Reserapport - KI-student
Meditating in Indonesia
Lärosäte: National University of Singapore
Utbildningsprogram: Biomedicin
Utbytesprogram: INK
Termin: Hösttermin 10/11

Innan avresa

Dejan's Singapore Sling (NUS Exchange)


So you’re thinking about/getting ready for an exchange in Singapore. Congratulations, this is going to be an amazing adventure. There are a lot of reasons to choose Singapore NUS for your exchange;

 

  • It is located in the heart of Southeast Asia and provides good access to the whole region.
  • The university is of world standard.
  • It is comfortable, clean and safe.
  • There is a wide range of cultures to experience.

 

There are some things to consider before your trip. Singapore is a bit of a bureaucratic country, so if you can prepare all your paperwork before you depart it will save you a lot of time. As soon as you have been accepted to NUS you will receive an email account. You are going to get a lot of information so make sure to check it frequently. Complete the paperwork as soon as you get it. Housing applications are processed as they come in, so the later you apply for accommodation, the less likely your going to get your first choice. Having good communication with your counselor makes this process much easier.

 

Make sure you register on the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) website for your student visa. You are going to have to pay a fee on the site and bring a recite with you when you want to get your visa. If you have a Swedish passport you wont have any problems entering the country. You get 60 days in the country every time you enter. You will claim your student visa at NUS at a specified day that they will announce to you when you arrive. It is worth noting that to get your visa you will have to give up your passport for a few days. For me, these few days landed on one of our big breaks (introduction week). This meant that if I gave up my passport I would not be able to leave the country until I got my visa. To get around this problem I simply did not arrange my visa at NUS on the specified day, but did it myself at the ICA office at a later date. It is good to know that you have this option.

 

You are going to have to bring a lot of documents to your registration including a passport picture, and all the filled out paperwork. Make sure you have all these things to avoid any stress. Registration day is very hectic.

 

I would recommend opening an account with ICA banken before you go. They don't charge you for withdrawing money from foreign banks. This will save you a lot of money. Even after my exchange to Singapore having this ICA account has paid off many times.

 

Your KI Kammarkolegiet insurance will cover everything you do medically and dentally in Singapore (you should probably ready what “everything” specifically includes). Sadly it will not cover you in other countries. This means when you fall off your scooter in the middle of Thailand or step on a piece of glass in Indonesia, your going to have to pay for your own medical care. I would recommend getting additional travel insurance (contact your insurance company). I myself did not get the extra insurance, which made some situations a bit frustrating. Particularly when I got my leg burned in a Thailand fire show and had to wait until I got back to Singapore to get the burn treated. Also I highly recommend bringing a first aid kit.


There is a list of vaccines you can get for traveling in southeast Asia, but you wont have to worry about anything in Singapore.

I did not get any vaccines before my trip and I was fine. 


You don't need to pack a lot of cloths for utility. Singapore is always warm, and humid. It will rain a bit to. You are not going to have to worry about keeping yourself warm except for in the air conditioned lecture halls. Bring some cloths that will look good for the nightlife (bars/clubs) and one or two long sleeved shirts for the indoor lecture halls  (the air conditioning will always be maxed making it very cold). Having a good traveling pack will also make your experience much nicer. You are probably going to be doing a lot of backpacking so make it a good one.

All you need for backpacker glory

Ankomst och registrering

I recommend arriving about a week before registration starts. This will give you enough time to get settled in your new home, and more importantly, meet the rest of the exchange students. These are going got be the people you travel/party/share info with. You should use this time to be hyper-social as everyone is new and reaching out to meet people. If your traveling with a group of friends from school and have no interest in meeting new people, then consider the fact that usually other people will know things about registering, restaurants and good travel spots. Be social, it is part of exchange.

 

Your first week is going to be orientation week. This means you have a weeks break before lectures start. For exchange students this usually means travel time. It is also a good time to get acquainted with the online school system (information will be emailed to your NUS account) that will be how you handle all your school info. Everything from schedules, grades, lecture notes and registering for classes will be taken care of through this website. Spend some time learning how to use it.

 

Make sure you are clear on how many credits you need to complete for one semester at Karolinska. Your counselor can help you with that and how many classes you need/want to take. If you are interested in doing anything outside of the science faculty (like business) you should check if you can make special arrangements. They will not let you take any classes outside of science unless you get some special help (and even then it might be hard).


Lastly, if you find yourself in a situation where you dont know what to do, dont panic. If you dont know something or are unsure what to do, you will always find someone to help you. If you have been accepted into NUS somone will always be around to help you solve your problems. Stay cool!

Ekonomi

If you get the CSN grant and loan you should be pretty well-off for the whole semester. Depending on where you chose to live you can save a lot of money. NUS campus dorm rooms (such as Prince Georg’s Park Residence) are great for their price and the availability of meeting people.

 

Food is ridiculously cheap as long as you eat out. When the amazement of eating Asian/Indian food wears off (after a few months of rice it will) your going to turn to the shopping markets, which are comparable to Sweden.

 

Some expenses are going to be necessary for living in Singapore. An EZ-Link bus card (15 Singaporean dollars, 5 SGD deposit) will be needed for using the bus. A sim-card for your cell phone. If you have an iPhone go to your operator and get it unlocked. Taxies are cheap in comparing to Sweden so if you share it with a few people sometimes it might just be cheaper then a bus.

 

To save some money on the nightlife get to know some club/bar promoters. A lot of clubs have special offers different nights. Wednesdays are ladies night and girls party/drink for free. Guys enjoy full price (if you got some lady friends you can persuade them to get you drinks).  

 

If you really want to save money you can try to get a room at Prince Georg’s Park Residence (PGP). A room without air conditioning (room B or C) will cost you about half of what a room with air conditioning will. I chose a none air conditioned room. In return I hade enough money to backpack in Japan at the end of my exchange. On the down side I had to get used to live in humidity and warmth for the whole semester. Also I had to learn how to share toilets with a number of other people. In retrospect I might have chosen a room with AC and private bathroom (room A), but the extra money I saved was really good.

Room B at PGP. Plant not included

Boende

There are a number of ways you can live during your exchange in Singapore. You can get an apartment with some friends or people you met in Singapore, or you can chose to live on campus. I chose to live on campus. Living on campus has some pros and some cons. Pros include; your around people a lot, its cheap, its easy (the school arranges everything), and your close to classes. On the other hand it can get a bit cramped in a small room. If you don’t like sharing bathrooms and kitchens with people then it might not be the thing for you.

 

If you decide to apply for a residence on campus, make sure you do it as soon as you can. Spaces are limited. There are 3 types of rooms at PGP; A, B, and C. You can check out the specifications on all these on the housing site. If you decide that you don't need air conditioning and you want to get a B room, I would recommend just downgrading to C. The only difference is that you don't get a sink in a C room and you pay less. More money for fun.


There is a bus station near the PGP area that takes you into town, and you have a lot of places to eat on campus. There are also a few convenience stores located on campus for your immediate needs. For more advanced shopping there is an IKEA close by where you can get some authentic Swedish furniture and food.

PGP Residence from 7th floor

Studier allmänt

University schedules are a bit more relaxed compared to what they are at Karolinska. Usually you will have one or two days of class time (lectures or tutorials) per class with your other days free to study on your own. Compared to the system of lectures-every-day at Karolinska this can seem quite a bit easier. Keep in mind that your going to have to organize your study time yourself. The difficulty level is not terribly high though, and with a bit of smart studying you will do well.

 

¡Its important to remember that you cannot pick to classes that have an exam on at the same time! If you do this you will not be able to take the exam. There is a period after you chose your classes where you will be allowed to change or drop classes without penalties, but after a set period, dropping a class will result in a Incompletion mark (or even worse a Fail).

 

The grade system here is based on a standard curve (meaning that your grade depends on how well or poorly other people do). Most Singaporean people will be studying full time but its worth noting that they probably have more classes then an exchange student, and that their grades are very important.

 

You will be able to get all your notes and lecture slides from the web. For my courses these were enough, and I did not have to purchase any text books. This might differ from class to class. If you do need books there are reference copies available at the library.

 

The exams are usually a mix of multiple choice and open-ended questions. Most classes have a mid term exam that you will need to pass. The week before these exams is usually given for reviewing your material.

Kurser under utbytet

Kurser motsvarande termin 7 på KI

These classes were taken to match Termin 7 of the Biomedical Magisterprogrammet. Since the magister degree is no longer current i would check with your counselor if these classes are still appropriate for your semester.


LSM3252 Evolution & Comparative Genomics

This is a really interesting course. It covers all the major themes like natural selection, tree of life and many more. Sometimes the lecturer would go into topics about biology, which are outside the scope of Biomedicin, but it was manageable. Lectures were held once a week. There was a tutorial every other week (really fascinating to work with monkey skulls), some interesting pod casts you had to listen to, and a project. The professor is a very engaging German who’s English is very understandable.

 

FST3203 Vitamins & Minerals in Health and Diseases

Another interesting science course. This one is a bit more geared towards Biomedicin students. The professor is a great lecturer from Europe who speaks clear English. The course is basically broken down into; how the nutrient is absorbed, what it does, what happens when you don't get enough, and what happens when you get too much. Class includes a project and midterm. This class goes into the molecular aspect of diet. Definitely the most comprehensive of the three classes I picked. 

 

GEK1529\Food and Health

An interesting course to take, but far too simple for a Biomedical student. This class covers very simple facts about food and its impact on health. Worth taking if your not taking the Vitamins & Minerals class because they are practically the same, except Food and Health is less molecular. This class includes a number of teachers during the semester, some less engaging and clear in their English then others.

Språk och kultur

Singapore is a melting pot of cultures. The most prominent include Chines, Indian, Malaysian and Expat (Europena/American). Mostly language will not be an issue since the countries official language is english.
But don't expect the locals to speak clear Hollywood style english though. Singaporean english is a mix of anything the locals feel they want to add in. This is not a bad thing and at most times its an added charm to the interaction, but it can become a problem when a professor is giving a lecture. The combination of not being a good public speaker and Singaporean english can make the task of learning from a person ten times harder then it needs to be.

Because there are so many cultures that mix here, everyone is used to people acting in different manners. As long as you keep an open mind and stay respectful you will see many new and interesting things.

Fritid och sociala aktivteter

Clubs and Sport on campus: There are a lot of sports teams that you are free to join on campus. I had a lot of fun doing Thai Boxing during my exchange. There were a few barbeques and social events for the club so it was a good way to get to know locals. There are a lot of clubs to chose from (rock climbing, swimming, basketball) so if your interested it’s a good place to look.

 

Traveling: Lets face it, if your living in Singapore you should be traveling a lot. Malaysia is a bus ride away. Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the other southern pearls should be saved for a longer break. You are going to want some extra time to enjoy yourself. I recommend checking out the full moon party at Koh Panang if you are into beach parties (this is the mother of all beach parties). World-class surfing at Bali in Indonesia. Get your PADI diving certificate in Tioman Malaysia for a fraction of the price in Europe. There are a lot of places to visit from Singapore. The best way to find good locations is to talk to other backpackers or exchange students.


Nightlife: Singapore has a very active nightlife. If I had to describe it in one word I would call it “inventive”. They have a lot of peculiar clubs (The Clinic) and bars that are sure to provide a good time. Clark Key is the hot spot on the island, but there are a lot of bars around Singapore that are worth checking out. Also the Clark Key area is a bit like Singapore’s Stureplan, so the prices are a bit more then you will see in other bars.

 

If you really get home sick you can always go get yourself a big plate of meatballs at the Ikea and buy some knäkerbröd.

Full moon party in Thailand

Sammanfattning

This is going to be a great exchange if you are willing to enjoy it. Not only do you get to experience a new university outside of Karolinska, but you get to live in a completely unique culture. There are opportunities not just to make great new friends, but also to network professionally. The pharma-industry is booming in Singapore and there is always a demand for good people. Your going to get to travel and rough it in southeast Asia, and when you get tired of life on the road you come back to one of the most developed countries on the planet. Just make sure you keep on top of the your studying a bit every day and exams wont be a problem (I have never heard of an exchange student failing)

 

Hope this was enough to peak your interest. If you want to know anything more in detail just shot me a mail.

”Exchangers” getting ready for a night out. Living it up!