Wick student tells of supportive role at Westminster
A young Wick man studying for a doctorate sat in the Westminster parliament to "support the Speaker".
Tomi Baikie attended the House of Commons as part of his studies for a doctorate in physics from the University of Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory.
His work has applications in renewable energy – particularly solar cells – which the team hope to make much more efficient.
The 24-year-old is in the third year of his PhD after graduating from St Andrews University in 2017 studying physics and mathematics.
"As part of my PhD, I had an opportunity to spend three months working in public policy, funded by Research Councils UK," Tomi said.
"I was selected to work with the education select committee in the Westminster parliament.
"Our job is to scrutinise government policy in education. This means we gather evidence and write evidence-based reports on topics ranging from early years education and child protection to high school, apprenticeships and universities."
Tomi stressed that he was not working for the government but for parliament, the role of which is to scrutinise the government and hold it to account.
The select committee will make recommendations which, he says, "hopefully the government will listen to and improve on".
However, soon after Tomi started the internship, Covid-19 began to impact the day-to-day activities of how parliament operated.
"We had to change a system which is renowned for not changing very quickly," he said.
"Most MPs were asked to video-conference into the chamber, and most had already gone back to their constituencies as Westminster had become something of a hotbed for the virus.
"The Speaker [of the House of Commons] asked for volunteers to come in to help with the smooth running of the House."
Tomi considered himself to be at relatively low risk of contracting Covid-19 and was happy to cycle around London instead of taking the tube.
By volunteering, it also meant that those with families or other commitments could stay safely at home.
"I was asked to sit in the chamber and liaise between the media team who manage the video conference and the Speaker who controls what is going on in the chamber," he said.
"It was quite a strange situation – one minute a student, and the next sitting in the chamber of the House of Commons, advising the Speaker. It was also very surreal, walking around an empty London and an empty Palace of Westminster.
"The job would involve quite long shifts, and the seats in the House are incredibly uncomfortable.
"But at times it got quite exciting, particularly when we had to come up with solutions and make quick decisions."
Tomi says that now "hybrid proceedings" have finished it's unlikely he will be asked back in and so it's back to regular student life.
