A three-month internship at Toyama College, Japan, was a real eye-opener for year three students, Liu Zheng Hao, from the Diploma in Digital Forensics, Ang Yun Tsun, Jarell, from the Diploma in Financial Business Informatics as well as Ting Jia Geng and Ng Dennison from the Diploma in Big Data Management & Governance.

Jarell shared that during his attachment to the School of Business, he learnt the importance of needing to be careful when dealing with data in his research about comparing the standard of living between Japan and Singapore. “I had to be meticulous and thorough so that my data is accurate and provides an authentic reflection of Singapore and Japan,” he recalled.

Jia Geng and Zheng Hao were attached to the School of Maritime Technology to research on an auto pilot system meant for ships. Jia Geng assisted with data collection and experiments related to the testing of the auto pilot system. He recalled, “I had to learn to use Microsoft Excel and Matlab, and because it was something I was not familiar with, I had to pick these skills up quickly.” Zheng Hao agreed that the internship took them out of their comfort zones. “I was tasked to create an interactive and realistic system of the training ship "Wakashio-Maru" using Virtual Reality (VR) technology and photographic images. That was a steep learning curve for me!” he added.

The internship programme saw the students being challenged in many skill areas and all agreed that it deepened their learning as they learnt to be more proactive. Dennison shared, “The Japanese students constantly ask questions to improve their work and this deepened their understanding. I learnt to emulate this behaviour to match their success and level of mastery. Learning something new is challenging but we need to rise to the occasion.”

The School of Informatics & IT offers six diploma courses. Are you interested in pursuing a course in Diploma in Digital Forensics, Diploma in Financial Business Informatics or the Diploma in Big Data Management & Governance? Go to http://www.tp.edu.sg/schools/iit for more information.