A small but increasing number of Singaporean students are opting to study in countries such as the Netherlands, Germany, and Japan, instead of the traditional choices of the United States, Britain, and Australia.
SINGAPORE – The overwhelming majority of Singapore ans pursuing their studies abroad do so in one of three countries: the United States, Britain and Australia.
In Germany, that figure increased from 167 in 2013 to 266 in 2022, according to the German Academic Exchange Service. For Japan, that number surged from 156 in 2008 to 287 in 2022, figures from the Japan Student Services Organisation reveal. Students who spoke to The Straits Times say the relatively lower fees to study in the Netherlands, Germany and Japan give them a chance to spread their wings and live on their own without compromising on the quality of their degree, when they might otherwise not be able to afford to study overseas.
Ms Ruth Luk and her mother at the Zaanse Schans in the Netherlands. Ms Luk moved to the Netherlands in 2021 to pursue a bachelor’s degree in business at Tilburg University in North Brabant. PHOTO: COURTESY OF RUTH LUK It helped that the relatively lower costs of living in Fukuoka – compared with cities such as Tokyo and Singapore – kept her rental and grocery expenses low. The main challenge for Ms Sabrina in terms of costs was finding affordable halal meal options, which were often double the price of non-halal ones, there.
She has met only two other Singaporeans on campus, both of whom have since graduated, compared with the scores of Singaporeans enrolled in popular British universities. For example, University of Bristol has 250 Singaporean students enrolled now, while University College London has 669. Studying there was an easy choice that leveraged Ms Pek’s German-language skills – which she pursued as an A-level subject – in addition to being far cheaper than other alternatives.
Although the apps set him up with his first friends in the country, he had to be more fluent to be ready for university-level studies. Getting into his four-year undergraduate programme in global management at Chuo University in Tokyo – taught in English and Japanese – involved completing a foundational year in Japanese at a language school in Tokyo and passing a tough entry exam.
Now a year into her job there, she says the Netherlands’ multilingual workplace has not made her feel out of place as someone with limited conversational Dutch fluency. Her university course was taught in English. This scarcity of Singaporean compatriots means having to go it alone when dealing with culture shock. These range from unpleasant brushes with slow bureaucracy – fax machines and paper are preferred over e-mail in Germany and Japan – to struggling with a new language and getting used to a different way of life.
But overcoming the linguistic challenge was worthwhile. Mr Hannan, who graduates in 2026, plans to settle down in Germany to build a career in the automotive industry, and has found a new community of friends.
Singapore Students Study Abroad Netherlands Germany Japan
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