I had to choose 4 courses and chose Strategic Entrepreneurship , Interactive Marketing , Managing Consumer Markets and Business, Environment and Society in the Tropics. Overall, I was happy with the selection. Some subjects turned out to be more difficult than expected, but still everything is feasible. In contrast to my home university, where there is mostly an exam at the end of the semester, which counts 100% as an overall grade, at the JCU there are usually 3 or 4 “smaller” assignments to be mastered, which are then weighted differently as the overall grade for the subject counting. This can be an online test, a report or blog entry, a presentation or a video as well as a business plan followed by a presentation. In three of my subjects there was an exam at the end of the semester, which then influenced the overall grade by between 30% and 55%. In principle, it is good that you can collect points before the exam so that you can approach the exam in a more relaxed manner. On the other hand, you are already busy with deadlines beforehand. Nevertheless, all tasks are easy to do and on time.
On-site support
In general, the JCU has tried hard to accept us new students as well as possible. This began with an orientation day, which admittedly failed completely in terms of information and organization, but nevertheless showed that the local students are always available as contact persons. Each student was assigned a contact person who could be contacted with questions during the semester. The other employees were also on hand with help and advice. At the JCU there is compulsory attendance, which is also more or less enforced. I would have liked more transparency here, then all information about the compulsory attendance arose from rumors of the foreign students. As you can imagine, this led to more confusion than it helped us.
Accommodation
I was very lucky with my accommodation . Through a friend we lived in a 2 bed room with a private bathroom on the 27th floor. We shared our flat share with 2 French people, which wasn’t a problem. This cost each of us SGD 950. For Singapore relations still completely under.
Many of the international students had rooms in condos with their own pool area – yes, we were also lucky and you can get used to it quickly
It is advisable to accept the free accommodation of the JCU for 2 weeks and then to look for a room / flat share on site. Either you get in touch with someone on site and can join forces or you go on a search with brokers, etc. So you can look at the objects directly and you won’t be ripped off.
Leisure / excursions
There is really no shortage of leisure opportunities in Singapore. The MRT, which runs every 4 minutes, takes you everywhere. Singapore is not one of the cleanest and safest cities in the world for nothing. Even as a woman, I wasn’t afraid to move for a second. From my experience it can only be in Little India in the evening not quite as safe as in the rest of the city.
According to TOP-MEDICAL-SCHOOLS, the nightlife is definitely not neglected here either! The skyline is super impressive and there is really no shortage of clubs and discos. The only drawback: You can only get home by taxi, because after midnight there is no MRT / bus. Fortunately, taxis are very cheap compared to Germany. One of my personal highlights was the ZoukOut on Sentosa Island on the beach. A dance music festival that you definitely shouldn’t miss;).
Singapore is also ideal for weekend trips to neighboring countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia or for exploring South-East Asia in general. Which I would definitely recommend to you if you are already making the long journey from Germany.
Conclusion
My conclusion is definitely very positive. Singapore is an absolute mad city with lots of greenery and many cultures. It was definitely not my last visit to Singapore or South-East Asia. I learned a lot about foreign cultures and perspectives / ways of thinking that I don’t know from Germany, but have come to appreciate very much.
Singapore as a modern Asian city with western trains is ideal to get to know the Asian region without a culture shock.
