NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE
NUS BUSINESS SCHOOL
STUDENT EXCHANGE PROGRAMME
Evaluation Form
Name: Gwee Qi Xin
SEP Semester: Semester 1 (2001/2002)
Host University/Country: Maastricht University/ The Nethelands
Questions:
1. How does the host university differ from NUS?
Firstly, the university is scattered around the whole city, unlike NUS where all the
faculties can be found on the same campus. But I think its has to do with the historical
part of the city, because the faculties are housed in existing buildings and not build like
what we have in Singapore.
The education system there is also different from NUS, as it requires you to do most of
the learning, with minimal guidance and teaching from the lecturers/tutors. There is also
a large number of EU students from other countries which give it a strong international
flavor.
Lastly, although the workload is heavy, but you do not feel as stressed as you would in
NUS, perhaps the weather plays a part in this.
2. What strong points does our School have compared to your host university?
Coming from the NUS system, I feel something really good about NUS is that we do
have past year papers for students to refer to in the library. This helps reduce the
uncertainty at times, because it helps to give students a guide as to what to expect.
Another thing is that in NUS there is relatively more study benches available for students.
Over in Maastricht, the only place you can go if you want to do some reading while you
are in school is the Mensa (cafeteria), which is very noisy during meal times.
3. What strong points does your host university have compared to our School?
I personally feel the education system there is more relaxing without compromising on
the standard required of pupils. Taking 2 subjects over a 7-week period (2 classes per
week), and having the exam on the 8th week requires consistency on the part of students,
which I think is good. Because you focus on the 2 subjects, even if the readings are heavy
(which is the case), you do not feel as stretch as compared to taking 5 modules for 13
weeks in NUS. The grading system there is also good as it promotes consistency as well.
Furthermore, it is compulsory for students to spend at least a year either doing an
internship or going for exchange at another university, this is definitely a big plus.
4. What expenses did you incur at the host university for one semester?
Estimated Breakdown of Expenses:
Items
Airfare (Return Ticket)
Travel & Health Insurance
Accommodation
Food
Books & Stationery
Clothing
Miscellaneous (Eg: Local transportation, phone calls, postage,
student visa, medical report)
Others (Eg. Extended stay, airfare for tour of neighbouring
states/countries, etc) Please specify here:
Total
Estimated
Expenditure (S$)
1,800.00
100.00
1,780.00
450.00
350.00
500.00
500.00
800.00
6,280.00
5. Please type a THREE to FIVE page report of your personal experience in the host
university.
a) Your overall experience overseas (initial cultural shocks that you encountered, lifestyle,
about the university, academic aspects)
b) What you learned from the exchange program
c) Your advice and suggestions for future exchange students designated to go to that
university
SEP Report
Maastricht University
The past semester at Maastricht University was a definite highlight of my student
life in NUS. For me, having to go through my university education without going for
exchange would not have made my student life complete.
I saw this as a chance for me to explore the world beyond what we know in
Singapore. Singapore being the small country makes it even more important and more
value added for students like myself to go for exchange in a foreign land, to experience
and learn about how people from different countries live, study, work and play! This is
something you cannot get by just traveling or going on holidays with tours. Being able to
stay for a period of time in The Netherlands enabled me to learn more about its people,
culture and heritage.
Of course initially, some of us may have some fear about going to a foreign
country not knowing what to expect. But personally for me, I was looking forward to my
exchange at Maastricht University from day 1. The only “shock” I had initially was that
for the first time in my life I was in a place where I am a minority, all the people around
me were Westerners. However, the friendly nature of the Dutch soon helped me get use
to life there. What was quite interesting was that the Dutch in general could speak pretty
good English, so communication was no a problem. That is a big plus, especially when
you consider some countries like France, where the people generally do not speak
English.
The Dutch are lovely people, very friendly and courteous, even though it was
obvious I was not a local, I never felt out of place. The cashiers at every store I went
would say greet you and thank you when you left. This is something we don’t see often in
Singapore. This left a deep impression on me.
In terms of lifestyle, the Dutch really know how to enjoy life. It is said that the
weather in Holland is usually gray and gloomy, this is especially so during winter.
Therefore, whenever the sun came out, you will see lots of people sitting along the
roadside cafes enjoy a cup of coffee or a glass of beer, chatting with each other or simply
soaking in the good weather.
Another thing about the life in Holland is that the buses and trains are generally
very on time, especially for buses. At every bus stop, the bus arrival timing is stated very
clearly and 9 out of 10 times, it is usually right! After checking with the locals, I was told
that this is because especially during winter, when it can get very cold, people don’t
usually want to be left standing at the bus stop for too long. Therefore, having the
timetable and sticking to it enables people to overcome this problem. Sometimes, I wish
the buses in Singapore can be half as punctual, how wonderful that would be.
The different faculties of the university are housed in different building around
the city. This clearly very different from what we have in NUS. The guesthouse (hostel)
that I stayed in is about 15-20 minutes walk away from the business faculty. However,
one can also cycle to school, the traffic system in Holland is very cyclist friendly, the
cyclist is the “King of the road” over there. It was also a refreshing and healthy change of
being able to walk to school without having to break a sweat. The downside is that it does
rain quite a bit over there and as mentioned earlier, the skies always look as if it is going
to rain or it has already rained. Given the occasional fine drizzle, an umbrella is a must!
Maastricht University is a relatively young university. When it was established, the
government provided funding because it was able to offer something different from other
universities at that time. The system that they employed was Problem Based Learning
(PBL). It has proven to be a very successful system is adopted by other universities in
Holland as well.
PBL basically is built around the concept that student are responsible for deciding
how they want to go about understand a subject. The guidance from tutors and lecturers
are minimal, they provide you with the basic knowledge and you are expected to figure
out the rest on your own. It can be very challenging for someone who is not use to the
system. It helps to make you a better student, as you take on a more pro-active role in the
learning process.
On top of PBL, for most of the modules taught, you follow a case base system,
each student is required to prepare for 2 cases per week on top on the readings required.
This again is quite challenging and I personally feel a lot of learning is done as you go
through those cases. Discussions in class are most lively (with the exception of finance
modules), students there are no afraid to speak their minds. There is right or wrong
answers and the tutors are very open minded to all views, so long as they do not deviate
too much from the topic being discussed. There is a lot of contributions from students
during class which makes learning much more enjoyable. Given the mix of international
students there, hearing their different views on matters first hand help you to learn,
understand and appreciate the difference between different people and culture.
As for traveling within the school semester, it is possible to do weekend trips to
neighboring countries (Belgium and Germany), and during the exam week, if your papers
end early, you would be able to travel to countries further away. So you definitely will
get to have fun. Besides, you can make friends with other students and I am sure you will
be able to find lots of things to do.
Through my exchange experience in Maastricht, I felt that I have been able to
enrich my life tremendously. My stay there has helped me further develop my personality,
character and confidence. It has also helped me know myself better and have a better idea
of what I want to do with my life. I saw going on exchange as a first step to preparing
myself to the challenges of the outside world, a world beyond the shores of Singapore.
Such experience can never be taught in the classrooms, it must be experienced first hand
by the individual.
For those who intend to go to Maastricht, I must fore warn you that it is not place
to go if you want to take life easy. It is one of the top universities in The Netherlands for
some good reasons. The workload can get heavy and the system maybe different, but I
believe each and every student selected to go for exchange should have the will, strength
and courage to face the challenges and overcome them. The important thing is to have an
open mind and learn as much as you can. Look at where we can learn from them to make
Singapore a better place. Lastly, I would just like to say that I enjoyed my exchange
semester in Maastricht tremendously.