Student Report
Name of the University: Nanyang Technological University (NTU)
Exchange semester: Fall, 2014
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
After we had been nominated we received an email around april with a link to the online
application for the exchange program and guidelines to what documents we had to upload and
information that we needed to submit. You get a lot of emails, just follow the steps and it is an
easy process.
Applying for a visa (if applicable)
You have to pay a processing fee of $30 SGD (150 NOK), an issuance fee of $60 SGD (300
NOK) and a multiple-entry visa of $30 SGD (150 NOK), but this is the only expenses.
Norwegian does not need to apply for an additional visa to enter Singapore.
Be sure to print all needed documents and receipts from this online registration, as you will
need to present them when you’re entering Singapore as a student before you have gotten
your actual student pass (which is being issued at campus in the first two weeks). NTU will
send you a lot of information on this process by email, so if you just follow the steps as
explained this process is not difficult.
Travel
Select the cheapest and shortest flight from Gardermoen to Singapore (Changi). Traveltime
should be between 14 and 18 hours. There are flights from most of the biggest airports in
Europe going directly to Singapore daily. Normal cost should be around 6000 NOK and this
is included the return ticket. I would recommend Qatar Airways or KLM.
Housing
It is difficult for exchange student to get campus housing but you can search. Neither BI nor
Nanyang University assists you in finding accommodation. We therefore decided to hire an
agent before we came to Singapore, which is pretty common for exchangers. Our agent,
Daniel, helped us to look for an appropriate apartment in our price range. It is difficult to find
an apartment for less than six months rental, due to Singaporean regulations, so we strongly
recommend you to go through an agent and to start looking for accommodation early.
We were 4 guys sharing an condo in a place called Lakeshore. This was a nice place with a
huge pool, tennis, fitness room and barbeque place. We had our own room for 2 months and
shared a room the other 2 months. This worked out well but was pretty expensive, and watch
out for the electricity as this was much more expensive compared to Norway.
The agents usually charge a half-month rent for the job, and in most cases you also pay a
deposit of one month rent to the landlord. We paid everything before we arrived in Singapore,
but you can choose to pay each month normally. However, the housing process can be long
and you need allocate a lot of time due to this process. The agent may also need you to do a
quick decision if you want an apartment or not, as it is a lot of people who want to rent.
Costs
Approximately how much per month did you spend on rent, books, food, transportation, and
other personal expenses?
Rent 6000 NOK
Books 600 NOK
Food 3000 NOK
Transport 1000 NOK
Other 5000 NOK
We used a lot of money on travel and other stuff, so the cost depends on how you want to
live.
Culture and language
Most of the professors are speaking singlish (which is a mix between English, Chinese and
Malay). It can be a bit hard to understand them in the beginning, but you will get used to it
during the year. However it can be smart to print out the PowerPoint slides before the lesson
and read through them. If there is any words you find difficult you should look them up
before the lesson, so it will be easier to follow.
The language level of the other exchange students is all over quite high. Most of the other
exchange students have some or all courses back in their home country in English. We found
it easier to communicate with the other exchange students, compare to the Singaporean
students.
In Singapore there is a lot of different cultures. The people in Singapore are broadly a mix of
Singaporeans, Chinese, and Indian people. By taking the metro to different places in
Singapore you can experience different kinds of cultures. For example there is one place
called Little India, here there is manly Indian people living. Going there you will find a lot of
delicious Indian food and see the Indian markets.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Please describe:
-
From our apartment it was 30-45 minutes with train.
-
Nanyang was a large school with a lot of different faculties
-
Compared to BI, Nanyang has a lot more tests and homework during the semester. It
was also class participation (10-20% of the total grade)
-
There were also many presentations and group assignments.
Course registration
During the first 2 weeks there is an add/drop period, where you can choose your courses.
After these weeks your courses are set.
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
28.07.14
First day of the semester:
11.08.14
Last day of classes:
05.12.14
Examination period:
10.nov – 5. des
Any special events/holidays: Singapores national
day, 09.08
Some religious
holidays
Other:
Arrival
Orientation week was about getting to know the city, the school and how things worked. It is
a lot to take in the first weeks but you get to know their ways pretty fast, and you can make a
lot friendships during the first week.
The International Office
The office at school had great staff and helped with everything you need.
Social activities
NTU had social activities like football, basketball, Halloween parties, entrepreneurial
competitions etc.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
At NTU the lectures took place in small classrooms with only 15-20 people in each groups.
The teachers wants you to participate during the class, and we had to speak up at least once or
twice during each lecture because class participation is a part of the final grade. The lectures
are therefore much more intimate compared to BI, and its much easier to get a connection to
the teacher.
In the classroom the teacher usually used a powerpoint with notes, and sometime teachers
used different cases and group tasks during the lectures.
It can feel like the workload is more than BI, because there is presentations, case reading, and
other homework through the whole semester and not one final exam like at BI. The final
grade is an evaluation of you based on class participation, midterms, group projects and final
tests.
Course materials
We found that the lecture notes (powerpoint presentations) were the most useful, so we only
bought a couple of books if we felt that we needed more or if the lecturer specifically told us
to.
Exams
-
The course was evaluated by
o
Written final exam (only in some courses)
o
Mid-term exam
o
Small assignments and/or papers
o
Presentations
o
Group work
o
Class attendance
o
Class participation/debates
Library and technology
There is many different libraries with comfortable and quiet study spaces, but they were
always very crowded, so it is recommended to book a room the day before. They also have
many different printer rooms, but you have to physically go there and print out from the
library’s own computers.
Description of courses
Course code & name Master/
Exam form
Prerequisites
Bachelor
BF3203 Equity
Bachelor
Securities
Approved
Comments
as
Two 2,5 hour
BØK
Very hard
written tests in
and
the end of
difficult
semester
course, I
do not
recommen
d this
course in
addition to
another
finance
course
BF3201 Corporate
Bachelor
2 hour written
BØK-fag
finance
Finansiell
Instructive
styring
and useful
course.
Highly
theorethica
l but highly
relevant
AB3601 Strategic
management
Bachelor
2 hour written
None
Strategi
Engaging
lecturer
and
interesting
course.
Centered
around
case-work
BH3601 Talent
Management
Bachelor
2 hour multiple None
Fun course
choice
with a
great and
engaging
lecturer.
We will highly recommend you to take your semester abroad in Singapore. Singapore is a great
country to live in. Singapore is clean, safe, rich and a highly developed country compared to other
Asian countries. Also there is great shopping opportunities and a great nightlife. In addition there
is easy to travel to other destinations in Asia such as Malaysia and Indonesia. You learn a lot
about yourselves and improves your English!