By Mahima Hari (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics + Gender Studies + NUSC’26).
Fiqri (third from the left) and other NUS delegates for the 12th University Scholars Leadership Symposium by Humanitarian Affairs Asia in Bangkok, Thailand.
When Fiqri Nur Haziq Abu Bakar stepped into University Scholars Programme (USP), he knew he stood out. As a Polytechnic graduate, and possibly the only person with a Diploma in Nursing, his life experiences were different from his peers. Being different gave him an understanding of the unique challenges faced by people from non-conventional backgrounds, inspiring him to offer support where it was needed most.
Hence, when NUS College (NUSC) was announced, Fiqri was excited. “I saw NUSC as an opportunity to create a new culture of inclusivity and diversity,” he said.
And create he did. Fiqri served as the Vice-President (Welfare) of the first NUSC Management Committee. At the same time, he was the Lead Coordinator for Social Work and the Polytechnic Coordinator for the College’s Mentorship Programme, both small but important communities he wanted to formalize to get proper recognition and support.
During Fiqri’s term as Vice-President (Welfare), he also worked with Dr Leung Wing Sze to launch Diversity Week (now Diversity Series), a set of activities and talks aimed at fostering inclusion, awareness, and belonging across communities. His efforts at helming nascent programmes during transitional periods have paid off, and the community he has helped to create is, indeed, thriving.
Fiqri’s objective of serving underappreciated communities is evident. He pursued a degree in Social Work at NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and took a minor in Public Health at NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. Over the years, he has undertaken various internships with the Ministry of Social and Family Development in the Child Protection Services and Adult Protection Services departments, with a goal to help the underprivileged and understand their struggles. He wished to further public discourse and advocate for action regarding taboo topics such as sexual violence.
Fiqri was able to go even further via the USP requirement of doing an Independent Study Course (ISC). He enjoyed the opportunity to do in-depth research on a topic of interest. He first studied healthy relationship building in emerging adults in a university context under Dr George Radics in NUSC. He completed the group ISC with Hannah Ong (‘25) and Francis Goh (’24).
He had a pleasant experience, so he decided to do one more ISC. Inspired by his internship experiences of violence protection work, under Assistant Professor Rayner Kay Jin Tan from Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, he conducted a solo study examining the association between students’ attitudes towards sexual consent and their bystander behaviour in cases of campus sexual misconduct.
*What I loved about the ISC was that it allowed me to work with different stakeholders in relation to my research interests. We shared our findings and recommendations with the NUS Care Unit (NCU) and Office of Student Conduct. I also worked with NCU to put up a booth at NUSC during Denim Day, for sexual assault awareness and prevention,” he shared. “This aligned with my aim to open discussions about protection and safety within NUS.”
Not only has Fiqri connected with people of different walks of life within Singapore, he has also travelled extensively over the course of his undergraduate career. He has studied in Paris, Rome, Seoul, and even represented NUS at Bangkok at the 12th University Scholars Leadership Symposium. When we spoke, he was in Toronto for NUSC’s flagship Global Experience Programme as a student assistant.
He said: “First and foremost, I’ve been quite privileged to go through all these experiences.
They made me appreciate a lot of things back home and learn from other cultures. I like to immerse myself in the local culture, do what a normal person would do. For example, in France, people greet strangers in the lift, and I was like, this is so fun, it’s so nice! But in Singapore, or even within NUSC, there’s no culture of getting to know one another unless you’re in the same class.”
Fiqri would be continuing his educational journey at New York University, pursuing a Masters of Science in Public Policy. He found that the course’s small class size and rigorous focus on quantitative methods would be a natural fit with his previous research experience. “Quantitative analysis would be one of the important ways we can evaluate programmes, find evidence to support a particular policy we want to push for,” he explained.
But the choice goes deeper than being just a matter of academic programming. “We do have social issues in Singapore, but they’re not as apparent or intense as they are in New York—for example, drug use, or homelessness. So, it’d be interesting to see how New York tackles these problems and bring back the good practices.” He would be entering the field of policy work after completing his studies.
In addition to his family and NUSC friends, Fiqri deliberately finds the time to meet with his primary and secondary school friends. “I come from a neighbourhood school, I did Normal [Academic). I don’t have the privilege of having friends who have gone through the same educational pathway as me studying in NUSC now.”
But this effort is necessary and worth it. When asked for words of advice, Fiqri readily stated: “Have a good support network! I was able to reach out to a lot of people through my experiences. That has helped me tide through the hardest times. Having friends doing this with me made things a lot more bearable.”
We thank Fiqri for his time and wish him all the best in his future endeavours.
