Oliver Sanderson

MPP Class of 2009

How did your time at the Hertie School prepare you for the career that you are now pursuing?

The economic classes at the Hertie School were never designed to make all of us economists. However, they did provide those students without prior background in economics with a solid foundation which prepared me very well for using several economic terminologies in my current job. I use such skills on a daily basis and am indebted to the Hertie School for the crash course. Some professional development classes and the use of software for analysis and modeling have been useful.

Where did you do an internship? How did this experience enhance your studies and/or prepare you for your career path?

At the Energy Charter Secretariat in Brussels. This was useful as I was able to tie together work I had done prior to Hertie, the Internship, and the elective courses I took at Hertie. The salient focus was the functioning of energy markets and regional or global energy policy. These synergies helped me consolidate knowledge and, ultimately, gain access into the energy business consultancy I work for today.

How did your studies at the Hertie School prepare you to work at the interface of the private, public and civil society sectors and/or to make transitions between these sectors during your career?

The vast majority of my work is in the private sector and will likely remain so for the coming years. Still, the experience gained at the Hertie School has enabled me to interpret the impact of public policy on the private sector, most importantly the impact of policy on the functioning of commodities markets. Environmental and tax policies are crucial to sound analysis of energy markets and my experiences at the Hertie School certainly shortened the learning curve for the professional application of this knowledge.