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Why NTU…

What inspired you to study your subject and what was your experience of studying your course at NTU?

Growing up with the rise of social media meant that I experienced world events, often unfiltered and ill-formatted, from the confines of a four-inch screen in the palm of my hands. War in the Middle East, climate change, Brexit, and Trump’s first victory were just some of the events that triggered my keen desire to better understand changes to the new world order we continue to see unfolding today. Having the opportunity to properly unpack some of the themes behind those events – security studies, geopolitics, identity – was my driver for choosing to study Å·ÃÀ¾ÞÈé Relations.

I’d previously struggled to find my niche in earlier studies, and suffered a real confidence knock as a result. I applied to University for the first time through clearing on results day after opening better than expected grades. I knew choosing to study Å·ÃÀ¾ÞÈé Relations was a fairly life-defining decision at the time, but I certainly didn’t know exactly how or to what extent it would impact my life post-graduation.

My academic pursuits were shaped by the freedom my tutors offered, enabling me to delve into the events and ideas that moved me. Through my studies, I developed a worldview rooted in historic context and political thinking alongside current affairs. I even got to study a language fully funded as one of my modules.

Your graduate journey

What is your current job role? What does it involve? What was your journey post-graduation to where you are now?

My current role is ESG Investment Specialist at Aviva Investors, the asset manager of the UK’s leading Insurance, Wealth and Retirement business. We manage around £238bn across public and private markets for a range of institutional, wealth and private clients around the world.

My role specifically focusses on Product Strategy and Multi-Asset investments. This entails providing sustainability views on current or future investments, understanding key macro trends and their implications for our portfolios, as well as deciding what investment products we should open, close, or change.

It’s an incredibly busy time for global markets. Wars in Europe and the Middle East, Trump’s new international agenda alongside new trends like AI are just some of the themes that continue to keep the investment management sphere dynamic and fast moving.

Before this role, I completed three nine-month rotations on the Aviva Graduate Leadership programme, on which there were 12 of us selected from thousands of applications. I know all too well how challenging the employment process can be for new graduates, and would reiterate to any student the importance of work experience and transferable skills outside of a good academic record.

Prior to Aviva, I worked as an Executive Officer in the Civil Service’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, working on the launch of a £5m to progress British industrial decarbonisation. This experience came immediately after writing a dissertation centred around climate change and its potential security implications.

Prior to this, I spent a lot of my free time in junior roles in British Airways and Waitrose and Partners, which gave me a wealth of experience for me to pull from when it came to interview stages for various Graduate schemes.