Before going on exchange, everyone I spoke with described it as a highlight reel: coolest experience, pass-fail and travel.However, my favourite analogy was from a friend who compared it to Naruto’s journey to Mount Myoboku: stepping away from everything familiar, immersing yourself in a different world, and returning with a broader perspective. So yes, it definitely was one of my favourite university experiences, made even better by the friends I made along the journey.
Why Exchange, and Why Singapore
It was curiosity more than anything else that motivated me to go on exchange. How different is course content overseas? How are lectures structured? What opportunities exist overseas?
After having had the opportunity to visit the campus and speak tolecturers before applying for exchange, I was amazed by the number of opportunities NUS offered and how large and homely the campus was.
We had to take buses to go between classes! Beyond the university itself, I was drawn to Singapore's unique economic model: a level of government intervention greater than most free market economies. Living in Singapore gave me the opportunity to see how that economic model has complemented Singapore's culture and driven its remarkable pace ofgrowth.
Beyond the economics, I was also drawn to the culture of the region and the way different traditions, communities, and philosophy intersect across it. Singapore sits at the heart of APAC finance and is a city that connects global capital, diverse cultures, and emerging markets in a way few places in the world can. I wanted to experience that texture first-hand.
Life at NUS
The university experience at NUS is very eventful. From the Supernova concert to the constant career fairs, there is always something happening on campus. With over 2,000 exchange students annually attending NUS, the support, community, and structure of the exchange was very smooth. I was given two NUS buddies prior to arriving in Singapore, who helped show me around campus and shared stories about their experiences in Singapore.
While most people are afraid of feeling lonely and homesick on exchange, the sheer number of exchange students, college friends, andthe NCP community made that feeling unrelatable. NUS is also infamously known for being impossible to fail, with most courses being graded on a bell curve. This gives students the freedom to take more challenging and interesting courses, as well as explore other parts of the exchange experience. Finally, the flexibility offered at NUS fosters an environment of high autonomy which many exchange students reminisce about.
College: The Heart of the Experience
Living in college was without question the most special part of the exchange. The strong sense of community at RC4
made the experience especially memorable — a blend of academic seriousness and a fun, energetic social culture that made every day feel alive.
The dining hall became a ritual. Sharing meals (rice and dhal, three months running) turned into a communal rhythm that brought people together in the most ordinary and meaningful ways. Late nights in the lounge playing Mario Kart, afternoons in the music room, Friday nights playing squash and poker, impromptu conversations that stretched well past midnight: these were the moments that didn’t make the itinerary but defined the experience.
While I could write an entire page about all the societies and activities on offer, a key highlight was the strong sportingculture at NUS. Free access to squash courts, swimming pools, running tracks and gyms meant that staying active was woven into daily life rather than something you had to seek out.
The inter-house games were probably my favourite glimpse of this; it felt like a real-life version of the Quidditch Cup from Harry Potter. The energy was electric, the rivalry was real, and the collective pressure to perform for your house made it a very communal experience.
Leadership: Personal and Professional Growth Within the APAC Region
One of the most formative pieces of advice Liveris has shared came from an older Chinese businessman he met early inhis career in Hong Kong:
"There are three pillars to society: the rule of law, the rule of logic, and the rule of relationships.In the West, these are prioritized as follows: first law, second logic, third relationships. In the East, it's exactly theopposite: first relationships, then logic, then law. All are indispensable. But what's most important is to understand thatthe starting points are different."
That advice took on its full meaning through his years leading Dow's operations in Thailand and across the Asia-Pacific. My experience at NUS was a far smaller but no less genuine version of that same education. Where Liveris learned relational leadership by navigating an entire region, I learned it through dining hall conversations, running with strangers at 1am, and simply saying yes when someone knocked on my door.
This extended beyond university life as well. Attending discovery programs hosted by investment banks
and hedge funds across Singapore acted as a window into how thecity operates as the dealmaking hub for the broader region, facilitating capital and transactions into surrounding markets like Thailand and Indonesia. What became clear very quickly was that the ability to navigate those deals was tied to open cultural understanding, reciprocity and relationship capital. Knowing the local culture, social rules, and even fragments of the language can be the difference between a deal that moves and one that stalls.
Thanks to the NCP's support for language training, I was lucky to have had a head start in building that.
NCP: The Launchpad
None of this would have been possible without the New Colombo Plan Scholarship. The NCP was more than just financial support; it was a genuine launchpad. It connected me with a cohort of like-minded scholars who became some of my closest friends throughout the exchange, and it opened doors to unique experiences. The weekly lunches and regular catch-ups with fellow scholars created a rhythm that felt surprisingly familiar; a little pocket of home in the middle of a foreign city.
Beyond the community, the NCP also opened doors to attend special events. One of the most memorable was an invitation to attend the inaugural Ros McGovern Lecture at the Australian High Commission, hosted by His Excellency Allaster Cox to mark the 60th anniversary of bilateral relations between Australia and Singapore. The lecture, delivered by Professor Evelyn Goh from ANU, explored how Southeast Asia is navigating an era defined by great power competition, extreme interdependence, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Experiences like this broadened my understanding of global political dynamics and the importance of strategic international alliances.
Final Thoughts
Exchange is many things. It is the friends you didn't expect to make, the courses that changed how you think,
and the late nights that somehow matter more than the early mornings.
I arrived with no SIM card, no expectations, and genuinely no idea what the next three months would hold. I left with lifelong friendships, a deeper understanding of leadership in a global context, and an enduring appreciation for tomato egg rice.
