NUBS Malaysia alumnus Tze Yeen Liew, who graduated with the BA (Hons) Finance Accounting and Management in 2014, will be reading for the MSc Migration Studies under the Oxford Department of International Development at the University of Oxford. The interdisciplinary course explores human mobility as an intrinsic part of the broader processes of development and global change.
She has also been awarded the Queen Elizabeth House Scholarship (a joint award between the Oxford Department of International Development and the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Oxford), a fully funded scholarship available to students reading a course related to international development. The scholarship is awarded on the basis of outstanding academic ability and citizenship of (and normal residence in) a developing country as defined by the United Nations, usually with a preference for candidates from Sub-Saharan Africa. The scholarship that was awarded to Tze Yeen was the only one available for the course she was accepted into.
Tze Yeen first developed an interest in migration studies during her internship with TalentCorp Malaysia, an entity established under the Malaysian Prime Minister’s Department to formulate and facilitate initiatives in addressing the availability of talent in Malaysia. The internship was in her capacity as a Fellow on the Otak-Otak National Top 50 Placement Programme.
During her time with TalentCorp, Tze Yeen was exposed to different and complicated aspects of skilled labour migration, and she was particularly interested in the seemingly irreconcilable conflict between individualistic and collectivist narratives (the freedom to pursue a better quality life elsewhere contrasted with the moral obligation to stay back and contribute to the local economy) of skilled Malaysians who possessed the necessary qualifications to move freely across borders.
Tze Yeen’s research interest in migration issues was reflected in her opting to do an Undergraduate Dissertation, as part of her final year studies, where she evaluated the issues in a topical area on the repatriation of Malaysian undergraduates. Tze Yeen is grateful for the encouragement and guidance of her dissertation supervisor Dr Maniam Kaliannan (Associate Professor of Human Resource Management), from whom she benefited greatly from his research supervision and also pastoral support.
A highly motivated individual, Tze Yeen hopes to progress further to obtain a PhD in International Development in the future if financial circumstances permit, and to then join non-governmental organisations where she hopes to contribute to policy and development-related work. She aspires to be able to contribute to research with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), where, incidentally, she is currently working as an enumerator for UNDP surveys before she leaves for Oxford this September. We at NUBS Malaysia wish Tze Yeen all the very best in her future endeavours.
Posted on 17th June 2014