Graduate Profile

Studying a combined honours programme was the biggest step towards the beginning of my career.

I was a student of French and International Relations at Canterbury Christ Church University between 2012 and 2015. I thought it would be very beneficial for me as I am passionate about International Relations and languages.

In the end of the second year I completed a work placement in a francophone country as part my French degree. I decided to combine both subjects and I did a work placement in an NGO in Brussels during the summer of 2014. It was a great inspiration. I worked as a Policy Assistant for Health Equity and Policy Coherence at the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), which is Europe’s leading NGO advocating for better health and part of the Social Platform, the European Public Health and Agriculture Consortium (EPHAC), the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), and the EU Civil Society Contact Group. I worked on public health issues like children’s health, gender, poverty, mental health and social exclusion, doing research and writing briefings and reports. I was lucky enough to work closely with health professionals and high-level policy makers from all over the world. This experience helped me to develop my soft skills, managing my time effectively, and writing succinctly. I had an opportunity to come across a variety of points of view, which influenced me in many ways.

Then I decided to continue with my education so I did a Masters in International Business. It was then that I fell into Purchasing. I had my first real job as Buyer Assistant at Jaguar Land Rover, then Aston Martin and now I currently work for Kautex Unipart Ltd. These international automotive companies deal with suppliers from all over the world. Although the negotiations are mainly done in English, my language skills were one of the things that attracted the recruiters and continue to do so.

In conclusion, I highly recommend a combined honours programme. The competition is already very high, so why not try to differentiate ourselves with something more unique?