Graduate School of Public Policy

MPP and MPA students completed the two-week Singapore Component Programme last week. This programme allows participants to gain insights into governance and policymaking in Singapore, across different aspects such as economy, digitalisation, urban planning, public housing, social policies, water management etc. Hopefully, lessons learnt from Singapore can be applied to Kazakhstan’s own context and shape their policies.

The Singapore Component is a part of the capstone research project  of their MPP/MPA program, whereby students spend two weeks in Singapore learning about the historical and contemporary development of policymaking and governance in Singapore, followed by reflections and discussions on their relevance and application to the Kazakhstan context . The students engaged in a comprehensive course to learn about Singapore’s model of policy development, interacting with Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy faculty, experts and practitioners, and current and former government officials. 

Their learning journey extended outside of the classrooms, with visits arranged to several public agencies and private organizations such as the Housing & Development Board, Urban Redevelopment Authority, Institute of Technical Education, PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency, Land Transport Authority, and Action Community for Entrepreneurship, allowing them a first-hand experience of Singapore-style policymaking-in-practice. At the end of the trip, they reflect on how the Singapore experience could be relevant or adapted to the Kazakhstani context.