Unibuzz leads the way for career guidance

Have you ever felt clueless about which undergraduate courses you should take? For that matter, WHICH university should you go to and what types of courses are offered? These concerns are constantly echoed among the JC2 students as they plan the route to take after the 'A' Level examinations.

Fortunately for NYJCians, they do not need to go far for the information with the introduction of Unibuzz. So, what’s all the buzz with Unibuzz? Unibuzz is a Thursday common lunchtime series of talks by local universities about their programmes. The idea is for local universities to introduce to JC2 NYJCians their newer programmes such as NTU's double degree in Biomedical Science and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). They will also present information about their more popular courses, as indicated from the JC2 survey conducted by the college's Career Education Guidance Committee earlier this year.

The talks aim to help students get a better understanding of university life. They focus on the grade requirements and prerequisite courses necessary for university acceptance, as well as the subjects and courses the respective schools offer. Unibuzz will culminate in the NY Career Seminar at the end of Term 2.

The talks began in mid-Term 1 with NUS Business School and NIE, and continued last week (19 February) with NTU's School of Humanities and Social Sciences and School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. These talks will continue until 2nd week, Term 2. From 4th week, Term 2, the talks will feature foreign universities represented by their local agents.

We went to one of the talks by Ms. Gertrude Tan from the NTU School of Humanities and Social Sciences (SHSS) and found it to be highly beneficial. We were given an introduction to the 5 main courses of the school, Sociology, Psychology, English, Chinese and Economics. The School was opened in 2003 and its current biggest draw is the Direct Honours programme and the many opportunities it offers to students like the Global Immersion Programme (GIP), International Student Exchange Programme (INSTEP) and Global Summer Studies. SHSS also offers a Professional Attachment Programme where students are attached to MNCs and work to a schedule approved by the school under the supervision of both the organization and SHSS.

Ms. Tan clarified several misconceptions regarding the job prospects of graduates from subjects like English Literature and Sociology. Contrary to popular belief that graduates of such courses will only end up as teachers, Ms. Tan countered that these graduates could also find jobs in the creative and media industries because of their strong linguistic abilities.

Unibuzz has received a very enthusiastic response from NYJCians. According to Mrs Ivay Lim, the staff i/c of Unibuzz, the first 2 talks were very well attended with about 300 students filling out both LT1 and LT3 per session. She observed that the students' interest has been very high as the presenting professors entertained many personal inquiries immediately after their sessions. Also, many Science students attended the talk by SHSS, suggesting that cross-disciplinary interest is also high. The feedback collated by Mrs Lim shows that the students attending the talks are more motivated to do better in their 'A's now that they know what the universities expect of them.

So, do come down and allocate some time for Unibuzz during Thursday common lunch breaks. You might just find the vital information for the perfect university course that you have always wanted to do.

By: Stanley and Sheri