Page 44 - Scholarship Guide Feb 2020

42 RACHEL LIU YUNYANN

Have your views/expectations – and then putting the policy structures in for any student exchange
changed once you stepped out place to help us get there. programmes? What was it like?
into the working world? What are the most demanding I spent a semester in Rome studying
Yes, school and work are very different responsibilities you have and architectural history, in a programme organized
places. The internship with MND’s Strategic by my college. It was wonderful to discover the
Planning Division in my last summer of how do you cope with them? layers of architecture, art and planning history
college helped me to contextualise a lot of The challenge of my role lies in shaping in Rome, with the city itself as a classroom –
the things I had learnt at school. For example, policy within real constraints and competing juxtaposed with contemporary Italian society
the role of public, private and civic actors in interests. You have to make sense of complex facing issues such as ageing and immigration,
developing and delivering urban solutions circumstances, tease out your objectives, which are challenges very real and relevant to
is quite different overseas, where there are and balance the key considerations in order Singapore and many other cities globally.
more layers of government (e.g. municipal, to make your recommendation, taking into
state and federal) and more land is privately perspective the ‘bigger picture’ of shaping I also spent part of a summer studying
owned. Private and civic actors tend to play Singapore to be a distinctive global city with conservation biology and fi eld ecology in
a bigger role. This is the context I was more a high quality living environment. It can be Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, outside of São Paulo.
familiar with in my experiences at school. In demanding to manage both issues as well as The experience really shifted my perception of
Singapore, by contrast, the government plays stakeholders, but often when you look back the potential of natural spaces in Singapore to
a bigger role in shaping the urban landscape, at the results and what have been achieved, offer value for both conservation and people.
in partnership with the private sector and the effort is worth it. I continue to fi nd new
community. challenges and things to learn through the I would highly recommend study abroad
issues I handle. My colleagues and bosses experiences because there is always value
Each category of actors perceives urban help me out a lot. in applying a comparative lens to issues you
issues and solutions differently. Over the study vis-à-vis real-world application, both in
past year and a half in MND, I have become How have you been able to Singapore and in other cities and countries, to
more familiar with how issues are viewed use what you learned in school see how different cities cope with challenges
from the lens of a policymaker. You have that can be similar.
a responsibility to consider widely the for your job?
implications of any issue, and to balance Singapore is a unique place for land use
competing interests. You also work with a planning and policy in so many ways, not
specifi c set of tools, such as legislation. least of which is the degree of control that
the Government has over development,
How are you enjoying your so our approaches and solutions may be
time at the organisation? different from that of other cities and
countries. My education has taught me
I have enjoyed working at MND. Particularly, process, context, and critical thinking, and
the Strategic Planning Division, which I’m in, these have been relevant to helping me
has a strong team culture and handles issues fi nd the best strategies for planning for
that are very meaningful to me. For example, Singapore’s future growth.
I was involved in URA’s Draft Master Plan
last year, which was a huge multi-year
effort on their part to review the island- What kinds of career and
wide development plan for Singapore and personal development
conduct public engagement. It was satisfying opportunities does the
to see the full plans exhibited, and the many
Singaporeans who came through to look at organization provide its
the plans and provide thoughtful feedback. scholars?
I appreciate that my work bears relevance The path for scholars is quite fl exible and MND EDGE Scholarship
to the experience of places and people you you can shape your career path according to Rachel Liu Yunyann
come across everyday – everyone has a stake your own background and inclinations. My
in our built environment. bosses and peers have been encouraging me Age
to take courses that are both practical (such 25
What issues do you handle? as working on legislation) and interest-based
I work on a range of portfolios, handling (such as a course on the use of data analytics Attained
Bachelor of Science with Honors Urban
in planning).
policy on matters relating to land use. My job and Regional Studies
is a balance of regulation and aspiration. Part
of my work is to ensure that land and space We understand you did Now
in Singapore are managed in accordance your undergraduate studies Manager, Strategic Planning Division
with the Government’s plans in a fair and
consistent manner. Another part of my work in Cornell University in From
is more aspirational – helping to set the Ithaca, New York. Did you College of Architecture, Art and Planning
direction for Singapore’s growth in the hard venture further outward at Cornell University
and soft aspects for the next 10, 20, 50 years