Alumni Profile: Shuqi Feng, DPSS'25

“During my six years with All China Youth Federation,” said Shuqi Feng, DPSS’25, “I worked on major policy initiatives and large-scale program evaluation. One takeaway was that I noticed a gap in academic research in youth policy. This seemed especially problematic since young people are a vulnerable group, just beginning to build social and economic capital while also facing intense pressure and high expectations.”

Feng said this awareness was heightened in 2024 when she travelled to a summit in Rio de Janeiro as a Chinese youth delegate to the Youth 20 (Y20)—an official engagement that brings together young leaders from G20 member countries. “I discussed shared challenges and policy expectations with delegates from all over the world. Those conversations deepened my understanding of the universal aspect of youth issues and sparked my interest in academic research on youth policy.”

To that end, Feng, who holds a dual bachelor's degree in French and international politics from Peking University and a master's degree in public policy from Tsinghua University, decided she would look into PhD programs. 

“I anticipate that my PhD studies will focus on public policy analysis, particularly in areas where empirical evidence can inform social innovation. When I was doing field research, I noticed that good policy needs to be evaluated and revised, which means analytical skills and tools are critical. To that end, I wanted to strengthen my technical foundation in R and data analytics before I began.”

Feng said the Data and Policy Summer Scholar (DPSS) program was recommended to her by friends and Peking University alumni. “After researching the program, I realized DPSS was my ideal next step.”

The fact that the program was online, Feng said, was of the utmost importance. “Since I currently live in Seattle, I greatly appreciated the program design. The pre-recorded lectures made the whole learning experience very flexible, and the live mini-lectures deepened my understanding of the pre-recorded lectures. And, of course, the professors—Professor Austin Wright and Professor Sheng-Hao Lo—were super encouraging, supportive, and accessible.” 

It was the Capstone Project, however, that Feng said was the highlight of DPSS. “The Capstone Project allowed me to apply everything I had learned and connect it to an issue that was important to me—analyzing factors that determine when youth in the United States participate in more altruistic or self-beneficial activities. The Capstone Project showed me how to move from raw data to meaningful analysis, and this helped me to see the practical power of quantitative methods. Now,” Feng added, “I really love working with data: my DPSS experience definitely strengthened my interest in this kind of academic pursuit.”

As for where Feng sees herself next, she said she was most interested in either working for an NGO or continuing in academia. “An NGO would be a great way for me to support youth on a global scale, but if I stay in academia, I could dig deeper into research. Whatever I do, though, I want to give it my best shot.”

For prospective DPSS participants, Feng said, “Be curious and proactive. There are a lot of resources in DPSS, so seize the chance. You will meet people from many different policy fields and stages of their career, and their perspective can help broaden your research or professional vision.”