EXPERIENCE REPORT
ANR: 983948
Name: Marie Oltmer
E-mail: m.oltmer@tilburguniversity.edu
Exchange semester: 18.08.2014 – 05.12.2014 (Fall 2014)
Academic year: 2014-2015
Host University: Singapore Management University
Country: Singapore
I. General Information about the school
Singapore Management University is a rather small university with the School of Economics and
Social Sciences, the School Law and Accountancy, the School of Business and the School of
Information Systems. The major part of the campus is located at the underground since the university
is located in the city. This means that there is not much space for the university on the surface. The
advantage of the university being located in the city centre is that you can easily access all attractions
in Singapore. The National University for example is located further away from the city centre which
makes it rather tiring to drive all the way to the city centre. I really liked it that the university is rather
small and the classes are structured like seminars with a lot of interaction and participation. In every
course I had at least one group work and interactive activities, like presentations or discussions. I was
already used to this interactive teaching due to my study at Tilburg University (Liberal Arts and
Sciences). I was lucky to get all the courses I wanted to have in the first round of choosing for courses.
It was nice to have lecturers from many different countries. Since Singapore does not have any natural
resources it needs to focus on human capital in order to sustain its economic success. Hence, many
people from abroad are employed in Singapore. I had a Japanese teacher and one with an Indian and
another with an Israeli background.
The campus is quite green surrounded by trees and plants. Singapore is a very modern city which
experienced an enormously fast transformation concerning the construction of new buildings and the
city space in general. Therefore, not many natural places are left in Singapore. Gardens and areas with
trees and plants seem rather artificial. I think the only really natural place left is a small island in the
north of Singapore, called Pulau Ubin. On this island you can find some of the last mangrove trees
which you can see by discovering the island by bike. Concerning food Singapore offers a very diverse
selection of all kind of different sorts of food. Not only because Singapore is such an international and
multicultural nation, but also because Singapore’s culture itself very much is about food of all kinds.
Hence, be open not only for the city’s multicultural inhabitants, but also for Singapore’s culinary
richness.
II. Practical Information
Before coming to Singapore I booked one week in a hostel, in order to have time to find an
accommodation. Since SMU only arranged one hostel for exchange students the places were quite
limited and it was still quite expensive in relation to the quality of the hostel. Since I stayed for half a
year I was not allowed to rent at HDBs (Housing & Development Boards) because half a year is still
labelled as short-term-lease. Hence, I decided to rent a condominium (condo). They are more
expensive and most often you have to share a room with someone else, but this you have to do almost
everywhere. I paid approximately 600€ per month including utilities. We had a big living room and
were living with six people with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
The facilities in condo-complexes are usually pretty good. We had a pool, tennis courts, a small gym,
a bowling area, a barbeque area and karaoke rooms. Renting an apartment always works via an agent.
You rarely would meet the landlord yourself, so pay attention with your choice of an agent. Keep in
mind that most often you need to pay a complete month as deposit, which you get back when you
terminate the apartment. The agent fee usually is half a rent. The visa was organised by SMU and I
had no problems with the process. When you arrive in Singapore you will already have made an
appointment at the ICA (Immigration & Checkpoints Authority). There you will pick up your Student
Pass. The only thing was that it took rather long, since all the exchange students had to get one. Hence,
be prepared for long waiting hours.
In the first weeks at SMU many events were organized and the Global Office of Learning tried its best
to integrate the exchange students into the daily activities at SMU as good as possible. We had an
academic briefing in which everything important was explained, especially for those who did not get
their preferred courses and still had to bid for their courses in the BOSS-System. This will all be
explained by the staff of as soon as you arrive. They also offered us to take part in a Host programme.
This programme is meant to bring Singaporeans and exchange students closer together and enable
their exchange of ideas and cultural differences. My host is an alumnus of SMU and asked me if I
would like to join their weekly Monday runs. Since then I joined them almost every week. I also had a
“buddy”. She is in my age and showed me many nice places in Singapore, especially good eating
places, since Singapore’s food culture is enormously diverse and celebrated by its citizens. Since my
buddy will make an exchange in the Netherlands next semester we can switch roles and I can show
here the nicest places in the Netherlands. Hence, the buddy-programme definitely added value to my
stay in Singapore and even beyond that.
Concerning traveling, it would be stupid just to focus on getting the best grades in every course and
not spending some weekends in Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar or Cambodia. I chose my courses so
that I had to go to university only three days a week. Hence, I had four days to organise my studies
and travel around. During the academic briefing we were even encouraged to cross the borders and
explore the vibrant, diverse and colourful places South East Asia has to offer. It would be a pity to just
explore Singapore, especially because Singapore is so completely different from its neighbouring
countries. Singapore is a very modern, very young and economically successful nation-state and with
that maybe not too different from many western countries. Travelling to Vietnam or Cambodia will be
completely different, since those countries had to struggle a lot with problems of war, colonisation and
genocides. It is logical that the economic success cannot be sustained when half of the population was
tortured and killed, as in Cambodia. In my opinion everyone should try to develop a certain
willingness to dive into the history and cultural dynamics of the various countries, including
Singapore. You will realise that you can learn so much about different cultures but especially also
about yourself during your exchange. Sometimes I was surprised about myself, since I realised that I
had certain images about the people or the countries in my head. About some of them I was not even
aware of. Exploring the various cultures and getting to know new and local people opened my eyes
and made me aware of my own stereotypes. I am glad to say that many of my stereotypes were
transformed during my time in South East Asia. The exchange definitely broadened my mind.
Engaging with locals is the best thing to do. Of course you will not like everyone you meet, that is not
different anywhere else in the world. Nevertheless, I got to know so many Singaporeans who are
completely different as I may have expected them to be. They taught me a lot and became friends of
mine. They did not only know the best places for everything, like for food, shopping, arts, studying,
etc., they also taught me a lot about their culture and history.
In addition, due to Asians’ focus on generosity and sincerity I was able to reflect on my own
behaviour and maybe take over some positive features. One of my goals for going on exchange was to
distance myself from the “Western” mind-set that I carry with me. It is impossible to engage with
another culture completely objectively. Nevertheless, by diving into new experiences about unknown
cultures it is possible to distance yourself from your initial outlook, broaden it and become more aware
of your own restrictions. This increases tolerance and the ability to comprehend other values and
customs. Hence, I can definitely say that I succeeded in transforming my initial cultural outlook. I
became more aware of my own stereotypes and can better reflect on my own cultural and social
baggage.
Concerning Singapore, the city is an extremely modern, vibrant and diverse place. It is a rather
expensive city compared to the neighbouring countries. Especially with the housing, the travelling and
the good food, the exchange became a quite expensive semester. Nevertheless, for me Singapore was
the best choice for my exchange. It is a melting pot of different nationalities. The city’s multi-
ethnic mix consists of 76.8% Chinese, 13.9% Malays, 7.9% Indians and 1.4% others.1
Sincerity and generosity are some of Singaporeans core values. Singapore as a collectivist
country focuses on the maintenance of harmony and conformity within society. Common and
shared values, goals and interests are emphasised rather than individual ones. 2 The
multicultural nature of the smallest city-state of South East Asia enables an enormous
diversity of everything, living, language, customs, people. I enjoyed it a lot to find myself in
such a diverse mix of cultures, since one does not stand out as foreigner per se. To sit in the
MRT together with some Indian women wearing their sari, tiny Asian girls with their Gucci
bags, some Caucasian tourists and their backpacks and some old Chinese men is not unusual.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed my exchange a lot. Although I sometimes was a bit worried
about my financials, every penny was worth the experience!
III. Academic Information
Before I came to Singapore I thought about what courses I want to choose at SMU. I am
studying Liberal Arts and Sciences at Tilburg University, with the major of Humanities. For
my minor programme I wanted to dive into courses of Social Sciences and Business
Management. The courses mentioned below are more soft skill courses, except for the course
Global and Transnational Sociology and Ethics and Social Responsibility. Hence, I had a lot
of interaction in class, many presentations and group works. For the course Business
Negotiation and Conflict Management we even had to conduct interviews with experienced
negotiators and write a paper about our findings. That was really interesting, especially
because the most Singaporean managers and negotiators were very willing and open to share
their experiences with us.
The courses also allowed me to have my own time management and still have time left for
travelling and activities in Singapore. Every course included a group work of about 35-40% of
the grade. This was the case in most courses at SMU, since they focus on working together in
a team.
1
2
Ali-Knight, J. (2009). p. 57.
Samovar, L. A., & Porter, R. E. (1991).
Sometimes it could be a bit tiring because of the different, sometimes very ineffective and
unstructured, way some Singaporeans work. But you should take it as a challenge and training
for future international group works. I was very lucky with my groups. In total, I feel the
academic level was lower than in Tilburg, since in some courses it was extremely easy to get
an A or A-. Some lecturers graded somewhat more conservatively, emphasising that grades
are not all you should acquire in live!
Description of Courses:
Course name
Prereq.
Exam
Grades
ECTS
Intercultural Communication
None
Written
7.5
7.5
Ethics and Social Responsibility
None
Written
8.5
7.5
Business Negotiation and
Conflict Management
None
Written
9.0
7.5
Global and Transnational Sociology
None
Written
7.5
7.5
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
Tips for future exchange students:
- Challenge and question your own stereotypes
- Be open and generous
- Take as much out of your exchange as you can
- Take your exchange as a possibility to change your mind about other cultures
- Not everything is cultural! Some differences are just individual differences
- Travel, travel, travel!
A picture is worth
a thousand words
Watching the sunrise on a pagoda in Bagan, Myanmar
Contact details:
Email: marie.oltmer@gmx.net