Warwick Economics alumna and former undergraduate blogger, Isabel Higginson shares her experience as a Mental Health First Aider as part of Mental Health Awareness month.

Isabel graduated from Warwick Economics in 2019 with a BSc in Economics and successfully secured a place at Kraft Heinz on their Management Trainee Scheme. Since then she has gone on to work in their sales division, where she had the opportunity to become a Mental Health First Aider. As part of this role, Isabel was involved in a two day training course which focused on spotting warning signs of mental ill health and learning how to support and listen to those struggling.

In the following extract, Isabel tells us how thankful she is for this opportunity and what it has taught her over the past year as a Mental Health First Aider. She also provides some useful resources and advice for students during difficult times:

"I’m so grateful for how much this opportunity taught me about looking after my own mental health and supporting others with theirs (especially considering the difficulties the pandemic has brought). Mental health really is as important as physical health. It’s also emphasised to me the importance of having conversations around mental health to continue to break the stigmas attached.

As part of Mental Health Awareness Month, I’ve been reflecting on my own mental well-being and how it’s changed during the past few years. Although I absolutely loved my time at university & my current job, it’s common to have difficult moments. I found exam season during university a very difficult time as I would feel very anxious before exams. This past year at work, I’ve felt very drained at times, which has been made worse with having to work from home. When working from home, my personal and working time can easily merge, making it hard for my brain to switch off; I can imagine it’s very difficult studying for exams during the pandemic.

The past year, routines helped me a lot in a world where I couldn’t have routines as we were going in and out of lockdown. For example, going to the gym before work but also more fun traditions such as fun food Friday where I get a takeaway for lunch & payday doughnuts where I have doughnuts for breakfast on the last Friday of every month. These little routines motivate me throughout the day and ensure I’m getting out of the house during the daytime.

I’ve also dealt better with the ups & downs of life knowing that it’s ok not to feel ok. There’ll be days where I won’t be 100% productive and that’s okay. I hope everyone is doing well during this time and if not, please reach out to friends, tutors or mental health resources."

Here is a link that includes some useful resources for university students.

Related links:

• Mental Health Foundation - Awareness Week 2021
• Wellbeing Support Services

We are delighted to announce that Makhtar Diop, a graduate of the University of Warwick’s Department of Economics, has been appointed as the Managing Director and Executive Vice President to head the International Finance Corporation (IFC), an arm of the World Bank Group, with effect from 1 March 2021. The IFC advances economic development and improves the lives of people by encouraging growth of the private sector in developing countries.

Makhtar studied for an MSc in Quantitative Development Economics at the University of Warwick, graduating in 1995. He is a recognised opinion leader in development and has been named one of the 100 most influential Africans in the world.

A Senegalese national and former Minister of Economy and Finance, Makhtar Diop recently served as the World Bank’s Vice President for Infrastructure, where he led the Bank’s global efforts to build effective infrastructure in developing and emerging markets that supports inclusive and sustainable growth. In this role, Makhtar oversaw the Bank’s critical work across energy and transport sectors, digital development, bringing more quality infrastructure services to communities through public-private partnerships.

Prior to that, Makhtar served for six years as the World Bank’s Vice President for the Africa Region, where he oversaw a major expansion of work in Africa and the delivery of a record-breaking $70 billion in commitments. A passionate advocate for Africa and sustainable development globally, Makhtar led efforts aimed at increasing access to affordable and sustainable energy and promoting an enabling environment for innovation and technology adoption.

Makhtar served twice as a World Bank Country Director - for Brazil and for Kenya, Eritrea, and Somalia. He has a strong grasp of the public/private sector interface, started his career in the banking sector, and has first-hand experience in leading structural reforms in support of the private sector, including in his position as the Minister of Economy and Finance of Senegal. He worked as an economist in the International Monetary Fund and he served as the World Bank Director for Finance, Private Sector & Infrastructure in the Latin America and Caribbean region.

Professor Jeremy Smith, Head of Department of Economics said:

“Makhtar is remembered as one of the brightest students on the MSc Quantitative Development Economics programme who was passionate about development economics and wished to pursue it further in his professional career. He kept in close touch with his MSc course tutors (Tony Addison, Alan Roe) who visited Makhtar at the World Bank in 2018 when he was the World Bank’s President for Infrastructure. As one of the most distinguished graduates from Warwick Economics in recent decades, I’d like to congratulate Makhtar on this achievement and wish him success in a new and important role.”

Jeff Round, who was the MSc Quantitative Development Economics Director at the time commented:

“I recall that Makhtar Diop came to us in 1993 with very strong recommendations. To further his career development, Makhtar wanted to gain rigorous training in economics and quantitative methods which Warwick was able to offer. But he also benefited by studying alongside a strong cohort of fellow students. He fulfilled all our expectations and it is not the slightest surprise to me that he has done so well in his chosen career at the World Bank.”

Based on the World Bank press release - see here.

We caught up with Aneesah Sarwar (BSc Economics, 2019), who currently works as a graduate analyst at Barclays UK. We heard that Aneesah had started, with five other graduates, a new podcast and we wanted to ask her a few questions about this enterprise and about her life and work since graduating.

Can you tell us what you have been up to since graduating from Warwick?

I graduated from Warwick in 2019 with a BSc degree in economics. After completing an internship at Barclays at the end of my second year, I was offered a place on their graduate programme and have been working there ever since graduating. Whilst at Barclays I took part in a social intrapreneurship challenge which was all about being an entrepreneur within a large organisation to tackle a social problem in a way that benefits the consumer, the company and society at large. Through this challenge, I met five other recent graduates that were also passionate about solving the problem identified by The Alison Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship. One in three entrepreneurs in the UK are female, which represents £250 billion of new value that could be added to the UK economy if women started and scaled new businesses at the same rate as men. The review has identified ways of unlocking this untapped talent and the team and I took it upon ourselves to help close this gap and in doing so, the podcast and online community Her Own Boss was born.

How is Her Own Boss helping young professional women?

In order to bridge the early careers confidence gap, Her Own Boss is a podcast and online community designed to help young women find their inner entrepreneur, by exposing them to inspirational role models and providing practical advice for personal and professional development. The episodes explore the stories and experiences of female entrepreneurs from a wide range of industries, covering aspects of entrepreneurship like side hustles, venture capital and start-ups. Listeners can also hear useful tips and tricks in the minisodes where the expert mentors share advice in a bite-sized format. You can listen to the podcast on Anchor, Spotify and Apple Podcasts and all other major podcast platforms. Be sure to subscribe and follow Her Own Boss on Instagram and LinkedIn to hear the latest episodes as soon as they come out.

Explain to us the process of creating and publishing new episodes?

As the team’s Content Lead, I plan the main episodes and minisodes for the podcast. One of my key roles is researching different topics and industries and putting together the plans for each episode to ensure we have a wide variety of content across each season. In order to add value to our audience, it’s important for me to understand listeners’ interests and habits, as well as the early-careers and entrepreneurship space. This helps me identify topics and potential guests that would be perfect for the podcast. Then it’s all about reaching out and inviting people onto the podcast, followed by engaging in content discussions with them. As a team, we then record, edit and distribute the episodes across all our channels for our listeners to enjoy.

What are your favourite episodes?

It’s incredibly hard to choose my favourite episodes because I enjoy every single one. However, one of my favourites is definitely ‘Feminism, fast fashion & sustainable entrepreneurship with Josephine Philips’, which covered the green agenda and environmental sustainability – a topic I’m personally very interested in and passionate about. Having recently graduated university, Josephine has recently launched her green start-up and explained how the fast fashion industry impacts sustainability, feminism and human rights, as well as discussing her own journey to make both her business and personal life more sustainable. I personally love hearing from all the amazing women like Josephine that join the podcast; it leaves me feeling inspired and ready to grasp every opportunity life throws my way. Other episodes have covered entrepreneurship within academia, women in gaming and STEM. These are such interesting industries that I might not otherwise have exposure to, so I find it fascinating to learn more about them by listening to the guests’ experiences and insights.

What have you learnt personally?

I’ve personally found the minisodes so useful for my development. In particular, Vanessa Vallely OBE, founder and CEO of WeAreTheCity, joined us for an episode on how to kickstart your network, which highlighted how to identify who you need to network with, how to approach them and how to keep those relationships thriving. I started using her tips in my professional career and I can see the difference it’s making already! The minisodes have also covered topics like how to overcome imposter syndrome, how to present yourself with confidence, how to create your own career path and much more. Our feedback has shown that our minisodes are not only useful for both students and recent graduates, but also for people wanting to develop in their careers.

How did your experiences at Warwick help you in your career?

Whilst at Warwick I was involved in the Warwick Economics Summit and joined the team in my very first month of starting at Warwick. From starting as a Social Events team member to then leading the Social Events team as a Coordinator in the exec team, I then decided to step it up a notch and take on the role as overall Summit Coordinator. It was a vast amount of responsibility and commitment that challenged me to develop skills such as strategic thinking, communication, time management and leadership, all of which are vital skills in the workplace and beyond. The experience meant that I had both the confidence and ability to seek out and successfully take on additional responsibilities on my graduate programme, which is allowing me to develop further professionally and excel in my career.

What advice would you share with current students and early career professionals?

Focus on yourself and your own goals. You may feel the pressure to conform to what everyone around you is doing but remember that everyone is unique and can create their own path so don’t worry too much about what other people are doing, whether it’s related to studying, societies, socialising or careers. Figure out what works for you and what you want in life and just focus on that.

Her Own Boss - Selection of Episodes and Minisodes

• How to set goals with Niamh Crawford-Walker, 21 December 2020 – Listen now.
• How to succeed in job interviews with Sophie Miller, 14 December 2020 – Listen now.
• How to build your personal brand with Mary Agbesanwa, 30 November 2020 - Listen now.
• Women in gaming: representing the other 50% with Jay & Poornima, 13 November 2020 - Listen now.
• How to overcome imposter syndrome with Sonya Barlow, 9 November 2020 - Listen now.
• How to speak up against micro-aggressions with Hannah Awonuga, 19 October - Listen now.
• How to kickstart your network with Vanessa Vallely OBE, 11 September 2020 - Listen now
• Finding confidence throughout your career with Kate Bache, 3 July 2020 - Listen now.

If you would like to take part in the podcasts, please contact Aneesah via her LinkedIn profile or the Her Own Boss Instagram page.

About Aneesah Sarwar

Aneesah Sarwar is a graduate analyst at Barclays UK. During her time at Warwick, Aneesah volunteered as a WES Summit Coordinator and helped to organise their 18th edition of the Warwick Economics Summit. Aneesah studied BSc Economics between 2016-2019.

We are delighted to report that Warwick Economics alumna (BSc Economics, Politics and International Studies, 2006) has been selected as one of Financial News’s 2020 ‘Top 25 Rising Stars of Asset Management in Europe’.

Caroline Escott, Senior Investment Manager at RPMI Railpen, was picked by Financial News 2020 as one of the 25 brightest and up-and coming talent in the investment section in Europe. This was Caroline’s second success in the last twelve months as she also won Investment Week’s ‘Investment Woman of the Year 2019’ award – reported by us in January 2020.

Her profile, published in Financial News – Meet the 25 Rising Stars of Asset Management in Europe describes her impressive career to date, from her internship for David Willetts MP to her work in research and public policy roles connected to sustainability and fund management. Her most recent position was at the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, one of the UK’s largest investor groups, where she led its public policy work on investment and stewardship. She also led the organisation’s work on diversity and inclusion.

We asked Caroline about her success and she said:

“It was a real privilege to make this list – particularly alongside so many incredible and inspirational industry colleagues. I think the list showcases the growing diversity within asset management and I was also particularly pleased to note a strong showing from fellow responsible investment practitioners; our sector is becoming increasingly important as policymakers and companies consider how the flows of private capital can influence corporate behaviour on issues like climate change, human rights and workforce wellbeing.”

In September Caroline joined RPMI Railpen as Senior Investment Manager to lead the £30bn scheme’s active ownership, corporate governance and engagement strategy. She also sits on the board of trustees of the Standard Life Master Trust and is one of the youngest pension trustees in the UK.

We also asked Caroline to tell us about her new role and she commented:

“I’m now 8 weeks into my role leading the Active Ownership work at RPMI Railpen which, with £30bn of assets under management, is one of the UK’s largest pension schemes. I am responsible for ensuring we act as a responsible steward of this £30bn, working with portfolio firms to improve their corporate governance, fully take account of all material financial risks and opportunities – including environmental and social challenges – and thereby protecting and enhancing the value of our members’ savings.”

It was an unusual start to a new job because of the pandemic and Caroline started to work remotely from day one:

“I have onboarded “virtually” which has gone smoothly but it still feels a little strange not having yet gone into the office, or shaken hands with my team! Happily, my colleagues have been extremely welcoming and the culture and attitude is exactly how I had hoped it would be: talented and committed experts who have a real sense of mission and want to do the right thing for our members.”

Caroline has this message to the current students of the Department:

“You can do so many different things with a Warwick Economics degree, there is a world of possible choices out there and I know that even my undergraduate class alone has gone on to do some fascinating things!”

We have invited Caroline to speak to our students as part of the new Careers in Economics Webinar Series 2020-21. Details of the event to be published shortly.