Alex‘s Internship Experience with Public Policy|Southampton (PPS)

08 July 2025

Over the past two weeks, I had the opportunity to intern with the Public Policy Southampton (PPS) team, where I was placed with Specialist Policy Officer Grace Compton, part of the Sustainability & Resilience Institute (SRI). I also worked closely with a researcher in public health, Jess Boxall, whose research focussed on women’s perspectives on food insecurity and climate change in Karaga, a remote region of Northern Ghana. My main task was to draft a policy brief based on this research so far — a completely new challenge for me.

While I had some prior knowledge of public health and climate change, I knew very little about policymaking or the role of a team like PPS in communicating with local government. Through this internship, I was able to explore these areas in more depth. I met with members of the university’s civic engagement team to learn about their work with local groups, spoke with PPS staff to understand their role between the university and local authorities, and engaged with researchers to see how their findings feed into policy discussions. Additionally, through researching for the policy brief, I learnt more about Ghanian climate change and agricultural policy and the current interventions that are available to people, which helped me to create recommendations.

I really enjoyed the experience. I was able to apply my academic research skills to an area I didn’t have much knowledge of. I was given freedom to shape my own project while always feeling supported when I needed guidance or feedback. It was a great opportunity to learn, be creative, and gain insight into how academic research can inform real-world policy. I am very grateful for the opportunity from PPS and SRI and would encourage any undergraduates who are thinking of applying to go for it!

Alex Brown

Intern at Public Policy Southampton and the Sustainability & Resilience Institute

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