In this review, I will be using the module code GES1035 to refer to GESS1025 as they are the same module.

Module information

As an economically-developed nation with a diverse population, Singapore now confronts a range of socioeconomic issues, a rapidly ageing population, declining fertility rates, widening income inequality, and rising living costs amidst increasing global competition, technological advancements, and security threats. Singaporeans have also become a people with a greater propensity to participate in the decisions that affect the nation. This course aims to encourage undergraduates to reflect on Singapore’s post-independence history, imagine the kind of Singapore they would like to co-create, and deliberate on the ways to achieve the future visions they have for Singapore. All lectures will be mounted online.

~ Taken from NUSMods

Schedule

  1. Lectures: Asynchronous Online Lectures

Module Breakdown

  1. Open Book Individual Quiz 30%
  2. Group Presentation and Tutorial Participation 30%
  3. Presentation Group Writeup 20%
  4. Critical Reflection 20%

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this module.

Module Details

The topics for this module are as follows:

  1. Singapore in the World
  2. Population
  3. Economy
  4. Security and Threats
  5. Diversity, Social Integration and Urban Environment
  6. Aspirations and Identity

This is graded on a CS/CU basis.

Lectures

The lectures are all uploaded online, and you can watch them at your own pace. Each topic are taken by lecturers from different Universities on different topics.

Tutorials

Tutorials happen once every 2 weeks and there are 6 tutorials in total. For each of the tutorial sessions, we will have to complete one mandatory reading. There are also optional readings for us if we have the time to read them.

During tutorials, there will be 1 group conducting the presentation and the other can ask questions. Asking questions for the group constitutes the tutorial participation marks.

Group Presentation

In out presentation, we will have to propose and describe an organization that we will create to solve a problem in Singapore. This will have to critically address what our group collectively considers as a compelling problem in Singapore based on the topic of the week.

The presentation will be at MOST 20 minutes long. After the presentation other groups will have 10-15 minutes to discuss the topic and ask questions/give comments on the presentation.

My group managed to snag the 1st presentation slot and presented on Population. I feel that this is the best time slot due to the following reasons:

  1. There are no exams during this period of time for other modules.
  2. It is the part of the semester where workload for most modules are low.

Presentation Group Writeup

After the presentation, we will have to do an academic writeup of the presentation. There are 3 main parts of the writeup:

  1. Introduction: Describe how the problem is important and how we plan to solve it.
  2. Body and main sections: Main points from our research
  3. Conclusion: Summary of our points in the body and consider the implications of our findings.

Critical Reflection

For each of the tutorials, we have to email our reflections to our tutors at the start of each tutorial section.

We have to include the following information

  1. Discussion group
  2. Name
  3. Reflection on the tutorial topic (100-200 words)

There is no need to attach any attachments, we can just directly type it into the email directly.

Individual Quiz

This is equivalent to the “finals” for GES1035. It consists of 6 short questions based on all the topics covered in the module.

Ratings

Workload (5/10) Light

The workload for this module is relatively light, the reflections have a very low word limit and can be done immediately after the reading

Organization (N/A)

As each of the topics are kind of disjointed, it is hard to see how the topics are related to each other.

Enjoyment (7/10)

Given that it is a CS/CU module, I kind of enjoyed the slow learning pace of this module.

Usefulness (6/10)

I feel that this module teaches us the different issues which Singapore faces and how we can solve them.

Overall (8/10)

I feel that this module is a good module to take to for your GE requirements. The module is relatively easy and the workload is light. There is almost no stress as it is also CS/CU

  1. Zhong Jun’s Review
  2. plus2sd’s Review
  3. NUSMods