After completing his secondary education, Jikon Lai spent three years at the Swiss Hotel Association‘s School of Hotel Management “Les Roches” where he was trained in various aspects of hospitality operations and management.
He then worked two years with a tour operator in Malaysia, before going back to school and obtained a Diploma in Economics, with distinction, from the University of London (External). He was then awarded a full scholarship to complete his undergraduate studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science where he subsequently graduated with first class honours.
Jikon then went on to St. Antony’s College at the University of Oxford, on a Citibank-Oxford-FCO Chevening scholarship, and read for a two-year masters (M.Phil.) degree in International Relations. As part of his research, Jikon wrote a 30,000 word thesis on the international financial system entitled “The Politics of Reform after the Asian Financial Crisis“.
In 2005, Jikon was admitted as a Ph.D. candidate to the Department of International Relations of the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies (RSPAS) at the Australian National University (ANU). He obtained his Ph.D in August 2010. His thesis was entitled “The State and Market in the Financial Sectors of Korea, Malaysia and Thailand“.
Jikon’s interests include reading, classical music, cooking and knitting. Jikon speaks English, French, German, Spanish, Malay and several Chinese dialects.
