Rethinking what liberal-arts undergraduates ought to learn, and how

A recent article in Harvard Magazine by John S. Rosenberg examines new approaches in liberal arts undergraduate teaching and learning with a focus on the curriculum of several institutions, including Yale-NUS College, Yale’s joint venture with the National University of Singapore. Pericles Lewis is quoted in his role as founding president of Yale-NUS, ”Lewis emphasized two advantages Yale-NUS has had in defining itself: starting from scratch, and attracting faculty members interested in innovation and undergraduate teaching.” The article also notes, “Instruction at the new college emphasizes seminars and discussions, a relative rarity in Asian higher education.”

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Click the link below to read the article (PDF):
https://cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/campuspress.yale.edu/dist/0/1707/files/2017/01/An-Educated-Core-1soomv7.pdf

Though Yalies have joined Yale-NUS students for learning experiences abroad before, this year will mark the first time that Yale-NUS has reserved two spots for Yale students in each of its summertime “Learning Across Boundaries” programs.

The programs — usually referred to as “LABs” — are noncredit, faculty-led programs that last between seven and 10 days and “offer students unparalleled experiential learning outside of the classroom,” according to Yale-NUS Associate Director for Experiential Learning Beth Uding. During the programs, students go abroad to meet and interact with professionals in relevant fields like journalism and public health, make connections between academic and field work and produce a final project.

This summer, Yale-NUS will hold five LABs and reserve two spots for Yalies out of about 15 to 20 in each program, according to Yale-NUS Dean for International and Professional Experience Trisha Craig. Though participating Yalies must pay for their own transportation to and from the program location and show proof of insurance coverage, Uding wrote in an email to the News that Yale-NUS will cover “all other program-related expenses, including accommodation, two meals per day, transportation during the program and activity fees.”

The summer LABs include one on visual anthropology and journalism held in Malaysia, one on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ future held in Singapore and Cambodia and one on creative arts and social engagement held in Japan.

“We think it’s a nice opportunity for students to get the kind of experiential learning piece that they might not get otherwise,” Craig said. “But also, it’s a very nice chance for Yale and Yale-NUS students to work and learn together.”

Craig said that “experiential learning” is an important part of the pedagogy at Yale-NUS. In their first year, Yale-NUS students are required to embark on Week 7 LAB programs during the fall semester, which take place in various locations in Singapore and abroad. Craig highlighted that Week 7’s are a “subset” of the larger LAB programs, which are usually offered in the summer or over spring break and are often tied to either specific faculty research or skill development.

Craig said that Yale-NUS has been actively encouraging Yale faculty to lead LABs of their own. Vincent Ni, 2018 Yale Greenberg World Fellow, will lead the “Future of ASEAN” LAB, and Yale School of Public Health professor Kaveh Khoshnood will lead one on “Public Health and Refugees in Transition” in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

To raise awareness about the opportunity among the Yale community, Craig said that several Heads of College and Woodbridge Fellow Saatchi Kalsi ’18 have been spreading the word. Yale-NUS’s Center for International and Professional Experience has also asked Yale-NUS students who are currently visiting Yale to tell their peers about LABs, Craig said.

Yale students have until April 1 — an extended deadline — to apply to the LABs hosted in Japan, Kuala Lumpur and London, while other opportunities have a later deadline.

Craig said that in their applications, it is important for students to highlight how the programs “fit in with their broader interests” and “further some goals that they’ve had,” as well as show how they will “take that learning forward” on the LAB.

“It’s really important to us that it be integrated into either students’ professional trajectory or their academic trajectory,” Craig said.

She added that depending on the number of interested students and the nature of the project, students may also have to do an interview, although application responses usually give faculty leaders enough information to decide whom to admit.

For the first time since the founding of Yale-NUS in 2011, three Yale undergraduates are living and studying in Singapore as part of a semester-long exchange.

As the partnership between Yale and Yale-NUS matures, Yale students have grown more aware of the many opportunities offered at and through Yale-NUS.

“The fact that we have been sending increased numbers of Yale-NUS students to Yale for semester study abroad means we have more ambassadors talking about how amazing Yale-NUS is. Yale students are intrigued,” said Trisha Craig ’93 Ph.D, dean of international and professional experience at Yale-NUS.

In addition to longer exchanges, Yale-NUS also offers Yale students spots on summer “Learning Across Boundaries,” or LAB, trips. Two years ago, Yale students participated in a group internship project at Mrigadayavan Palace, a royal Thai summer residence. Several Yale-NUS faculty members led the program and the students studied and worked on environmental and cultural heritage initiatives. Last summer, Yale students joined a LAB in Zurich on “Connected Histories of Global Empires,” led by Yale-NUS professors Naoko Shimazu and Máté Rigó. According to Craig, Yale-NUS is attempting to increase such opportunities for Yale students.

“More and more, Yale students understand that Yale-NUS represents a resource for them, and that Singapore is a great place. It’s an extremely modern city-state and a gateway to Southeast and East Asia, one of the most dynamic regions in the world,” said Craig.

Nguyen Dustin Vu Anh

Nguyen ’20 studies economics at Yale and decided that Singapore was the perfect place to go to expand his education.

“Many of my professors and many prominent Yale alums have emphasized in class and through their work how important Asia will be in the future global economy. I felt the need to experience their views myself through a semester in Asia at Yale-NUS,” he said.

Nguyen believes that while Yale and Yale-NUS have similar facilities and resources, the students at the two schools are very different.  

“The most noticeable difference is how globally-minded Yale-NUS and its students are in terms of experiences, interests, and career goals. Dining hall conversations and seminar discussions tend to be less about America and more about international events and issues,” he said. “I assumed Yale-NUS would simply be a Yale in Asia, but I quickly noticed that it wasn’t. It is a totally different college with its own types of traditions, customs, autonomy, and people. It has been a whole new undergraduate college experience for me.”

While in Singapore, Nguyen wants to visit the Singapore Sembawang Naval Base, where American troops are stationed. He is also looking forward to the Chinese New Year.

Kento Tanaka

Tanaka ’20 is pursuing a degree in linguistics and East Asian studies. To him, he said, Yale-NUS seemed like a natural option for a study abroad experience because of the institutional connection to Yale.

“On the one hand, I could count on many of the same Yale community spaces and support structures, like residential colleges and equivalents to deans and heads of college. I like that the social and community spaces around campus help to open up conversations and allow me to make new friends just like at Yale. The butteries at Yale-NUS also have mahjong, which is a big plus. On the other hand, in Singapore I also have the opportunity to experience very different cultures from what I experience at Yale and in the United States,” he said.

Although Tanaka is still adjusting to the more intimate community at Yale-NUS, he said he loves the opportunity to explore places off campus and around the city.

“The mix of cultures, the city landscape and green spaces, and the people of Singapore are completely different from anywhere I have ever been, so I am looking forward to exploring and gaining a better understanding of this place. Also, I hope to explore more hawker centers and eat great food!” he said.  

Meng Fei Shen

Shen ’20 also majors in East Asian studies. Her interest in Yale-NUS combines Nguyen’s desire to explore an important and emerging world power with Tanaka’s appreciation for the familiarity of the Singapore institution.  

“I am considering career prospects within Asia after graduation, and Singapore seemed to be the perfect spot since it’s a major Asian business hub. Yale-NUS is the only residential liberal arts college in Singapore so I imagined it would be a lot easier to adjust to compared to other institutions,” she said.

The wealth of academic opportunities also drew her to Yale-NUS.

“I felt that I had already explored most of the course options of my interest at Yale, and I knew that studying at Yale-NUS would offer me an excellent Asian studies program. I appreciate that the courses here give a better balance of global perspectives. I would say that many courses offered at Yale are still more Eurocentric,” she said.

“It’s also my first time meeting students from countries like Uzbekistan, Tunisia, and Ukraine, and while I’m sure there are students from these backgrounds at Yale as well, it’s much easier to meet these students here because the community is so small and intertwined,” she added.

Shen is also making an effort to integrate herself into the broader National University of Singapore (NUS) community in nonacademic ways. She kayaks with other members of the university and plans to travel extensively.

“I’m stoked for this semester, and I can’t wait to share all of my experiences and newfound perspectives and knowledge with Yalies back home,” she said.  

For Yale students interested in studying abroad at Yale-NUS, visit the website here.

Yale-NUS College hosted the inaugural Yale-NUS Lecture on Global Affairs this past Fall. The lecture was the first in a series of annual talks sponsored by Professor Saw Swee Hock. Delivered by Yale Professor of Economics Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak, the lecture focused on what keeps people and countries poor.

Titled “Strategies to Increase Adoption of Welfare-Improving Behaviours in Developing Countries”, the lecture started with a question: “Why don’t the poor adopt products that can improve their welfare?”

Professor Mobarak explained that as a development economist, he is interested in why technological or other types of innovations that can help to reduce poverty are often in low demand by those who would benefit most from them.

He cited research he was conducting on how rural-urban migration was affecting seasonal poverty in Bangladesh and Indonesia. In his study, rural households were offered transport incentives for a member of the family to seek employment in nearby cities.

He found that migration occurred among 58 percent of households that were incentivised compared to only 36 percent among households that were not incentivised.

Professor Mobarak explained that one of the key reasons that had prevented people from migrating previously was the fact that they were living at a subsistence level and were not able to afford making the investment into the costs associated with travelling to the city.

“In my research, I am interested in understanding what keeps people and countries poor even when there are obvious solutions that can improve their welfare,” said Professor Mobarak, who holds a concurrent appointment in the Yale School of Management and is the founder and faculty director of the Yale Research Initiative on Innovation and Scale.

“What this research demonstrates is how factors like risk aversion, lack of information and a lack of money affect poor people from making decisions that would benefit them.”

Professor Mobarak is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Jameel Poverty Action Lab at MIT and serves as academic lead for the Bangladesh Research Program for the International Growth Centre at the London School of Economics, and Scientific Advisor to Innovations for Poverty Action, Bangladesh.

The lecture started with an opening address by Head of Studies for Global Affairs and Associate Professor of Social Sciences (International Relations) William Bain.

He noted that by establishing the lecture series, Professor Saw had “renewed the call for us to strive for a better world through education”.

“Your vision will enable the current generation of students and faculty to strive for a better world for future generations,” Assoc Prof Bain said. “On behalf of Global Affairs and the entire Yale-NUS community, I want to acknowledge our enormous debt of gratitude for your generosity and for inspiring us in answering this call.”

On why he decided to sponsor the lecture series, Professor Saw, who was at the event, explained, “I believe that it is important for students to develop global perspectives on the world and on the many complex issues surrounding it.”

“Having previously sponsored the Goh Keng Swee Lecture on Modern China at the NUS East Asian Institute, I believe that establishing the Yale-NUS Lecture on Global Affairs at the College will enable students to learn from the insights of eminent speakers in this field, and in doing so, better understand our ever-changing global landscape and develop solutions to today’s challenges,” he said.

Professor Saw added that the College is “well-known for its combination of pedagogies, cultures and philosophies from both East and West, and for integrating learning across various disciplines”.

“Having this lecture series at the College will enable it to continue fulfilling its mission of redefining liberal arts and science education for our complex and interconnected world, particularly as our students explore questions pertaining to globalisation and human interconnectedness,” he said.

Professor Mobarak’s lecture was well-received by members of the College community, visitors from other institutions and the general public. One of the Yale-NUS students who attended the lecture was Keith Yap (Class of 2020). A Philosophy, Politics and Economics major, Keith was “particularly excited to find out that what we learnt in our classrooms could be applied in the real world, which could help thousands of households achieve upward socio-economic mobility”.

Helena Auerswald (Class of 2019), a Global Affairs major who was also at the talk, said it “offered fascinating insight into how to conduct rigorous social science research and translate findings into context-specific policy solutions”.

“As a Global Affairs major, this connection between research and policy is a crucial component of the Global Affairs interdisciplinary mindset, so it was invaluable to learn about Professor Mobarak’s approach to experimental design, data collection, analysis and policy development,” she said.

During his time in Singapore and at the College, Professor Mobarak also had the opportunity to meet with Yale-NUS students, faculty and administrators.

“The students are bright and curious, and I was most impressed with the social science faculty’s engagement with top-quality research,” he said. “The trip left me more convinced that research and teaching are complementary (not competing) activities.”

He added that he was “impressed with how engaged the students and faculty were”.

“The students were willing to challenge the speaker, which is great to see. I’m glad that this aspect of liberal arts education that involves an exchange of ideas has already taken root at Yale-NUS,” he said.

On what future topics the lecture series will address, Assoc Prof Bain said that the future of the global order remains an important and timely topic.

“The tectonic plates of global order seem to be shifting at a pace not seen in several decades, dating perhaps to the Second World War,” he said. “An important part of that story is the rise of non-Western great powers, China most obviously, as well as the fraying of Western alliances. As Singapore sits at the intersection of these changes, these issues are particularly cogent at the moment.”

(This story was first published on the Yale-NUS College website)

The inaugural Yale-NUS Summer Institute in Global Strategy and Leadership brought 39 Yale-NUS students to Yale in June for a five-week program designed to provide students with an in-depth and rigorous introduction to history, politics, social change, and a number of large-scale global challenges facing tomorrow’s leaders.

Adapted from Yale’s Brady-Johnson Program in Grand Strategy, the Summer Institute focused on the theory and practice of grand strategy from varying analytic perspectives. The curriculum also provided opportunities for students to apply these concepts to current global issues related to the environment, public health, and the movement of the world’s population. The program also sought to foster leadership development through exercises in group dynamics, persuasive writing, and an international crisis simulation.

“Through partnership with the Grand Strategy program, we were pleased to provide a unique leadership opportunity for Yale-NUS students to develop a theoretical framework through which to assess and tackle global challenges facing us today,” said Pericles Lewis, Yale vice president for global strategy and deputy provost for international affairs.

Primary goals for student learning during the Summer Institute included: understanding the theory and practice of grand strategy, in both historical and contemporary contexts; developing the capacity to design and present effective grand strategy to address pressing global problems; acquiring basic knowledge and developing proficiency in the areas of global health, environmental studies, and race and migration; and improving skills in presenting ideas and crafting arguments, both in writing and orally.

The Summer Institute selected students from all Yale-NUS majors, with priority being given to first- and second-year students. Lectures were conducted by more than 20 Yale faculty from graduate/professional schools and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, along with two faculty colleagues from Yale-NUS College. Topics ranged from “Grand Strategy in the Cold War” to “Global Environmental Governance” to “Biotechnology in the Developing World” and “U.S. Border Technology and Migration Policy.” Students also participated in a number of dynamic skills workshops such as “Game Theory” with Yale Provost Ben Polak and “Enhancing Observations” with docents at the Yale Center for British Art. Additionally, the Yale Center for Teaching and Learning provided an intensive weekly writing seminar to advance both academic and public writing skills. 

 “This program undertook the ambitious task of prompting us to put into practice the theory we learn in the classroom. The notion of balance in discussion was upheld not as a mere theoretical ideal, but as a concrete actuality,” said Yale-NUS College student Aidan Sim (Class of 2020). “By considering the perspectives of individuals we may disagree with, we were forced to explore the intersection between normative ethics and political strategy, and arrive at our own conclusions. In this respect, the program was a tremendous success.”

In addition to their academic lessons, students also experienced what it is like to live on the Yale University campus and be a part of the local New Haven community. Participants lived in residential colleges, ate in the dining halls, attended formal dinners with guest speakers, and joined in various events where they had opportunities to build connections with numerous faculty from various Yale schools.

“What makes this initiative especially valuable to student participants is its emphasis on multidisciplinary problem-solving as we cultivate and educate future leaders from around the world,” added Lewis.

The curriculum concluded with a half-day crisis simulation held at the Yale School of Management during which students represented the government of Singapore, various non-state actors, and members of the international media. Yale’s Professor Charles Hill provided the students with an opportunity to experience “real-time,” albeit fictitious, political, diplomatic, and financial situations. 

“The crisis simulation provided a great opportunity for the students to put the ideas they had studied to practical use. In the high-pressure environment of the simulation, they had to rely on the intellectual architecture they had built over the previous five weeks — ideas drawn from strategists ranging from Thucydides to Alinsky,” said Ian Johnson, associate director of the Brady-Johnson Program in Grand Strategy at Yale.

“This is a program for anyone who seeks to challenge their assumptions about our political and social realities, become a more strategic leader, and by no exaggeration, arm themselves with a framework not just to think about today’s most relevant problems but to actually mitigate them,” said student participant, Aidan Sim.

Visit Yale-NUS CIPE for more information on the 2019 Summer Institute.  Yale faculty members interested in learning more about teaching opportunities at Yale-NUS College may contact Kel Ginsberg or Angela Kuhne.

As Yale-NUS College moves into its sixth academic year, several faculty members will be taking on new responsibilities at the College from 1 July onwards.

Students at Saga and Elm Residential Colleges will be welcoming new Rectors.

Associate Professor of Science (Life Sciences) Khoo Hoon Eng will be taking over as the Rector of Saga College from incumbent Rector Sarah Weiss while Associate Professor of Humanities (Philosophy) Amber Carpenter takes over from Professor of Science Brian G McAdoo.

Samuel and Liselotte Herman Professor of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Professor of Psychology at Yale University and Visiting Professor at Yale-NUS College Jeannette Ickovics will be taking the helm as Dean of Faculty. She takes over from Professor Joanne Roberts, who has been appointed the College’s Executive Vice President (Academic Affairs).

As the Founding Director of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Yale School of Public Health, Professor Ickovics’ research investigates the interplay of complex biomedical, behavioural, social and psychological factors that influence individual and community health. She uses this lens to examine challenges faced by those often marginalised by the health care system and by society.

Having served as a Visiting Professor at the College for a year, Professor Ickovics noted that Yale-NUS College is “an extraordinary place with its focus on liberal arts and sciences”.

“The faculty, students and staff are smart and dedicated – innovators and risk-takers.  Also, Asia is the centre of global growth in many sectors, and therefore a really exciting place to be,” she shared.

Professor Ickovics was also Director of CARE (Community Alliance for Research and Engagement) and Deputy Director for the Yale Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS. She started as a post-doctoral fellow at Yale University in 1989, and joined the faculty there in 1992.

“I love envisioning new academic endeavours and putting the effort into turning ideas into action. I look forward to working with faculty, students and staff, as well as alumni, parents and community partners, to continue to strengthen and grow Yale-NUS College.”

Reflecting on the challenges she looks forward to tackling in her new role, Professor Ickovics noted that “Yale-NUS College is still new – in our first decade”.

“Like any new institution, challenges arise from needing to simultaneously address many things. We are in a good place to stabilise college leadership and strengthen the foundation on which the college was founded.”

At the same time, she hopes to steer the college towards the future.

“Concurrently, we must look to the future – continue to innovate and be on the cutting edge of education, research and service to the global community. I want to be part of implementing and reinvigorating the original vision, sense of adventure, joy and purpose of Yale-NUS College,” she added.

At her presentation to the faculty, she outlined four cornerstone initiatives that she plans to implement. This includes cross-divisional and transdisciplinary scholarship, teaching in the spirit of liberal arts and sciences tradition, and strengthening ties with both parent institutions.

Outside of work, Professor Ickovics recently took up swimming again because of the wonderful climate in Singapore.

Relatedly, it was the opportunity to “lead and share intellectual life among the dynamic community” at Yale-NUS that motivated Assoc Prof Carpenter to take up her new role as Rector of Elm College.

 “I hope to promote the intellectual life of Elm College, particularly opening up the possibility of that mode of engagement to students who might never have come across it before. Whatever one’s interests or goals, there is space for thoughtfulness, for loving truth and beauty,” she shared.

A philosopher who has published widely on Greek philosophy in prestigious international journals, Assoc Prof Carpenter also has deep expertise in Indian Buddhist philosophy.

Drawn to Yale-NUS as the ideal place to pursue philosophy without borders, she has shaped the Philosophy and Political Thought course and, as Head of Studies, the Philosophy major.

On the culture that she plans to foster in Elm College, she shared that she hopes to “draw attention to the way in which we co-create the world we live in”.

“We have responsibilities to and for each other – whatever we do, or don’t do, affects those around us – without any one of us having the right to absolute authority or control over our shared world. We can see this acutely in microcosm in the residential college but it is true quite generally too,” she explained.

In addition, Assoc Prof Carpenter acknowledged the legacy that Rector McAdoo has built.

“Rector McAdoo encouraged a great deal of student initiative, creating a community that supported each other in realising their diverse projects, and actively reaching beyond the boundaries of the College. I’d like to continue that collaborative and engaged spirit,” she noted.

On a quirky fact about herself, Professor Carpenter shared that she enjoyed pottery.

“Back in the pre-parenthood days, lost in the mists of time, I very much enjoyed making pots. I like each part of the process – the throwing, the turning, the glazing. They each demand a different quality of attention; and there is something gratifying in making something concrete, to feel reality asserting itself in the resistance of the materials,” she reflected.

Before taking on her role as Rector of Saga College, Assoc Prof Khoo most recently served as Associate Dean (Academic Affairs). She joined Yale-NUS College in October 2011 as Director in the Office of the Executive Vice President (Academic Affairs) with responsibilities in faculty hiring, campus design and curriculum planning, before moving on to her appointment as Director of Special Projects in the Office of the President.

Residential life is something that is familiar to Assoc Prof Khoo, who herself studied in a fully-residential liberal arts college and also started one in Bangladesh. A noted biochemist and educationist, Assoc Prof Khoo was previously Vice-Dean at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and the Provost and Acting Vice-Chancellor of the Asian University for Women in Chittagong, Bangladesh.

“While it will be challenging, I think that I can contribute by bringing my own experiences to this role. In addition, after the recent Residential Life review was completed this year, I learnt much more about residential living and how we would like to see it develop further,” Assoc Prof Khoo added.

A long-term goal she has for Saga College is to cultivate a “strong sense of community”, building on the traditions that Rector Weiss has established.

“Rector Weiss has built many amazing traditions at Saga so an immediate challenge is to familiarise myself with all the traditions that the Saga community would like to retain,” she shared.

In addition, she plans to introduce various initiatives for the Saga community, such as a buddy system for international and exchange students as well as exploring sustainable volunteering opportunities with nearby community centres.

Outside of college, Assoc Prof Khoo is co-founder of SAFE, a support group for family and friends of LGBTQ people in Singapore. Pre-presbyopia days, she used to enjoy cross-stitching but now hikes and cycles instead. She has cycled in the Mekong delta, Albania, Myanmar and from Bangkok to Siem Reap with her life-partner, Paul.

(Photo and story by Yale-NUS College)