Now, let me get back on topic to share about the modules taken in Semester 1, Academic Year 2015/16 with NUS Business School. As I have lesser modules to be taken locally due to my study abroad plans, I was enrolled in four modules: GEM2027 Public Speaking and Critical Reasoning, FIN2004 Finance, DSC2008 Business Analytics - Data and Decisions, and MNO2007 Leadership and Ethics.
GEM2027 Public Speaking and Critical Reasoning
For a business student, this module strongly complemented all the positive skills I've learnt from ES2002 Business Communication. It demanded of me a substantial amount of research work, proper referencing and speech delivery (I think I wanna post my speech on the human brain here). I have to say that scoring an A for Business Communication does not guarantee an A for this module. This module helps you realise that the ability to speak well does not depends solely on your delivery skills, but on your reasoning skills as well. We have seen toastmaster speakers screwing this module up too. My advice is for any potential students to know what you are signing up for. This is a demanding module, but I promise you, your life can potentially change for the better!
FIN2004 Finance
Seek to understand rather than calculate - that is the key advice I can give. I noticed students with the ability to calculate answers and they scored awesome marks during mid-terms, but when it comes to the fundamental understanding, it was shockingly lacking. For our semester, we were given the hardest paper in the history of NUS Business School - it was a paper designed not to be completed. I have to applaud the Professor because the paper tested more than just knowledge and understanding, but each student's ability to be decisive, quick and accurate. There was practically no way to effectively prepare for the exam because it was our first time attempting questions of that level of complexity. Despite the challenges of this module, we discovered much more about finance, and of course, with my Professor injecting his personal experiences into lessons.
DSC2008 Business Analytics - Data and Decisions
One of the darkest moments every business student will have to go through - even the professors said so! Taking this module with higher level accounting or heavy workload modules is calling for disaster, so be careful on that. For a minority of scholars, it was a piece of cake. The module is highly practical for the finance and analytics career paths, so please do put in effort. Surprisingly, the open book exam was super easy and I was surprised that I did relatively well. Haha, I spent a lot of my semester pursuing other stuff, so I didn't study as hard for this one. Life isn't all about studying!
MNO2007 Leadership and Ethics
The majority of business school students will see this module as a challenge because of the level of class discussions and assignments. For me, I really love management modules. It is not fluff because you need to back your claims up. There was a paired project, group presentation, weekly one-pager submission and a 30% essay quiz at the end. The quiz is known to be the differentiator for grades and there is high convergence of marks for all other components. The quiz consisted of writing 2-page essays for each of the questions, choose 3 out of 4 questions, within a time limit of 1.5 hours.
It was a wonderful semester, considering my time was more freed-up to do things I enjoy - singing, teaching, mentoring and thinking about life. Life isn't all about grades - honestly - it's about living life to the fullest, doing what you love and enjoy
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