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Crawford School of Public Policy

Tess Harwood | Master of Public Policy

Learn more about Tess and her experience as a student at Crawford School of Public Policy.

Why did you apply to Crawford School?

I decided to study at ANU because when I was studying overseas in Indonesia, I made some best friends there, and they were studying at ANU, specifically within the college of Asia and the Pacific, and from what they were talking about ANU and the college, I was just so excited. I really wanted to go and study there because I've always had a passion for Asia. They said, "why don't you come after your undergrad?" and that's what I've done. 

Will this degree be beneficial to your career? 

Studying at Crawford, I think is invaluable for my future career. I'm making networks within the Australian government, as well as a lot of the international students,  are from the public sector in their country, so I'm making a lot of networks in the public sector in the Asia-Pacific. I'm also getting to use the languages that I learned in my undergrad, specifically Indonesian. There's a large Indonesian cohort so I've sort of gone into their group and now we make Indonesian food on the weekends, and I get to speak Indonesian in class. Also, I've been able to learn to critically analyze things and I think it's really important for an employer to have someone who is able to look at a problem and then analyze it from every situation, and then come up with the best possible solution for all actors. 

What is your favourite course? 

My favourite course at Crawford has actually been the one I was most apprehensive about. I had never studied economics before and one compulsory course is an economics class. I went in with a positive mindset and it has been sort of a mind-blowing experience. I had always sort of approached everything with the social scientist perspective, and coming from an economics perspective and applying that to public policy has just been completely radical for me. 

Where do you work? 

I currently work as a project officer for the East Asia Forum. It's a prominent platform focusing on research, debate and policy analysis of public policy in the Asia Pacific region. My work varies but I generally write press releases, edit articles, and organize events. I love working in East Asia Forum because I get to keep up-to-date on what's happening in the region, and I also get to talk to the experts in their fields on what's happening. 

What is your favourite thing about Crawford School? 

My favourite thing about Crawford is that it has its own academic skills advisors. You're able to just go online and book an appointment with them. They are available for half an hour slots throughout the day, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm and sometimes. if you really need something after work or something, they help you out there and they sit down with me and go through my whole assignment and let me know about the ideas. If I just want to talk about the ideas, or sometimes I need help with the grammar. It's been such a lifesaver. 

What was the process of applying to Crawford School? 

Crawford has a unique way of doing applications. Usually, in Australia, you apply through UAC. but here at Crawford, you get to apply straight to them, and that sort of put me in touch with the relevant people here in Crawford. So if I had questions, I could just email them and then quickly respond to me so I really enjoyed that. 

What is it like to study at Crawford School? 

I love studying a Crawford because there's just such an atmosphere here. It's a really positive environment for learning and I get to come in and I can set up a computer lab and then I can just roam around Crawford and say Hi to my friends and you know, I can see the academics in the hallway. We stop and chat and its just a fantastic environment. 

TEQSA Provider ID: PRV12002 (Australian University) | CRICOS Provider Code: 00120C