Diplomacy students had the chance to speak to the New Zealand High Commissioner to gain an insight into the practice of diplomacy.
Date: 3 February 2017
A group of BA Diplomacy students visited the New Zealand High Commission in central London on Friday 20 January.
A mixture of second and third year BA Diplomacy and International Relations and BA Diplomacy and Law students visited the New Zealand High Commission to gain insights into starting a career in the field of diplomacy.
Steven Curtis, Associate Professor of International Relations, said: “We found it a very stimulating visit, not least because the New Zealand High Commissioner Sir Lockwood Smith spoke to us about his experience of diplomacy and politics and gave the students some very sage advice about how to embark on careers in these fields.
“The students found it very enlightening to hear his views on diplomatic immunity and multiple accreditation, diplomats serving as ambassador to two or more countries simultaneously. By coincidence, Sir Lockwood Smith had just returned from a visit to Dublin where he is New Zealand's ambassador, in addition to being its high commissioner to the Court of St James’s.
“We also enjoyed the views from the 17th floor of New Zealand House,” he added. “By far the tallest building in the St James' area of London.”
BA Diplomacy students, who either specialise in Diplomacy and International Relations or Diplomacy and Law, visit two or three embassies each year as part of the core second-year module ‘Diplomacy Old and New’. This allows them to study how embassies operate in practice.
