An Aussie in NTU

What an exchange student from Sydney loves about NTU

by Tanvi Singh

One of the biggest questions undergraduates face is where to go for exchange. For me, coming to NTU and to Singapore was a no-brainer. I wanted to step out of my comfort zone to experience diverse cultures and eat all kinds of food. Living in a residential hall in NTU put me right at the heart of the action. I was also very fortunate to travel to five new places during this time – Japan, India, Thailand, Indonesia and Hong Kong.

Building memories

The buildings in NTU are out of this world! In the first few days, I would find myself stopping and just staring at some of them. I’d heard visitors to Singapore come all the way to The Hive just to look at it. Luckily for me, I spent much of my time there because my favourite module – Management, Principles, Competencies and Skills – was conducted there. Dr Kumaran Rajaram, our tutor from the Nanyang Business School, kept us awake and enthralled with his jokes and videos. It wasn’t too often that I enjoyed a class so much and I credit him for this. Another building with an interesting façade is the School of Art, Design & Media building. I spent many memorable evenings chilling out with friends on its grass roof.

Room to explore

Before moving into my room at Crescent Hall, I’d never lived alone. My room was spacious! As you can imagine, I loved everything about it, including the view of the pond and manicured grounds, which I wasn’t expecting to see in a dormitory. I became close friends with my neighbours over time, and we would visit different canteens together every week to try new dishes for dinner. Hall events like cooking nights, camps and trivia night also made it easy to widen my circle of hall pals.

I had my fill

Speaking of food, Canteen 2 wins my vote for being the best food court with its variety of delicious food. There isn’t a day that passes without me thinking of the xiaolongbao. I loved the waffles there and the ones from the North Spine – they were my go-to quick bites between classes. Naturally, I spent lots of time at Crescent Hall’s canteen too. Many days were sandwiched by breakfasts of kaya toast and kopi, and fried rice or mala hot pot for dinner.

Tanvi Singh recently graduated from the University of Technology Sydney with a double degree in Information Technology and Business, and has just started her career in Deloitte Australia. She spent four months as an exchange student in NTU, an experience she considers the best decision of her life.

This story was published in the Aug-Sep 2019 issue of HEY!. To read it and other stories from this issue in print, click here.