I decided to exchange to NUS mainly because the Singapore is tropical country and NUS has a very good academic reputation in Asia. Singaporean speaks English and Chinese. As I am a Chinese and also speak English, it would be helpful for me to study and live there. Singapore’s multiple-dimensional culture really attracted me, so I decided to choose NUS as my exchange university.

As I went there only for doing my master thesis, it is important to find a good supervisor and interesting project for my thesis. I contacted with several NUS’s professors via emails three months early before I went to there. But I still feel it was a little bit late, so I recommend you contact your KI program manager and find your supervisor as early as possible at the beginning if you decide to write your master thesis there in NUS. It will take more time than you expect. 

When I got the acceptance from NUS, I also received all the necessary information and documents by NUS. There were so many documents with a lot of information, so I really needed to spend so much time find important things. It is important to find out and remember all deadlines. You need to confirm your registration information through given link and also apply your accommodation within given deadline. Otherwise, you would have no place to live. Moreover, the most important thing is to ensure your nationality if is needed to apply a visa or not. Some citizens such as Swedish, Finnish, and Japanese are not required a visa. I as a Chinese that is required a visa for study (student pass), so I apply a student pass online and got it very soon in the same day. I was very surprised with their efficient work process.

KI’s exchange office is very helpful for answering any kinds of questions regarding exchange study. If you have any question such as vaccinations, necessary documents, coursework information, they will answer you fast.

I landed in Singapore on the 9th January that was three days before the instruction week. I didn’t apply NUS pick-up student service. The transportation is very convenient so I took MRT from Changi airport. It costs USD $3 (approx.15SEK). I got off at “Kent Ridge” stop, which is near NUS, NUS hospital, and took five minutes to my accommodation (PGPR). Alternative choice is to take a taxi, it will cost around USD $22 from Changi airport to NUS. You’d better remember you accommodation address and show it to driver, he will directly take you to that place.

If you arrive you accommodation in the night or out of working hours, you should contact your accommodation office earlier. They will tell you where to pick up your key and transponder.

The introduction week for exchange student contains a lot of helpful activities. The first day was registration for your coursework and student pass. The other days offer some activities such as city tour, language exchange, and food culture. If you want to participate t activities, you need to register yourself one month before start.

Cost of living inside Compus is very cheap and affordable. But outside campus especially is shopping mall, everything is costly. I calculated my average expenditure:

1. Food inside campus:  USD $270 (approx. 1350 SEK)/per month. Average USD $3 (15 SEK)/per meal.  http://the4moose.blogspot.se/2010/11/makan-in-nus.html
2. Food outside campus: 

• shopping mall: USD $7-15 (approx.35 - 75 SEK). You also have to extra fee for service and tax, which is equal to 17% of your total costs of food.
• Local food market: USD$ 3-7 (approx.15-35 SEK) normally around citizen’s residence communities. Food are various and cheap, but sometime not clean.

Traffic: 

• Inside campus: All shuttle buses are fee to take.
• Outside campus: MRT (metro) is very convenient. it costs USD$1-2.7 (approx.5-12 SEK)  for each trip depends on the distance. I recommend to take bus, it is much more cheaper than MRT. each trip costs USD$0.3-1 (approx. 1.5-5 SEK) and there are much more routes to different places. 

4. VISA application: 1000 SEK

5. Sports and Student union: there are many student unions you can join, also many sports unions such like Wushu, kayak, swiming, kendo, and so on. Different union has different price for each semester. Student gym and swimming pool in sport hall and Utwon is free for students.

6. Other costs: shopping in shopping mall is costly. Clothes have similar price as in Sweden. Fruits are much cheaper than in Sweden. Partying is very costly. 

PGP

There are many residence halls in the campus. I was told PGPR is near Computing School of NUS and is new, so I chose PGP as my first priority; however, it is not the truth in fact. But in general, PGP is the second best student residence hall in the campus. I chose room type B which is without air condition. But I think it was not good idea to choose type B, because it was extremely hot in the room due to the tropical climate and the bad ventilating system in the room. The room is 12 m² and costs approximately SGD 1980 (around 10,000 SEK) for one semester (18 weeks). Kitchen and washroom are shared with 12 corridor mates. The policy in each residence hall is very strict that student corridors are divided by gender and you can only access the corridor and floor you live by using transponder. Smoking and drinking is forbidden. Campus security is very responsible, so you don’t need to worry about any criminal issues. 

There is a good review about PGPR room type B: http://app.youth.sg/Home/Campus.aspx?eid=2271

If you are interested, you can found more information about rates and room types for all residence Hall here: http://nus.edu.sg/osa/has/undergraduate/hostel-rates

PGP: http://nus.edu.sg/ohs/future-residents/graduates/pgpr/rooms.php

Utown

Another choice I extremely recommend is NUS University Town (UTown residence), which is very new and luxury. If you like activities and international environment, Utown is definitely your best choice. See the picture and you can find the rate and room types via the link above as well.

Utown:http://nus.edu.sg/ohs/future-residents/graduates/utown/rooms.php

There is a good review about Utown and other residence hall: http://butterflyflies.wordpress.com/2011/09/26/nus-accommodation/

Study life

Master thesis

I was writing my master thesis in the computing school of NUS and also had changes to take one course. I was allocated a lab desk and a set of computer in health informatics lab in computing department. It located on the bridge of Computing building no.1 and no.2, and takes 1 minute to the computing canteen by walk. If you want to do your master thesis in NUS, you need to find a supervisor in NUS very early and settle everything down before you decide to exchange. Otherwise it would be difficult for you when you arrive there, so contact your program manager earlier if you decide to do your thesis go abroad.

General study 

Generally, the teaching method in NUS is quite similar with KI’s, which includes lectures, both individual and group assignments, written report, and group presentations. Teachers are very knowledgeable and quit helpful. There are many tutorial sessions that help students with questions or group work.

One more thing is that there are many internal student digital platforms (like “pingpong.ki.se” we use in KI) you need to notice, which may update some important information regarding your coursework. For example, I was studying in computing school. The main platform I used is SOC.nus.edu.sg and IVLE.nus.edu.sg. There is another platform called "Myisis" which can check your study result, exam registration, and other important information. All the internal platforms need your registration user ID and password to log in. And don’t forget to check your NUS email box every day, so that you won’t miss any important information or events.

Singaporeans are native English speaker. Most of them can speak Chinese and Malaysia. I expected I could practice my English in Singapore; however, their English is not “real English” which is called “Singlish”. The Singlish combines with English and Chinese, so it is very difficult to understand at the beginning. Fortunately, there is no difficulty about language inside the campus. Teachers and students speak normal English, so you don’t need to worry about your study life. However, if you go to local place, for example if you order food in Little India and China Town, then you may have some difficulties. As I am native Chinese speaker, I usually speak Chinese with local people. NUS also offer some activities for international students to learn “Singlish” in order to help them fit into the local life easier. If you have interests, you can ask their international office or pay attention to the information board at the place where you live. 

The picture was taken at a local coffee shop, It tells you how to translate some simple Singlish to English.

Tours

If you don’t have so much course work, you can travel around some beautiful places such as Thailand, Bali Island, Maldives, and so on. They are quite near Singapore and the flight tickets are cheap (Tiger airline and Asian airline offer many cheap tickets). If you have many coursework, you can start with some local tours.

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year always takes place in January or February, which is the biggest festival for all Chinese people and Singaporean. During this period, you can see many red color decorations everywhere in each building, each family, and each street. There are many celebrations during that period. So it is good opportunity to go outside campus and take a look the city especially in China Town.

Sightseeing 

In Singapore, there are many sightseeing. Marina Bay and Sentosa Island are the most popular place for tourists. The Asian biggest Universal Studios and Aquarium are located in Senosa Island, but the admission ticket is costly if you buy them in front of the entrance. I suggest that you can buy cheaper tickets in China Town. There are many travel agencies offering discounted tickets for different sight spots. They also provide menu tickets for any combinations. Check more information about sight spots in Singapore from this site:

http://www.yoursingapore.com/content/traveller/en/experience_gb.html

Food

In Singapore, everything is about food. Food in Singapore is various and definitely cheaper than in Sweden. As there are many immigrants from different countries, you can eat different food with very good quality and authentic tastes. I often went to a local food market in China Town, which is called “Maxwell”. There are many different kinds of cheap and delicious dishes. They offer the best Hainanese Chicken rice which is also the most famous local food you have to try. More information about local food can be found here:

http://www.yoursingapore.com/content/traveller/en/browse/dining/restaurants/tian-tian-hainanese-chicken-rice.html

There is a website evaluates and ranks all good restaurants in Singapore. If you want to taste the most delicious food in Singapore, you can have a look this site:

http://www.makansutra.com/

Singapore is a tiny and beautiful tropical country with multi-dimensional culture. It is very developed county provides many conveniences for people. NUS has very good academic reputation and good quality of education all over the world. Their campus is very large and developed with many facilities. If you choose NUS, I believe you will be in love with it and enjoy your study life there. It is definitely a great destination for a semester as an exchange student. So don’t be hesitated, let’s go to Singapore!