Although Karl-Emil Bilstrup was in Denmark to receive his travel scholarship last week, it is not more than a month ago since he moved to Singapore to study for a half year. Karl-Emil chose to study in Singapore to get closer to that part of the world, where a great deal of the technological development takes place.

When Karl-Emil Bilstrup was honoured, emphasis was placed on the fact that Karl-Emil has been very socially active at the department, while also working as teaching assistant for several bachelor courses – always with excellent evaluations. "I'm very honoured to get the scholarship. It makes me very proud," he says. See the full nomination text here.

"Of course, there is a great difference in how we teach in Denmark and in Asia. They seem to only have their eye on the exam, and they are fully aware of what you need know when we get to the exam. In Denmark, I think we are a bit calmer and have our eye on learning to get smarter rather than only focusing on the exam as an end-goal. But it has not been as big a change as you might imagine”, says Karl-Emil.

Karl-Emil explains that the greatest difference he has experienced between studying in Denmark and Singapore is the number of students who sit in the study hall until late into the night.

"Many of my classes are in the evening, and when I go home, I still see people reading in the study hall, and they can make it far into the night. That is very different than in Denmark," he says.

Other differences are the campus size and the heat. 

“The campus at Nanyang Technological University is big enough for busses to drive around, but it is also small enough that it may take only 20 minutes to cross. You just have to remember that it's 30 degrees so you when walking you will be soaked when reaching the lecture”, says Karl-Emil Bilstrup.

Congratulations Karl-Emil. We are happy to have you represent the Department and IT Product Development abroad.