Just now, I came back from the Business School, the place where I spend quite a lot of my time. So, how is the place? Very similar but at the same time very different from the Maastricht Economic Faculty, I’d like to say.
The teaching materials are similar, if not identical, to what I’m used to in Maastricht. Whether you’re in Europe or in Asia, or wherever you are in the world for that matter, if you study business you are likely to read American textbooks, discuss what happened to US companies and use theories developed by American scientists.
My course of Comparative Management last year taught me that Asian management is much more group-oriented. This may be true, the only thing I know for sure is that Singaporean students at this moment learn the same theories and reasoning as Maastricht students. So in future, when these students become managers, the differences should become smaller.
I wonder if education is just as Americanised in South Africa (Kitty?) and Peru (Viola?)…
Well then, what’s different? Simple things, like the building. In a tropical climate there is no need for an isolated building. Actually, most of the outer walls are simply not there, allowing the wind to blow freely through the hallways of the building. The lecture halls and teaching rooms are air-conditioned, sometimes to the extreme. One lecturer likes to put the temperature to 18 degrees. This is freezing cold if you’re wearing clothes for an outside temperature of 32! Some smart students bring a coat or sweater for the lectures, I usually forget it.
Eating at the University is actually affordable here, the price of a plate of warm food ranges between one and two euros. No wonder most students and staff don’t bother to bring their own lunch. The Business School has a huge canteen area with a lot of choice. I’m especially fond of the fruit juices, which are freshly squeezed on demand.
The entire Faculty building is WiFi (wireless Internet) equipped and groups of students working on assignments are scattered through the building. The computers in the computer lab are quite good and the lab is usually not as overcrowded as the on in Maastricht University library. But then, if you’re planning to do something behind those computers, you’ll usually run into problems like uninstalled printers or a non-functioning Internet connection. Hence, I’m glad I have my own laptop here – and recently I even bought a second hand printer.
I am amazed by the behaviour of the students! The story goes Singaporean students are very competitive and work hard. But then, how come they spend so much time sending SMS messages during lectures and even tutorials? Some even leave the classroom to make a phone call! In Maastricht, a tutor is stating the obvious if he says that phones should be switched off.
When I asked a Singaporean fellow student, she thought it was because all but one of the courses I follow are third year courses. The first two years are quite demanding, but the students get more freedom in their third year. Personally, I may add that the students’ behaviour has to do with the fact that the University here is now making the shift towards ‘modern’ teaching with more freedom and responsibilities for students. My Singaporean classmates still had a very strict pre-university education. Now they get more freedom, they just don’t know what to do with it.
