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27.05.2021

Being a dual degree student

Each year since 2018, a handful of students are selected to be part of the dual Master's programme with the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy of the National University of Singapore.

The successful students complete their first year in Paris (Sciences Po) within the Master in European Affairs and finish their course in Singapore for the second year of the Masters. 

During this two-year period, they attend courses in both universities, participate in joint capstones, do internships during the summer, learn from each other, experience education systems and build professional networks in two different parts of the world.

We met the students who are finishing their studies in France and are about to fly to Asia.

You are students of the dual degree between the Sciences Po School of Public Affairs and the Lee Kuan Yew University School of Public Policy (LKYSPP). You are currently finishing your first year at Sciences Po in Paris. What were the highlights of this year?

Alexandre: Despite the inability to have in-person classes owing to the Covid-19 health crisis, Professors and faculty members made great efforts to ensure that we receive quality education. The most memorable class-related experience would be the scenario-based simulations we were involved in which allowed us to apply theoretical knowledge as well as meet with and receive quality advice from leading professionals in their respective fields. Additionally, outside of the classroom, fellow students were always willing to lend a helping hand to those in need of information. Although our year at Sciences Po was not what we had hoped for due to the pandemic, the efforts made on behalf of the faculty and fellow students made this year a memorable experience.

>Nathan: While it is difficult to speak of highlights in such times, the first part of the capstone project was definitely an enriching experience. Being able to conduct a survey on a topic that we were, for the most of us, not familiar with before starting this project, made us all learn extensively. The many conferences organized by Sciences Po, both on the Covid-19 pandemic and on various topics were another highlight of this year, allowing us to interact with respected professionals and researchers and to further develop our understanding of major fault lines of the globe during this year. 

What topic did you decide to work on in the framework of the capstone? What inspired you to work on the subject that you chose?

Group 1 (Alexandre, Nathan, Jo):

Our group decided to study the impact of inter-ethnic interactions between Asians and French natives in the context of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Owing to Covid-19, Asians have been the targets of verbal and physical attacks. While Americans in the US are known to be more prejudiced, it was somewhat surprising that such prejudice against Asians was on the rise in France. Due to the increased number of xenophobic attacks against Asians, or people perceived to be Asian, in France, it seemed important to investigate who displayed more xenophobic tendencies and for which reasons; and, for those who did not display such behaviors, whether their opinions and behaviours were informed by previous and continued interactions with the Asian community.

Group 2 (Gesihan, Ulrike)

Both of us being in France as migrants, we have personally experienced how the Coronavirus pandemic not only affects our social and student lives, but also our understanding of what it means to be mobile. Suddenly, regular trips ‘home’ to stock up on favourite foods or visit friends became impossible, forcing us to be more present in our host country, France. At the same time, however, worries about family members pulled one back mentally to the country of origin. For our capstone project, we want to explore these dynamics of mobility and identity during crises in more detail. More specifically, we choose to focus on migrant workers in ‘essential’ professions since this group may be facing these tensions more acutely by becoming indispensable to the host society.

Next year, you will be a student of LKYSPP in Singapore, for your second year. What do you expect from this experience?

Ulrike: I am personally very excited for the opportunity to study and live in a country that has become so successful in many dimensions in the past decades but does not necessarily emulate the European pathways to these achievements. As a fundamentally multi-ethnic society that lacks access to nearly all natural resources, Singapore has not only become a financial and trade hub, but also ranks 11th globally in terms of overall human development. After having studied social policy during my year at Sciences Po, I am looking forward to gaining insights into how such a different system can be equally successful (while also acknowledging its deficits) and to also understanding European policy better through this comparative perspective. I think these insights will be valuable for designing alternative developmental pathways that are socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable for many parts of the world.

Jo: In Singapore, I'm looking forward to deepening my knowledge on how the City of the Future has evolved during the post-war period with its innovative policies under the constraints it faces. Moreover, Singapore's openness and connectivity have contributed not only to its growth, but also to the regional development in Southeast Asia, where the world has become more engaged in recent years. I have no doubt that my second year would be fruitful in learning about Singapore's ways of dealing with global challenges. I will make every effort to take advantage of this opportunity to develop the necessary capabilities to address the global challenges we will confront in the post-pandemic world.

Gesihan: In China, people are quite familiar with an anecdote. In 1978, when Deng Xiaoping visited Singapore to see the tremendous achievements Lee Kuan Yew and his Singaporean people had made for their country since independence, Deng was so shocked that he decided to follow Lee’s step toward modernization. Later that year, China started its Reform and Opening-up. Since then, despite the asymmetrical size, China always considered itself as a humble student and Singapore as a mentor: “economic growth first”, market economy, authoritarian but meritocratic regime… Today, despite China’s rise to the world's second largest economy, the Singapore Model is still somewhat deemed as a key workbook for China’s bureaucrats at all levels. What can today’s China learn from Singapore? This is also a question left for me to explore for my entire second year of the Master at LKYSPP. At the municipal level, what is the solution for the “big city malaise”, i.e., overpopulation, traffic congestion, abnormal housing price, environmental deterioration, etc? At the national level, how to promote rule of law? How to mitigate as much as possible (or even eliminate?) conflicts among different ethnic groups? How to further consolidate the “authoritarianism+meritocracy” regime? Or in general, how to further embrace the world? I very much expect to have my own observations, thoughts and then answers in Singapore.

Testimonials collected from students Ulrike SENGSTSCHMID, Gesihan ZHANG, Jo TAMURA, Nathan LEFIEVRE and Alexandre THAM.

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