Bora, Junior Policy Analyst at the OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation

Bora Kim has graduated in International Security. Coming from South Korea, she is Junior Policy Analyst at the OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation in Paris. 

What is your role and main responsibilities? 

My main responsibilities include research / analysis, drafting and communication activities in support of the projects that I am part of. I work on two different streams of projects – country-specific and thematic-oriented. As regards the first, I contribute to the reviews of innovation policies and various projects in partnership with the EU. For the thematic project, my team works on Mission-oriented innovation policies (MOIP), which are, very simply put, co-ordinated policy packages that join efforts and knowledge to tackle mounting societal challenges. 

How did you secure this role? 

I secured this role by contacting the Division. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic had just started in my fourth semester at Sciences Po, and not many companies or organisations were hiring. However, I have always wanted to work at the OECD after my studies at Sciences Po, so I sent a round of cold emails to the addresses that I found on the OECD reports! Half of them replied and one team was interested in my profile, so I had an interview with this team. I am still working with the same team. 

What is the most fascinating and/or surprising aspect at your role?

There are many things that I find fascinating about my role. First, I am surrounded by brilliant colleagues. OECD is a large organisation with people with such diverse backgrounds and expertise, so I am always on the learning mode. People are also very engaging, so a simple talk over lunch or coffee can always be stimulating! 

Also, I work with and on a lot of country cases. For our work on Missions, we are currently analysing MOIPs in about 30 countries that aim to achieve Net Zero by 2030 or 2050. We engage with national stakeholders from governments, agencies, universities and companies and learn about different ways countries design their policies to meet the climate target. This helps me gain a general and broad understanding of innovation policies across different countries, which would not have been possible if I did not work at an international organisation. If of interest, you can learn more about our project here: https://www.oecd.org/sti/inno/mission-orientedpoliciesfornetzero.htm

How did your PSIA experience help you with the role? 

In one word, PSIA experience helped me to form a ‘multi-disciplinary’ point of view in analysing policies. Multi-disciplinarity nowadays is not an option but rather a requirement for many roles, especially if you are just starting your career. This does not mean that you need be an expert on every subject. It is the ability to have a systemic view of the problem you are addressing and to make links between different elements surrounding that problem. In that regard, PSIA was a perfect place where you can receive such training. The trainings at PSIA are designed to challenge yourself and trigger new thoughts, and I am grateful to have been part of PSIA for that. 

What advice would you give to others? 

The advice I would give to others is to constantly think of ways to build a story with different experiences you obtained throughout your career journey. This is an advice I keep giving myself too. I believe there is no linear path you can or have to take to reach a goal in your career. I sometimes fear making wrong choices – choices that are too distant from what I eventually want in my career – but during the past years I have learned that what genuinely matters is what you can make of those choices. As long as you stay interested in what you do and keep on challenging yourself, there is no time being wasted! 

• More about the Master in International Security
• More about the OECD