Today, Liu (PhD PP ’17) is a senior policy manager with the Ministry of Children and Family Development for the Government of British Columbia. The road to that position began in 2011, when he began to investigate the possibilities for his future.
“At that time, I didn’t know much about the province, the university and school. I majored in economics and had several years of work experience in the private sector,” said Liu, who holds a master’s in economics from Northeast Normal University in China. “I did not know what I wanted to achieve exactly, but I was affirmative that I wanted some change to my life. Studying abroad was my top choice.”
Before long, he was on his way to Canada, among the first Chinese students to attend the PhD program at JSGS.
“My journey at the beginning was challenging, but exciting and also eye-opening. My cohort PhD students were very friendly to me, and faculty members were very supportive along my learning journey.”
Liu went on to write his dissertation to examine how opportunities created by proper policy design and structure could empower vulnerable populations to make meaningful life choices.
His interest in improving dignity and wellbeing for the vulnerable population led to his first post-doctoral fellowship, where he conducted a community-based research project aiming to improve First Nations members’ quality of life through collaboration with a local First Nation tribal council.
“I am and will be always grateful for the great learnings from Professor Ken Coates, community members, frontline workers and Elders, which has reshaped my perspectives and thinking in so many ways,” Liu said.
After three months into his second post-doc fellowship with the Cameco Chair in Indigenous Health and Wellness at the college of medicine, Kyle took a new career path to work for the B.C. government, where he continued to support Indigenous health and wellness while upholding Indigenous values.
“I was very excited to have the opportunity to improve Indigenous health and wellness and continue my learning journey from a different angle – this time within the Ministry of Health,” Liu said.
His key work files involved managing and leading Ministry of Health’s role in supporting Indigenous health information governance, self-determination, and health surveillance.
Through the years, Liu has been playing an active role in supporting and giving back to local communities. He was a board member of Immigration Advisory Table in Saskatoon, the founding member and Secretary General for the China-Canada Multicultural Association, the co-chair of an employee engagement committee (Ministry of Health), and a Lead for the Provincial Employee Community Service Fund campaign (Ministry of Health).
Liu is very excited about the opportunity to lead the development of operational quality assurance policy that has never been done in the Ministry of Children and Family Development. Being exposed to both academic and public sector environment, it is always his passion to be part of or lead the policy innovation and transformation process.
His new team’s mission is to learn from the past and best practices, to build on existing knowledge and good work, and to explore new ideas and approaches to strengthen the Ministry's commitment to quality service deliveries to its clients. He looks forward to beginning this learning journey with colleagues across divisions, Indigenous and non-Indigenous community partners, and, most importantly, children, youth and families in B.C.
“You seldom have this kind of opportunity to get involved in policy innovation at this magnitude. I’m quite confident we will achieve our goal eventually, although we may face great challenges and obstacles along the way.”
When asked if he wanted to share any key messages to current and future JSGS students, he noted, “JSGS is unlike any other academic institutions in Canada. It truly cares about students’ success in their future careers and offers a great combination of problem-solving knowledge/approaches and professional skills to enable students to continuously sustain in their careers as policy makers."
“For PhD students, especially international students, you should try to make the best use of your time at JSGS and expand your networks – this should be the right way to spend your time at JSGS," he said. "For me, attending JSGS was one of the best decisions that I have ever made in my life. I hope others will feel the same like me.”