Sushant’s Story – All the way from Singapore!
Sushant is a Summer Intern at Oxford and Cambridge Tutors. He is studying Engineering at Cambridge University, specialising in Aerospace and Computer Engineering.
Sushant’s involvement includes teaching Engineering at our popular Summer School, and supporting students with Personal Statements. He is also helping us with various administrative tasks, using WordPress and designing live dashboards for schools using Looker Studio.
1
My Journey
My obsession with the physical sciences began with discovering the wonders of outer space. Like any child, I could not fathom that there were countless other gigantic planets and stars just waiting to be discovered. After reading numerous books on everything related to space, I realised a crucial aspect is that we can’t get to most of it. In fact, humans can’t even get beyond the asteroid belt, having gone only so far as the Moon. This inspired my interest in rockets and aircraft, and led to my eventual decision to specialise in a subject that marries the two domains of technology and aerospace.
2
My Schooling
Singapore’s education system takes a multidisciplinary approach — from early years right up to A Levels. As a result I was able to immerse myself not only in the Sciences, but also discover interesting subjects like History and English, and discover one of my greatest passions: learning languages (French at the time, and now Spanish, German, Russian, and a bit of Chinese). While an education in the Humanities may not seem always seem useful to someone in STEM, it certainly is important; the Humanities allow us to develop both critical thinking and argumentation skills.
Strangely enough, it was this seemingly small decision to study French that led me to apply for a year abroad programme that allows me to do my 3rd year at a Grande école in Paris, which I’m very excited about starting this September!
3
Life in Singapore
There’s a saying that goes something like “Singaporeans spend a third of their lives in school”, and if you look at a random student’s timetable, you’ll see why this is true! Our school days begin very early, usually at about 7.30am, and end early as well at around 2.30pm. Virtually all students take on extracurricular activities, and I was no exception. Furthermore, due to my evening French classes, which were held at the common language centre for all schools, my days would usually end at 7.30pm.
Naturally, life in Singapore is very academically-focused for the most part until university. Not that you get to go directly, however. The boys have to go to do compulsory military service! I did mine for the standard 2 years in the Singapore Armed Forces and the Singapore Police Force, where I underwent rigorous military and officer training, and was subsequently posted to the Airport Police Division, all of which was a crazy, surreal experience in itself.
4
Joining Cambridge University
I was initially meant to stay in Singapore to pursue Computer Science at the National University of Singapore, but the decision to apply overseas came during my last year of the army. I thought to myself, “I have one year left, why not just try and apply?” I took the time I had to research everything there is about most UK universities and the different types of Engineering courses they offer, and especially the differences between the Oxford and the Cambridge courses. I’m so glad I chose Cambridge in the end!
5
My Experience
The past 2 years at Cambridge have honestly been the best 2 years of my life. It is the most satisfying thing to be able to finally do what you have dreamt of your entire life — engineering, travelling (thanks to crazy cheap flights!), and even more languages thanks to the language centre in the Cambridge Engineering Department.
The intense pace of the Oxbridge term system challenges you to develop quickly, and improve your time management skills and efficiency. There’s always something new; truly, you only stop learning when you choose to!
