SP DRAGONBOAT: POWER ROWERS - Singapore Polytechnic

Seoul PresenceSouth Korea is now a hotspot for two reasons – K-pop groups andcosmetic surgery. But these are not the primary reasons why agroup of students from the Singapore Maritime Academy (SMA)at SP were there not too long ago.A Taste Of University Life InK-Pop LandMaritime Businessstudents made aninaugural visit toChung-Ang University inSouth Korea.Eugene Lim, a final-year student fromthe Diploma in Maritime Business(DMB), landed in Seoul recently with 18fellow course mates and senior lecturerCaptain Sahwan Osman to visit Chung-Ang University (CAU), one of the topuniversities in Korea. The trip allows DMBstudents to explore the possibility offurthering their maritime studies offered byCAU, after seeing the campus with theirown eyes.Besides a tour of the entire campus whichincluded visiting the library and hostel,they also attended a special lesson on portautomation by a British professor. CAUwas established in 1918 and the universityhas gone through extensive rejuvenationand many new buildings have been addedin recent years. An interesting landscapeof old and new buildings fill the campus.Best of all, the Korean government isbuilding a seaport nearby which will addEugene (second from left) and coursemates having fun sightseeing andeating in the land of K-Pop.ease in providing hands-on learning forthe undergraduates there. The group alsovisited the Incheon Free Economic Zone(IFEZ), a hub for logistics, internationalbusiness, leisure and tourism, and theIncheon Port.Eugene recalls his visit to Incheon Port:“It was really an eye opener. The visitgave us a real feel of the port facilities.From the academic viewpoint, I felt reallyprivileged to be able to step into the portas this is usually not opened to the public.We also had the opportunity to see thelock system, a device that allows waterto be raised for vessels to sail in so thatcargo can be loaded and discharged. Thisis not used in Singapore and we onlylearned about it through our module notes.So seeing a real system reinforces mylearning about its usage and is entirelydifferent from just reading about it fromour notes.”The group stayed in a hotelabout 45-minute drive fromIncheon Airport in Seoul.Besides exploring all of CAU,they had a little bit of timeto discover Korean culture.One of the more interestingrecreational lessons waslearning how to make kimchiat the (what else!) KimchiSchool! They had also sometime to shop at some of themost popular tourist belts likeMyongdong, Itaaewan andNandemon.“What I like about Koreais that the people seem tobe respectful to each other,especially towards the eldersand teachers. The food wasgreat but a major problem isthat most restaurants onlyhave their menu in Korean.Their barbeque meat isespecially delicious! And experiencing atemperature of almost -8 degrees is nojoke for us so used to the hot weather.We brought winter clothings but they stillcouldn’t keep us warm,” says Eugene.Eugene has not yet decided whether hewants to study in CAU but he is pretty sureof getting a degree after his diploma. Nosweat for this guy to advance his studies,with his current almost perfect GPA score.Note: In a recent collaborationbetween Singapore Maritime Academyand Chung-Ang University, graduatesfrom the Diploma in Maritime Business(DMB) can pursue the Bachelor ofBusiness Administration (InternationalLogistics) at CAU, a two-year degreeprogramme conducted in English.Every year, about 200 students from various SPschools and other partner educational institutionsattend the Maritime Experiential Learning (MEL)Camp, a special learning programme on boardStar Cruise Virgo. Started in 2004, the camp is acollaborative programme between the SingaporeMaritime Academy at SP and Star Cruises for studentsto experience learning on a floating campus.During the four-day return cruise to Penangand Phuket, in addition to the experience ofliving aboard and witnessing the operationsof a large well-run cruise ship, the studentsalso learn about the global shipping industryand Singapore’s role in the maritimeindustry. There are also motivational talksby adventurers sharing their experiencesin dealing with various challenges, such asclimbing Mount Everest, trekking the Northand South Poles and swimming acrossMalacca Strait.Ko Kar Meng, a final-year Diploma inMaritime Business student, joined the campduring his second year. He enjoyed it somuch that he volunteered for a second runthis year, this time as a student helper.“This time round, besides SMA students,we also had SP students from theDiploma in International Business (DIB),undergraduates from Korea’s Chung-AngUniversity, Japan’s Toba College of MaritimeStar ProgrammeKar Meng (left) andcourse mate taking abreak on Phuket Island.Floating CampusTechnology and students from the Institutionof Technical Education (Yishun). It was agood mix of local and foreign participants. Myduties include co-ordinating the workshops,ensuring safety, taking photos and hostingour friends from Japan,” says Kar Meng.Activities on board included workshopsby Star Cruise’sCaptain Rodshortwho shared hisexperience ofhis career asa ship captain.Professor EhsanMesbahi fromthe NewcastleUniversity alsogave a lessonabout ballasttanks. Wellknown motivational speaker Jeffrey Gohalso delivered a hilarious talk to the youngaudience.“One of the highlights was visiting areasin the ship that are not opened to thepublic, such as the engine room, thenavigation bridge and the galleys wherefood is prepared. We had stops in Penangand Phuket and all of us spared no timeto visit places of interest within the shorthours given. The students had to givepresentations on the last day on what theyhad learnt from the camp. It would end witha gala dinner hosted by the captain,” saysKar Meng.Two times in MEL Camps is seeminglynot enough for Kar Meng. He will be goingto Nagoya in Japan for another overseaslearning trip this month. This time round,he will stay in the homes of the Japanesestudents who had a home-stay in his housewhen they were here on a study trip earlier.Ka Meng plans to further his studiesat Plymouth University in the UnitedKingdom to study maritime businessafter his diploma.Kar Meng with Star CruiseVirgo’s Captain Rodshort.The MEL Camp 2012family photo with thecrew of Star CruiseVirgo.27