Sim Yang Siong Nagata (BA Honours with Distinction, 2023)

In my time in the NUS SEA Studies Department, I have learnt many things. I have learnt about the region’s cultural arts and its heritage, as well as the vices that run beneath its surface. I have learnt about its national, natural, and political landscapes, and the ways they interact with each other to produce the unique region we know today.

As diverse as these themes are, my time in SEA studies has made me realise the common character that links them all together: people. I have learnt to find the people in all things complicated, grand or static. I have learnt of the ways that people forge alliances to stand taller against their odds, and the ways that we construct systems and institutions to contain and control each other. Southeast Asian studies has made me listen closer to the stories that people tell, and the language learning programme has made sure that I can still listen regardless of how they choose to tell these stories.

 

 

Sharon Tan Jie Hui (BA Honours with Distinction, 2022)

Switching my major to Southeast Asian Studies in Year 3 might have seemed risky, but it was the best decision I made in university. One might think that the Covid-19 pandemic would have prevented me from getting the full SEAS experience, in particular, its uniquely robust overseas fieldtrip and exchange opportunities in the region. This was not the case at all, however, and that speaks to the quality and excellence of my lecturers. Their wealth of research experience across SEA, their providing of opportunities to engage in ethnographic fieldwork locally, as well as their encouragement that we utilise our training in SEAsian languages to our advantage in various projects brought every part of SEA home. SEAS cultivated in me a newfound passion and love for the region, entirely changing the way I see Singapore as a SEAsian nation for the better.

One of the things I appreciate most about SEAS is its inherently interdisciplinary perspective. This lens enabled me to connect the artificially disparate worlds of history to data-driven economies, traditional arts to politics, and beyond. I gained an appreciation for life in its wholeness and its messy complexity. Indeed, the world I lived in had never seemed more exciting than when I was a SEAS student. The best part is that I get to keep this perspective shift and the skillset that trained me in it for the rest of my life. An openness to exploration, the curiosity to hear a stranger’s story, the confidence and inclination to approach problems from different perspectives – these traits have remained invaluable to me in my personal life, my current occupation, as well as both my local and overseas volunteering commitments.

Esther Ng Shu Shan (BA Honours with Distinction, 2021)

The SEAS programme at NUS has been one of the most enriching experiences for me academically. Having the opportunity to learn from professors who are not just at the top of their fields, but also genuinely passionate about their work, has helped me to appreciate and understand the importance of Southeast Asia as a region from many perspectives through this interdisciplinary study. The curriculum here is well structured, with opportunities to travel within the region for lessons, research, and even internships at both a group and individual level. This in turn, produces Southeast Asianists who are intellectually curious, adventurous, and well-equipped to face the world – friends that you can look forward to making, and journeying with in your time here at the programme.

Beyond that, graduating and searching for a job in the midst of a global COVID-19 pandemic has been made easier with a Southeast Asian Studies Degree. The vast scope of modules from different fields throughout the programme opened up opportunities to branch into more industries professionally. Coupled with third language skills and an overseas internship experience, this helped me to be well prepared for job applications, and eventually in my job scope of managing international relations. I highly recommend and encourage the SEAS programme to everyone! It is an interesting and rewarding course that will satisfy both intellectual curiosities, and professional practicalities.

Randy Ng Guo Rong (BA Honours, 2021)

After graduating, I was offered a job at a risk advisory and investigative research firm. The selection process included both in-person interviews and a remote 3-hour long test where I had to research and write a 500-750 word report on an Australian Gaming and Entertainment company. The research skills I gained during my studies helped me to find what I needed to know and filter out important information from all the “noise” on the internet.

(…) when I met my director, she told me that my language skills in both Vietnamese (Level 6) and Thai (Level 2) were one of the major reasons she hired me. The Vietnamese market has been expanding rapidly, which means that they have a lot of clients in the Vietnam market. In my experience, many jobs I see online are looking for native/close-to native speakers of SEA languages. I was contacted by Tiktok as well, which is also rapidly expanding into the SEA market.

Overall, the SEA program’s country-specific modules deepen one’s empirical knowledge, which can be very useful in showing interviewers about your understanding of a country or a market. The multidisciplinary nature of the SEA program also helps a student to think creatively amongst various disciplines, instead of being confined to just a single way of thinking. Together with our deep country expertise and language abilities, I think this is what differentiates us from other students.

 

Violet Ng Hui Zhi (BA Honours, 2020)

Pursuing a Southeast Asian Studies degree at NUS has equipped me with skills and mindsets that are useful for my career and professional development. These include language skills and a deep cultural understanding of the region, as I learnt Bahasa Indonesia during my undergraduate studies and had many opportunities to travel to different countries in the region. These opportunities included field trips, research trips and exchange programmes.

My degree has opened up the doors for me to consider career options relating to the region, including specifically Indonesia, given my language specialisation. My experience in researching for and writing my Honours Thesis has also given me a deep understanding of Indonesian society and culture, as I had the opportunities to do my fieldwork research overseas, and conduct my interviews in the field. The opportunities given by the NUS Southeast Asian Studies Department allow students like me to have an intimate and personal experience with the countries and issues that interest us. Some examples from me and my peers include Malay-Muslim identity in Southern Thailand, the Vietnamese community in Singapore, and the role of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Indonesia.

My time with the NUS Southeast Asian Studies Department will always bring back great memories for me. I am thankful for the support and encouragement the teachers, lecturers and tutors have given to me and my schoolmates to pursue what we are interested to learn and research about, as well as pushing us to move beyond our comfort zones and our limits in order to explore what is really out there.

Darryl Lim Kangfu (BA Honours, 2019)

The experience of reading Southeast Asian Studies (SEAS) as an undergraduate at the National University of Singapore (NUS) has been immensely rewarding for me. In addition to equipping students with the knowledge and skillsets (language competency, qualitative and quantitative data collecting and analysis etc.) required to become deep specialists on the region, the programme also provides opportunities – such as fieldtrips, internships, and exchange programmes – for students to contextualise and apply all that they have learnt.

The close-knit SEAS community here at NUS also forms a great support network to help students achieve their greatest potential; faculty members and department staff, as masters of their craft, are generous in sharing their expert knowledge and advice, while fellow peers are never too far away to discuss ideas with. I have benefitted greatly from such arrangements, where after much learning about various aspects of Thai history, society, and culture, I had numerous opportunities, during fieldtrips and an exchange programme to Thailand, to conduct ethnographic fieldwork, and write research papers on several topics of interest.

Beyond academic pursuits, the knowledge and competencies acquired from reading SEAS has served me well in professional capacities too. The inter-disciplinary approach applied by the programme to learning about the region has granted me access to employment opportunities in various sectors, such as in governmental work, the arts and culture industry, as well as in academia. Such versatility, and the ability to be conversant on various disciplines, are indeed qualities that serves all SEAS graduates well.

 

Khoo Yi Feng (BA Honours with Distinction, 2017)

Major: Southeast Asian Studies, Minor: Psychology
Kernial Singh Sandhu Prize 2017 (Best Performing Honours Year Student)
ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute Prize 2016 (Best Performing Year 3 student)
Graduate Diploma in Social Work - 2020

The Department of Southeast Asian Studies offers a heart-head-hand connection. Strengthening my Heart, field research and readings cultivate deep empathy through learning about the diverse lived experiences of fellow Southeast Asians and a deep appreciation of the sociocultural differences and possibilities. Travelling to eight Southeast Asian countries for semester exchange (in Indonesia at Universitas Gadjah Mada), summer school (Cambodia, Myanmar, Brunei), research field trips (Thailand) and conferences (Philippines, Malaysia) in my undergraduate years improved my cultural quotient and enabled me to feel more Asia-Ready.

Developing my Head, the SEAS training encouraged me to use curiosity as my compass to understand phenomena in the world through interdisciplinary lenses, gifted me with nexus and systems thinking abilities to navigate our VUCA [Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous] world. (…)

Equipping my Hands, acquiring Bahasa Indonesia language skills (to Level 5) and ethnographic ways of doing research supported me in sharpening my communication, observation and facilitation capabilities in-situ. As a practicing Social Worker supporting youths presenting with mental health distress in the community setting, these skills help me in reflexively facilitating therapeutic change by connecting with my clients through asking good questions.

Perhaps the most precious of all is the SEAS community that I found myself growing with. I’m blessed with teachers who care deeply, with peers who love learning and alumni networks who shine brightly. SEAS invites us to study at the crossroads of Asia and left me with a life-changing heart-head-hand connection with skills, with confidence, with hope.

 

Mary Grace R. Concepcion (PhD, 2017)

Associate Professor
Department of English and Comparative Literature
University of the Philippines Diliman

Looking back, I am thankful for my experiences with the Department of Southeast Asian Studies of the National University of Singapore. The faculty and fellow students helped me in developing my dissertation through classes, graduate seminars (where we are required to present our research yearly), and talks with renowned academics. I have gained friendships with scholars—both from Southeast Asia and outside the region—who are specializing in Southeast Asian Studies. The interdisciplinary nature of the department has given me a grasp of the researches within the region, such as the Indonesian gamelan, the dances in Mindanao, the Buddhist temples in Singapore, the Rohingya conflict in Myanmar, and the violence in Timor Leste. The department provided me opportunities to establish institutional linkages with universities abroad.

Writing the dissertation was tough, with my adviser Dr. Jan Mrazek challenging me to go beyond my comfort zone and requiring me to revise several times. But it has taught me to address readers who may not be familiar with my topic, and to think outside disciplinary confines. I have also learned to effectively write proposals, grant letters and journal articles, as well as present in conferences. This training instilled in me the discipline, rigor and confidence needed in my career in the academe. The department gave me a chance to research about something I am passionate about, and its interdisciplinary orientation broadened my scope and approach. This led me to explore topics I want to write.

 

Suryakenchana Omar (BA Honours, 1997, MA (Research), 2006)

The Southeast Asian Studies Programme was new when I matriculated at NUS in 1993. I took up Southeast Asian Studies then, as it would be useful to me as a regular officer with the Singapore Armed Forces. It proved useful, as my specialization on Indonesia was called forth on several occasions. My knowledge on Southeast Asia became very handy when I was tasked to work with embassies and high commissions within ASEAN and beyond. When I left SAF in 2003, I pursued my MA by research with the Department, going deeper into cultural heritage management and ritual studies.

Over time, I became known as somewhat of an expert in Javanese cultural heritage in Singapore. My journey into becoming known as an expert was significant enough for my life story to be made part of the Oral History collection at the National Archives of Singapore in 2020. Aside from the area and field specialization, I gained much from the interdisciplinary approach that enabled me to move easily from one field to another. To date, I have readily transited from the military to education to business to cultural heritage and now back to academia, as a PhD student in Management and Commerce at James Cook University Singapore.

Edwin Koh (BA Honours, 2008)

I graduated in December 2008 with Double Major (Southeast Asian Studies with Honours and History). Then, the employment market was in a rather bad shape as most fresh graduates had difficulty securing that first job. Thankfully, I did not encounter such an unfortunate predicament and instead, I had the luxury of choosing from a range of job offers. I attribute my enviable position to the marketability of an Honours degree in Southeast Asian Studies. Almost all of my various interviewers were impressed by the vast scope of topics covered by the Southeast Asian modules, as reflected in my academic transcript. This demonstrates the growing appreciation for an inter-disciplinary, multi-faceted Programme, which is especially pertinent in a job market where employees are increasingly expected to be able to handle multi-pronged assignments. (…) I have thoroughly enjoyed my time spent within the department, and I highly recommend the Programme for all young, aspiring 'Southeast Asianists' out there who seek to illuminate their analytical and research abilities in an environment that is second to none.

 

Yuko Mitsushima-Inukai (MA, 2002)

Several years have passed since I finished the Southeast Asian Studies Programme at the National University of Singapore, and I am more convinced than before about the advantages of having taken the above programme. Some of the advantages are: the course offers interdisciplinary subjects on economics, geography, cultural studies, among others, which are catered to students interested in Southeast Asia’s different issues; scholars of various nationalities and academic backgrounds provide students with different approaches to the study of Southeast Asia; and students from within and outside Southeast Asian countries with various career backgrounds and viewpoints provide an ideal arena for an active discussion in classes.

After returning to my country, I found myself to be more competitive in the job market, and was able to get a post in one of the famous international NGOs.  The real value of the learning experience was felt when I started working for this NGO.  The knowledge, critical thinking, and flexible approach (involving various aspects such as cultural and economic, and from both your and my perspectives, for example) obtained through the SEAS Programme helped me greatly in planning, implementing, and evaluating community development programmes in cooperation with the local people.  What I have learned was not just a static academic knowledge, but real knowledge and skills effective for solving life-related issues.

My learning experience in the SEAS Programme is truly one of the most valuable assets and treasures in my life. I cannot find any words to express my deepest gratitude to the lecturers and classmates who have shared time and led me to what I am today.