On 27 and 28 November, former British diplomat Ian Proud, who served in Thailand, Afghanistan and Russia, held a variety of events for students from the School of Modern Languages and Cultures and the History Department.
On 27 November, students from the School of Modern Languages and Cultures and the Department of History at Durham University participated in a foreign policy workshop under the guidance of former British diplomat Ian Proud. The workshop gave students an opportunity to experience a realistic team-based simulation of developing foreign policy ideas for UK ministers under significant time pressure.
Students created policies for the following questions:
How can we:
Students discussed the past, present, and future of these regions, assessed risks, generated intelligent ideas while looking for solutions to these complex problems, and gained insight into the world of diplomacy.
On 28 November, students from MLAC and the Department of History had career mentoring sessions with Ian Proud where they discussed the process for joining the Foreign Office via the Fast Stream and other recruitment routes, and explored ways to prepare and give themselves the best chance of success. On the same day, Ian Proud gave a Foreign Office careers talk in which he discussed a foreign office career, drawing on his personal experience. Ian demystified the lifestyle, outlined the highs and lows of diplomatic life, and set out the skills and behaviours that will stand students in good stead to survive and thrive. We hope that some of our students will choose diplomacy as their career path in the future!
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