With the onboarding process done and dusted, it is time to settle into NUS and the exchange life! Well, online life that is. With the looming crisis of COVID, it’s no wonder that most if not all the classes were being held online. I was ‘lucky’ enough to get a chance to go to school for 2 hours per week. Yes, out of my 20 MCs, I had a 2-hour lab session where I get to go to NUS and meet NUSians(?), and I was never happier that I had to go to school. After all, that’s why most people go to exchanges right, to meet new people? Well, that and benefiting from the grade-free semester and what-not, but sure.
Personally, it was a chance for me to see how things were done on the other side, and to experience modules that I might not have been able to experience at SUTD. Some of these modules include Database Management and Visualisation (BT2102), which had a business aspect to it, and Interaction Design (CS3240), which was a very well-known and popular module at NUS for aspiring Frontend Engineers and UI/UX Designers.
I also met wonderful and talented people at NUS, with similar interests in software engineering. I didn’t get to interact much with them outside of class because most of our interactions were online-based, but I could see myself becoming friends with them IRL. Hopefully, by the time you’re reading this, you get to meet them in person when you join SUSEP. There was a guy who was very talented in computer networking theory, and frequently gave me interesting bite-sized knowledge about networks, which really piqued my interest and awe at people who do networking-related stuff. I met another person who was very entrepreneurial and took an interest in my 3D-printing business, and even became a customer! All I’m saying is, there isn’t a shortage of amazing people to meet at NUS on exchange.
If you ever find yourself having some extra time on the side (and trust me, you will, since everything is online :wink:) consider taking up a part-time internship to further maximise your time at the exchange. I personally took an internship at Carousell, and it was the best spur-of-the-moment decision I ever made to apply. It helped me to secure many full-time offers well before graduation. Since grades aren’t as critical here, it pays to go out of your way to learn some industry skills to bulletproof your resume. Of course, please make sure you can cope with the workload and still pass your modules! You don’t want your NUS friends complaining that you couldn’t keep up in the group projects. Good luck with your application and hope see you there!
