Conversations with Chew Jia Ying

By Charu Nivethitha Manivannan and Michelle Khoo

Chew Jia Ying is currently Education Design Strategist at the National University of Singapore (NUS). Jia Ying's wide-ranging career spans service design, interdisciplinary education, and design strategy across Singapore, Finland, and beyond. Jia Ying received her Bachelor of Arts in Industrial Design from the National University of Singapore. She later pursued postgraduate studies overseas, where she earned her Master's degree from Aalto University and completed her PhD in Design at University of Arts London.

What does a typical day in your life look like?

No two days are the same. Some are devoted to teaching, while others focus on research, creating a constantly shifting rhythm of work. Although this fluidity can be challenging for those who prefer fixed routines, it also provides considerable flexibility in how my time is structured.

This can be described as work–life integration. As my mentor once described it, academic work is essentially “knowledge work”, and knowledge work never truly stops. Ideas can surface even during moments of rest. The difference lies in having the autonomy to decide when to actively engage with them.

What led you to pursue this role?

Academia was not the original plan. After graduating from the National University of Singapore in 2015, I began working as a Service Design Researcher at NUS, where I was first introduced to the field of service design.

The role was particularly engaging because it involved collaborating with people from diverse sectors within the same position. Each project required adapting to new contexts and responsibilities, almost like “shapeshifting” depending on where the project led. This dynamic nature of the work, together with exposure to multiple perspectives and stakeholders, made the field especially compelling.

Encouraged by my mentor, I eventually pursued a Master’s degree. During this time, my interests expanded beyond service design to broader areas such as design management and design strategy, which later led to further studies in Finland.

What was the biggest challenge you faced as an Education Designer at Aalto University?

The programme at Aalto University was built around three pillars: design, business and technology. Students from different disciplines collaborated on year-long industry projects, applying their expertise to solve real-world problems. Few universities offered programmes structured in such an interdisciplinary way.
Working in this environment was both exciting and demanding. Each project brought together individuals with very different perspectives and working styles, requiring constant negotiation and adaptation. The projects themselves were also large in scope, often involving major industry partners.

My project involved collaboration with Wärtsilä, a global maritime company whose components are used in ships worldwide. The programme also partnered with organisations such as Huhtamäki and the City of Helsinki. Managing the expectations of these industry partners while coordinating diverse student teams required careful communication and planning.
Despite the challenges, the interdisciplinary structure was also what made the programme particularly rewarding. Having previously worked on more product-oriented projects during his undergraduate studies, the opportunity to explore strategic and intangible aspects of design at the intersection of design, business and technology was a valuable learning experience.

One memorable activity involved students being randomly grouped and asked to prepare a dish using only the ingredients available in a fridge. The exercise was structured around effectuation theory principles and encouraged collaboration without relying on disciplinary identities. Instead of introducing themselves by their academic backgrounds, participants learned about each other through the process of experimentation and teamwork, naturally breaking down disciplinary barriers.

Interestingly, this exercise was part of a course being developed through the educational design work of the Nordic Rebels movement that I later became a part of, which made the experience particularly meaningful.

What challenges did you encounter during your PhD, particularly in interdisciplinary education?

One of the main challenges was navigating the ambiguity of a largely self-directed research process. Unlike Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes, which follow structured coursework, a PhD offers far greater freedom but far less structure. This requires defining one’s own learning path and determining which research questions are worth pursuing.

Another challenge involved balancing professional responsibilities with academic research. My fieldwork was closely connected to my professional role, requiring me to constantly shift between two perspectives: that of an educator responsible for operational decisions, and that of a researcher critically analysing those experiences.
This created an ongoing tension between practice and research. While the professional goals of the work were often clear, determining which insights held academic significance required careful reflection. Learning to navigate this uncertainty became one of the most significant challenges throughout the PhD journey.

What advice would you give to young people who are still figuring out their career paths?

It is okay not to know what discipline you want to pursue. Not knowing is not a weakness, it is a starting point. Being exposed to different experiences helps you discover where your strengths lie.

Additionally, career paths do not need to be linear. Taking my journey as an example, I initially started off wanting to become a pilot. Following this, I studied facilities management in polytechnic before switching to industrial design, a field I knew nothing about. I struggled intensely in my first year and nearly switched out. But after further consideration I stayed, taking it one year at a time.

My journey made me realise that often, it is not talent, but attitude and perspective that matter. One needs to be comfortable with uncertainty and embracing different disciplines in today’s volatile world.

As your role evolved from Education Designer to Education Design Strategist, what core values have shaped your approach?

As I progressed from Education Designer to Education Design Strategist, several core values became central to my practice.

Firstly, it is learning to be comfortable with ambiguity. Interdisciplinary work and working on a PhD have taught me to navigate uncertainty rather than eliminate it.

Secondly, adaptability has become an essential regardless of the career setting. This is due to the requirement of collaboration across sectors and multicultural teams as part of the role.

Thirdly, I have learnt to make differences visible rather than smoothing them over. While collaboration often emphasises on finding a common middle ground this can end up diluting important perspectives. By surfacing differences, I believe teams are better able to ideate more extensive and thoughtful solutions.

Finally, I value integration over separation, focusing on systems, long-term impact, and aligning theory, practice, research, and teaching rather than isolated outputs.

How has the industry evolved over the years, and where do you see it heading?

One of the most significant changes in education has always been the adoption of technology. The pandemic accelerated the adoption of digital platforms, enabling courses and collaborations to continue remotely. However, it also highlighted the limitations of fully online learning.

This is particularly evident in interdisciplinary education. Students from different disciplines often interpret the same concepts differently. For example, the term “stakeholder” may refer mainly to financial stakeholders in business contexts, while in design it may include anyone who has a role to play in a project. Such differences are often easier to clarify through in-person discussions.

During the pandemic, these challenges became so significant that the launch of a new transdisciplinary module had to be postponed because it could not be effectively delivered online.

Beyond education, the design industry itself has also diversified. Design is no longer seen as a single discipline but as a broad field encompassing areas such as product design, service design and social innovation. As digital products and services become increasingly interconnected, the boundaries between these specialisations are becoming less distinct. As a result, organisations may need to rethink how they evaluate designers, since portfolios today often reflect hybrid skill sets rather than a single area of expertise.

At the same time, the growing presence of AI introduces further complexity for teaching and learning in a discipline that values creativity, raising questions about how we define and assess the skills that are required.

How did COVID-19 affect the industry?

COVID-19 had a considerable impact on the design industry, particularly in the consultancy sector. Many organisations shifted their focus towards short-term survival, which meant that future-oriented functions such as design were often deprioritised. As a result, some design consultants were laid off, while others remained in their roles but had fewer projects to work on. In certain cases, companies even shut down their design departments altogether. This raised concerns about how design is valued within organisations, especially during times of crisis.

In the education sector, the pandemic forced institutions to move rapidly to digital platforms. While this allowed teaching to continue, it also highlighted the importance of physical interaction in certain learning contexts, particularly for interdisciplinary collaboration.
To address this, we created shared tools, such as a collaborative glossary, to make disciplinary differences visible rather than hiding them. We also built templates and structured conversations to help students navigate these nuances.

How did your experiences at NUS and in international programmes shape your academic direction?

Industrial Design at NUS was originally housed within the same department as Architecture before eventually becoming its own division within the faculty. While the programme provided a strong design foundation, it was only later during my work as a Service Design Researcher at NUS, that the broader possibilities of interdisciplinary work became clear.

During this period, I became interested in youth and leadership programmes. A former classmate introduced me to the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative, an exchange programme organised by the U.S. Embassy. The five-week programme in the United States allowed participants to choose between academic and professional tracks; I joined the academic fellowship focusing on social entrepreneurship and economic development.
Hosted at the University of Connecticut, the programme combined coursework with project-based learning, industry visits and weekly volunteering activities. The cohort consisted of around 20 participants from across ASEAN, which allowed for close collaboration and discussion.

Through exposure to social enterprises and interdisciplinary collaboration, I realised that while designers often work across industries, having a deeper understanding of other disciplines is crucial for creating meaningful impact. This insight ultimately influenced my decision to pursue postgraduate studies at the intersection of design and business, with the aim of translating creative ideas into strategies that are both innovative and practically viable.

Apart from work, could you tell us more about what you do outside of it? How do you achieve your work-life balance?

Outside of work, I enjoy reading and watching dramas, which help me unwind. I also love travelling and trying new experiences. One of my core memories is working on a frozen sea, which was both challenging and exhilarating.