#GoSingapore
2 early career professionals from India travel to Singapore to explore World Class Universities in house.
We believe that our aspiration is a function of our exposure.
And if we aspire to study in some of the best universities in the world, then we must first expose ourselves to those universities.
This trip happens to be our first travel since we started working. Instead of just visiting places, we've decided to invest in our professional development.
5 Days, 5 Universities
Which universities have we selected?
What was our criteria of selection?
What do we intend to do when we visit these universities?
Nanyang Technological University (NTU)
NTU is an autonomous research and technology university. It is placed 12th globally, and 1st among the world’s best young universities for five consecutive years (QS university rankings).
NTU is young and research-intensive and interdisciplinary in focus. NTU’s high-impact research areas includes of global concern, such as artificial intelligence, robotics, sustainability, healthcare, new media and future learning.
We are looking to interact with the professors and students on campus to understand the research and internship opportunities at NTU.
INSEAD Business School
INSEAD - The 'Business School for the World', is consistently ranked among the best business schools in the world. Financial Times ranked it first across all full-time MBA programmes in 2016 and 2017.
INSEAD has a multi-campus format, rich diversity of faculty and students and offers personalised and comprehensive MBA programmes.
We will be attending an In-house program, which includes:
- Overview of the INSEAD MBA programme
- A masterclass led by an INSEAD professor
- Networking with current students
- Campus Tour
National University of Singapore (NUS)
A leading global university centred in Asia, NUS is Singapore’s flagship university, which offers a global approach to education and research with a focus on Asian perspectives and expertise. NUS has been ranked the top university in Asia Pacific by two international ranking systems
NUS takes an integrated and multidisciplinary approach to research, working with partners from industry, government and academia, to address crucial and complex issues relevant to Asia and the world.
We will be having a campus tour of the campus, during which we plan to interact the students and faculty around about opportunities available for Indian students at NUS.
Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
The Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKY School) is part of the National University of Singapore (NUS). As a part of NUS, the Lee Kuan educates and trains the next generation of Asian policy-makers and leaders.
The mission of the School is to 'be the leading global public policy school in Asia, developing thought leadership, improving standards of governance and transforming lives for a more sustainable world.'
We intend to explore the courses related to Public Policy.
Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD)
SUTD undergraduate students are granted either a BB or a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in one of its four areas of focus, called "pillars": Architecture and Sustainable Design (ASD), Engineering Product Development (EPD), Engineering Systems and Design (ESD) or Information Systems Technology and Design (ISTD).
SUTD advances knowledge and nurtures technically-grounded leaders and innovators, with a focus on design, through multi-disciplinary education
We will be attending a campus tour at SUTD.
Who's Traveling?
Arya Murali
Current work
Currently leading Learning Programs and Women in Tech activities at Rethink. Checkout wit.rethinkfoundation.in to learn more.
Aspiration
Non-profit/Public-sector Leadership. I care about Education, Equality and Equal opportunities for all. Wish to create impact in these areas.
Why this trip
So, in 2016, 18 girls from India received the WeTech Qualcomm Global Scholarship and with it, 5000USD. Since then, we've been planning to travel to Singapore to explore its universities, enterprise and research cultures. The trip kept getting delayed and finally we make it happen now. 3 key reasons for this trip:
1. Explore universities in Singapore, particularly INSEAD, given my interest in Leadership and pursuing MBA.
2. Explore partnerships with people and organisations in Singapore and figure out if we can put together an exposure program for female early career professionals to Singapore
3. Explore Singapore and have fun. I'm trying to figure out if I enjoy travel. So this is partly an experiment to understand that as well!
Courses exploring
MBA - to strengthen my foundational understanding
Masters in Education - Adult learning, Learning and Development, Scaling self-learning digitally and picking up 21st century skills are some areas I've gotten interested in since I began anchoring our Learning Programs at Rethink.
I'm also curious about public policy and governance. It feels like something I might be interested in but not sure.
Most excited about
Hmm. I think it's just travelling on our own. This is my second international trip. So I'm super excited about this whole thing coming together in the first place. Oh and, we don't really have a fixed plan as to what we're really going to do in Singapore. There's lot of room for surprises and I'm excited about that!
Most scared about
Forgetting to let my mom know that I'm okay everyday. We've actually come a long way. Earlier she used to be super scared to let me travel but this time, she appears to be less scared. Our pact whenever I travel is that I drop a message in our family WhatsApp group and let her know I'm okay everyday. And you don't want to be forgetting to do that and offending your mom!
More about me
Website - aryamurali.com
Social profiles
I'll keep tweeting about our trip. Might go live once in a while. Stay tuned!
Sharon Rachel Manu
Current work
Currently working as a Business Solution Analyst at Deloitte, Hyderabad.
Aspiration
Currently, I aspire to contribute better to my project and team at Deloitte .
Honestly, this trip is so I can expand my horizons and give (bigger and) better shape to my aspirations.
I know 2 things so far - I am a people's person. I want to make an impact.
Why this trip
Read my reasons on my medium blog - Off to Singapore..Here's why.
Key Reasons:
- Gain exposure to expand my career aspirations.
- Explore the culture at renowned universities like NUS and INSEAD.
- Try and do groundwork to structure a Singapore University Exposure Program for early female career professionals in India.
- Looking to meet a lot of amazing people - academicians, students, entrepreneurs - and have tons of interesting conversations.
- Travel and fun.
Most excited about
This is my first international trip! And the fact that it is going to have both learning and fun excites me. I am looking forward to meeting a lot of interesting people and have engaging conversations. The fact that it is just us in a completely unknown place - sounds like the perfect adventure!
Most scared about
I don't think I have enough space for fear in my head - it is all excitement!
I want to capture and learn all that I can this coming week. So, I'm guessing I'm scared only about failing to do that. Otherwise, I'm super excited!
More about me
I do not have my own website (yet :p, but soon).
Until then, you can find me on LinkedIn, and see all the activities I have been part of and what I'm currently upto.
Social profiles
Follow me on Twitter and Instagram to get updates from the trip.
I look forward to having you join us on this journey!