As a part-time MBA student at Chicago Booth, I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to participate in an international exchange programme while working full-time. Studying abroad was something I had done in London during my undergraduate days, and the experience was the most memorable of my four years of study. Thus, I quickly jumped at the opportunity to explore an MBA exchange and I found Singapore to be exotic enough while still providing educational value with its unique blend of east meets west. The NTU half-course format was also highly attractive due to my time constraint. Though certainly apprehensive about obtaining managerial approval, I found my managers to be surprisingly supportive due to the unique and rare nature of the experience, if a bit hesitant due to the length of my work absence of nearly two months.

NTU proved to be worth every minute of my fully-exhausted vacation bank! While all my classes provided some challenge and value, I found a couple of courses with a unique Singaporean, Asian or global perspective to be the most interesting. Aside from a few great professors, perhaps the best part of my NTU experience was my fellow students - Singaporean citizen and permanent resident part-time students mixed with a wide range of full-time students from every corner of Asia as well as Europe and beyond. This wide variety of cultures, all of whom provided a different work history, was truly what made NTU a great place.

Beyond NTU, Singapore was an amazing country in which to live with Western comforts but plenty of interesting cultural surprises and interesting districts. With Singapore in the center of Southeast Asia, unforgettable weekend trips to Vietnam, Cambodia, Bali, and Hong Kong all managed to be affordable thanks to budget airlines and accommodation. Though student life at NTU was a great break from the real world, in the end, Singaporean food may well be what I miss the most!