Lucie Goulet interviewed Yolande Bouka as she was preparing to relocate to Canada. They discussed how Yolande has built a rare career bridging academia and policy. The security analyst talked about what she learnt growing up a child of the world and what her own children have taught her.
Read MoreYou are a specialist energy and resources lawyer at Sydney Law School. What does it entail?
I conduct specialised research and teach about the legal issues that affect the energy and resources sectors globally. My particular research focus is on renewable energy law and the legal issues surrounding the development and commercialisation of energy storage. I teach our postgraduate students across a broader range of areas including oil and gas law, mining law, electricity law, project finance, renewable energy law and legal issues affecting emerging technologies. I also teach tort law (civil wrongs) to our first year students in the Law School.
Read MoreWhat do you do as Assistant Director, PreGraduate School and Career Development at Washington University in St Louis?
At the Career Center at Washington University in St. Louis, we support students and alumni as they transform their passions, education, and skills into purposeful career paths by teaching lifelong career development strategies and by connecting our diverse students, alumni, and employers. My particular focus is coaching students who are passionate about issues that relate to policy, advocacy, diplomacy, international affairs, development, and relief. I also specialise in graduate school discernment, application, and success.
Read MoreYou define yourself as an expert on communications, technology around the world, and its international politics and global history. What does that mean exactly?
I am really interested in talking about putting current technology developments in a broader historical perspective. I think that very often in the news when we hear that a particular social media application was very influential in a particular protest or particular uprising it feels like it’s a brand new thing. I've had the opportunity to go back and look at historical archives and at past research on the telephone and the telegraph when they were brand new.
Read MoreWhat do you do as Lecturer in International History at the University of Strathclyde?
There are a number of different aspects to my work. As a lecturer, I teach various classes at undergraduate and postgraduate level. These include the Cold War, European Integration, and Modern Europe in the Twentieth Century. Teaching history to incredibly bright and enthusiastic students is great fun, as no lecture or seminar is ever the same. Students are eager to engage with historical debates and to acquire the historical knowledge that gives them a better understanding of current affairs.
Read MoreYou’re a Senior Research Associate at the University of Ottawa. What does that entail?
I handle a suite of projects addressing on-going conflicts in the Middle East and South Asia. There are three main components to my job: facilitation, operations and research.
Read MoreYou run Unspoken Assumptions, a website “where history and foreign policy meet”. Why did you decide to create your own outlet rather than write for a third party?
I’m really interested in how events of the past inform many foreign policy issues or problems today. It seemed to me there is often a division between history and current affairs which doesn’t make sense. For example, you can’t fully understand the current situation in Afghanistan without having some knowledge of the history between that country and Britain. While there are a lot of outlets to write about foreign policy or history, there are few places where you can write about both. Hence, Unspoken Assumptions.
Read MoreYou are currently a Services Coordinator for the Refugee Services Office of the state of Utah (USA). What does that entail?
Serving as the Women’s Services Coordinator for the Refugee Services Office has allowed me to work on empowerment programming for refugee women and girls that have been resettled into Utah. In this position, I develop asset-based community programming, pair with community partners to maximise capacity-building efforts, and work on gender inclusive policy efforts.
Read MoreWhat do you do as Research Fellow at the Center for International and European Studies (CIES) at Kadir Has University in Istanbul (Turkey)?
At the moment, since my main goal is to complete my doctoral studies in 2015, I am not a member of the core team. Instead, I try to support the CIES through my network and doctoral research. Previously, my position was more demanding of my time. I was responsible for conducting research, writing grants to international donor agencies and organising events on foreign policy issues.
Read MoreYou are in the final year of a PhD focusing on the experience of young people who have fled conflict. What does it entail?
My PhD focuses on the lives of 40 young people who have fled conflict or persecution and are now seeking asylum or living as refugees in the UK. I interviewed young people from countries such as Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia about their experiences of fleeing their home country, travelling to the UK and seeking asylum here.
Read MoreYou are currently a PhD candidate at the London School of Economics (LSE). What does that entail?
I am a PhD candidate in International Relations, affiliated with the Centre for the Study of Human Rights. I am working on a dissertation that looks at the politics of international law and diplomacy in the Middle East. In particular, I am looking at international human rights treaty ratification in Middle Eastern signatory states (examining when and why Middle East states have ratified various UN human rights treaties and the compliance issues that have followed).
Read MoreYou’re a member of the NATO young leaders working group. What does that entail and how did you get there?
A friend sent the advert for the NATO working group to me and I applied through an open competition to the Atlantic Council (USA). It’s been a great experience, working with an initial group of 15 individuals from other member states on a report and recommendations about the future of NATO. We met first in Washington D.C. for an intense three days of work in the spring, then again in Brussels to present our work to the Secretary General, and finally, this September, we were able to attend the Summit in Newport, Wales, with a larger group of young leaders.
Read MoreYou are an Emeritus Professor of International Education. What does that entail?
Emeritus means retired but still holding the title of Professor, as recognition of a successful career and still being associated with the University.
Read MoreYou currently work as an associate professor at Iowa State University's Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication. What does that entail?
University work usually entails three areas: teaching, research, and service. I teach electronic-media, international-communication and political-communication courses to our undergraduate and master’s students, who are majoring in journalism, advertising, or public relations. As part of my teaching duties, I also serve as the faculty adviser of the university’s student-run TV station, ISUtv. In my research, I get to further explore my academic and professional interests, by conducting studies in the areas of international and political communication.
Read MoreWhat do you do as a course lecturer with DiploFoundation?
I co-lecture an online course on public diplomacy, give face-to-face negotiation skills training to DiploFoundationMasters' students enrolled in a blended learning Master in Contemporary Diplomacy programme offered in cooperation with the University of Malta, and guest lecture on public diplomacy for the online course on E-Diplomacy. In addition, I have given face-to-face workshops on Diplomatic Drafting, Diplomatic Reporting in the Internet Era, Negotiation Skills and Public Diplomacy through DiploFoundation’s partnerships with various Ministries of Foreign Affairs.
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