Winners of the 2019/20 Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) Case Writing Competition announced

This year’s competition saw high-quality entries on topics ranging from issues such as privatisation of public goods, to the welfare of platform workers. These winning entries showed how policymakers navigated the tensions across different stakeholders.

The Case Study Unit (CSU) organises the annual LKYSPP Case Writing Competition for students enrolled at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP). The aim of the competition is to provide students the opportunity to showcase their policy knowledge and application through the analysis of a public policy case concerning issues in Asia. Entries are supervised by any faculty within National University of Singapore (NUS).

We are pleased to announce the following winners of the 2019/20 LKYSPP Case Writing Competition.

“Even before the COVID situation hit, the welfare of Singapore's platform workers - having little formal employment protections, not having automatic inclusion in Singapore's key retirement and medical savings scheme, the CPF, and being vulnerable to changing regulations and evolving technology - was of concern to me. Writing a case study for this competition was an opportunity to find out more about the situation, research how other countries have or have not dealt with the policy issues involving platform workers, and suggest certain avenues for planners' and stakeholders' consideration. My supervising faculty member, Associate Professor Andrew Francis-Tan, provided excellent guidance, asking illuminating questions which came from his expertise in labour economics and experience in supervising research, and gave helpful suggestions from a reader's point of view on issues of structure and flow. Having very little formal research and academic writing experience prior to coming to LKYSPP, I was initially apprehensive about taking part in this competition. However, the realistic scope of the Case Study, the support and guidance given, and the preparation I got for this through writing for other modules, made writing this case study achievable and fun. I would encourage anyone who would like to explore a particular public policy question in greater depth to take part. It is a wonderful learning experience!”

- Zeng Hongde, Nicholas
- Distinguished Prize | Improving The Welfare Of  Platform Workers In Singapore


“The case study competition was a great excuse to reach out to professionals in Singapore and learn about what they do. The competition provided tonnes of flexibility to choose something I was interested in. I found the case study approach to be a useful way of delving deep into a unique policy, and in doing so, it provided a platform for discussing some of the broader themes around development, foreign investment and the role of government that had appeared throughout my Masters program. I thoroughly recommend the competition as a great way of exploring your interests and consolidating your ideas!”

- Kate Elizabeth Sullivian-Walker
- Distinguished Prize | Achieving a triple bottom line from FDI - Local Development, Corporate Profits, Ethical Business A case study of Apple’s investments in Indonesia


"The case writing competition challenged our team to examine a familiar topic through an academic lens. By reviewing the literature in this topic, discussing economic theories and perspectives, and comparing practices in other countries, we could deepen our understanding of the context, and refine our ability to impartially scrutinize and evaluate the regulation of rail industry in Singapore and the way forward.”

- Tan Ngiap Joon, Long Tian Feng, Sivaranjani Suresh
- Merit Prize | Singapore’s Mass Rapid Transit: Privatisation and Re-Nationalisation


“Joining the case study competition was one of the highlights of our first year at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. Definitely worth it!”

- Jyan Ong, See Hao Jun and Tan Zhi Han 
- Merit Prize | Choosing to Forget: A discussion on Singapore’s national identity with respect to demolished buildings

“The LKYSPP Case Study was an excellent opportunity to research and write about a topic that I was interested in. It made me more passionate about the pursuit of inclusive growth, sustainability, and good governance in major infrastructure projects. The experience influenced my Policy Analysis Exercise topic as well as the career I pursued after I graduated from LKYSPP.”

- Bernard Min 
- Merit Prize | Dams and the Displaced: Lessons from the Myitsone Dam in Myanmar

"The case study competition was a great opportunity to explore my research interests outside of class." - Alta

"The competition was a wonderful opportunity to work together in diverse teams to analyze interesting policy issues." - Deepakshi

"I found this is a great opportunity to open up my horizon from a very different perspective, another chance to learn about a country that I was not familiar with. And also, that was the only chance I had to learn about how to draft teaching notes!" - Yuying

- Alta Joyce Alonzi, Deepakshi Rawat and Lin Yuying 
-Merit Prize | What is the Dam Worth? How Cambodia Came to Build an Internationally Unpopular Dam

“The case competition was a good experience for our group as we learnt a lot in the process -- from doing research about the regulations in different countries to critically thinking about the implications of each policy, as well as the potential tradeoffs. It was also fun to think of how to weave our research into an interesting story. Our team also became closer from working together on this case, so we encourage you to sign up with your friends.”

- Jason Emile Lougher Brown, Naomi Lin Jialin and Nontakorn Vachiraprasith
- Merit Prize |From drug war to green rush: the evolution of drug policy in Thailand