MY WORK
Research Project |
The role of Singapore's public service in its economic development
During my internship, my major task was to work on a research project about the the role of Singapore's public service in its economic development over the past 50 years. Singapore has long been notable for its effective public service. Even though some of the policy initatives are difficult to be transposed to other countries, the ideas (such as innovative thinking, being able to think forward and adapt to its development needs) are still of referential importance to developing countries worldwide. In this project, I delve into the challenges and opportunities facing Singapore in each development period, examine Singapore's policy responses and analyse what are the qualities of public service excellence of the Singapore government and how other countries can draw from them.
During my internship, I also helped organize a 4-day conference "The Future of Works". At this conference, policy practitioners, some staff from UNDP country offices, academics, representatives from the private sector gathered together and discussed how public service has evolved and what governments in both developed and developing countries can do to cope with the new challenges brought by globalisation and technological advance.
I learnt a lot from this conference. The dyanmic discussions truly provoked my thinking and opened my eyes to the changing relationship between governments and citizens.
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My supervisors and colleagues gave me a lot of assistance during the course of research. They constantly recommended me books regarding Singapore's history, introduced me to experts who study about Singapore' s economic development, took me to various kinds of conferences.
In this photo, I was presenting to my colleagues, as well as some officials from the Singapore government. After the presentation, we had a vivid discussion about how far Singapore's success can be replicated. They also gave me invaluable advice to improve my paper.
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