Kanae Mahiro

Master of Media and Communication, 2026

Deputy Director, IT Innovation Office, Commerce and Information Policy Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan

I pursued the Master of Media and Communication (MMC) after nearly ten years of developing and implementing policy at Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. My work had taught me an important lesson: even a well-designed policy cannot achieve its intended impact if people do not understand it, trust it or respond to it in the intended way. I wanted to better understand how communication could bridge that gap.

MMC changed the way I thought about communication. Rather than simply transmitting information, I began to see it as a strategic function that connects policy objectives with audience needs and behaviour. The programme gave me the theories and analytical frameworks to examine communication challenges more systematically and apply that thinking to my own professional context.

Coming from public policy, I particularly valued learning from faculty with experience across marketing, corporate branding, public affairs and data-driven communication. Real-world cases showed me how professionals in different fields approach communication challenges, while working with classmates from diverse professional and cultural backgrounds exposed me to perspectives beyond my own.

Receiving the Mediacorp Gold Medal was a meaningful milestone, particularly as I had entered MMC from a professional background outside communications. The experience strengthened my ability to approach communication through both a policy and strategic lens.

Today, I continue to connect the two fields. In my work, effective communication plays an important role in translating policy into outcomes. MMC has given me a more strategic and evidence-based approach to understanding how people interpret, engage with and respond to what we communicate.