‘It altered my life course’: Students share how they have benefited from trips to Asean countries
Ms Nadia Natasha Arisman (top right) with other volunteers at the Mang Urot soup kitchen in the Philippines while on exchange at the Ateneo de Manila University.
SINGAPORE — When she was studying English language and linguistics at the National University of Singapore (NUS), Ms Jane Ho had hoped for an overseas internship in New York City or Stockholm.
Instead, she found herself attached to a tech startup in Shanghai, China, in 2017.
But Ms Ho, who is now 23, has no regrets. Her internship experience opened her eyes to opportunities outside of her field of study.
Upon graduating, she landed a job as a consultant at an international IT firm, something she could not imagine herself doing before her trip abroad.
She said: “I was so thankful to get into the programme because it’s so coveted and only a small percentage of students get the offer for each intake. It also changed my life course to some extent.”
Education Minister Ong Ye Kung announced in Parliament on Wednesday (March 4) the Ministry of Education’s plan to get 70 per cent of local university and polytechnic students participating in overseas programmes, with 70 per cent of these students having exposure to China, India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) region.
Right now, about one in two university and polytechnic students take part in overseas exposure programmes and more than 50 per cent of these programmes are to India, China and Asean, the ministry said.
Students who have embarked on trips to these destinations told TODAY that the experiences opened their eyes to new perspectives and cultures.
Some also said it made them interested in exploring other countries in Asia, even the idea of working in these places.
FORMING NEW CONNECTIONS
Early last year, Ms Nadia Natasha Arisman, 23, went on an exchange programme to Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines.
While there, she had the opportunity to learn the programming language R and applied it to a mental health project that she was working on.
Prior to the trip, Ms Nadia was already interested in Southeast Asian history and culture, and had chosen to go to the Philippines as she wanted to have the opportunity to take up modules that were not offered at NUS.
The fourth year psychology and history student said: “I had hoped that by learning from people who understand the Philippines’ history and culture better, I would gain a deeper appreciation for the country and its connections to the region and the wider world.
“I also hoped studying abroad would help me to learn how to step outside of my comfort zone and form new connections abroad.”
IT BROADENED HIS HORIZON
For Mr Leo Ee Min Feng, he picked Bali, Indonesia as his destination for his school’s Youth Expedition Project (YEP) programme in 2017.
“I didn’t know much about Balinese culture before I went so the trip raised my awareness of their culture,” he said.
“Honestly, before I went on my YEP trip I wasn’t really focused on going overseas and I just wanted to stay at home. It has really broadened my horizon and now I’m curious to explore more.”
Mr Ee enjoyed his experience volunteering in Bali so much that he signed up as a YEP student leader for a trip to Myanmar in 2019.
EXPLORING WORK OPPORTUNITIES ABROAD
Other students took the road less travelled, like Mr Jacob Low who chose to spend six months at the Hanoi Law University in Vietnam for his third-year overseas academic programme.
The 25-year-old NUS law student, who was the only international student at the university, said Vietnam was a “standout” choice for him as he knew that it was a developing economy with the potential to grow even more in the future.
The experience made him more interested in the Vietnamese culture and language.
He even returned to Vietnam for a month-long internship at an international law firm in Ho Chi Minh.
“I got to see how things are run differently from Singapore,” he said.
“The biggest takeaway was learning that they are actually very innovative people and they are more motivated to succeed with Singapore being the benchmark of where they want to be.”
