Postgraduate Students' Life After Nus
Ong Chin Ee, M.Soc.Sci, 2005

I graduated with a Masters degree from the Department of Geography, NUS in 2005. My thesis takes an ethnographic approach to the study of adventure travel motivations and experiences amongst Singaporeans.

I had brief stints with the National Heritage Board and St Francis Methodist School before taking on a lecturing appointment in heritage management and tourism studies at the Institute For Tourism Studies (Instituto De Formacao Turistica, IFT) Macao in 2007. IFT is a Macao Special Administrative Region government entity for the teaching of undergraduate and vocational programmes in tourism and hospitality. The training in NUS Geography has provided strong foundations for my current work.

My main teaching areas are in cultural heritage management and tourism planning and development. I am also involved in cultural tourism programmes in the Institute of European Studies (Macao) and The University of Hong Kong.

My commitment at IFT also extends to collaborative work with UNESCO and UNESCAP Asia Pacific. In this project, I am part of a team tasked with developing and delivering a new cultural heritage specialist guide and a site manager programme for UNESCO World Heritage sites and cultural attractions in Asia. This programme seeks to rectify the problems of poor tourism experience and site deterioration at UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Asia Pacific through the improvement in heritage guiding services and better site management. I am also a co-investigator in a collaborative research project with Professor Hilary du Cros on mainland visitors’ travel motivation and experience in Hong Kong and Macao.

Contrary to media-shaped gaze and expectation, Macao is a wonderful heritage city and it has lots more to offer than mere gaming and casinos (it is not difficult to tell from this recent photograph that the food and wine in Macao is simply irresistible!).

I enjoy living in a friendly World Heritage town and am still intrigued by the geographical wonders of seasonal changes. My experience in Macao and the Pearl Delta would no doubt add to my personal and professional growth. These would not be possible without the guidance of the faculty and staff at NUS Geography who have not only nurtured my research and academic abilities but who have also forged a lifetime of mentorship and friendship.