#nm2220

Module: NM2220 Introduction to Media Writing

Year Taken: 2015 Y2S1

Lecturer: Tan Ee Lyn

Difficulty Level: 2

Workload: 3

Comments for Module: Slight hectic at the start because the first 2 assignments were quite heavy and tedious + I was still quite inexperienced so it was a nightmare. Not gonna lie, the assignments were really tough and I question God on some days. But it was really rewarding to choose a topic to write an article about and I could use it as a legit excuse to interview relevant people about a topic of my interest. If you want you could even write about the gangster or any sketchy scene in Singapore, provided you have contacts and are extremely good at staying alive. I enjoyed it tremendously. And the first 2 assignment were due in week 6 and week 8 I think, when the projects and work haven’t piled up yet so it was quite manageable. In total we have 4 assignments due every other week. the last 2 assignments were chill, and could be done in a day or two, so it got progressively slacker over the semester. Which is good, because the first half of semester was like running a 42km marathon. 

Rating for Module: 5

Comments for Lecturer: Ms Tan is super passionate about her work and experienced. She peppered lectures with a lot of her work and life stories, it was nice to glean an insight into a reporter’s job. Though sometimes she will go off track, and it gets a bit boring. She has a habit of pausing halfway during lectures. Sometimes she provides too many example for one point. Like she’ll be lecturing on press release then she’ll show the class 6 different press release of the same format, talking about the same learning points. But these are just minor quirks, nothing that should put you off this module. 

Module: NM2220 Intro to Media Writing

Year Taken: 2014, Y1S2

Lecturer: Tan Ee Lyn

Difficulty Level: 4/5

Workload: 4/5

Comments for Module: *N.B. I did not attend any of the lectures so my comments may be biased* Many people recommended me to take this saying that as long as you can write, you will do well for this. Liessssss. Media writing has it’s own style that’s different from narrative/persuasive. I guess it can be easy for some but it doesn’t mean that if you can write you will definitely do well. (Check out the campus eye website for some ideas.) There were 4 assignments I had to do (2 news articles, one social media post and one press release). I was 25th percentile for one of the assignments, did average for two assignments and did quite okay for the PR. I got B- in the end (which was a miracle!! Considering I failed one of the assignments). So yeap I guess that’s the lowest you can go?? Hahaha. It’s an interesting mod to take cuz you get to know how your news articles are actually being written, though after taking it I decided never to do journalism lol.

Rating for Module: 2/5

Comments for Lecturer: Did not attend any lectures because they were at 8am (possibly why I didn’t do well)……….

Interview was held at NUS Peranakan Baba House on Neil Road, Singapore  Photo Credits to http://wiki.nus.edu.sg/ October 2012

Making a major career change at 41 may be unthinkable for the average Singaporean, but Foo Su Ling has done it and she is thriving in her new job – curating.

Foo, 50, took the leap from engineering to the arts 8 years ago. Setting her sights on the heritage and cultural industry, she left her job as an IT engineer and went back to school to do her Master’s degree in South East Asian Studies.

 Since graduating from the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2005, she has embarked on a journey that is “very different and very exciting.”

“I was very fortunate to get a job at NUS Museum after I graduated,” she said from the picturesque front hall of the NUS Baba House that she now manages. Foo’s first foray into the arts was in the role of an outreach manager at the university’s museum and she has steadily progressed. Foo is into her fifth year as a curator with numerous exhibitions under her belt.

Notably, she has curated the Sculpting Life exhibition: The Ng Eng Teng Collection, South East Asian Ceramics: New Light on Old Pottery and is currently in charge of the Straits Chinese range of collections.

She never thought she would excel in curating because it was considered worlds apart from her previous jobs in the IT industry and her training as a mechanical engineer.

Foo spoke to her batch mates at the Nanyang Technological Institute (NTI) Engineering Alumni Dinner in May this year on her career change. Martinn Ho, a member of the NTI pioneer class book committee, was impressed. “Many engineering graduates have gone on to work in other fields and excelled, but Su Ling’s switch is unique and rare.” He personally considers such a switch at that age “quite impossible.”

The inspiration for Foo’s career change came late in life but her passion for history has always existed. She recalls her trips to Europe sparking her interest in the arts and culture.  “When I started working, I had the chance to travel and it brought history to life.”

“At a particular point, I decided that I should do something about this interest that is a little bit more than just consuming culture as a tourist.”

Now, Foo wears a few hats as a curator, manager and sometimes, a tour guide for exhibitions. She typically splits her time between the NUS Museum and the NUS Baba House depending on her day’s agenda. Among other things, she is currently working on a new Straits Chinese collection to be launched this November.

The exhibition will comprise portraits of Straits Chinese individuals and couples from early 20th century Singapore, such as wedding pictures. They will be used to discuss social life, gender and modernity issues in that period. Foo will display them at the gallery in the Baba House, one of the last remaining untouched Straits Chinese houses here.

Although local curators frequently do not appear at the forefront of their exhibitions, Foo says that they do influence all aspects of its creation. She decides on elements ranging from the theme and content of the exhibition to the nitty-gritty details like wall text designs.

Working in a big museum may allow curators to focus on creating exhibitions, but for Foo, curating is only part of what she does. In a small museum of 20 odd employees, her work is very varied in scope.

Apart from her exhibition work, she is in charge of the administrative duties “that nobody thinks about.”  A large part of her time is spent managing the budget, clearing invoices and loaning artefacts for the displays. Her previous technical training helps her in handling these “routine” but “extremely important” tasks.

Poonam Lawlani, a guest relations manager at the Baba House, describes Foo as a “down-to-earth, very good mentor” who “doesn’t think twice about taking on an extra load of work” when the need arises.

After 8 years in the cultural industry, Foo has grown to be in her element. She remains modest, saying, “I might not be young, but I’m very young in curating”.

So what is her key to a successful career change?