Dr Aung Hein is an assistant professor in public policy and a member of the Centre for Institutions and Political Behaviour.
Tell us about your role within the School of Government and International Affairs.
I am an assistant professor in public policy at the School of Government and International Affairs. I am also a faculty member at the Centre for Institutions and Political Behaviour, the largest research centre within the SGIA. I teach courses in public policy as well as public management.
Tell us about your research interests and areas of expertise.
My research interests are in state capacity, public bureaucracy, and civil service reforms. Many of us work in organizations with formal organizational divisions, departments, and roles as well as formal processes and procedures. I am particularly interested in informal processes inside public organizations such as socialization of newly recruited civil servants and office politics, which their members experience routinely, and how they influence performance of these organizations. I conduct research on public organizations in low-income countries including in Sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to academia, I led a policy research programme that provided policy advice to two successive civilian governments in Myanmar.
What makes the MSc Public Policy unique?
The MSc Public Policy at Durham University will equip students not only with understanding of actors, institutions, processes, and politics involved in policymaking but also professional skills for their future careers—whether as policymakers or analysts across different sectors. An important component to achieve this is the Capstone module where students will work for our partner organizations in helping them solve a policy challenge in a real-world policy setting.
In addition, the MSc Public Policy also has a strong data analysis component. Students—regardless of their data analysis backgrounds—will learn both how to analyze data and how to comprehend analyses generated by others for evidence-informed decisions.
Can you tell us more about the Capstone module?
The Capstone module is designed to help students apply their classroom learning into a real-world policy setting, learn teamwork, and attain professional skills. Over two terms, a team of students will work with one of our partner organizations - including government agencies, non-profits, and private firms - in helping it solve a policy challenge that this organization faces.
What can students expect from the first few weeks on the MSc Public Policy programme?
In the first few weeks, they will experience being inducted into one of the top Politics and International Relations Department in UK inside a world-class academic institution - Durham University. They will begin to take core modules in public policy and data analysis while choosing optional modules ranging from global health policy to natural language processing. They will also attend various guest lectures hosted by the Centre for Institutions and Political Behaviours, which will provide a second academic home to them under the SGIA.
Outside the classroom, they will be assigned to one of the colleges under Durham University, as a social home during their time with us. There, they will participate in various social events and activities - including formal dinners and guest lectures - and fully experience what a collegiate university education entails and make life-long friendships and connections.
What advice would you give someone thinking of studying the MSc Public Policy?
If you're someone who is considering a career that involves policy analysis and evidence-informed decision-making either in public agencies, NGOs, or private firms or already in such positions but needs to polish your policy and data analysis skills, this programme is for you.
We welcome students from all sorts of academic backgrounds who are interested in making better public policies.
