My experience at Singapore Management University: Ruchika Sharma

Singapore Management University has a beautiful city campus right in the heart of Downtown Singapore. The business school building is conveniently connected to the rest of the departments and the library/admin block via an underground concourse. This allows the students to also have a common space for a range of activities right under the busy streets of Singapore.

We have a five-level library which has both physical and digital access to journals, books, and qualified support staff to assist students in research activities. The campus also has multiple avenues for study spaces – graduate lounges (only for PG students), library space, learning commons (24*7 access) and group study rooms. The classrooms are essentially smart equipped with the latest tools for smart learning. Owing to the central location, the SMU campus has easy access via both buses and the mass rapid transportation with 3 metro stations running different lines in the vicinity. 

Supportive and Experienced Professors at SMU: In the 8 courses I have attended so far at SMU, I have absolutely enjoyed the learning experience I have had. The professors are passionate about academia and would instill that interest in the subject among the students as well. The classes are highly interactive which ensures there is a two-way flow of ideas. At SMU, class participation is given a heavy weightage and therefore professors play an important role in letting a discussion flow in the correct direction. We would have breakout sessions, case study discussions and class presentations. We had established professors from diverse ethnic and academic backgrounds but all great in their respective fields.

Accomplishing my Goals: One of the main reasons for a Student Exchange Program was for me to get global exposure, meet and work with people from different backgrounds and further broadening my perspectives. Coming to Singapore has definitely helped me in achieving those aspirations. SMU has a wide range of extracurricular opportunities that we could participate in, further we also have an active career services department which is available to the students for industrial and workplace training as well as one-on-one internship. The central location of the college also allows the students for a chance to take up part-time roles in the companies nearby. This allowed me to explore the work culture in Singapore pretty soon and also provided me the opportunity to work with international superiors and co-workers.

Skill Development: Along with adding knowledge and teaching the traditional management courses, classroom engagement at SMU certainly helped us in improving our contemporary knowledge. The course structure is also modified and updated with respect to corporate requirements to make the students more work ready. Further, the compulsory presentations, career workshops as well as the class participation requirements aid us in improving our communication skills. I’ve also now had the experience of working with people from varied cultural backgrounds and have started to appreciate different perspectives.

About the Author:

Hi! I am Ruchika Sharma and I am pursuing Master of Science in Management’19 from Lee Kong Chian School of Business, SMU. I got this opportunity to have a life changing experience at Singapore Management University (SMU) while doing 5-year Integrated BBA+MBA at Jindal Global Business School.