Gavriel Efstratiou

My work experience in the governmental sector and domestic politics in Cyprus has elevated my knowledge and interest in this field. I recently completed a traineeship at the European Parliament Office in Cyprus which has been instrumental in elevating the skillset in the relevant field. Moreover, my previous internship at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Cyprus allowed me to enhance my organisational and time management skills through my duty to deliver official diplomatic statements for the Department of Asia and Oceania. Besides the written duties, I was assigned as part of Ministry team responsible for welcoming a Japanese delegation for official discussions. Furthermore, my internship at the Cypriot Parliament involved participating in Parliamentary committees, effectively taking notes and providing advisory assistance to form responses, improving debate skills.

Moreover, I recently completed my Masters on Security Studies (MSc) at the University College London (UCL), graduating with a Merit degree classification. My postgraduate studies helped me improve critical thinking, organisational skills and communication skills through frequent interaction and teamwork projects in weekly seminars, as well as strict deadlines. Likewise, I used primary and secondary research techniques to complete my thesis on the strategies adopted and the extent Cypriot foreign policy shapes EU foreign and security policies, using methods such as document analysis and interviews.

In 2018, I graduated from the University of Nottingham with a 2.1 in BA (Honours) Politics and International Relations. Having conducted over 15 different assignments during my university path helped me to improve my writing and argumentation skills. For example, I researched the Republic of Cyprus’ policy on the migration crisis and analyzed the actions of other European states on this issue. Finally, I was able to develop negotiation skills though debates like the debate on the migration policy proposals of the EU, reflecting the position Cyprus to support my argument.