I have always been fascinated by the field of engineering, by how things work, as without it the world will not be the same! I believe my early interest in Mathematics and Sciences sparked my curiosity and led me to pursue a Diploma in Digital and Precision Engineering in Nanyang Polytechnic. I was privileged to be given an opportunity to travel to Austria for my overseas internship. It was challenging initially because of the new environment and a foreign land for me, but I managed to embrace the differences and I enjoyed meeting new people. This internship exposed me to the German language and European culture. After graduation, I represented Singapore in the biannual WorldSkills competition that was held in Leipzig, Germany in 2013 which introduced me to many kinds of up-to-date technologies which ignited my passion for engineering and my dream to pursue a degree in engineering.

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I aspired to be an Engineer, to be at the forefront of engineering in an ever-changing world of technology and always thought that a degree from a German University would definitely enable me to have a solid base for a thriving profession in engineering, to be at the forefront of innovations, define my passion and interest in this area of expertise and prepare me to be involved in this ever-expanding field. I am very thanksful to be given an opportunity to further study in Germany.

Learning German was never easy as I had to start from the very basic “ABCs”. It was challenging, but it was worth it. I took up a 10 months intensive German course in Carls Duisberg Centrum, Berlin. During the language course, I made many new international friends and had to force myself to speak, to listen to the radio, to read the newspaper and to watch the television, all in German. This self-discipline was also cultivated through the help of my German host family. Additionally, to get me prepared for the university language exam (TestDaF – Test Deutsch als Fremdsprache), I enrolled myself in a one-month preparation course.

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After getting my results for TestDaF, I applied and successfully got enrolled into the University of my choice which was the Aachen University of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschule Aachen). I pursued Mechanical Engineering with only 5 girls in my class and I really needed the courage to speak up with the German students for group projects and lab practicals. One of the greatest challenges was the understanding of German engineering terms. When I took up the German classes at the language school, I was not taught the technical German which was needed in Engineering so I had to rely a lot on dictionaries and translations. I am very grateful to be able to make great friends from other degree courses who helped me along the way as we studied together.

Polytechnic is practical based which is similar to the University of Applied Sciences in Germany as they focus a lot on the pragmatic system. Therefore, I did my bachelor thesis at a company named Rohde & Schwarz in Bavaria. This decision was motivating and challenging but it contributed to my growth and experience. The fourth industrial revolution is not only a pioneering topic in Germany but also a global development in the world. I am thankful to be given such an opportunity to learn from one of the global leaders in Engineering. I could also bring back expertise from Germany in my work here as Nanyang Polytechnic works closely with industry partners on projects and developments.

I did the right decision of pursuing my studies in Germany. This was the highpoint of the many valuable experiences I had already begun to treasure. Apart from the education I met so many people from different countries and learned about their cultures and experienced how it is like to live in a foreign land, to dive deep into their culture and to immerse myself in the German language. Living in Germany also opened many doors in Europe. I had the chance to travel all around Europe and see how wonderful and amazing the world really is. Thank God for such an amazing experience.