In order to study in Singapore, you must obtain a so-called Student Pass from the Immigration & Checkpoint Authority (ICA). As with other visas, documents must be completed in advance, after which you will receive an IPA letter with which you can enter Singapore. The application must then be completed on site in order to receive the official Student Pass card – this is normally possible for one afternoon at JCU. In my case, however, I had to go to the ICA building at short notice despite having made prior arrangements. After a long wait and a lot of questions, I received my Student Pass.

With the Student Pass, you can enjoy many benefits that are otherwise only available to locals and Long Term Pass holders, e.g. entry to Singapore through the automatic system and numerous student discounts.

JCU is an Australian university with an external campus in Singapore. The four subjects I took in Singapore were Macroeconomics, Principles of Finance, Evidence Based Business Decision-Making and Contemporary Issues in International Trade. Due to the coronavirus, three of the four subjects took place online, but there was always the opportunity to sit in the so-called Study Hub or in the library on the JCU campus and study with other students.

There were three assignments in each subject, which were either an exam, an essay, a presentation or small quizzes. This made studying at JCU more time-consuming and labor-intensive than studying at FHDW, but it had the advantage that the overall grade of a subject was not determined by the grade of a single final exam.

Delicious food court!

My personal highlight on the JCU campus was the food court, which, like a typical hawkers market, was made up of several Chinese, Indian, Korean and Western food stalls where you could buy delicious food at a reasonable price.

As I arrived in Singapore in the summer, I noticed one thing straight away: The sun set earlier than in Germany. As Singapore is close to the equator, the sun almost always sets at the same time between 7:00 pm and 7:15 pm.

Looking back, the top three must-haves for me in Singapore are: flip-flops, an umbrella and a jacket. As Singapore is located in the tropics, it is very warm outside with high humidity, so light clothing is recommended. Due to the tropical rainfall, there are many covered walkways, but flip-flops and an umbrella can still come in handy. Inside the air-conditioned buildings, however, it is usually cold, so a jacket is definitely recommended.

Singapore is one of the most expensive cities in the world for a reason – if you are planning a semester abroad in the island state, you should expect to have a sufficient budget. Apartments and hotels are quite expensive in Singapore and some foods, such as alcohol, are heavily taxed. On the other hand, you get the opportunity to live in a clean, safe and modern city – public transportation is very cheap compared to Germany and the bus and train network is very well developed. Food in Singapore is also comparatively cheap, apart from the fancier restaurants.

You also have the opportunity to apply for numerous scholarships during the application phase. My semester abroad was funded by PROMOS from the FHDW and the so-called “Better Together” scholarship from JCU and the GOstralia placement service.

There is always something going on in Singapore – National Day on August 9th with a big military parade and fireworks, the Chinese “Hungry Ghost” festival and the Indian festival of lights Deepavali were the festive highlights that I experienced during my stay in Singapore. Due to Singapore’s cultural diversity, you can experience celebrations from a wide variety of cultures and visit both Chinese and Indian temples, mosques and churches. I was also lucky enough that Formula 1 and some concerts also took place during my time in Singapore.

If you have some free time, Singapore is also the ideal starting point for visiting the numerous neighboring countries in Southeast Asia. Most of these are cheaper than Singapore, but are not yet as modern. One transport option that can be found everywhere in Southeast Asia, however, is the cab service via super apps such as Grab or Gojek, which are similar to their western counterparts Uber and are comparatively cheap in Singapore’s neighboring countries.