A very unusual AY2019/20 Semester 1: I won't be on campus at all

As per my usual practice, this post is to look ahead to the coming semester.

But there are two differences this time.

First, this post has appeared a bit earlier than its predecessors. Previously I would write a post like this a few days before the start of the semester. The coming semester starts in August. I'm a month early!

Actually I'm not. The coming "semester" for me starts next Monday, 22 July. I'll be reporting for my first day of work at my internship worksite, where I'll be spending the next six months.

Second, this post would usually contain a preview of the modules I have secured for the coming semester through bidding or pre-allocation. But there's no more bidding, that system having been scrapped in favour of an algorithmic allocation system starting from the coming semester.

Besides, there's nothing much to preview in terms of modules. There's just the one:

NM3550Y: Communications & New Media Internship
Number of MCs: 12
Grading: Standard letter grades, not eligible for S/U due to being level-3000

This module represents the compulsory internship that all Communications & New Media (CNM) students must complete in order to graduate. It is not registered for in ModReg. Rather, the department will send out a survey midway through every semester, and students who want to go on the internship the following semester must indicate their intention to do so in the survey form. The department will then hold a briefing to guide students on securing a worksite for the internship. Assessment is conducted through the submission of three written reports via LumiNUS at various points during the internship. There is also a component where the intern is assessed by their supervisor.

My internship worksite is GIC, the sovereign wealth fund of Singapore. Oh no, I know next to nothing about economics and finance! But it's okay. I will mostly be doing work in human resources and communications, which are support functions that have little to do with business. Besides, if I don't understand some business concept that I need to know in order to do my job, I can always ask. I'm there to learn, after all.

Although I'm nervous about whether I'll be able to adapt to and cope with a new environment, culture, and set of expectations, I take solace in the fact that I had wisdom and foresight when I opted to overload my previous semester so that I don't have to take evening modules during my internship just to keep up with my graduation schedule. I made sure that I have enough credits to graduate (if I want the basic degree) after completing this internship, so I only have to devote my full attention to this internship and I'll be all set (but I will stay on to complete the extra set of requirements for the Honours degree).

This blog

Like in previous semesters, I have written posts in advance which will be released automatically according to a schedule set by me. From 16 August onwards, a post will be published every fortnight. Each post will break down one chapter from The Singlish Controversy by Professor Lionel Wee, my favourite nonfiction book of all time.