|
|
|
|
5 scholarships to students of Indian Civil Services
|
New Delhi, March 16, 2008: The Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP), under the National University of Singapore (NUS) today announced five prestigious scholarships for outstanding candidates from the Indian Civil Services. The scholarships branded ‘LKYSPP Leadership in Governance’ are the first of its kind offered by any university to Indian students. These scholarships aim to train a new generation of globally-minded Asian policymakers who would embrace the best practices of both the Eastern and Western policy models by studying at the most premier institutes in Asia and the West.
“An enormous transformation is underway in India. The country is in a period of economic and cultural renaissance,” said Professor Kishore Mahbubani, Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy who has served two times as Singapore’s Ambassador to the UN and as a President of the UN Security Council. “It is vitally important that in this phase, governance grows in sync with the economy. In order to ensure this, the country will need highly skilled leaders in public policy who can significantly raise the standards of governance and in so doing improve millions of lives and transform India as well as Asia.”
He added: “The LKYSPP leadership in Governance scholarship would provide the candidate a unique dual advantage. The qualifying student will not only receive education at one of the best public policy schools in Asia but if he or she does well, then he will also be able to study and spend time at some of the best universities in the West that we partner with, which includes Columbia University in New York, London School of Economics and Political Science and Sciences Po in Paris. So, when the student graduates, they get two degrees and both are fully paid for. It is a very good deal.”
Three scholarships which amount to approximately S$ 80,000 each are for a two-year Masters in Public Policy (MPP) for young professionals and two scholarships which amount to S$ 50,000 each are for a one-year Masters in Public Administration (MPA) for mid-career officers. Each scholarship covers all expenses including tuition, boarding, lodging, stipend and airfare.
“It used to be that Asians wanting a top-notch public policy education would head west,” said Kenneth Paul Tan, Assistant Dean and Professor at the LKYSPP. “However, they would often find it difficult to apply the western models of learning to their home realities. We have remedied that at the LKYSPP. We think that while it is valuable to learn from the West, it is also essential to understand what has worked in Asia.”
Dr Tan added “Singapore is one of the best public policy laboratories in Asia. We want to share what we have learnt with the rest of the Asian nations and especially with India.”
“Students at LKYSPP really value the exposure to the Asian experience of development that we specialize in,” said Dr Tan. “Apart from learning from fellow Asian students, the case studies we teach are closer to home and therefore more relevant. When someone from New Delhi learns about how Bangkok or Singapore developed versus how Boston developed, it is a much more comparable experience.”
“Over the past few years our countries have built deeper linkages through forging closer and more enduring ties and co-operation in various fields,” said Mr Calvin Eu, Singapore’s High Commissioner to India. “We are deeply committed to participating and supporting the growth and development of India. We believe that LKYSPP scholarships in governance will help contribute in that process.”
The mission of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy is to provide opportunities for the education and training of the next generation of Asian policymakers and leaders, with the objective of raising the standards of governance in the region and, in so doing contribute to the transformation of Asia.
About The Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP)
The Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, under the National University of Singapore (NUS) was established in 2004 with the mission of educating and training the next generation of Asian policymakers and leaders. Situated in Singapore, a neutral observation ground to witness the historic rise of Asia, the School is thus in the right place at the right time. Although the school’s orientation is Asian, a significant proportion of the faculty is Western academics from institutions such as Harvard, MIT, and Stanford who have deep knowledge of both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. In July 2007, LKYSPP joined an elite club, the Global Public Policy Network (GPPN) that consists of only three other public policy schools in the world: Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, London School of Economics and the Institut d’ Etudes Politiques de Paris (Scinces Po).
|
|
|
|
