Seeking a non-practitioner’s perspective on healthcare, Dr Allen Lai chose to pursue a master programme at LKYSPP. Enamoured with the school, he went on to do a PhD, contributing numerous esteemed written works, and making a generous donation to the school after.
"I have to always adapt to new ideas and be open minded in confrontation and challenges."
[ALUMNI-INFO TEXT="The conventional approach in public health or medical school would focus more on technical and operational practicality, whereas a policy analysis approach will add on systems thinking.” The benefit of having both micro and macro perspectives is not lost on Allen. Having been a medical doctor for nine years, he wanted to analyse and address healthcare issues from political, economic and societal dimensions. This he did, in LKYSPP’s “enabling, dialectic, but tolerant conversant space”.
He says that the critical thinking within a diversity of views had impressed him tremendously – so much so that he stayed on to do a Doctorate programme as well. “This approach has helped me to not just take how things appear, but look for social-political-economic attributes within the problem.”
Determined to make the most of his time, he “made every effort to participate in policy related competitions”. It yielded a plethora of awards, including first place in the LKYSPP Essay Writing Competition and the ‘Promising Young Scholar’ award in public administration."][/ALUMNI-INFO]
[ALUMNI-QUOTES TEXT="Allen continued to excel in academia, publishing papers in peer-reviewed international journals and speaking in numerous international conferences. He was eventually made the first academic director of the inaugural Institute of Health Economics and Management (IHEM) at ESSEC Asia Pacific campus. There, he designed and launched Asia’s first Master of Science in Management of Health Industries in 2015.
His contribution to the literature is extensive, but it was not the only arena he contributed to. In 2017, Allen and his wife made a generous donation to LKYSPP. To them, giving back has many benefits. “One can contribute for a genuine cause through proper channels and partnership, and also set an example for more LKYSPP alumni to maintain close links to the School.”"][/ALUMNI-QUOTES]
Now the senior vice-president of a biotechnology company, his LKYSPP experiences enable him to “converse confidently with any kind of professional from a wide range of fields.”