March 9, 2022

The Social Science and Humanities Research (SSHR) Fellowship was established by the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) as part of its efforts to nurture local talents and strengthen the social science and humanities research ecosystem in Singapore. As SSRC’s first talent development scheme, the SSHR Fellowship aims to support promising Singaporean social science and humanities researchers in the early stages of their academic careers in our Autonomous Universities. The grant also seeks to help build their expertise and careers as researchers. Awardees of the SSHR Fellowship will receive a research grant of up to S$1m over five years for any research project in any social sciences and humanities discipline. Learn more about the SSHR Fellowship here.

Assistant Professor Lin Weiqiang (NUS Department of Geography) recently spoke to us about applying for his SSHR Fellowship awarded in 2019, titled  “Peopling Infrastructure: Aeromobilities, Automation, and Labour Mobilisations in Asia”, which aims to better understand the inner-workings of the aviation industry and simultaneously better inform policies surrounding labour and technology.

The research project focuses on four airport functions – passenger formalities such as check-in, airside services such as gate and connections, baggage handling, and apron logistics such as tarmac operations. Through interviews, site visits, and analysis of reports, the project seeks to illuminate the daily routines of workers and how they navigate within the broader aviation ecosystem. It also will provide insights on how labour can be better managed, by looking at workers who are treated unfairly based on race and gender, and migrant or aged workers who are denied opportunities for long-term employment.

Four cities – Beijing, Dubai, Jakarta, and Singapore – are being studied, offering new global understandings of the behind-the-scenes workings of the aviation industry and knowledge on airport infrastructures, labour, and technology.

Why did you decide to apply for a SSHR Fellowship rather than another type of grant (e.g. Book Grant, Tier 1, Tier 2, HSS Faculty Research Fellowship etc.)?

The SSHR Fellowship aims to support promising Singaporean social science and humanities researchers in the early stages of their academic careers, to help build their expertise as researchers. It has allowed me to chart new and bold research directions after my start-up project, and given me valuable first-time experience managing a fairly large grant. I believe it has also put me in a good stead to apply for larger Tier 2/SSRTG grants in the future.

What do you think were the strengths of your SSHR Fellowship application that led to it being funded?

The application round that year was highly competitive, with many applicants from all AUs. I believe it is important to speak clearly to current issues of relevance to Singapore, and to show how the research would be able to contribute to improving the stead of lives and livelihoods in Singapore. In my case, my project aims to understand how labour-technology relations could be smoothed as Singapore’s air transport sector automates.

 

 

Have you faced any challenges thus far in carrying out the SSHR Fellowship? If so, what did you do to overcome those challenges?

I think all the projects awarded that year coincided with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This meant that many of the plans put in place, especially overseas travel, had to be postponed.  Overcoming this requires a bit of creativity, including (ironically) turning to technology, exploring alternative research methods, and disseminating research outputs through online means (such as virtual conferences). 

What do you think the SSHR Fellowship is enabling you to achieve that you would not have been able to do without it?

I especially value the ability to collaborate with others. The SSHR Fellowship has allowed me to hire early career researchers with complementing expertise and networks, as well as to work with local and overseas scholars to achieve research outputs not possible on my own. 

What would you like to do differently if you could start the project all over again?

I would not have commenced the project in the very same month a global pandemic started raging! But seriously, the Fellowship has only been a good and fulfilling challenge.

Thank you very much for sharing your experiences with the SSHR Fellowship, Weiqiang! We wish you the best in your current and future research projects!

 

 

 

For more on the SSHR Fellowship, read a conversation with Assistant Professor Jack Meng-Tat Chia on his SSHR Fellowship, “Diplomatic Dharma: Buddhist Diplomacy in Modern Asia, 1950s–Present”.

For HSS Fellowship Success Stories, check out the following:

• Associate Professor Ian Chong’s “Buying Out, Cashing In: Non-Leading States, Aggregated Reactions, and the Problems of Power Transition”

For Tier 1 Success Stories, check out the following:

• Associate Professor Jinping Wang’s “A Cultural History of Quanzhen Daoism in Thirteenth-Century North China”
• Assistant Professor Alex Mitchell’s “Exploring ‘Literary’ Devices for Poetic Interactivity” and “Understanding Repeat Engagement with Dynamically Changing Computational Media”
• Assistant Professor Juwon Seo’s “Randomization Tests of Copula Symmetry” and related papers

Stay tuned for forthcoming features on FASS Book Grant Awardees and additional SSHR Fellowship Success Stories!