Computer Science BSc Luke | Study With Us

About Luke

I grew up in a quiet, rural area, so going to Newcastle gave me a chance to experience life in a city - but with my year abroad I wanted to take it a step further.

I chose Singapore because it’s unlike anywhere, I’ve ever lived before. It’s massive, modern, and has insane infrastructure unlike anything I’ve seen in England. It was an opportunity to see if I would want to live somewhere like this later in life.

At the same time, it’s honestly not that big of an adjustment. Although the culture is for the most part completely different, the national language is English, and the country surprisingly shares a lot of its customs and culture with England. Plus, it’s nearly always sunny, and the food is incredible!

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A year abroad

Doing a year abroad gives you a chance to experience a different environment to your own. That’s different culture, different pacing, and different people. I personally think it’s important to try to experience this whenever you’re given the opportunity, especially in your twenties when you have the freedom for it, as I think putting yourself in new environments like this is how you grow and develop as a person.

Going to university was a big adjustment for me, but I really felt that I thrived from meeting new people and trying new things, and doing a year abroad was a chance to experience that again. It can seem quite scary, especially if you don’t know anyone in your destination country, but it’s a leap of faith I wanted to take, and as anyone else who did a year abroad will tell you, it will work out fine and be really fun!

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Student support for the year abroad

The university were hugely helpful when it came to support. You were free to email or ask questions in person whenever you wanted to, and they had loads of resources available to help, plus they had presentations to help make sure you were prepared and knew everything you needed to know beforehand.

The university also do a monthly check in, and although I’ve ran into no personal or academic issues, you always know that the support is there when you need it.

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My favourite thing about studying abroad

My favourite thing honestly could be the food… Don’t get me wrong, I really miss beans on toast! But the food here is unreal. I’m always pestering people for recipes because I don’t want to lose all this stuff when I come back. Drinks too - nothing beats getting an ice-cold drink when its 35 degrees.

Advice for studying abroad

While I don’t think a year abroad would suit everybody, if you’re already considering it, then you’re probably the type of person who would love it. Just remember everyone else feels just as scared - I did - but there’s a reason it’s so hard to find a student who regrets their year abroad, and so easy to find one who regrets not doing it!

Skills gained from studying abroad

I think pretty much all of my social skills have massively improved since coming here. You meet so many people from different backgrounds and cultures and it’s eye-opening. I already feel so much more confident when meeting people now and worry so much less what others may think of me. I also think my ability to adapt has massively improved, and that’s invaluable not just for jobs or university, but life in general.

Daily life in Singapore

Getting used to the new routine did take some adjustment but after a while it all fell into place, and now it feels like the new normal. Singapore is incredibly culturally diverse, with people from Malaysian, Chinese, Indian, and Japanese backgrounds just to name a few. You’d honestly need a lot longer than a year to experience it all!

And that’s not even starting on the travel opportunities either. Changi airport is one of the biggest in the world, and you can get to almost any neighbouring countries super easily. I’ve been to Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Java, and I have plans to go to China soon, so it’s a great gateway to see all of Asia, not just Singapore.