{"id":2577,"date":"2025-02-05T14:14:41","date_gmt":"2025-02-05T14:14:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/iprblog\/?p=2577"},"modified":"2025-02-05T14:20:24","modified_gmt":"2025-02-05T14:20:24","slug":"internship-to-the-civil-service-fast-stream-my-journey-and-lessons-learned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/iprblog\/2025\/02\/05\/internship-to-the-civil-service-fast-stream-my-journey-and-lessons-learned\/","title":{"rendered":"Internship to the Civil Service Fast Stream: my journey and lessons learned"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kristian Williams, a former Policy Engagement Intern with the Institute for Policy Research, will be joining the Civil Service Fast Stream in Government Policy<\/span> in<\/span> September 2025. In this blog<\/span> post<\/span>, he writes about his journey to the programme.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Before I started university, I knew that I wanted a career that wasn\u2019t just <\/span>\u2018<\/span>a caree<\/span>r\u2019 \u2013 <\/span>but one that felt rewarding, impactful, and had the ability to make a positive difference on the world, however small a difference that might be.<\/span><\/p>\n

Throughout my undergraduate degree, <\/span>studying Politics and International Relations at the University of Bath<\/span>, <\/span>I came to understand at a base-level some of the world\u2019s most pressing challenges. My drive to serve society resulted in a goal to contribute positively to some of these issues and led me to consider career pathways where I might possibly, one day, have such an impact. Working for the country\u2019s Civil Service within government policy <\/span>\u2013<\/span> a profession of thousands of similarly<\/span> minded individuals, tirelessly aiming to produce the best for the country and the public <\/span>\u2013<\/span> appeared to be a natural fit. Seeking an entry into this career, I soon discovered the Civil Service Fast Stream\u2019s Government Policy pathway, where you undertake three separate year-long postings with the aim of <\/span>developing into a Civil Service leader, and <\/span>I <\/span>made it a concrete goal to get accepted<\/span> on to this programme<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

During my third year at the University of Bath, I <\/span>undertook a<\/span> placement year at the <\/span>Institute for Policy Research<\/span><\/a> (IPR) as a Policy Engagement Intern<\/span>. This experience <\/span>proved<\/span> to be incredibly positive for my development to my eventual success in the Fast Stream\u2019s selection process. At the IPR, I was entrusted with a wide variety of tasks and was given the opportunity to take ownership of workloads and put my skills to the test in a practical environment. For example, I assisted with the hosting of a policy workshop for the Civil Service on Artificial Intelligence; I helped edit <\/span>IPR<\/span> policy <\/span>briefs<\/span>; and I gained invaluable experience when delivering the IPR\u2019s 10th anniversary celebration video, where I had to work collaboratively to understand the organisation\u2019s achievements, conduct interviews with leading figures in the organisation\u2019s history, and rapidly obtain new skills in content production to craft a <\/span>narrative that celebrated the IPR\u2019s success so far.<\/span><\/p>\n

I <\/span>also <\/span>had the <\/span>opportunity to join the team working on <\/span>ActNowFilm: Intergenerational Conversations on Climate Change<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>conducting<\/span> stakeholder management <\/span>and in-depth <\/span>research, <\/span>and <\/span>shaping the film through input in <\/span>weekly team discussions. This project significantly improved my <\/span>confidence and<\/span>enabled me to gain first-hand experience working in a skilled, small team on an impactful project that resonated deeply with my values. Collaborating closely, we were able to meet tight deadlines, and ultimately deliver a thought-provoking film that served as a clarion call for transformative action to address the ongoing climate crisis<\/span>:<\/span> by entrusting more of the planet\u2019s future to the expertise of the young <\/span>people<\/span> who would inherit it. This experience gave me a taste of what I envision it to be like to work on critical matters within the policy environment in the Civil Service: to be a part of a talented, motivated team that wants to tackle the country\u2019s challenges and produce beneficial change.<\/span><\/p>\n

Throughout<\/span> my internship<\/span>, the IPR team was tremendously kind and helpful \u2014always ready to assist or answer any questions I had \u2014 and my line manager, Amy Thompson<\/a>, knew of my goal to pursue a career in the Civil Service and strove to provide me with the challenges and support to further develop the skills that I would certainly need to excel within this environment. It was a year in which I developed as an individual, personally and professionally, more than any other of my academic and professional life. I would readily recommend others to apply to the IPR\u2019s Policy Engagement internship.<\/span><\/p>\n

Following <\/span>the IPR<\/span> internship<\/span>, I <\/span>undertook<\/span> a three-month long summer internship at the UK Ministry of Defence through the Civil Service\u2019s Fast Stream Internship Programme<\/span>, an opportunity <\/span>which the confidence and skills I gained during my time at the IPR <\/span>helped me <\/span>to <\/span>secure<\/span>. <\/span>I went on to<\/span> complete<\/span>my undergraduate degree with first-class honours<\/span>, producing<\/span> a highly<\/span> graded dissertation that examined state understandings of Artificial Intelligence. <\/span>In<\/span> December 2024, I <\/span>successfully <\/span>undertook the Fast Stream\u2019s assessment process<\/span>, <\/span>and my <\/span>new <\/span>role there<\/span> will<\/span> start in September 2025. I\u2019m excited to learn of my first posting within the Civil Service, and <\/span>I <\/span>look forward to further developing my skillset through the Fast Stream\u2019s learning and development offers, while hopefully building a strong network of <\/span>colleagues <\/span>within the Fast Stream who share a similar drive to addressing pertinent challenges in service of our society.<\/span><\/p>\n

For those similarly motivated, and who may also wish for a career path in the public sector, I would advise that you utilise the opportunities available to you as an undergraduate. Internships, placements, and extracurricular activities, such as those I\u2019ve mentioned within this article, can provide with you a heightened skillset far beyond what a degree may offer alone<\/span>,<\/span> and allow you to meet many inspirational people, just as I have done throughout my own journey. <\/span>I found that <\/span>this process, <\/span>despite its challenges and moments of stress, <\/span>truly helped uncover<\/span> my <\/span>sense of self. <\/span><\/p>\n

Within the Civil Service Fast Stream\u2019s assessment process, and for many other such schemes, what they are truly looking for <\/span>\u2013 <\/span>beyond any set of defined skills <\/span>\u2013<\/span> is to understand who you are, what <\/span>motivates<\/span> you, and, importantly, that you know this of yourself and can critically reflect upon it with confidence.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is it that drives you? What impact do you want to have on the world? What<\/span> kind of environment provides you with energy, rather than saps it away? Discovering answers to questions like these will instil within you a level of intrinsic motivation that remains steadfast through your own journey, and that will come across clearly in your responses to those evaluating you throughout your path to your chosen career.<\/span><\/p>\n

All articles posted on this blog give the views of the author(s), and not the position of the IPR, nor of the University of Bath.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kristian Williams, a former Policy Engagement Intern with the Institute for Policy Research, will be joining the Civil Service Fast Stream in Government Policy in September 2025. In this blog post, he writes about his journey to the programme. Before...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1742,"featured_media":2578,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[116,139,151,129,149],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-evidence-and-policymaking","category-ipr-internship","category-policy-engagement","category-uk-politics","category-young-people"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/iprblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/115\/2025\/02\/Blog-Images-1.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/iprblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/iprblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/iprblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/iprblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1742"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/iprblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/iprblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/iprblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/iprblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/iprblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/iprblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}