Spotlight on Rayhaan Lorgat, IGP Research Intern

Prosperity to me means more than just how much money you have. It is a much broader aspect of ones ability to live a fulfilling and flourishing life where having a good quality of life and access to services such as education, healthcare and opportunities are key.

What interested you about the internship opportunity at the Institute for Global Prosperity (IGP) and what were you doing before you joined us?

Prior to joining the IGP, I had recently completed my Masters in Economics at UCL in September 2020 after completing my dissertation. Before UCL, I completed a BSc in Economics at City University of London from 2016 to 2019. The research internship opportunity stood out for me as it was a great opportunity to gain experience working in a research environment and learn how to analyse and present research, draft blog posts, policy briefs and longer pieces of writing, how to present research and deliver a clear and convincing story, engage with external stakeholders including government officials and policy-makers.

Can you tell us about your experience at the IGP and what you have been working on?

The research internship has been a fantastic experience, so much so I was happy to extend my internship for another 3 months. I have joined many projects such as the Rebuilding Prosperity Campaign, Good Life Euston project, World Economic Forum strategic intelligence maps and the Participation Gap work with innovation districts such as the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Being able to experience many different projects and learning new skills such as NVivo coding has been enjoyable.

What have you enjoyed most or are most proud to have worked on?

I have enjoyed working on a project with the World Economic Forum (WEF) which involved researching different themes and literature on inequality to write out brief paragraphs which will form part of the WEF strategic intelligence maps. Equally, I am most proud to have worked on the Rebuilding Prosperity campaign carrying out tasks such as drafting campaign summaries, drafting tweets for social media, logistical planning for events and to have co-written the IGP’s response to the 2021 Budget.

What does prosperity mean to you?

Prosperity to me means more than just how much money you have. It is a much broader aspect of ones ability to live a fulfilling and flourishing life where having a good quality of life and access to services such as education, healthcare and opportunities are key.

What are your plans for after the internship?

My plans after the internship is to secure economist related roles within the public sector such as the civil service, hoping to get into the field of policy-making which has always been my long term goal and ambition. The internship has helped me enormously to gain experience in research carrying out tasks such as writing policy briefs, literature reviews as well as a wide range of tasks which will stand me in good stead for the future.

Do you have a recent book, film or podcast that you would recommend?

I watched a film called ‘The Mauritanian’ based on a true story of an individual who had been wrongly accused and faced harrowing experiences of torture, yet he was available to show forgiveness to his perpetrators. I believe this a great example on how to live one’s life and is inspiring to me.

Where is your favourite place?

I don’t have a specific favourite place but I do like Dubai, probably because of the warm weather and beaches. Unfortunately, we do not get much of that here in London!