My Exchange at Nanyang Technological University
My experience in the 360 International semester abroad exchange was everything I hoped it would be and more. Arriving into Singapore, it was nothing new at first as I had been many times prior and am very familiar with the country and region of South East Asia, being from Indonesia, so it felt like home. The feeling of studying abroad didn’t hit me until I reached the campus and started unpacking my suitcase into my empty closet in my shared room. For accommodation, I was placed into Crescent hall – one of the newest halls on campus, to which the facilities were great, including the reading room, basketball court, and gym. The one thing disappointing about this hall was the poor choice of food from the canteen however, the highlight for me was the spam mayo rice bowl which I kept going back to. My roommate for the semester was a boy from Turkey, to which we were quite different in terms of both cultural backgrounds and hobbies. This led us to not hang out as much as I possibly would have liked, but he was a great roommate and has allowed me to gain a connection when I visit Turkey in the future. Orientation day was interesting, as I feel I had already understood all information provided however, it was a unique experience getting to meet other exchange students from all around the world, and understanding different perspectives and backgrounds. I truly enjoyed the courses and teaching at NTU in comparison to UoA as the content is taught throughout the first month before handing out any graded assignments, allowing students to grasp the content before jumping into assignments without understanding these topics in depth. As mentioned before, Singapore was nothing out of the ordinary for me as it felt like home, so I rarely ventured into the city as it was also a 1-1.5 hour MRT ride from campus, lacking accessibility. Though Singapore is small and can get boring after being in the country for too long, it presents many opportunities to travel to nearby countries – particularly Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand. Living costs in Singapore are extremely high, however not too different from Auckland. Pros are that cheap food is still accessible and some meals can range from around $5-7 SGD, whereas in Auckland this is not possible. Transport is relatively affordable compared to Auckland and is much more advanced. The costs of living are truly inflated by entertainment purposes as any time you want to wander in the city, you are bound to spend a good amount of money on food, activities, or partying. I did not necessarily take part in any extra curricular activities within clubs however, I did join the hall basketball team on a few occasions. This is primarily due to me not wanting to commit to any clubs as I wanted to travel as much as I could when I was away. Life on campus is lively, and there will always be people out and about at anytime of the day throughout the week – apart from weekends when most Singaporean students go home to their families. The food on campus is nothing special, and the canteens lack variety however, in Singapore overall the good is great as you would expect. Highlights of my exchange would be of course meeting many different people from different backgrounds, travelling to a variety of countries like Vietnam and China, and the accessibility of living on campus allowing more focus on studying. Some challenges were not making a large amount of friends as there were large amounts of people from specific countries like Sweden or Germany, and they would tend to stick in their own bubble. Singaporeans are also generally difficult to make friends with as they also stick in their local circle. Advice for students wanting to go to NTU would to be of course travel as much as you can whilst also maintaining the priority of your studies, and also participate in club activities as I regret not experiencing this!
Q&A
What were some of the highlights of the academic experience at your host university?
The personal connection with my lecturers and professors was unique and made you feel at home. The curriculum and spread of the content throughout the semester was also easy to follow and allowed me to not feel overwhelmed trying to grasp the content whilst completing assignments without understanding. Being around other like-minded exchange students and domestic Singaporean students motivated me more and gave me the desire to study hard and pursue my travels as usual.
Would you recommend any particular activity/activities unique to your host country or university?
Not an activity necessarily but Hot Hideout Mala is a restaurant on campus you must try! It is famous all around Singapore.
What are your top 3 tips for future students attending your host university or going on exchange to your host country?
- Make the most of your time in the country by travelling to new destinations you would’nt picture yourself going
- Meet friends from different walks of life and develop strong connections for the future
- Save a good amount of money to enjoy Singapore as I feel like I couldn’t experience it fully with my budget
How much did you budget for your exchange? Was this enough? Were there any lessons learned that would help future students budget for their own exchange?
I didn’t have a set budget for my exchange as I was receiving student allowance for living costs, so all my travels came out of my savings. Me relying on solely student allowance was not enough as I also saved a good portion of this allowance to go towards travel, so there would be weeks where I would rely on only $100 eating just cheap food and not going out.
What are your most significant takeaways from your experience abroad?
Learning from the unique perspectives of others cultural backgrounds truly broadened my perspectives not just within education, but the world itself. It furthermore increased my desire to continue to travel and see the world whilst learning.
Do you want to share anything about travels you did outside your host city/country?
Do the Ha Giang Loop in Vietnam, it’s amazing.
Is there any advice you could share about accommodation options at your host university and/or in the local area?
Simply state that you would like to live on campus, and which type of room (e..g shared, single/ aircon, no aircon). These are not guaranteed to be met however, you must state. I originally wanted a single room with aircon however, got a shared room with aircon.
Do you have any advice on what mobile phone apps and/or phone plans that were useful in your host country?
Grab for ride-hailing, and Wise for minimum banking fees on transactions. I used M1 for a monthly phone plan of around $18SGD p/m which is affordable.
Final Comments
This will be a life changing experience.