What's a career in research like? - PPMI (Round 1)

Public Policy and Management Institute (PPMI)

PPMI is a leading European research and policy analysis centre. The Institute helps public sector and civil society leaders from all over the world by providing actionable insights, developing a shared understanding amongst key stakeholders, and enabling policy implementation to bring about positive and lasting change. Since 2001, the Institute's research and advice has continuously contributed to the improvement of numerous public policies in the EU.

-          Kristupas Pribuišis, Junior Researcher at PPMI

After finishing the International Politics programme at Leiden University, I had a hard time figuring out what job I would be suitable for given my then-current skillset. Many of the options seemed intimidating and/or out of my reach.  Luckily, only a few months after graduating, I managed to find a path that was on track with what I had been doing at university – conducting desk-research, writing papers and gathering as well as analysing data. I have chosen research because it is something that I believe I can do rather well. Likewise, I would consider it to be something that many political scientists from Leiden University could do rather well too. I would like to talk about why doing applied research is rewarding and provide some insights on how a researcher’s daily routine looks like.