What is your current position?
Policy Analyst, Fuels Sector, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan)
What attracted you to your program of study at the BSIA?
I have been aware of BSIA for quite some time. I grew up in Waterloo, and I remember when the new building for BSIA was finally completed. Prior to my undergraduate studies, I had the opportunity to visit the school for Remembrance Day when I was in high school. Once my undergraduate studies concluded, I found myself pulled toward BSIA’s interdisciplinary environment. I also couldn’t help but notice that many of my favourite instructors from my undergraduate studies at Laurier taught at BSIA. I applied to the MIPP program, and immediately felt I had made the right decision.
What was the most impactful experience you had while completing your graduate degree?
The Graduate Fellowship was a key experience during my time in the MIPP. As part of a team of MIPPs and MAGGs, I helped develop and present a policy brief for the Foreign Policy Research and Foresight Division at Global Affairs Canada. Our brief looked at the geopolitical elements of technology and security competition. This was a great introduction to the concise writing style used in government and set me up for success when I started applying to government jobs.
Tell us about your job, what do you do?
I am in the Policy Analyst Recruitment and Development Program (PARDP) at NRCan. It is a rotational development program catered towards recent graduates. I joined the program in June 2022, with the Explosives Regulatory Division within the Lands and Minerals Sector. I had the opportunity to contribute to a regulatory review of the Explosives Regulations, 2013. We examined various ways in which the regulations could be improved, and updated the costs of the various licences, permits and certificates issued by the department.
As part of the PARDP program, I rotated to a new position in June of this year. My new team, the Strategic Foresight Unit within the Fuels Sector, is focused on an entirely different type of work. The practice of ‘foresighting’ aims to identify current trends that could have disruptive impacts on the future. We are focused on Canada’s fuels sector – including Oil and Gas, hydrogen and various other clean fuels. In this capacity, our team runs a variety of workshops where subject matter experts identify the trends and risks that they find most alarming. We also conduct considerable research in any given week, looking at both policy-orientated and broader news publications. We produce a variety of short papers identifying trends of interest for senior management, in addition to larger foresighting reports, which cover wider thematic areas and can take months to produce.
How does your work help make a difference?
In my previous role with the Explosives Regulatory Division, I was lucky enough to contribute to regulatory amendments. I am proud of the work I did with this team, changing the regulations to make them easier to follow for industry stakeholders, to enhance safety, and to promote consistency with allied jurisdictions.
What are the next steps in your career progression… where do you see yourself going?
My experience in government has been amazing so far. My colleagues and management are knowledgeable and responsive, and the work I’ve contributed to has been engaging and interesting. I see myself staying at NRCan for the medium-term, as the department has proven to be a great place to work, and the department’s portfolio is truly vast (covering mining, energy, forestry, etc.). I’d like to work within the Strategic Policy and Innovation sector in the department and get experience with an international trade team. In the long-term, I see myself making a career in government. There are a variety of departments that I find interesting, and I intend to explore the different types of work that government does.
What advice do you have for a potential student looking to complete their degree at the BSIA? Or for someone looking to work in Global Governance and International Policy?
Approach your graduate studies with an open mind. You may already have some areas or topics that interest you most but be open to exploring new fields of study. Government and NGOs typically prefer generalists over specialists, especially for early-career roles.
Exposing yourself to a variety of fields of study will create more employment opportunities for you after school, and you may find a new field of interest that you previously overlooked.