{"id":1966,"date":"2025-06-13T14:34:16","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T18:34:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/npsia\/?post_type=cu_story&p=1966"},"modified":"2025-06-13T16:03:25","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T20:03:25","slug":"filip-prentas","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/npsia\/story\/filip-prentas\/","title":{"rendered":"From Policy Simulations to Real-World Strategy: Filip Prentas\u2019 NPSIA Story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n From Policy Simulations to Real-World Strategy: Filip Prentas\u2019 NPSIA Story\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

When Filip Prentas immigrated to Canada from Greece at the age of 12, he was leaving behind a country grappling with the aftershocks of a financial crisis. That early exposure to the real-world impacts of global economic policy stuck with him\u2014and eventually inspired his path to NPSIA.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cI wanted to understand the forces that were shaping my life,\u201d he says. \u201cTrade and economics became a natural interest.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

After earning his undergraduate degree in political science and economics at UBC, Filip chose NPSIA\u2019s International Economic Policy (IEP) stream to dig deeper into the world of trade negotiations, global commerce, and policy analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His curiosity led him not only into classrooms, but into the real world. Through NPSIA\u2019s co-op program, he landed a placement at Global Affairs Canada in the Trade Negotiations Branch, where he worked on digital trade policy\u2014an area focused on removing barriers for services and commerce conducted online. \u201cI didn\u2019t expect to end up in digital trade, but I loved it,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a new and abstract area of trade, and I was lucky to be learning about it right at the frontier.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, Filip is transitioning to a new role within Global Affairs, joining the Trade Commissioner Service to work on science, technology, and innovation partnerships. While he\u2019s excited about the opportunity, he credits his previous team with laying the foundation for his career. \u201cThat experience\u2014and the mentorship I received\u2014was instrumental.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At NPSIA, one formative moment came during a policy simulation hosted by the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, where Filip and his classmates presented research to a professional audience. \u201cIt was the first time I applied what I\u2019d learned in a real-world setting,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd the response from industry was incredible\u2014they even asked for a copy of our work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Filip is also quick to credit the impact of courses like trade negotiations with Phil Rourke and the trade policy with Professor Meredith Lilly, which he says helped him sharpen his writing, analysis, and real-world application of policy. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cThose courses trained me for exactly the kind of work I\u2019m doing now.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

As he wraps up his degree, Filip is focused on continuing to build his career in international trade and policy\u2014and maybe taking a well-earned trip to Japan. \u201cThe last few years have been a whirlwind,\u201d he reflects. \u201cBut NPSIA gave me the tools, the network, and the confidence to pursue this path. I\u2019m ready for what\u2019s next.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Filip Prentas immigrated to Canada from Greece at the age of 12, he was leaving behind a country grappling with the aftershocks of a financial crisis. That early exposure to the real-world impacts of global economic policy stuck with him\u2014and eventually inspired his path to NPSIA. \u201cI wanted to understand the forces that were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":228,"featured_media":1968,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_story_type":[78],"cu_story_tag":[],"class_list":["post-1966","cu_story","type-cu_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","cu_story_type-2025-spring-grad-profiles"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/npsia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/1966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/npsia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/npsia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cu_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/npsia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/228"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/npsia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/1966\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1969,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/npsia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/1966\/revisions\/1969"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/npsia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/npsia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_story_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/npsia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_type?post=1966"},{"taxonomy":"cu_story_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/npsia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_tag?post=1966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}