Trinity term, the third term in the Oxford academic year, officially ends today and students across town are preparing for their summer break.

The MPP students at the Blavatnik School have concluded their final exams last week, and this last week they have been focusing on the final Policy Challenge on ‘healthcare reform’, a topic tackled during their first week at the Blavatnik School last September. By revisiting the same topic after nine months of MPP programme, the students could now draw on what they have learnt in the classroom to look for new approaches and informed solutions.

This week there was also the opportunity to celebrate. In the wonderful setting of the Ashmolean, Britain’s oldest museum, students, faculty and staff got together for the ‘End of Course’ dinner.

Now the students will be making the final preparations for their Summer Project placement, the last part of the MPP where they spend the summer working on a specific policy issue in an organisation or in the public sector. This year our students are travelling to over 20 countries, from Ukraine and Canada to Australia and Rwanda. Closer to home, the UK Cabinet Office will welcome six students to work on challenges such as increasing the efficiency of government services and analysing the impact of devolution proposals. Others will be working on issues including capacity building in the Northern municipalities of Kosovo, developing a monitoring and evaluation framework for the Kenyan AIDS Council and analysis of the cost-effectiveness of German and Swiss development aid.

“This is a chance for our students to contribute to the work of diverse organisations and further good governance around the world - the work that some students from last year’s MPP class did during their summer project is still adding to the policy debate. We’re looking forward to hearing from our host organisations and students over the course of the summer about their exciting projects” said Anne Currie, the School’s adviser in public policy careers.