As usual before the start of every semester, I look forward at the modules to come, and back at the semester just ended.
My modules this semester
GES1035: Singapore: Imagining the next 50 years
Number of MCs: 4
Grading: CS/CU, does not count towards the CAP or S/U allowance
CORS bidding result: Bid 1632 General points, won for 1614 General points
Format: All lectures are e-lectures and face-to-face tutorials are held on alternate weeks
It's not that I, or the 150-odd other lucky souls whose virtual wallets were big enough to afford this expensive module, give a damn about what happens in the next 50 years. But we all need to do a Singapore Studies module to graduate, and since this one has no physical lectures and, because it's pass-fail, won't put our aggregate scores at risk, we're willing to pay everything we have to secure it. Other Singapore Studies modules usually sell for 1 point, making the price of this one all the more startling.
JS1101E: Introduction to Japanese Studies
Number of MCs: 4
Grading: Standard letter grades, eligible for S/U
CORS bidding result: Bid 2552 Programme points, won for 1 Programme point
Format: Face-to-face lectures and tutorials every week
Unlike many of my contemporaries, I'm not a fan of anime, manga, J-pop, JAV or whatever. The only thing Japanese I like is food: sashimi, ramen, soba, udon, tempura, unagi... Yum! But because it's compulsory to take a module in Asian Studies, I chose this one because 1) the final exam has multiple-choice questions where the other Asian Studies modules only have academic essays, which I abhor, 2) the lecturer is a jolly old American man who came highly endorsed by my contact in the Dean's Office, who said he's a nice guy, and 3) it was the best fit for my timetable.
NM2104: Qualitative Communication Research Methods
Number of MCs: 4
Grading: Standard letter grades, eligible for S/U
CORS bidding result: Pre-allocated for one point from the Programme account after participation in the Module Preference Exercise
Format: Face-to-face lectures and tutorials every week
The truth is, I dread this module and put it off for as long as possible, which is why I'm only doing it now. Qualitative research is a real pain in the neck because the data collected doesn't come in the form of numbers, but rather words. And how does one properly analyse words to extract meaningful conclusions? I don't know, but I do know that the first step is to transcribe all audio recordings into text... Imagine what tedium that is! As a converted psychology student, I am okay with handling statistics, but this is just a whole new ball game altogether, and I don't like it.
NM2203: Social Media in Communication Management
Number of MCs: 4
Grading: Standard letter grades, eligible for S/U
CORS bidding result: Bid 1 Programme point, won for 1 Programme point
Format: Face-to-face lectures every week and tutorials on alternate weeks
I really do want to work in public relations and my main area of interest is media relations, the most "traditional" kind of PR. You know, the kind where you issue press releases and hold media conferences. But PR, as with everything else in this world, is becoming increasingly online. Social media is a big part of PR now, and besides the obvious role of creating and posting content on organisational pages and reacting to comments and messages from netizens, PR practitioners must understand social media because that's where people make their voices heard, and at its very core, PR is about knowing what people are saying about the organisation and managing that. So even though I don't intend to make a career out of social media PR, and recoil in horror at the mere mention of the terms "viral", "analytics" and "search engine optimisation", I still think it's important for me to take this module to get a foundation in the world of social media in PR. With more news platforms now existing online rather than offline, such knowledge could come in handy even for a traditionalist like me. Actually, I didn't choose this module at first, and opted for another one about social psychology of new media at the Module Preference Exercise instead, because the person who used to teach this module didn't do a very good job, according to various reviews I'd found online. But that person, who has a PhD, disappeared, and the replacement is an industry practitioner who has something better than a PhD: accreditation from the Institute of Public Relations of Singapore (IPRS). When I discovered this, I dropped the social psychology module and bought this one from CORS. The new lecturer is a Vice President of marketing at a big regional business by day, rather than a paper general, i.e., a professor who has never done actual social media PR before in their life trying to teach us about social media PR. He describes himself as being "pretty chill". I can live with that!
NM3219: Writing for Communication Management
Number of MCs: 4
Grading: Standard letter grades, not eligible for S/U due to being level-3000
CORS bidding result: Pre-allocated for one point from the Programme account after participation in the Module Preference Exercise
Format: Face-to-face lectures and tutorials every week
This is the one I'm most excited about because it's right up my alley, being all about media relations, pitching, press releases, speechwriting, and stuff like that, all of which fall into the category of what I can see myself doing for a living in future. It's also being taught by a practitioner rather than an academic. Oh, joy! The most awesome thing is that although there is a compulsory textbook, the lecturer chose one that we can download for free off the library database using our student accounts. More faculty members should do this and help us save on those notoriously ripoff books.
NM3232: Strategic Communication: Concepts
Number of MCs: 4
Grading: Standard letter grades, not eligible for S/U due to being level-3000
CORS bidding result: Bid 2579 Programme points, won for 27 Programme points
Format: Weekly three-hour seminars
This module is a sort of overview of the entire public relations process, from the planning stage to execution through to evaluation. It's very popular, obviously, and I didn't get it from the Module Preference Exercise even though I requested for it. So I bought it from CORS. As a seminar-style module class, I suspect this module will involve quite a lot of peer teaching. I don't mind, since this is a subject I'm interested in anyway.
My workload for the semester is 24MC, which is a slight overload from the standard 20MC. The reason is because I am doing an extra major module this semester rather than delaying it to the following semester to be taken as an online course concurrently while I'm on internship. I don't like that option even though it's available, because when I'm on internship, I want to have 100% energy to give to my employer during the work week, and my weekends will be for resting, not slaving away at tutorials and assignments. I'd rather suffer a bit more now. And I still have more than enough S/Us to catch me if I drop the ball anyway. There's an S/U with NM2104's name on it, and another with JS1101E's...
My academic journey thus far
I'm not shy to openly declare that as of right now, my CAP is a more-than-decent 4.81. This isn't something I remotely imagined would happen when I enrolled so I'm very happy with what I've achieved so far.
This blog
There will be one new scheduled post released in February and another in April.
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