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Money matters

Studying in Washington DC was a great experience for Ms Ang Hwee Han, an associate in the international and regional relations division of the external department of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

She did her Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service in International Politics with concentration in International Law, Ethics and Institutions at Georgetown University, United States, under a MAS scholarship.

"Studying in Washington, which is like the political capital of the world, was a great experience for me," says the 22-year-old. "Some of the professors came to teach in class straight from the White House and Capitol Hill. Some of them were trade advisers to the US government."

Then there were political figures like Malaysia's opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who was based in Georgetown University for a year.

"The class I took with Anwar Ibra-him was called Contemporary Islam in Southeast Asia in the fall of 2007. The class was very interesting and challenging, and Anwar had a lot of great anecdotes and insights to share from his diverse political experiences," says Ms Ang.

Several international personalities who visited or are based there also gave talks at the university, providing the students with a world view of events.

"Living and studying in Washington DC made me realise how small Singapore is and how much more there is to learn," she says.

While studying for her A levels, Ms Ang developed an interest in history and international relations. The MAS scholarship caught her eye as it of-fered the chance to shape Singapore's financial sector, she says.

"The MAS is an integrated central bank. Given its diverse range of func-tions as a central bank, financial regulator and financial sector developer, I felt that it would give me opportunities for my career development," says Ms Ang.

On her three years of accelerated studies at Georgetown University, she says: "Everyone knows everyone. There were a lot of foreign students — I had friends from Russia, Brazil and Nicaragua."

Like Ms Ang, most of the interna-tional students belong to the School of Foreign Service of the university.

In her first year of studies, she had the chance to be a news anchor for the university's TV station thrice a week.

But her first visit to New York turned out to be a nerve-wrecking experience. Just as she arrived in the city, there was an alert of an impending terrorist attack on the subway system. "I did not dare take the subway as the media was speculating about an Al-Qaeda attack that same day. Instead, I walked 50 blocks," she recalls.

Upon completing her studies, Ms Ang started serving her six-year bond at the MAS last July. Her portfolio covers China and Japan, and it has been expanded to include South-East Asia.

"My work in the external depart-ment promotes bilateral cooperation with other central banks, finance ministries and international financial institutions. We also aim to advance Singapore's interest in regional and international fora. We also look into the financial services part of the Free Trade Agreements.

"Last year, I helped with the US-Singapore FTA's annual review, which was aimed at deepening the FTA relations on both sides," she says. This meant interacting with the US Embassy official based in Singapore and engaging in a teleconference with US Treasury officials.

Being at Singapore's central bank means that Ms Ang is also involved in strategic thinking and writing papers. Her work includes media surveillance, in which she scans the newspapers.

"While our work is very dynamic and keeps us on our toes, our challenge is to constantly take a step back to try to see if we are on the right path for a desired outcome for Singapore."

Ms Ang's advice to aspiring scholars is that taking on a scholarship is a commitment, and they should do their research and talk to people to ensure that it is a good job fit.