TRAVEL REPORT
Singapore Management University
Spring 2015
361147
1. Preparing for the exchange
Preparations
SMU takes a lot of exchange students each semester and therefore the whole process is made very easy and clear. SMU sent emails with precise instructions throughout the fall and kept us updated all the time. We had to register for a couple of different applications including SOLAR and OASIS. For SOLAR we had to fill out our personal information and upload a photo for our student pass. OASIS was used as Noppa in Aalto University. Before leaving SMU sent emails reminding what we should do and when and also which documents we needed to bring to Singapore. Mostly everything was done online so there was no need to send hard copies to Singapore. There were a couple of fees, for example a miscellaneous fee for school that we had to pay before leaving. Vaccinations
I made sure that all my basic vaccinations were still valid. I had already taken Hepatitis A and B. In addition, I had to take Japanese encephalitis as well as vaccination for typhoid fever. I also took Malaria pills from Finland since I had already made travel plans for some areas where malaria occurs. I would suggest calling YTHS well in advance because for some vaccines you have to go there twice and take them a couple of months before leaving. Selecting courses
SMU sent a list with all the courses that were available for exchange students and a survey that we filled out with our desired modules. The results of the survey were sent back so it was easier to figure out how to make my biddings. There were a lot of courses to choose from and from very different fields that we have home but there were only a few spots for exchange students in each course. The courses were selected with BOSS bidding system where we had to figure out the supply and demand for the courses we would like to take. In total, we got 100 e-­‐dollars that we could spend on four courses however we wanted. In case you do not get all the courses you want, there are several rounds with leftover courses and spots. SMU sent very clear instructions for the BOSS bidding system too. Accommodation
SMU created a Facebook group for all the exchange students, which made it easy to communicate with other people and it also helped me to find my roommates. SMU is co-­‐operating with Evans hostel that offers accommodation for exchange students but I did not hear a lot of positive feedback from people living there. I was talking with a couple of people in the group that were looking for roommates and so we created a roommate group with whom we started looking for apartments. A couple of them were already in Singapore when I arrived and they had been checking out some apartments. We ended up living in Sophia Residence, which was amazing! The condo is newly built and has a swimming pool, gym, rooftop BBQ pits, rooftop jacuzzis etc. I can totally recommend it! We paid 7200 SGD in total and we all had to share a room. There were different sized rooms so my roommate and I ended up paying less than the others. We had four German-­‐speaking people out of eight so the main language in our apartment was often German -­‐ which was uncool for us who didn’t speak German. I would recommend having all your roommates from different countries or from English-­‐speaking countries to avoid the situation we had. Also, there is no need to worry about finding an apartment before leaving. There were lots of people still looking for an apartment when I arrived so it’s easy to find a group to live with during the first weeks in Singapore. The first two nights before moving in we stayed in a hostel called Sleepy Kiwi that was filled with exchange students at that time. 2. Exchange Studies
Academic calendar
SMU demanded exchange students to arrive at latest on 26th of December and flights at that time are pretty expensive. I booked my flights with Finnair, which I would highly recommend. Especially having a straight flight when coming back is a huge relief. Our orientation day was on December 30th and the term itself started on January 5th. The exam period lasted for two weeks and it ended on 24th of April. Fortunately, I was able to finish my exams already on the 16th. There is a week-­‐off called study break before the exams and a recess week in the end of February. I had some midterm exams around the recess week too. Before starting the semester we had to get our Student Visas from ICA building, which took a couple of hours and also pick up our Student Passes from the University. Buddy programme
I signed up for Buddy programme so I had a local mentor who was supposed to show me around the campus and help me with any questions concerning academic issues and student life in SMU. Apparently SMU students are required to do volunteer work for school so my buddy wasn’t too enthusiastic about showing me around but she helped me whenever I had questions. Lectures
I was able to select my courses so that I only had lectures on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, which made it easier to make travel plans for weekends. Although now that I think of, I would not suggest taking three modules for one day: it gets pretty exhausting being at school for 11 hours. Each lecture is 3 hours and 15 minutes and there is one break during a lecture. There is only one session for each course per week and the same courses run through the whole semester. The students and professors are quite flexible with time and so a lot of students came late to class. Also, lectures tended to run overtime. Between classes there is a 15-­‐minute break (at lunch time 30 minutes), which can be tricky especially if your next lecture is in another building. There is mandatory attendance for all courses and in some cases missing a class will worsen your class participation grade. For each course I had group projects and presentations. Asian people, at least the students in SMU, are very hardworking and diligent and they tend to meet a lot and for a long time. Singaporeans take studying seriously and that’s why the locals didn’t want to have exchange students in their groups since they have experienced exchange students to be slacking and not completing their work. Anyhow, they appreciated greatly when exchange students at least tried and showed up to meetings. I chose four courses from the fields of Organizational Behavior and Human Resources, Management, and Social Studies. Each one of them was worth 1 credit and all of them were undergraduate level: Global & Transnational Societies (SOCG 219)
Professor: Hiro Saito ·∙ 2 response papers (2x15%) ·∙ Group assignment (20%) ·∙ Quizzes (10%) ·∙ Final exam (30%) ·∙ Class participation & Attendance (10%) Reminded me of readings but a lot more difficult. For each class we had to read three articles that were graduate level and usually over 30 pages long. We had a quiz in the beginning of each lecture and we went through the readings briefly during the lectures. The main content of the course were the discussions we had about each week’s topic. This course did not offer much in my opinion. The professor was a sympathetic guy but talking about cosmopolitanism and globalization got old after three weeks. There was no book -­‐ the articles were the only material needed for the course. Business, Government & Society (MGMT 003)
Professor: Gilbert Tan ·∙ Class participation (10%) ·∙ Individual projects (15%) ·∙ Group project (25%) ·∙ Quiz (15%) ·∙ Final exam (35%) One of the compulsory courses in SMU so most of the students were year-­‐one students. The content was interesting: we discussed a lot about current and old issues in Singapore and without this course I would have not known about them. With local examples the professor showed how business, government and society influence each other and how they are linked. The professor was okay but I had hard time understanding his strong Singaporean accent. This course didn’t require too much work and the themes were quite easy. A book was required for this course but in my opinion the slides would be enough. Cross Cultural & Diversity Management (OBHR 212)
Professor: Hwee Hoon Tan ·∙ Group case discussion & presentation (15%) ·∙ Group project (40%) ·∙ Class participation (15%) ·∙ Quizzes (2x15%) Very interesting course and the professor seemed to be really into the subject! She was eager to learn more from exchange students and engaged students in discussions. Sometimes she gave us some extra individual assignments for fun which somewhat increased the workload. The themes were interesting and the course was pretty much hands on: no final exam for example and a lot of practical and interactive examples. I would recommend this course since it brought up diversities in organizations and overall differences between countries. It also broadens my knowledge in differences between Asian cultures and countries. I had a nice group that I worked with and so studying for this course was fun too. We didn’t need a book for this course but we had to buy a course package that included the cases for the course. International Business (MGMT 205)
Professor: Judy Tan ·∙ Class participation (20%) ·∙ 2 Individual assignments (2x10%) ·∙ Group project (30%) ·∙ Final exam (30%) This was an interesting course. It was a lot in depth about international business and especially different ways of entering and managing new markets. However, this module required the most work of all my courses. For each week we had to read a case and prepare for it and there were two presentations for each group. In addition we had to write and return two individual assignments and participate discussions in an online forum. The major project was a 40-­‐page-­‐long report and presentation of an existing company entering a new country. This project required a lot of research and we had to apply basically all the frameworks we learnt during the semester. The professor is known for demanding a lot from her students. A book and a course package were required for this course and we had to study both for the final exam. 3. Free time and other information
Living in Singapore
Singapore is quite an expensive city-­‐state to live in. As SMU doesn’t offer campus accommodation, I had to find an apartment from the private market, which was even more expensive than in Helsinki. On the bright side Singaporeans love to eat and eating out is pretty cheap. There is a huge variety of different food courts and restaurants to choose from all over Singapore. We lived right next to a food court where we could buy a meal for 3-­‐4 Singaporean dollars. Also the food court at SMU was good. Singapore is extremely safe, clean and westernized, which made it a nice home base for the semester. Everybody in Singapore speaks English although some people can have quite a heavy Singaporean accent, which makes it hard to understand sometimes. Singapore is known for its strict rules and regulations. For example eating and drinking in public transportation is prohibited. However, all officials are reliable and the city is well-­‐functioning. MRT (the Singaporean metro line) works smoothly so it was easy to commute around the city when needed. We managed to pay our rent and utilities in cash so I decided not to open a bank account. The climate is super humid and hot all year round. Traveling and other activities
Because of the Facebook group for SMU exchange students, it was easy to get to know other exchange students and make plans for traveling. A lot of free time activities, Ladies’ Nights on Wednesdays for example, were published on the group. It was easy to get to know other exchange students when living in Sophia Residence because a lot of exchange students ended up living there. We arranged common barbeque nights and pre-­‐drinks usually on Wednesday’s when it’s Ladies’ Night. On Ladies’ Night there is free entry for women and sometimes free drinks too. Going clubbing in Singapore is expensive in general. Since Singapore is in the heart of South East Asia it was easy to travel around. During my exchange I visited Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Vietnam and Cambodia. In February we had a week off from school, which gave me a nice time for traveling. I also traveled during our study break and for a one month after my final exams. The flights are affordable if you book them well in advance and check special fares from for example Tigerair and Scoot. 4. Final comments
I loved my exchange in Singapore and in SMU! The campus is located in the city center and you can find everything within a walking distance. The campus itself is modern and the facilities are great, including a big library, gym and a rooftop swimming pool. Also, Sophia Residence was the best place to live in. It was just a couple of hundred meters from the University and so it was the perfect location to live in Singapore. However, if you choose to apply for SMU you should recall that there are no dorms at campus so it is a bit stressful to search for an apartment especially with people you haven’t even met in person yet. Also, you will most likely pay more for the rent than for example exchange students in NUS. To sum up, I would recommend Singapore and SMU for anyone who is interested in Asian culture and who wants to experience it with a modern and luxurious twist. During my exchange I learnt a lot more of cultural differences. The courses I took supported what I observed outside of classrooms and these things helped me to understand more of Asian and Singaporean behavior. Also, living with eight exchange students from different countries and backgrounds made me understand and appreciate other cultures and of course mine as well. I was already an exchange student back in high school so I knew what to wait and therefore I didn’t suffer from any kind of culture shock or homesickness. One semester went by so fast, especially when I was busy traveling around the beautiful South East Asia.