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| Mr. Tan poses with Dr. Mastrorilli after receiving his award. |
Chi Chong Tan
Former Assistant Director of Frontline Policing Division, Singapore Police Force
2019 Excellence in Graduate Studies Award Winner for Criminal Justice
MCJ, concentration in Cybercrime Investigation & Cybersecurity (MET’19); BEng, National University of Singapore
What do you find most fascinating about the discipline of criminal justice? Do you have a particular focus within the broader field?
There are so many interesting areas within criminal justice to talk about. What fascinates me most about criminal justice is its real-life relatability; we see policing on the streets, we may know someone who is a victim of cybercrime, we watch movies about cops. It is a very real, very interpersonal, and very high-impact field to the lives of many people. I'm currently hopeful to further develop my profile in the field of cybercrime, as it is something I was not exposed to in my previous policing work, which was mostly an operational role, and because of the degree to which cybercrime is proliferating across the world.
Congratulations on your high achievement in the Master of Criminal Justice (MCJ) program and your Award for Excellence in your studies! Looking back, what do you consider to be the main ingredients of your success?
Perseverance definitely played an important role in the equation. Much of the rest of it came down to good fortune—the excellent, approachable, learned lecturers who are readily available for consultations; the helpful classmates from Thailand, Japan, China, the United States, and elsewhere; and, of course, I can’t forget the role my supportive partner played in my success.
How were you able to successfully balance your studies with your commitments outside the classroom?
I think planning helps. Personally, I find it helpful to use to-do lists with clear deadlines, and to then review those lists regularly. My partner uses a shared online calendar so that we can know each other's availability and plan family and work-related activities accordingly. It's not easy to balance classroom commitments with other demands like work and family, so I found communicating with those affected by my schedule in one way or another to be both important and useful.
Was your success in the program driven by a particular outcome—such as professional advancement, educational achievement, personal satisfaction, or something else?
In our limited lives, it’s great if we can make this world a better place than when we first found it. After a number of years as an officer, I felt that it was timely to pursue new inspiration for my work by exposing myself to new thinking, people with different life experiences, and then training to obtain new perspectives. And when you're curious, you find that there are lots of interesting things to do in this program.
How do you plan to apply the skills and competencies you gained during your studies moving forward? What is next in store for you?
I definitely hope to be able to put the skills and competencies I learned at BU MET to good use, either to review and enhance some existing policing programs, or to create new initiatives. I'm also thinking of ways to pass this knowledge on to younger officers, so that they can enjoy new knowledge and fresh insights as they examine issues and hopefully come up with better solutions. In the longer term, I hope to do some consulting work or start a new venture in the security field—the skills, competencies, and network gained during my master’s study here has definitely opened up new possibilities.
You were recognized by faculty and peers for your hard work and dedication to the MCJ program. What “words of advice” or encouragement have served as a guiding principle, or simply inspiration, for you?
I think it takes dedication for anyone to choose to pursue a master’s program. There are times when the going might get tough, but just give it one more shot when you think of giving up. The journey may seem long, but it takes many small, incremental steps to make up a journey of a thousand miles.
Chi Chong Tan
Former Assistant Director of Frontline Policing Division, Singapore Police Force
2019 Excellence in Graduate Studies Award Winner for Criminal Justice
MCJ, concentration in Cybercrime Investigation & Cybersecurity (MET’19); BEng, National University of Singapore
What do you find most fascinating about the discipline of criminal justice? Do you have a particular focus within the broader field?
There are so many interesting areas within criminal justice to talk about. What fascinates me most about criminal justice is its real-life relatability; we see policing on the streets, we may know someone who is a victim of cybercrime, we watch movies about cops. It is a very real, very interpersonal, and very high-impact field to the lives of many people. I'm currently hopeful to further develop my profile in the field of cybercrime, as it is something I was not exposed to in my previous policing work, which was mostly an operational role, and because of the degree to which cybercrime is proliferating across the world.
Congratulations on your high achievement in the Master of Criminal Justice (MCJ) program and your Award for Excellence in your studies! Looking back, what do you consider to be the main ingredients of your success?
Perseverance definitely played an important role in the equation. Much of the rest of it came down to good fortune—the excellent, approachable, learned lecturers who are readily available for consultations; the helpful classmates from Thailand, Japan, China, the United States, and elsewhere; and, of course, I can’t forget the role my supportive partner played in my success.
How were you able to successfully balance your studies with your commitments outside the classroom?
I think planning helps. Personally, I find it helpful to use to-do lists with clear deadlines, and to then review those lists regularly. My partner uses a shared online calendar so that we can know each other's availability and plan family and work-related activities accordingly. It's not easy to balance classroom commitments with other demands like work and family, so I found communicating with those affected by my schedule in one way or another to be both important and useful.
Was your success in the program driven by a particular outcome—such as professional advancement, educational achievement, personal satisfaction, or something else?
In our limited lives, it’s great if we can make this world a better place than when we first found it. After a number of years as an officer, I felt that it was timely to pursue new inspiration for my work by exposing myself to new thinking, people with different life experiences, and then training to obtain new perspectives. And when you're curious, you find that there are lots of interesting things to do in this program.
How do you plan to apply the skills and competencies you gained during your studies moving forward? What is next in store for you?
I definitely hope to be able to put the skills and competencies I learned at BU MET to good use, either to review and enhance some existing policing programs, or to create new initiatives. I'm also thinking of ways to pass this knowledge on to younger officers, so that they can enjoy new knowledge and fresh insights as they examine issues and hopefully come up with better solutions. In the longer term, I hope to do some consulting work or start a new venture in the security field—the skills, competencies, and network gained during my master’s study here has definitely opened up new possibilities.
You were recognized by faculty and peers for your hard work and dedication to the MCJ program. What “words of advice” or encouragement have served as a guiding principle, or simply inspiration, for you?
I think it takes dedication for anyone to choose to pursue a master’s program. There are times when the going might get tough, but just give it one more shot when you think of giving up. The journey may seem long, but it takes many small, incremental steps to make up a journey of a thousand miles.