(From left) Htet Myet Min Tun from Yale-NUS College Class of 2024, Matthew Chew Sheng Jun from the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine Class of 2023, Lucy Zhu Xinyu from Yale-NUS College Class of 2022, Rachel Juay from Yale-NUS College and Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy Class of 2021, and Lyn Tay from the Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies, NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine Class of 2021, are among the 150 Schwarzman Scholars embarking on a fully-funded master’s degree programme at Tsinghua University in China.

One NUS student and four alumni have been selected for the prestigious Schwarzman Scholars graduate fellowship programme, joining the Class of 2025. They will be among 150 scholars, representing 43 countries and 114 universities, who will have the opportunity to attend a one-year, fully-funded Master’s degree programme in global affairs at Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.

The five scholars from NUS form the University's largest cohort of Schwarzman Scholars in a single year. They comprise two graduates from the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, a final-year student from Yale-NUS College, a graduate from Yale-NUS College, as well as a graduate from the Yale-NUS College and Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy concurrent degree programme.

Starting in August 2024, the scholars will engage in a graduate curriculum focused on the pillars of leadership, global affairs, and China. Aside from being taught by leading faculty from Tsinghua and other internationally recognised universities, they will attend lectures delivered by prominent global thought leaders. Mentoring, internships, and experiential learning are also part of the programme, with career development provided to help the scholars lead and excel in various fields upon graduation.

To date, 15 NUS students and alumni have been admitted to the programme since its establishment in 2013. Here are the latest Schwarzman scholars from NUS:

Htet Myet Min Tun: Driven by a desire to uplift his homeland

Hailing from Myanmar, Htet Myet is an ASEAN Undergraduate Scholar majoring in Global Affairs at Yale-NUS. The final-year student aspires to pursue a career in public policy both as a scholar and a practitioner, contributing to the economic, social, and cultural advancement of his home country. He has participated in several research projects, covering topics such as Myanmar’s Rohingya crisis, the socio-economic conditions of Burmese domestic workers in Singapore, and Myanmar’s military regime.

“The education I have received has prepared me not to take what we see as they are, but to ask questions, think critically, and articulate my own thoughts,” said Htet Myet about his time at Yale-NUS. He believes the Schwarzman programme will complement his undergraduate education and give him useful insights into the factors that shape decision-making in China, and how these decisions will affect the region and the world.

Matthew Chew Sheng Jun: Making a meaningful impact through healthcare innovation

Being a doctor was Matthew’s childhood dream and he realised this dream in 2023 when he graduated from the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine with a Bachelor of Surgery and Bachelor of Medicine (MBBS). But it was in medical school that he discovered his true passion – driving innovation in healthcare. 

Since the very start of his medical education in NUS, Matthew has been deeply involved in medical innovation projects such as building hand splints for patients with spinal cord injuries, developing low-cost exoskeletons for those with knee weakness and developing reusable masks during the COVID-19 period.

“Receiving the Schwarzman scholarship is a chance for me to learn from diverse perspectives, engage with global challenges, and bring that knowledge back to contribute to healthcare and innovation in Singapore,” said Matthew.

Lucy Zhu Xinyu: On a quest for continuous learning

Lucy graduated from Yale-NUS in 2022 with a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Mathematical, Computational, and Statistical Sciences. Since then, she has been working at Morgan Stanley as an investment banking analyst, focusing on Southeast Asia capital markets, and Mergers and Acquisitions transactions.

Through the course of her work, she realised that there are various opportunities for China to offer its expertise and participate in the growth of local companies. She looks forward to joining the Schwarzman programme to explore how corporate finance and capital markets, her two key focus areas, can better fund solutions for pressing global issues.  

With a keen interest in acquiring as much knowledge as possible in unfamiliar fields, Lucy says: “Life post-college has been an ongoing journey to develop my passion and further my skills through interacting with different communities.”

Lyn Tay: A champion for the vulnerable

Lyn graduated from the Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine with a Bachelor of Science (Nursing) in 2021. As a Registered Nurse, she was part of Singapore’s fight against COVID-19 and has also supported patients at the Neonatal Intensive Care and High Dependency units.

With a strong conviction that mental health support is a basic human need, Lyn aspires to dedicate her efforts towards enacting changes that supplement existing systems and address issues in mental health. During her time at NUS, Lyn set up a peer support group at King Edward VII Hall and a ground-up initiative aimed at reducing stigma against dementia. She is now the co-founder of Saturday Socials, a social enterprise aimed at tackling loneliness, a rising public health crisis.

“The Schwarzman scholarship came at a perfect time as I was working on expanding my work in mental health and social causes across the region. I look forward to collaborating with the Schwarzman Scholars community which comprises many equally passionate individuals from diverse fields across the world,” said Lyn. 

Rachel Juay: In pursuit of effective public policy

Rachel graduated from the Concurrent Degree Programme offered by Yale-NUS College and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) in 2021. She has a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Yale-NUS and a Master’s in Public Policy from LKYSPP. Since graduating, she has worked in research roles in both the private and NGO sectors. She is now a project manager for the upcoming United Nations Global Risk Report, a publication that focuses on the world’s most pressing risks and how multilateral institutions can better mitigate them.

“My three years with the Yale-NUS Student Government helped me learn to build bridges and engage with people from different contexts and with different perspectives. These help me in my community work such as the Merpati Resettlement Project which studies the effects of relocation on lower-income residents, as well as in professional realms when engaging policymakers at different levels,” said Rachel.

Through the Schwarzman programme, she hopes to learn about how China is contending with the effects of high costs of living and to draw on these learnings to inform her community engagement efforts in Singapore.

Each year, the NUS Centre for Future-ready Graduates facilitates a briefing for NUS students who are interested to apply for the Schwarzman Scholarship. The briefings take place in Semester 2, so do look out for the next briefing date on their event calendar here.


News from: https://news.nus.edu.sg/one-nus-student-and-four-alumni-among-ninth-cohort-of-schwarzman-scholars/