MSc alumni story: Jack Powell

Civil service policy lead

Jack Powell always harboured an interest in security. He decided to embark on the Security and Resilience: Science and Technology master’s degree upon completing his undergraduate in Chemistry (also at Imperial!) 

I currently work as a Policy Lead in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and in this role I help to shape UK international relations and diplomatic engagement. Day-to-day, this involves research, writing briefings, and talking to my opposite numbers in other nations about issues they're facing. 

I applied to the Security and Resilience: Science and Technology master’s programme with the ultimate goal of joining the civil service. The course definitely improved my ability to understand complex processes, synthesise disparate information and provide high-quality analysis and insights in a field that isn’t purely STEM. In addition, the group project provided the opportunity to apply our learning in a team setting. The negotiating, influencing and leadership skills I developed in this part of the course certainly come in useful in my career. 

For me, the course brought together international relations and security into a comprehensive programme, with guidance and lived experiences from academics and guest lecturers from industry. 

My personal highlights were the elective modules on cryptography engineering and web security. Electives give every student the chance to explore specific subjects aligned with their interests. These modules gave me a much deeper understanding of technologies we’re all familiar with, such as cryptocurrency and software security. 

To anyone contemplating doing the Security and Resilience: Science and Technology master’s, I'd say it'll be a thoroughly interesting year and that you'll get out of it what you put in – so make sure you get involved in as much as you can!