Page 59 - Scholarship Guide Feb 2020

NG JIA YI 57

will surely be the right choice for you! It is an immense responsibility and privilege to
be able to directly affect change in Singapore.
As part of the URA Scholarship, I was given Take up the URA Scholarship and join this
the opportunity to intern in the Underground family of urban planners (as a Civil Engineer)!
Works Department and Planning Policies
Department. I was involved in a broad
spectrum of projects, such as the 3D
Underground Masterplan, car-lite initiative,
etc. Furthermore, I was exposed to how
Music Director for Singapore Society’s annual rigorous data analysis is translated into
musical production. actionable insights to guide planning, how
stakeholder engagement is an important
component of policy formulation and how
multiple teams or agencies have to work
hand in hand to design, shape and manage
Singapore’s built environment.

Most importantly, the colleagues that I
have met at URA selfl essly pushed me to
accomplish more than I could by myself,
dispensed advice beyond just work, and
provided me with valuable resources and
Amsterdam trip with fellow MND EDGE
Scholars. support throughout my university education. URA Scholarship
I am grateful to be able to meet such warm, Ng Jia Yi
nurturing and like-minded colleagues.
Age
Being a supportive organisation, URA 23
encouraged me to intern at an engineering
consultancy in London. I was fortunate to Now
be able to work on major projects such as Master of Engineering in Civil Engineering,
the Thames Tideway as well as London Year 3
Heathrow Airport expansion and will bring Imperial College London (UK)
the lessons learnt back to Singapore.
From
URA colleagues that selfl essly dispensed Life abroad can be daunting at the start, Raffl es Institution
advice and helped me through my internship but change begins at the end of our comfort
as well as university life. zones. Exploring new countries and meeting
people along the way showed me not just the
London being a melting pot of culture provided ‘touristy’ side of countries, but the vulnerable
me with the opportunity to understand and as well. It was not just about the different
effectively work with people from all around urban fabrics, but also how people of different
the world. The late-night conversations, pub cultures interacted with their environment.
crawls and travels with my course mates
have given me valuable insights into how Personally, my lifelong dream of orchestral
different cities function and the struggles concert hall hopping around Europe was
they face that Singapore are blessed without fulfi lled as well. At the Imperial College
but should never take for granted. London, I pursued my passion by serving as
Music Director for Singapore Society’s annual
Apart from academic rigour, the highlights musical production. I am sure there will be
of the Civil Engineering course in Imperial something out there for you as well!
College London were defi nitely the practical
experiences. Lasting memories were forged Apart from discovering new cultures, I am
when we braved the rain in Wales for a thankful for a close-knit group of friends. As
week-long Surveying trip; when we tripped part of the Ministry of National Development
and fell over the rocky beaches and mines EDGE Scholarship, scholars from the
in different parts of UK for our Engineering subsidiary statutory boards get to take part
Geology trip and when we fi nally completed in an orientation camp. I am blessed to have
our structure that we planned and built from made close friends, celebrating Chinese New
scratch in our Constructionarium course. Year together in chilly London, peppering the
Pouring concrete, tying reinforcement bars, streets of Amsterdam with our Singlish and
going through project and risk management supporting each other through our internship
meetings every night may be arduous work, stints. If you are someone who cherishes
but if you relish the satisfaction of witnessing teamwork and synergy, the URA Scholarship
your project coming to life, Civil Engineering will certainly be a good fi t!