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Southeast Asia Student Dissertation Fieldwork Grant


SEAC offers a Student Dissertation Fieldwork grant, for current LSE undergraduate and taught master’s students for field research in the Southeast Asia region as part of their assessed dissertation. The funding may contribute towards travel expenses and on-site research expenses, up to a maximum of £500 per applicant.

The Southeast Asia Student Dissertation Fieldwork Grants are supported by Arvind Khattar whose generous gift has helped SEAC to further develop its research activities.

I am very grateful to SEAC for this funding opportunity for my dissertation. My Dissertation Fieldwork Grant will support the acquisition of print reference materials and will conducting online interviews. My study comes at a time of significant and even violent political challenges to the Philippine Left. As a Filipino, I want my research to contribute to political discourse and discussions in the Philippines, especially in light of current contexts shaped by the Duterte regime and the upcoming 2022 elections.

Gabbie Santos, 2021 Dissertation Fieldwork Grantee

SEAC considers applicants from any discipline, using any methodology and selecting any site within the Southeast Asia region (normally classified as countries that are member states of ASEAN) in which the fieldwork is to be conducted. Applicants are strongly encouraged to pay close attention to LSE and governmental news and health and safety updates, in and in liaison with their dissertation supervisors, in order that appropriate duty of care, for both themselves and any research participants, is ensured.

 

2024/25 Awardees

 

Kyunghwan Choi_profile

Name: Kyunghwan Choi 
Degree: MSc Environment and Development
Fieldwork location: Indonesia
Topic: Debt Swap: Innovative resolution or new form of colonialism? Indonesia case

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Name: Ghea Adasta
Degree: MSc Media and Communication (Data and Society)
Fieldwork location: Indonesia
Topic: The Analysis of Power Dynamic Between the Indonesian Government and Big Tech in regulating AI governance in Indonesia

 

Nitchakan

Name: Nitchakan Daramatat
Degree: MSc Social and Cultural Psychology
Fieldwork location: Thailand
Topic: Identity transformation of ethnic youth in Thailand: The case study of Karen youth in Baan Huay Hin Dam community, Suphanburi Province

 

Alexandre Dupont

Name: Alexandre Dupont-Sinhsattanak
Degree: LSE-PKU Double MSc Degree in International Affairs 
Fieldwork location: Laos
Topic: The disunited front: Western divergences on the Laotian crisis, 1953-1962

 

Retno Indrawati

Name: Retno Indrawati
Degree: MSc Gender, Development and Globalisation
Fieldwork location: Indonesia
Topic: The Risks of Performative Inclusion within YOUNGO: Empty Institutions and the Use of Youth Voices in Global Climate Governance

 

Muhammad Badrul

Name: Badrul Hisham Ismail
Degree: MSc. Inequalities and Social Science
Fieldwork location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Topic: Urban Inequality

 

Profile Photo_Wulandari Anindya Kana

Name: Wulandari Anindya Kana
Degree: MSc Environment and Development
Fieldwork location: Semarang, Indonesia
Topic: The politics of knowledge production in climate interventions in coastal Semarang

 

Name: Ambar Khawaja
Degree: Masters in Public Administration (MPA)
Fieldwork location: Singapore
Topic: Decentralized Authority in a Centralized State: MUIS and Public Service Delivery in Singapore

 

Aya Kobayashi

Name: Aya Kobayashi
Degree: MSc International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies
Fieldwork location: Batangas, Philippines
Topic: Evaluating the role of remittances as an alternative disaster risk mitigation strategy in lower-income households in the Philippines

 

Estee Leong

Name: Estee Faith Leong
Degree: MA in Modern History
Fieldwork location: Singapore
Topic: Searching for Autonomy: University Students in Singapore, 1975–1990

 

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Name: Amanda Lingao
Degree: Msc Human Rights and Politics
Fieldwork location: Philippines
Topic: Solidarity, repair, and victim-centered articulations of justice in the Philippines' War on Drugs

 

Hsiang Naik

Name: Hsiang Jien Naik
Degree: MSc Development Management
Fieldwork location: Sabah, Malaysia
Topic: Statelessness in Sabah: The lack of political will or a political agenda?

 

Giang Nguyen

Name: Giang T. Nguyen
Degree: MSc Global Health Policy
Fieldwork location: Viet Nam
Topic: Assessing Willingness-to-Pay for Mammography in Early Breast Cancer Detection among women in Viet Nam

 

16-52-50

Name: Leon Schachter 
Degree: BA Geography with Chinese
Fieldwork location: Luzon, Philippines
Topic: The Balikbayan Route: An Analysis of Distribution, Coordination, and Change in the Value Chain of Transnational Kinship

 

Moses Siregar

Name: Moses Siregar
Degree: MSc Political Science (Political Behaviour)
Fieldwork location: Bogor City, Indonesia
Topic: Buzzers, the New Brokers! The Effect of Social Media Brokers on Political Conformity and Online Engagement: An RCT in Indonesia

 

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Name: Nattakrit Thaicharoenporn
Degree: BSc International Relations and History
Fieldwork location: Thailand
Topic: Bondage and Capitalism: Slavery and Authoritative Emancipation in the Making of Modern Thailand

 

 Tham Truong

Name: Tham Ngoc Truong
Degree: MSc in Global Media and Communications
Fieldwork location: Vietnam
Topic: The spread of misinformation/disinformation on social media on human trafficking in Vietnam 

 

Yuanhang Wang_Photo

Name: Yuanhang Wang
Degree: MSc in International Affairs
Fieldwork location: Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia
Topic: The Devil You Know: ASEAN’s Collaboration and Containment towards the Democratic Kampuchea (1979-1982)

 

 

 

2023/24 Awardees
DFG 1

Name: Nurfitriyana Riyadi
Degree: MSc Behavioural Science
Fieldwork location: Indonesia
Topic: Digital discourse on social media amongst Indonesian netizens

 

DFG 2

Name: Luca Fraticelli
Degree: MSc Environmental Policy and Regulation
Fieldwork location: Malaysia, in person
Topic: Nuclear empowerment in ASEAN: the case of Malaysia

 

DFG 3

Name: Regina Jessica Angeline
Degree: MSc Regulation (Government and Law)
Fieldwork location: Indonesia
Topic: Women in Regulating an Empty Land: The Case of Indonesia's Ibu Kota Nusantara

 

dfg 4

Name: Jake Chavara
Degree: MSc Development Management
Fieldwork Location: Leyte, Philippines
Topic: Balancing People, Profit & Planet: Unpacking Livelihood Co-benefits in Philippine Blue Carbon Projects

 

DFG 5

Name: Ryan Taehyoung Kim
Degree: MSc Development Management
Fieldwork Location: Vietnam
Topic: Assessing the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorism Financing (CTF) Measures for Economic Development in Southeast Asia.

 

DFG 6

Name: Hannah Gwynneth Pimentel
Degree: MSc in Political Science and Political Economy
Fieldwork location: Philippines
Topic: Political Alignment Dynamics and Fiscal Surpluses: Insights from Local Governance in the Philippines

 

DFG 7

Name: Sahil Bhagat 
Degree: Columbia-LSE Dual MA/MSc in International and World History 
Fieldwork location: Malaysia 
Topic: Spice Bombs on the Plantation: Transnational Connectivities of Malayan Indian Anti-colonialism

 

dfg 8

Name: Naura Haryanto 
Degree: MSc in International Social and Public Policy (Non-Governmental Organisations)
Fieldwork location: Indonesia 
Topic: Unpacking the Role and Approach of Gender-Focused NGOs in Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Policy Change

 

DFG 9

Name: Collin TEO Jun Kai
Degree: LSE-PKU Double MSc Degree in International Affairs 
Fieldwork Location: Singapore and Maryland, USA
Topic: How the Vietnam War Shaped Singapore-US Relations in its Formative Years, 1965-68

 

DFG 10

Name: Amanda Fidelino   
Degree: MSc Political Sociology
Fieldwork location: Philippines
Topic: How does the new Metro Manila middle class view institutional changes in the post-EDSA normative order?

 

DFG 11

Name: Yuyang Chen
Degree: LSE–Peking University Double MSc in International Affairs
Fieldwork location: China (in person) and Indonesia (Remote)
Topic: Struggle and Adaptation: Identity of Indonesian Chinese ‘Returnees’ in the 1950s and 1960s

 

DFG 12

Name: Ferth Vandensteen Manaysay
Degree: MSc Environmental Policy and Regulation
Fieldwork location: Vietnam and Philippines
Topic: Envisioning a transition towards a circular plastics economy: Policy narratives in the extended producer responsibility regulations of Vietnam and the Philippines

 

DFG 13

Name: Khairin Amin
Degree: Msc Social and Cultural Psychology
Fieldwork location: Malaysia
Topic: Mental Health Conceptions in Malaysia: A social representational study of a multi-ethnic context

 

 

2022/23 Awardees

 

Hanson Chong_Photo-modified

Hanson Chong

Degree: MSc Social Research Methods
Proposed fieldwork location: Malaysia
Topic: Interethnic Friendships under Ethnic Segregation: The Case of Malaysia

Read Hanson's blog post on his fieldwork here.

Personal photo_Jiajun Deng-modified

Jiajun Deng

Degree: MSc Anthropology and Development
Proposed fieldwork location: Malaysia
Topic: Losing or Winning? Development and Dispossession in Malaysia

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Wisarut Junsook

Degree: MSc International and Asian History
Proposed fieldwork location: Thailand
Topic: The Bowring Treaty of 1855 and the Transformation of Siamese Foreign Policies toward Britain

Read Wisarut's blog post on his fieldwork here.

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Jia Kok

Degree: MSc Media and Communications
Proposed fieldwork location: Malaysia
Topic: An investigation of Malaysian Chinese's 'Chineseness' and its relationship with Chinese social media, RED and popular culture in facilitation and maintenance of a Chinese identity

Yenuarizki Soedjoko_Photo Profile-modified-modified

Yenuarizki Soedjoko

Degree: MSc Social and Public Communication
Proposed fieldwork location: Indonesia
Topic: Understanding Indonesian Conservatives and Liberals' Moral Values to Viral Social Media Contents in the #SahkanRUUPKS Campaign

Sara Tan profile picture-modified

Si-Qi Tan

Degree: MSc International Social and Public Policy 
Proposed fieldwork location: Singapore
Topic: The interrelationship between Social Policy, Confucianism and Loneliness among the elderly in Singapore

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Ruth Luzminda Warren

Degree: MSc Urbanisation and Development
Proposed fieldwork location: Philippines
Topic: Climate-resilient urban planning and aging populations in Asia: understanding gendered experiences of aging and housing in Cagayan de Oro


 

2021/22 Awardees

SEAC was delighted to recieve so many competitive applications for the 2021/22 grants. The nine student awardees were selected based on the strength of their applications, and their proposed dissertation fieldwork and research. 

4 Alexia Faugeroux-modified

Alexia Faugeroux

Degree: MSc Development Management
Proposed fieldwork location: Cambodia
Topic: Impact evaluation of single-sex schooling on gender equality in education: a case study of Toutes à l’école in Cambodia

Read Alexia's blog post on her fieldwork here.

7 Michelle Huang-modified

Michelle Yue Huang

Degree: MSc Conflict Studies
Proposed fieldwork location: Myanmar
Topic: Mobilisation and Resistance Post-Democratisation: Continuity, Change, and Learning in Myanmar’s Spring Revolution

Read Michelle's blog post on her fieldwork here.

8 Chen En Lee-modified

Chen En Lee

Degree: MSc Sociology
Proposed fieldwork location: Singapore and Malaysia 
Topic: Is it just for the money: A look at Malaysian cross-border workers in Singapore

5 Michelle-modified

Dianwidhi Michelle Pranoto

Degree: MSc in Media and Communications (Data and Society)
Proposed fieldwork location: Indonesia
Topic: Exploring the Influence of Socio-cultural Predictors of Digital Exclusion on Outcomes of Digital Engagement between the Western and Eastern Part of Indonesia

10 Xiao Tong-modified

Xiao Tong Quek

Degree: MSc International, Social and Public Policy
Proposed fieldwork location: Indonesia and Malaysia 
Topic: The socio-economic impacts of mitigation policies implemented post-ratification of ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution on smallholder farmers in Indonesia and Malaysia

Read Xiao Tong's blog post on her fieldwork here.

2 Pavla Tan-modified

Pavla Yzabelle Tan

Degree: MSc Gender, Media and Culture
Proposed fieldwork location: Philippines
Topic: Nationalist Discourses in the 2022 Philippine Elections: The (Re)Construction of the Nation by Leading Presidential Candidates Leni Robredo versus Bongbong Marcos

3 Jeffrey Tong-modified

Jeffrey Tong

Degree: MSc Regional and Urban Planning Studies
Proposed fieldwork location: Singapore 
Topic: Governing Urban Nature-based Solutions: An Analysis of High-rise Green Infrastructure Regulation in Singapore 

6 Myra Torcheux-modified

Myra Torcheux

Degree: MSc Human Rights and Politics
Proposed fieldwork location: Cambodia
Topic: Transnational Justice and Politics in the Cambodian Diaspora

Read Myra's blog post on her fieldwork here.

 

9 Sophie Worrall-modified

Sophie Worrall

Degree: MSc Environmental Policy and Regulation
Proposed fieldwork location: Malaysia 
Topic: Drivers of sustainable palm oil certification? Case study of Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) and barriers for smallholder uptake

 

2020/21 Awardees

For this year, with in-person student fieldwork strictly limited, our 12 awardees impressed with innovative research and methods to work around travel restrictions.

Awardees have also been encouraged to pay close attention to LSE and governmental news and health and safety updates, in and in liaison with their dissertation supervisors, in order that appropriate duty of care, for both themselves and any research participants, is ensured. 

 

Gray Brakke

Gray Brakke

Degree: MSc Urbanisation and Development
Proposed fieldwork location: Vietnam (remotely)
Topic: Strategic Differentiation: The Dialectic of Urban Citizenship and State Authority in Hanoi and Its Periurban Fringe

Read Gray's blog post on his fieldwork here.

Marcus Chee

Marcus Chee

Degree: MSc International Affairs
Proposed fieldwork location: Singapore and Malaysia (remotely)
Topic: British Colonial gaze in the Malaya Command 1939-1942

 

Soon Yung Low

Soon Yung Low

Degree: MSc Applied Social Data Science
Proposed fieldwork location: Malaysia (remotely)
Topic: Ethnic Stereotypes in Malaysia: A quantitative measure based on word embedding

 

Jeremiah Magpile

Jeremiah Magpile

Degree: MSc Local Economic Development
Proposed fieldwork location: Philippines (remotely)
Topic: Is Pasig City ready for Industry 4.0? The role of institutions in enhancing workforce technology readiness

 

DGF Amanda Munoz

Amanda Munoz Gamage

Degree: MSc Human Rights
Proposed fieldwork location: Across Southeast Asia (remotely)
Topic: Exploring the production of knowledge in Feminist Participatory Action Research (FPAR) – A case study of Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APFWLD)

Read Amanda's blog post on her fieldwork here.

 

Luisa Pineda

Luisa Pineda

Degree: MSc Media, Communication and Development
Proposed fieldwork location: Philippines (remotely)
Topic: Feminist media activism in the Philippines:Communication, community, and collective action amid COVID-19

 Read Luisa's blog post on her fieldwork here.

 

Safira Pusparani

Safira Prabawidya Pusparani

Degree: MSc Public Policy and Administration
Proposed fieldwork location: Indonesia (remotely)
Topic: Do women run the world (of policymaking)? Uncovering the dichotomy of descriptive and substantive gender representation in Indonesia's legislation processes post-2014 and 2019 elections

Read Safira's blog post on her fieldwork here.

 

Ili Rahan

Ili Kaiyisah Mohammad Rahan

Degree: MSc Environment and Development
Proposed fieldwork location: Singapore (remotely)
Topic: Food for thought: Analyzing Singapore’s food resilience strategies

 

Dominic Rose

Dominic Rose

Degree: MSc Applied Social Data Science
Proposed fieldwork location: Thailand, Cambodia (remotely)
Topic: Using Deep Learning and Google Street View to Identify Poverty in Southeast Asia

 

Gabbie Santos

Gabbie Santos

Degree: MSc Political Sociology
Proposed fieldwork location: Philippines (remotely)
Topic: How does the embourgeoisement of a rising Filipino middle class reshape labour politics and massmobilisation in the Philippines, and what are the political implications?

Read Gabbie's blog post on his fieldwork here.

 

Joshua Tham

Joshua Tham

Degree: BA History
Proposed fieldwork location: Singapore (remotely)
Topic: Counter-Communist Efforts by the Catholic Church in Post-War Singapore, 1948-70

 

Nick Williamson

Nicholas Williamson

Degree: MSc Health and International Development
Proposed fieldwork location: Thailand (remotely)
Topic: A Qualitative Study on the Politics of Abortion Legalisation in Thailand

Read Nick's blog post on his fieldwork here.

 

2019/20 awardees

Important note from SEAC:

While any in-person fieldwork will inevitably be reconsidered, including cancellation, due to the current pandemic, we would like to congratulate the 10 successful applicants of SEAC’s 2019/20 LSE Southeast Asia Student Dissertation Fieldwork Grant based on their original proposals. Awardees have been assured that SEAC is very much aware of significant restrictions and that we will be sympathetic to any changes to the nature, scope and timing of their proposed research, including researching remotely if appropriate. Awardees have also been encouraged to pay close attention to LSE and governmental news and health and safety updates, in liaison with their dissertation supervisors, in order that appropriate duty of care, for both themselves and any research participants, is ensured.

dg Anggraini

Rahma Anggraini

Degree: MSc International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies
Proposed fieldwork location: Indonesia
Topic: Contestation within Civil Society and Policy Changes: Examining the Impact of Advocacy by Different Women Groups to the Bill Legalization Process in Indonesia

dg Chiu

Hayli Chiu

Degree: BSc Environment and Development 
Proposed fieldwork location: Malaysia
Topic: Individual Decisions in Agent-Based Models: An Analysis of the Influence of Southeast Asian Haze Episodes on the Migration Patterns in Malaysia 

dg formella

Jonathan Formella

Degree: Columbia-LSE Dual MA/MSc in International and World History
Proposed fieldwork location: Vietnam
Topic: Exhumed Furies: Maoist Radicalism in the Chinese and Vietnamese Revolutions

dg gupta

Saanjh Gupta 

Degree: MSc in Empires, Colonialism and Globalisation
Proposed fieldwork location: Singapore
Topic: Hawker Centre Redevelopment and Singaporean National Identity, 1968-86

dg Lim

Zhen Jun Al Lim

Degree: MSc Urbanisation and Development 
Proposed fieldwork location: Thailand
Topic: Phuket’s Smart City Surveillance: an investigation of its Eagle Eyes CCTV Network 

dg look

Woon Wei Look

Degree: MSc City Design and Social Science
Proposed fieldwork location: Singapore
Topic: What is homelessness? Defining homelessness and a critical examination of governmental responses in Singapore

dg menon

Rishik Elias Menon

Degree: MSc Criminal Justice Policy 
Proposed fieldwork location: Singapore
Topic: Crime Prevention and the Compliance-Industrial Complex: Analysing the Ideas, Interests and Institutions which Influence Singapore’s Anti-Money Laundering Regime 

dg ong

Cheyenne Ong 

Degree: BSc in History and International Relations
Proposed fieldwork location: Singapore and Malaysia
Topic: The extent to which Communists influenced the Chinese middle school students’ movement in Singapore from 1954-1961

dg Sajor

Leanne Sajor 

Degree: MSc Inequalities and Social Science
Proposed fieldwork location: Philippines
Topic: Topographies of resistance: implications of the Human Rights Impact Assessment on movements against inequalities in the Manila Bay Project 

dg Sutton

Johanna Sutton 

Degree: MSc Urbanisation and Development 
Proposed fieldwork location: Singapore
Topic: Making cities more resilient: blue-green infrastructure and governance


 

2018/19 awardees

 

Bennett

Tiffany Bennett

Degree: MSc Development Management
Fieldwork location: Cambodia
Topic: Belonging on the Margins: Exploring National Identity Among Cham Muslims in Rangsei Village, Cambodia

Chok

Lazarus Chok

Degree: BA Geography
Fieldwork location: Singapore
Topic: Terminal estates: An ethnographic study of planned obsolescence in public housing estates in Singapore

Lim

Ming Kit Lim

Degree: MSc Public Administration and Government
Fieldwork location: Singapore
Topic: Engendering Participatory Governance in Paternalistic States: A Case Study of ‘Our Singapore Conversation’ 

Otara

Rio Grace Otara

Degree: MSc in Gender, Development and Globalization
Fieldwork location: Philippines
Topic: Life Histories of Muslim Women Leaders of the Bangsamoro Islamic Women’s Auxiliary Brigade in the Philippines

Parkinson

Katie Parkinson

Degree: MSc in International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies
Fieldwork location: Thailand
Topic: Constructing ‘Home’ in Exile: Perspectives of Shan Refugees in Thailand

 

 

 

 

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