SIPA MIA Second Essay

My aspirations for the longer term would be to pursue doctoral studies after the
MIA, and to eventually work as a “pracademic.” I envision a career at the intersection of
cutting-edge academic research into policy design, and the translation of these novel
ideas into tangible projects for poverty alleviation, as a practitioner in Asia. The ongoing
pandemic has both intensi ed the need for aid in developing countries, and created new
challenges in carrying out aid work. While most of the developed economies have
responded by increasing their reliance on technological solutions and moving towards
remote work, this is not suitable for nations that lack the necessary infrastructure, and it is
di cult to perform aid work at a distance. It has also highlighted the need for swift
responses, which large institutions like governments may not be able to execute.

Hence, I am particularly interested in designing systems of intervention that rely on

more exible models, such as smaller non-government organizations or social
entrepreneurship, which may be more nimble than large state apparatuses. There is also
the pressing need to close the technological divide between nations and prevent the
exacerbation of existing global economic inequalities. I thus intend to integrate my
previous training in computer science into my future career in the dual roles of academic
and practitioner to make impactful contributions to these e orts.

I strongly believe that the combination of skills and aspirations I bring to the SIPA
community makes me a strong candidate for the MIA program. The rigorous training in
the social sciences that SIPA o ers, coupled with my existing training in the humanities
and computer science, would shape me into a versatile policy practitioner to confront the
challenges of the post-pandemic world. One who is not only able to design cost-e ective
programs, but to also ensure that they suit the communities they are built for, while
constantly re-evaluating and redesigning them for changing contexts.

Arivarun Anbualagan
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