Student Groups

Asian Journal of Public Affairs

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The Asian Journal of Public Affairs (AJPA) is the flagship student journal of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP). It is a peer-reviewed publication featuring articles by scholars and practitioners on public affairs issues in the Greater Asia including the Middle East, Central and South Asia, and the Asia-Pacific region. Published on a bi-annual basis, AJPA seeks to influence public policy-making in Asia through interdisciplinary policy-relevant research.

Association for Public Affairs (APA)

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The Association of Public Affairs (APA) envisions to be a catalyst in building society’s capability for informed debate on public policy through creating a knowledge-empowered active (youth and student) citizenry in Singapore and beyond. Its mission is to be the premier Singapore tertiary student association, leading a ‘whole-of-Singapore-tertiary-students’ effort to promote the theory and practice of public and international affairs for the betterment of society.

Its strategies are:

(1) to apply public and international affairs theory to practice, and propose holistic policy solutions to policymakers, sensitive to policy context and tradeoffs;

(2) to conduct outreach to Singapore’s tertiary students (Junior Colleges, ITEs, Polytechnics and Universities) to educate on public policy to raise the baseline of civic awareness;

(3) to empower Singaporeans to shape their own future through a democracy of deeds.

Whilst APA primarily works on Singaporean issues and pitches solutions to Singaporean policymakers for impact, it endeavours to improve the general theory-praxis collaboration in public and international affairs, and is committed to solving common wicked policy problems across countries, developing and developed. APA members are learners of public policy, and aspire to be the non-partisan student voice of progress, justice and rationality in Singapore through integrity and professionalism in our speech and deeds.

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Bridging GAP (Gender And Policy)

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Gender is a cornerstone of our identity and a product of social construction. As our diverse social and cultural contexts shape identities, they ultimately influence how we perceive gender and how we act on it. Understanding these interlaced complexities is imperative if we want to tackle the challenges faced by individuals and societies.

Bridging GAP aims to enhance awareness of the importance of gender among public policy students and enhance their knowledge on this issue, so that they can contribute to gender-sensitive policy making.

Through our activities, we aim to stimulate constructive discussions on comparative and multidisciplinary perspectives on gender and how it relates to a wide range of public policies. By doing this, we will establish an interdisciplinary space for the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy community, where together, we can assess knowledge, experiences and policies on gender-related issues.

The group endeavors to foster dialogue and critical thinking in order to cultivate perspectives and policies that respect and acknowledge equality and gender rights.

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Cross-Learn

Cross-Learn sessions are weekly informal sharing sessions by MPA students, targeted mainly at MPA students, but open to all in the LKYSPP student community. The weekly sessions are intended as a platform to bring together the diverse experiences of the speakers i.e. LKYSPP students, in a more concerted effort. Speakers are welcome to speak on any topics, drawing upon their personal and/or professional experiences and aspirations.

In AY 2016/17, the topics ranged from currency design in China, slums in Mumbai, India, the history of batik in Indonesia, and the global automobile industry. Beyond the classrooms and coursework, these weekly sessions enable us to learn more about our diverse backgrounds, discover mutual interests and widen our perspectives through greater interaction.

DRR@LKYSPP

Disaster Risk and Resilience at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy

In 2016 the WorldRiskIndex identified Asia as a risk hotspot, owing to its exposure and vulnerability to natural disasters. Thus, governments in the region are increasingly pressured to urgently improve climate action and integrate risk and resilience in its developmental frameworks.

Compelled by this cause, the Disaster Risk and Resilience group at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (DRR@LKYSPP) was established by dynamic and passionate students who share a common advocacy in making Asia safer and resilient through public policy solutions. Since its inception in 2016, the DRR student group has had significant milestones throughout the year: It has hosted a lecture series with experts from the field which was widely attended by students of NUS, as well as professionals in the field of disaster management within the country. The group has partnered with the World Bank to launch a report on building resiliency. Author Stephane Hallegate from World Bank DC presented the findings in LKY. Members of the DRR group have also written numerous disaster-related research reports for their courses to explore new and innovative solutions and to improve existing ones. Outside the campus, the DRR group conducted site visits in partnership with the Singapore Civil Defense Force as part of the group’s capacity building and community involvement exercise; an immersion to Philippines, particularly to affected areas by Super Typhoon Haiyan namely Tacloban City, Leyte and Municipalities of Salcedo and Guiuan, Eastern Samar.

This year, the DRR@LKYSPP group intends to expand its scope to cover the field of climate change, aptly changing its name to Disaster Risk and Resilience-Climate Change (DRR-CC@LKYSPP) group. Due to the frequency and intensity of climate-related disasters in recent times, the group recognizes that climate change is a global responsibility. To date, the DRR-CC group is composed of more than 23 committed members from across LKYSPP programs. It is joined by students with varying backgrounds and expertise from countries within and outside of Asia. More information about the DRR-CC group can be found at https://www.facebook.com/drrcclkyspp/.

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Education Lab

The group aims to engage students in discussions regarding education in public policy. This will be through student-led presentations of educational systems of various countries, which will help expand our knowledge base about the status quo. In addition to student led work, we hope to invite experts in the field of education to come and speak to the group, regarding project ideation and implementation, barriers faced in real time etc. These talks will provide invaluable insights into the latest thinking and practices in education policy today.

The group will focus on creating outputs – academic or project based. On the one hand, we want to contribute to journals and in-school publications, as well as balance this out with a more hands-on approach in terms of creating local education projects, policy papers etc. Students will be encouraged to pursue projects that have the potential to bring about a change.

FinFolks

FinFolks (an abbreviation from "Financial Folks") is a student-led school club to comprehensively share and enhance knowledge and skills related to policies (including regulatory frameworks), challenges, and new frontiers related to the financial industry. It also aims to raise financial awareness and literacy, along with forging relationships with relevant institutions such as regulators, think-tanks, financial entities, and professional firms.

The club welcomes anyone with interest. In summary, the group proposes to engage with various stakeholders by conducting different activities such as periodic discussions, talks, and publications. Topics covered would include, but not limited to, upcoming trends in financial industry such as Fintech, prevailing and potential financial risks, and other traditional issues such as monetary and fiscal policies. In the future, it will pursue broader community engagement both inside and outside LKYSPP by arranging conferences, forums, cooperation, and partnerships.

Policy Frontiers

The world is currently undergoing rapid flows of technological change which will drastically alter society as we know it. Artificial Intelligence (AI) sits at the center of this new techno-economic paradigm shift.

Policy Frontiers is a student group focused on teaching future decision-makers more about the impacts and policy challenges of AI. How do we best utilize AI in policymaking? How should we approach potential regulation? What are the benefits and pitfalls of the rise in AI for different stakeholders in society?

Throughout the year we’ll be organizing a series of site visits to leading technology companies in Singapore, inviting experts for panel discussions and engage in lively policy conception with the best minds at the Lee Kuan Yew School (LKY), with the aim of answering the questions above.

We want to explore the emerging technological frontier together, and with any luck, get out ahead of it. By being innovative in policy solutions, we endeavor to lead the world towards a more sustainable and fair future.

Project Persiflage

Vision: To facilitate a deeper understanding of political satire as a useful tool in the public policy process.

Mission: Identify the potential of political satire as a tool to understand public opinion on policy. By building on our group’s diverse background and professional networks, we will identify the gap between policy makers and the public, and present political satire as an emerging vehicle to bridge this gap.

Objectives:

(i) Provide students a platform to share/exchange political satire focused policy discussions from their countries and communities.
(ii) Connect students with regional and international experts through talks and events

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Social Impact and Community Empowerment (SICE)

Vision: A diverse network of motivated NUS graduates with the skills, knowledge, expertise and connections to deliver real, positive benefit to the community at large.

Mission:Graduate students from LKYSPP and other NUS faculties to learn and discuss the best practices in social impact and community empowerment initiatives around the world and increase cooperation in the regional and international environment so as to make the world a better place.