Associate Professor Lin Weiqiang’s academic journey began with a simple seed planted by a professor in a fleeting conversation during his undergraduate years. As an eager geography major with the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at NUS, A/P Lin embarked on his student exchange– flying to Pennsylvania State University in the first semester of his second year. It was there that he first contemplated the possibility of an academic career, when a friendly Professor Deryck Holdsworth, impressed by his aptitude in writing, asked if he was interested in pursuing graduate studies.

“At that time, in my social circle, academia wasn’t something that people talked about,” says A/P Lin. “In geography, people often spoke about going into teaching or working in a government office, and I thought that would be my path as well.”

This conversation lodged in his heart for years – in fact, for the rest of his time as an undergraduate at NUS. He sought to make the most of every semester and made it a point to learn a new skill in academic writing and argumentation. However, even the strongest of passions has its tests. After completing his Master of Social Sciences with NUS Geography, A/P Lin was met with uncertainty and financial needs.

“You have to realise that in 2009, as I was finishing my Masters, my ex-classmates were already working in various jobs,” says A/P Lin. “I felt like people had left the university for a long time, now dressed in office wear and starched shirts.”

With a great deal of ambivalence, A/P Lin then ventured into corporate life in the transport and aviation industry. This led A/P Lin to the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) where he worked as part of a team that helped the country conduct international relations with other states. In this new landscape, he found himself fascinated with the incredible ways that transport and aviation politics were handled globally.

These insights invigorated A/P Lin’s interest in transport systems. With new knowledge, he returned to pursue his PhD on Southeast Asian airspace at Royal Holloway, University of London. While A/P Lin did not continue his professional career with CAAS, which he insists could be equally fulfilling, this new research gave rise to the A/P Lin of today, a cultural geographer specialising in the domains of mobilities and transport.

A/P Lin, middle back row in stripes, at NUS Geography Challenge

At present, A/P Lin mainly teaches two modules in the Department of Geography at NUS. In GE3236: Transport and Communications, he teaches students about the spatial planning and operations of transport and communications systems. In GE4226: Mobile Spaces: Making Social Worlds, he offers a critical understanding of how our ability to move is founded on particular cultures, logics, and oftentimes injustices.

He has also co-taught GE4102: Geography in the Contemporary World, alongside NUS Geography Head of Department Professor David Taylor. “I know of Dr Lin’s research through his publications, many of which are single-authored and in top journals in human geography. I have a much more intimate knowledge of Dr. Lin's abilities as an educator through co-teaching a course of several years, during which his calm demeanour and use of a range of techniques and technologies aimed at encouraging student engagement with the material covered impressed me greatly.”

At the same time, having experienced a taste of the industry, A/P Lin constantly aspires to make his lessons relevant and current for his students’ future working lives.

“Most people are not going to be academics. So, I like to ask my students to think about what a given research means for certain areas in real life,” says A/P Lin, who finds fulfilment, especially when his graduated students contact him expressing how pleasantly surprised they are to find that what they learned in his class are so relevant to their professional work.

On top of finding fulfilment in curating practical lessons and content, A/P Lin also feels heartened when students trust him enough to approach him for advice on life after graduation. “I’ve been through my 20s before and I know that sometimes, you want something so bad that it can consume you as if it’s your whole identity,” he says. “I try to give students a bit of perspective – that goal they are striving so hard to achieve – is not everything, and it’s OK to do what may not be fashionable or necessarily earn the most money. It is more important to devote yourself to what you feel you can contribute to. Looking back, that’s what the guest-of-honour shared at my undergraduate commencement ceremony, and she was indeed right.”

Today, A/P Lin’s research has come down to earth and revolves around airport spaces. In 2019, he was awarded a Social Science and Humanities Research Fellowship to advance knowledge on the increasing automation of the aviation industry. He hopes that this work could inform policies surrounding labour and technology, and lead to more sustainable ways of modernising airport operations. Alongside his research projects, he continues to guide undergraduates both in the classroom, on the relevance of transport and geography, as well as outside of the classroom, on the fulfilments of finding their authentic selves.

People of FASS is a content series that emphasises on the human element, our people, their accomplishments and journey, as well as what inspires them. The series is curated primarily to focus on featuring exemplary students, alumni, researchers, faculty and staff.