help me bring broader awareness to other areas I might work in.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Gaining these learnings and insights pushed me to apply more of them in my work. This has enabled me to present stronger ideas by incorporating those considerations and working through them, and has strengthened my relationships with analysts in that area. I can now demonstrate that I’m using the same assessment criteria they would use, saying things like, \u2018I evaluated this\u2019 or \u2018I\u2019d recommend approaching it this way\u2019 or \u2018This is how I\u2019d like to see the results\u2014does that align with the right approach?\u2019 Having their agreement has further helped build these connections.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Jazz:<\/span><\/b> I think simply being recognised for doing the Master\u2019s has already been really helpful for my work. It\u2019s helped me connect with industry and academia, showing them that there\u2019s genuine dedication behind what I\u2019m doing. In an environment where people often jump between fields, having a solid foundation in the subject area is really valuable.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Pushing myself to think critically and write papers in a more traditional, academic style has also been useful. I had definitely fallen out of practice with writing academic papers, so it\u2019s been great to get back into that process and focus on building a stronger evidence base. Rather than just relying on the specialised technicians in my organisation, I\u2019m doing self-directed research again. This has been particularly helpful in areas I\u2019m working on, as it\u2019s taught me how to evaluate sources more critically. It\u2019s not just about thinking, \u2018Well, it\u2019s in an academic journal, so it must be true,\u2019 but about noticing potential biases that might affect credibility.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I think this stronger evidence base, along with the ability to perform desk research and self-reflection, will be incredibly useful for my future career.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Jazz:<\/span><\/b> The academic team has been very helpful throughout the course. Particularly at the start, when I was working on two tasks simultaneously in my job, being able to reach out and express that things were challenging gave me the reassurance I needed to manage things through. They explained the possibility of getting a short extension, or if I needed a longer one, they could guide on providing evidence of what I was working on. Their support has been invaluable!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I found the drop-in sessions especially useful, knowing I could jump in and ask, ‘I have one question; my mind can’t quite get where I’m going with it. Am I thinking about it right?’ Getting confirmation and advice on where I might need to push further or focus more on that track was really helpful.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWhy did you apply for the Health Policy MSc programme?\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
How is the programme going so far? What did you enjoy the most or found most impactful?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
How do you think this programme will further help you in building your career?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
Have you experienced any challenges so far? And if so, how has the academic team supported you?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n