Class of 2017: Lukas Audickas

All this week we are celebrating the achievements of some of our students who are graduating in the class of 2017. Lukas Audickas, graduating today from the Department of Government, tells us his story.

Lukas Audickas (BA International Relations) landed his dream job in the House of Commons library – carrying out research and providing impartial advice to politicians from all parties.

Having spent his placement year there, during which Lukas published papers on UK election statistics and ethnic minorities in politics, he is thrilled to have been offered a permanent post. As he explained: “I would pay to have that job. It’s the opportunity to be in an academic environment, but to be exposed to a real democratic situation.”

Lukas was one of four students who worked on a Challenge Project looking at how effectively Essex County Council has implemented the Care Act 2014. He also completed extra modules in his degree to gain the AQM (Applied Quantitate Methods) qualification.

Lukas threw himself into student life – he worked in the bar; helped the Students’ Union improve their student satisfaction survey, through an Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme (UROP) project; and as a Residents’ Assistant supported fellow students living on campus.

He was also a Frontrunner for the UK Data Archive, working on a pilot project to link and improve the visual presentation of data.