E-mail: s.vanharen@tilburguniversity.edu
Study Program: Organisatiewetenschappen
Exchange semester: Semester 1
Academic year: 2015/2016
Host University: Nanyang Technological University
Country: Singapore
I GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Singapore is a city-state that is approximately 50 times smaller than the Netherlands.
Due to its size you can easily get from east to west by public transport in 1.5 hours. Nanyang
Technological University (NTU) is based in the west of Singapore and can easily be reached
by MRT and free shuttlebus. The campus of NTU is huge compared to our campus but that is
mainly because there is a lot of on-campus housing available (more on this topic will follow
later on). To give an indication on the campus size: there are three (free) bus lines on
campus, two of which drive around campus and a third one that goes to the MRT station, and
there is a google maps map available for the campus which is a really useful tool to find your
classrooms in the beginning of the semester
NTU offers a lot to students including sports facilities. You can join a sports team or
for instance enroll for a course on badminton/volleyball/whatever you like. If you want to join a
sports team, do email them beforehand so they can tell you what to bring (soccershoes,
badminton or tennisracket, swimsuit etc).
One big difference compared to Tilburg as a city is the compactness of Singapore,
after all the city state counts 5.7 million residents but you can get to most places within half an
hour. It’s really easy when you live there to take the MRT to go for dinner in the city center
(from where I lived about half an hour away), whilst you wouldn’t go by train every day to have
dinner in Eindhoven. With regards to the university the main difference for me was that so
many students lived on campus which also implies that they are on campus all the time, have
all their meals in the foodcourts, play sports, study there et cetera.
With regards to my study I decided to do something different. I’m a business major, which
would normally imply that I’d take courses at NBS (the business school of NTU). I chose
however to take courses mostly on engineering, which gave a nice touch to my exchange.
The semester starts either in the second week of August or the second week of January and
will kick-off with the add and drop period. This period is a rather confusing time for most
exchange students, it allows you to register for courses, to drop courses and to switch
between groups. During this time however it is wise to sit in on courses you want even though
you’re not registered for them yet. If you do get registered for them you don’t want to be
already behind because you didn’t show up in the first two weeks. After this period everyone
has his/her schedule and then the real deal starts. After week seven there is a recess week
after which week 8 starts, a week where lecturers might give you mid-terms or assignments.
The finalization of all the assignments was in week 12 and 13, then a revision week followed
and after that it was time for two weeks of exams. Important to notice is that this structure can
differ per faculty/per course, I did have mid-terms in week 7 and 8 whereas students who
chose business courses didn’t have them. A roommate of mine was already finished in midNovember because she didn’t have any exams.
II PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Information before you left
I think I received the pre-arrival information around the end of May. It is pretty clear
what you have to do and if you’re not able to work it out on your own you can email the
Trailblazer coordinator (exchange coordinator).
Visa procedure and arrival
The visa for Singapore is arranged by NTU, it takes about a month to get it but the
university will inform you on this. I don’t remember how much the visa costs but it was
probably something around 90SGD.
I arrived in Singapore together with my roommate (who happens to be from Tilburg as
well) and we had to find out ourselves how to get to our apartment. It wasn’t arranged by the
university, but maybe it is when you stay on campus.
Orientation/Introduction activities
There was an orientation day/three hour lecture on how to use blackboard, the add/drop
period, healthcare et cetera. It was really informative and at one point somewhat surprising,
but you’ll find that out yourself. After the information session you could eat something and buy
tickets for the NTU fest, but besides students who were helping out there, we didn’t see any
locals at that point.
Housing
Less than 50% of the exchange students was allocated for on-campus housing, I wasn’t
one of them so I had to search for accommodation myself. Originally I booked a hostel for the
first few nights in Singapore so I could go house-hunting from there. However in the week
before I left for Singapore I got in touch with an agent who set me up with an apartment.
Living Costs
I got money from my dad, I have a student loan and I received some money from the
government for my public transport card. The living expenses all together were probably
around the same as in Tilburg. The housing costs were higher, alcohol was more expensive
and clubbing as well, for food however you pay way less than you would in Holland. Same
goes for public transport, it’s not for free but you pay around 1,40 euro for half an hour with
the public transport. Most of my money was reserved for housing and for saving up for
travelling. I would suggest to spend money on housing, it is expensive or at least more than
what we are used to in Tilburg, but it is worth it to stay on a private park compared to public
housing.
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Monthly budget
Housing 575SGD
Food 150 SGD
Transport 50 SGD
Books 30 SGD
Miscellaneous 40 SGD
Social Activities
Since I didn’t stay on campus, I wasn’t really involved in activities organized for exchange
students by the university. I did have contact with locals however, most of them I met through
courses that we took together. The easiest way to meet other exchange students was to go to
the One Big Family parties. A former exchange student organized deals with clubs and set up
dates and times to meet each other. You are free in going there of course, but especially in
the beginning of your exchange it is a really easy and convenient way to meet other people.
During my time in Singapore I went to several countries. During the recess week we went
to Indonesia (Bali and Lombok), I’ve been on a weekend trip to Tioman (Malesia) and I’ve
been on a long weekend trip to my family in Qatar. After the exams I went to Vietnam for a
month.
Culture and Language
Luckily enough I didn’t really experience a culture shock in Singapore which doesn’t really
surprise me, after all it is a really developed country. The cultures are quite different though,
but the cultures between the residents of Singapore are also really different. Even though you
have a different culture than the most Singaporeans, you don’t really notice it, especially
when it comes to the younger generation. Maybe the most clear example about a culture
difference is with regards to school. Every local studies so hard, or at least seems to study
really hard, and they don’t take any time off. The word relaxation doesn’t really seem to be in
their vocabulary.
Before I went to Singapore I didn’t take any language courses, I did take the test that is
mandatory if you want to go on exchange. My English was sufficient enough so I didn’t need
to take any other classes to improve it. In Singapore most people also speak English, even
though it is a weird form of English which is called Singlish. You do get used to their way of
speaking after a while, but don’t be surprised if it is hard to understand at first.
Personal Development
The main thing I have learned from this exchange is the different ways of communicating
with people from other cultures. Group work at NTU was way different from group work at our
university, writing a report was a whole new experience and getting things done in an efficient
way was most of the times a bit hard. For my future career the exchange might be a nice
addition, but I’m not sure whether it is a big plus. The whole exchange, or at least the study
was for me one big learning experience, mainly since I chose to study engineering courses. If
I could go back I might want to change that, it did keep me busy while others were out having
fun, but I also need these courses in order to get admitted to a certain master and since I
passed them all I wouldn’t change it for the world!
III ACADEMIC INFORMATION
Courses
All my courses were offered in English. As I mentioned above I mainly took
engineering courses which are: Environmental Issues in a Changing World, Chemical
Thermodynamics and Essential Mathematics. Besides these three courses I also took
Strategic Management. The latter course was a nice addition to my bachelor, the former
courses were suggested by the coordinator of the master I want to do. I can’t really compare
the level of the courses with the courses offered in Tilburg, simply because I never took
engineering courses before. The teaching for mathematics and thermodynamics was more
practical in the sense that you needed to make calculations afterwards, the other lectures
were more theoretical. All of the exams were written exams.
Other
Every student can go to the library and access the computers with his/her matriculation
number and password. It almost works the same as in Tilburg and they also have the
eduroam network for the wifi!
Description of Courses
Course
AB3601
CH3103
EN2001
MH2813
Name
Strategic
Management
Chemical
Thermodynamics
Environmental
Issues
Essential
Mathematics
BA/MA
BA
Prerequisites
None
Exam
Written
ECTS
7.5
BA
CH1011/CH2011
Written
5.5
Comments
2x small assignment, 1x
big assignment
Mid-term
BA
None
Written
5.5
Mid-term, assignment
BA
None
Written
5.5
Mid-terms
Tips for the future students:
I would definitely recommend an exchange! If I could go myself another time I would
do it. Don’t prepare to much before going on exchange, it is a hectic ride and sitting back and
relaxing is all part of it. It will always turn out different if you plan everything ahead, no need
just enjoy!
One tip that might be an important one for everyone, if you are allergic to whatever that
people put it in food (I am allergic to nuts and peanuts for instance), make sure you have a
note also in Mandarin which says that you are allergic. Not everyone is a sufficient enough
speaker in English and having a note in Mandarin will increase the chance on getting food
without whatever you are allergic for.