Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy: Scholarship Awards to Six Outstanding Filipinos

Six outstanding Filipinos from the public and private sectors including the UNESCA National Commission, the Asia Foundation and the Development Academy of the Philippines, have been awarded full scholarships from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) for its 2007 courses starting this July.

The six recipients received their scholarship awards from Singapore Ambassador Lim Kheng Hua and Stavros Yiannouka, Vice-Dean (Executive Education & Development) of the Lee Kuan Yew School, on 28 May 2007 at an award ceremony cum networking reception jointly hosted by the School and the Singapore Embassy in Manila. Two of them were awarded scholarships to study the Master in Public Policy while the remaining four will take up the Master in Public Administration (MPA) course. Worth a total of US$215,000, the six scholarships will fully cover tuition, accommodation and living expenses in Singapore.

The LKYSPP started in 1992 as a public policy programme in the National University of Singapore. For over a decade, it brought together senior officials from all over the region, including the Philippines, and beyond to study best practices of governance and policy-making. Today, the School has 62 Filipino alumni and a record enrolment of 457 students from 28 countries, many of whom are on scholarships from philanthropic individuals and organisations.

The School will continue this tradition and its mission to provide opportunities for the education and training of the next generation of Asian policy-makers and leaders, with the objective of raising the standards of governance throughout the region, improving the lives of the people in the region and, in so doing, also contribute to the transformation of Asia. When asked what made the programmes at LKYSPP stand out from other institutions, MPA scholarship recipient Jowil Mejia Plecerda stated that its mission of "Inspiring Leaders, Improving Lives, Transforming Asia" fitted with "the direction that I want in my further studies, with the aim of effectively combating poverty and to create change in the Philippines through good governance."

Upon graduation, the scholars are expected to return to the Philippines to serve in a wide range of positions in the government, not-for-profit organisations, international organisations and the private sector, to help formulate sound economic and social policies for the betterment of their countrymen.