Follow SSEAC on social media
Find out all the latest news and events
The COVID Vaccine Rollout in Singapore
A multidisciplinary field school
Are you interested in getting out of the classroom and applying your research skills in the real world? Receive a $2,500 travel grant to spend two weeks in the vibrant city of Singapore, conducting real-world research on the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
What: A two-week multidisciplinary field school in Singapore over the winter break
Where: Singapore
When: 19 June to 2 July 2023
Who: Undergraduate students at the University of Sydney in the following disciplines: Geography, Government and International Relations, Health Sciences, Pharmacy
Why: Leave the classroom behind for a hands-on field school studying the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Singapore! Learn about Singapore through a unique lens, boost your cross-cultural and interdisciplinary research skills, and meet students from other disciplines. You will receive 6 academic credit points for participating in this program. This program is funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s New Colombo Plan (NCP). Successful applicants will become NCP scholars and receive a $2,500 scholarship to help with costs associated with your participation in this program. A limited number of SSEAC-funded grants are available to international students who do not meet the NCP criteria.
About this program
Early in the pandemic, Singapore was considered one of the leaders in responding to COVID-19, not only in Southeast Asia but globally. Singapore’s geographic isolation gave it a distinct advantage, and when it closed its borders in March 2020 it was widely lauded for its aggressive stance in addressing COVID-19. But failure to attend to the health of its migrant workers led to a worsening situation for the citystate, forcing leaders to focus their efforts on internal developments and to prioritise prevention through vaccination, which it subsequently did. Within this context, the field school will examine issues relating to mobility in and out of Singapore and its impact on the efficacy of the vaccine program; the extent to which Singapore’s status as a transport hub has influenced its policies and practices regarding the management of COVID-19; issues relating to vaccine hesitancy, herd immunity and vaccine nationalism; and how different communities, including the elderly and those with disabilities, have responded both to the pandemic and to the vaccination program.
Students will also work in small interdisciplinary groups to design and deliver a small research project. Students will present the results of their group research project in the concluding sessions of the program.
Group research projects
The interdisciplinary research project is a unique opportunity to work across disciplines and cultures, and to delve more deeply into a specific issue in a Southeast Asian context. Students will work together to develop and design their own research project; collect and analyse data; and present the results of their findings in the final week of the field school.
Benefits of participating in this program
This is a unique opportunity for you to develop and apply your research skills in an international and interdisciplinary setting. A distinguishing feature of this program is the opportunity to work with students from other disciplines. Outcomes may include:
- Building strong networks that can be sustained post-program
- Engaging in cross-cultural collaboration, experiencing the value of working in diverse teams in new settings and exploring new perspectives and approaches to learning and research
- Enhancing cultural competence, a graduate attribute, to help facilitate growth in cultural understanding across personal and professional interactions
- Achieving program outcomes by engaging in a shared project which requires research, understanding local realities, engages with local actors and is based on deep understanding of the realities of life in each location
- Engaging in design thinking or other structured activities to use problem solving, creativity, and critical thinking to achieve a project outcome
- Gaining an interdisciplinary understanding of political, economic, legal, ethno-cultural, geographical and developmental issues in Singapore.
Students in Geography are invited to lodge their application by midnight AEDT, Sunday 12 March 2022.
If you are in another discipline and interested in being considered for a possible second round of applications, please email us at sseac@sydney.edu.au.
Additional information
To be eligible you must:
- Be enrolled in the second or third year of a Bachelor’s degree program at the University of Sydney
- Be studying in one of the approved disciplines: Geography, Government and International Relations, Health Sciences, Pharmacy
- Have space in your degree for a 6-credit point elective
- Be available to attend two days of pre-departure training on 1 and 2 June 2023 and be available for the entire length of the mobility program in Singapore (arriving in-country no later than Sunday 18 June, and departing no sooner than Sunday 2 July)
Students from other disciplines may be eligible to participate provided we have space in the program. If this is of interest, please check with SSEAC staff before applying.
Note
- Students from low socio-economic backgrounds and those who have not undertaken exchange or field school opportunities in the past are particularly encouraged to apply (though this is not a prerequisite).
- This program is open to domestic students only.
- This course is an elective and does not form a compulsory component of any degree. (It may count towards some majors – please discuss directly with SSEAC and your course coordinator).
- This unit is not suitable for first year students.
- This Unit requires Departmental Permission to enrol. Students must first apply. They are then shortlisted and invited to attend an interview. The interview process seeks to identify the most suitable candidates and ensure an equal representation of students from different disciplines. Students are required to demonstrate that they have suitable competencies in cross-cultural awareness and teamwork in order to be admitted to the program. Please do not enrol in this Unit unless you have been invited by SSEAC staff to do so.
- Students from Geography may be eligible to enrol in GEOS3053 (Asia-Pacific Field School) and count it towards their major; please consult with your course director and SSEAC staff for further information.
- Students from Government and International Relations will enrol in ASNS2669 (Field Study of Southeast Asia) and may be able to count it towards their major; please consult with your course director and SSEAC staff for further information.
- Students from Pharmacy will enrol in PHAR4820 in the S2CIHL (July Intensive) session. Note that assessment details will be slightly different from those outlined elsewhere on this website: specifically, the five Pharmacy students will compete the final assessment as a group assignment rather than as an individual essay, and it will be 4000 words. Please consult with your course director and SSEAC staff for further information.
- Students from Health Science will enrol in ASNS2669 (Field Study of Southeast Asia) and can request permission to add it towards their major. Please consult with your course director and SSEAC staff for further information.
- Participation, ongoing 10%
- Annotated bibliography, 1000 words, 20%
- Weekly reflection diary, 1500 words, 20%
- Group research presentation, 20 minutes, 20%
- Essay, 2000 words, 30%
- New Colombo Plan scholarships
This program is funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s New Colombo Plan (NCP). Successful applicants will become NCP scholars and receive a $2,500 scholarship to help with costs associated with your participation in this program.
- Grants for international students
A limited number of SSEAC-funded grants are available to international students who do not meet the NCP criteria. If you are an international student and interested in finding our more about funding support for this field school, please contact us at sseac@sydney.edu.au.
- OS-HELP
OS-Help is available for all in-country programs. To check your availability, click here.
Amounts for 2023 have not yet been confirmed. You can use the following information as a guide.
In 2022, successful applicants can select from the following amounts to borrow per six-month study period.
- non-Asian destinations: $2,000; $4,000; $7,100
- Asian destinations*: $2,500; $5,000; $8,519
If you are taking a relevant and endorsed Asian-language course before studying in Asia, you can also apply for a supplementary OS-HELP loan of $1,133.
- 1 September 2022: First round of applications opens
- 2 October 2022: First round of applications closes
- Week commencing 10 and 17 October: Interviews (by disciplinary leads)
- Week commencing 24 October 2022: Offers are made
- 4 November 2022: Second round of applications for Geography students opens
- 12 March 2023: Second round of applications for Geography students closes
- Week commencing 20 and 27 March 2023: Interviews (by disciplinary leads)
- 1–2 June 2023 : Pre-departure training
Note: Applicants must be available for a short (up to one hour) interview in the week commencing 20 or 27 March. This interview may be online or face to face depending on circumstances.
Students in Geography are invited to lodge their application by midnight AEDT, Sunday 12 March 2022.
If you are in another discipline and interested in being considered for a possible second round of applications, please email us at sseac@sydney.edu.au.
In the application form, you will be asked to provide the following information:
- Current GPA/WAM
- Have you previously received New Colombo Plan funding? (150 words)
- Have you travelled to Southeast Asia before? In what capacity? (150 words)
- Why do you want to participate in this mobility program? (250 words)
- Why do you think you would be a good fit for this mobility program? (250 words)
- What do you hope to personally gain from this mobility program? (250 words)
- What are your expectations of this course? (250 words)
For more information or if you have any questions, please contact the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre (sseac@sydney.edu.au). Please ensure you read all the information on this page first.
- Places are limited to 20 University of Sydney students.
- Students are required to organise their own flights to and from Singapore.
- Students are required to ensure they have an appropriate visa to enter Singapore.
- Students are required to ensure they meet all vaccination requirements to travel to, in and from Singapore.
- This field school will run in the July Intensive (S2CIJL) 2023.