Crawford School of Public Policy

Imagine being sponsored to do research in Mongolia, receive a fellowship to work in Zanzibar and graduating from Crawford School all in the space of five months.

For Master of International Development Economics graduate Ying Yeung, they’re three achievements she has under her belt after completing her studies at Crawford School in June 2014.
With the support of the Development Policy Centre and the International Mining for Development Centre, Yeung travelled to Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia in September to undertake research on mineral revenue expenditure.

“It’s been a fantastic opportunity, straight after graduating, to get stuck into fieldwork and policy analysis, ” said Yeung.

Without skipping a beat between adventures, Yeung is currently on her way to work as a Development economist in Zanzibar for the Minister of Education and Vocational Training under the Overseas Development Institute fellowship scheme.

Yeung says that studying at Crawford School was a fantastic opportunity to learn from some of the best in the field, and ensured she could take valuable skills and lessons on her travels.

“I felt all the staff were experts and very engaged in their topic matter. The fact that ANU is a research university really shows in the quality of teaching; a lot of the lecturers are in the midst of public policy-making which is very useful and practical for our learning experience,” said Yeung.

Studying with classmates that come from diverse backgrounds was a highlight of Yeung’s time at Crawford.

“It’s been such a unique experience, studying at Crawford. People from all around the world and local seasoned public servants are in class discussing different public policy ideas. I found it very interesting to hear the experiences they’ve already had in their careers. It is also a very nice, supportive environment. I’ve been very lucky to make friends with some incredible people during my time at Crawford,” said Yeung.

Despite the long journey that lay ahead of her, Yeung feels confident that she can take the wealth of knowledge she gained at Crawford School to help the next step in her career.

“It’s a chance to practice the skills I learnt at Crawford School in a real public policy setting” said Yeung.