Wow, our week in Singapore went by so fast!
Intense program full of company visits and insightful sessions.
Singapore is indeed very unique. For me it felt sometimes as a “business Las Vegas”. A lively city with majestic constructions, light and sound everywhere and constant invitations for consumption. For sure not like our quiet Lausanne 🙂
It was impressive to visit some offices such as Samsung’s and Expedia’s and see their very international and modern installations. Some sessions like the Urban Redevelopment Authority City Gallery showed us a lot about Singapore’s history and challenges. Coming from Brazil it was interesting to see how they handle challenges related to space and water constraints, very contrasting with ours and insightful for a future we will all face sooner or later.
In an unconventional city tour, a very knowledgeable local guide took us not to the landmarks such as Marina Bay Sands or the super tree gardens, but to a cultural and historical tour of how the island was populated – mainly by Chinese, Malay and Indians. We went to different parts of the city and had an overview of the different religions of the island – Singapore has no official religion and an impressive policy of respect among them, rooted in the people’s culture and enforced by a Harmony Act.
At one point someone mentioned Singapore was a “melting pot” and the guide politely disagreed:
We don’t like to say that Singapore is a melting pot because in a melting pot everything merges together to create one flavor. And here we respect and maintain each different “flavor”.
Somewhat like a mosaic – my classmate Patrick concluded – the beauty is in the combination of the individual parts. Loved their perspectives!
Last night we had the Alumni event – very interesting to meet such different stories of alumni from 1994 to 2017 (Yes, they are coming and served as reminder to make the most of our time)!
I also had the chance to meet one of our blog readers and enjoyed my Warhol’s 15 minutes of fame:
Good luck with your application, Yu!
Thank you, Singapore! On our way to Dubai as we speak.
Stay tuned,
Silvia
