Q: Hello Oscar, can you tell us more about yourself?
Oscar: I am from La Paz, Bolivia. I studied Civil Engineering in Universidad Catolica san Pablo. I have always been interested in transportation systems.
Q: Home is a distance away from Singapore. Making the decision to study miles away from home, was it a difficult decision?
Oscar: I wanted to know more about how transport systems worked, designing transport infrastructure and the relationship that transportation has with improving the livability in cities. Coming from a city that has many transportation issues and challenges, I have always been eager to learn how I could solve these problems.
I came across the TUM Asia programme and the combination of transportation and logistics and I immediately knew that this was the programme for me. On further reading, I realized that the programme was conducted in TUM’s campus in Singapore. Singapore is a vibrant young country that has overcome many problems in such a short period of time, such as to improve the livability through more accessible public tranportation. These factors convinced me to come to Singapore.
Q: What is one special memory from your studies at TUM Asia?
Oscar: That is a difficult question to answer! I am blessed to have wonderful classmates and all of them were very eager to learn and help each other. This certainly helped me in adapting to a new environment. I now have many strong friendships after my time at TUM Asia.
Q: Q: Tell us more about your internship experience.
Oscar: I decided to complete my internship and do my MasterThesis at TUMCREATE, which is a research collaboration between TUM and NTU that aims to develop solutions to improve public transportation in Singapore. I first heard about TUMCREATE through interacting with the people there during our Masters course. They shared about projects that were in line with my interests. They helped me to approach my professor to see how I could apply for an internship. Through these contacts, I was able to secure an interview and they offered me a research topic for my Master Thesis.
Q: Any advice for your juniors when searching for an internship?
Oscar: If possible, you should apply for the internship as soon as the first semester is over. It is not always a fast process and it may take longer than you think. I had to be patient as it can take time for companies to respond.
Q: Can you tell us more about your day-to-day responsibilities at your internship?
Oscar: I decided to complete my internship and do my MasterThesis at TUMCREATE, which is a research collaboration between TUM and NTU that aims to develop solutions to improve public transportation in Singapore. I first heard about TUMCREATE through interacting with the people there during our Masters course. They shared about projects that were in line with my interests. They helped me to approach my professor to see how I could apply for an internship. Through these contacts, I was able to secure an interview and they offered me a research topic for my Master Thesis.
Q: What is something that you think that your internship has given you?
Oscar: The internship has been the best part by far. It provides students with the opportunity to connect with the industry and get a taste of how the market works. It also creates a good transition between student life and working life.
Q: Now that you have come to the end of your Masters, what’s next for you?
Oscar: We must ensure that our transportation projects are more effective, environmentally friendly and more inclusive. My goal is to get involved in projects where I can make a positive contribution in designing and planning sustainable and inclusive transportation systems and I would specifically like to work in projects that have an integral impact on the communities around it. The concepts that I learned during my Masters will certainly help me accomplish this goal.
—
Oscar is from the TUM Master of Science in Transport & Logistics programme. More information about the programme here >>
This interview was published in the DIGEST Sept – Dec 2017 issue >>
