At the Singapore Management University (SMU) I am following 5 courses. Normally exchange students take 3 courses, regular students take 4, and only those who really need 5 will do 5.*
1. Shipping Business
This course is taught by a Captain, a shipbroker, and a shipping business professional. I am learning all about ships, what kind of cargo is traded, what routes the ships are able to travel, restrictions, and a huge load of information surrounding the subject. It is quite interesting and there is a big exam at the end of the course (worth 50%).
2. Enterprise Development
A Korean professor is teaching us all about how to create a business plan and become a successful entrepreneur. We study data and apply that to real world cases in order to learn more about all the things you have to consider when creating a new business. Thankfully there's no exam; instead, the grade depends on a big group project.
3. Singapore Society
This course is taught by a retired Chinese philosphy ex-NUS professor who is specialized in Chinese philosophy and sociology. He is quite old and talks very slowly. The course material is interesting, but I feel like it needs more in-depth analysis to fully keep us awake during class. He mostly lectures to us about philosophy (this is a sociology course) and can't really keep up with a discussion. It's funny, because he asks the Singaporeans quite a few questions, but those students are shy and he mostly ends up getting international views from the exchange students. I have no clue what to expect for the exam, because there's hardly any reading material and the course comes across as a bit vague.
4. Intercultural Communication
Probably this is my favourite course so far. It's a very interactive course that doesn't require too much class preparation. During every class, 2 students give a presentation regarding a communication/cultural difference topic and great discussions ensue. It feels like a safe place to share ideas and it's great to learn about different cultures. For some reason I'm learning a lot about Indian culture! Very intriguing. (Their prata and naan is amazing haha)
5. Introduction to Psychology
Reading. Reading. Reading. This class requires a lot of reading and I have to teach my teammates parts of the chapter (and they teach me a part in return) and at the end of each lesson there's a quiz. The workload is very big and I'm not only reading, but also writing reflections, creating presentations, and doing experiments (mandatory). The content is interesting and I haven't fallen asleep while reading the huge book...yet.
Most of my classmates are very nice. Every 1 out of 6 students is an exchange student so I'm surrounded by internationals, but also do group projects with local Singaporeans. They give me advice on where to eat, what to do, and what to avoid (also important!). In general, Singaporeans are really nice. In real life they come across as very focused and sometimes they almost run me over in the MRT, because they are in such a hurry to live their hectic lifestyle!
*At Tilburg University students get 7.5 ECTS for the same course I take, but I only get 5 ECTS. :(
