There are different ways to find an apartment in Singapore. The James Cook University Singapore offers advice on looking for accommodation on their website, as it is not so easy to get a good and cheap apartment. You have to take into account that the apartments are generally expensive. The numerous Facebook pages with apartment offers are additional sources of information. Ultimately, you can ask friends who have been there before. This is how I found my apartment. A friend who was there two trimesters before me gave me the contact details of her landlord in Singapore and I got in touch with him. I discussed everything with him and he showed me photos of the apartment. I didn’t have much time to do further research, so I decided on the apartment very quickly. So I can say that I had no difficulty in finding it.
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There are also different types of housing in Singapore. The HDBs are blocks of flats that tend to be simpler and less expensive. Condos are apartment buildings that are expensive but very modern with a pool and gym, sometimes on every floor. There are also family houses, but these are in certain areas where housing is very expensive.
Education
I enjoyed studying at JCUS because I repeated and deepened what I had already learned in my master’s degree. What was new for me was the Asian context and the connection to very helpful and interesting new people. At the JCUS you have the opportunity to learn how to deal with people from different religions and nations and how to work in a team. The intercultural competence is strongly encouraged here.
University
The James Cook University campus in Singapore is part of the James Cook University Australia, making it one of the top 2% of universities in the world. The campus is clearly large, but modern and very open. It’s in the city and easy to get to by MRT or bus. The lecture rooms are clean and just as well equipped with technology as in Germany. But you have to note that the rooms are air-conditioned and the difference between the temperature outside (mostly over 30 degrees) and inside (approx. 23 degrees) takes getting used to. That’s why you should always have a thin jacket with you at the beginning so that you don’t catch a cold.
There is also a small library on campus that is only full at the end of the term and you have to get up early to get a seat. During the semester it is almost empty as people spend most of their time in the old and new student hubs. There you can work very well in groups because you can speak louder there. However, the hubs are too loud to learn there. There are also computer rooms that are available for free use when there are no lectures.
The campus also has a gym. It was very convenient for me, as I did sports several times a week after the lectures and was able to use the club on site. It costs 50 Singapore $ for a trimester and can be used several times a day. This was a great advantage for me because you can’t go running or do exercises at home due to the high outside temperature. In addition, the exercises at home could disturb the neighbors. You should go to the fitness club on campus early in the morning or around 2 p.m.: there are fewer people there at these times.
The campus also has a small cafeteria that offers different types of food like Chinese, Western, Korean, Indian and so on. There are also drinks and a bar with freshly squeezed juices and fruits. That was my favorite food stall. There is an air-conditioned and a non-air-conditioned part. Lunch and dinner there are very cheap.
Courses
For a trimester you have to take four courses to collect twelve credit points. What should be mentioned about the MBA in Singapore is that if you are a master’s student and you choose to lectures in areas where you already have a lot of knowledge, you may not learn so much. It’s not because of the professors or the content of the course, but because the MBA differs slightly from the regular Master’s. During the master’s degree you already have specializations in certain topics, which is why it is difficult to learn something completely different at JCUS. You learn more about the Asian context and repeat the same methods and models that are already known. The MBA is suitable for people from different disciplines with very different work experience. So I didn’t find the courses so difficult, as the professors try to pick everyone up and start with the basics. Here I must say that the courses were easy for me, I as early as the Bachelor Business Administration Master did in the same direction. For people who did not have any knowledge in the field, the material was already very demanding.
