An Unforgettable Study Tour to London and Paris
by Law Chee Meng, Diploma in Financial Business Informatics

Lasting seven days, from 7 to 13 June 2008, the Global Citizenship Programme to London and Paris was a wonderful and fun-filled experience for the group of thirty students from the Diploma in Financial Business Informatics (FBI). Led by lecturers Ms Marlina Binte Mastor and Mr Toh Kee Heng, the group had a great time experiencing the rich history and diverse cultures of London and Paris.

The purpose of the trip was for us to be exposed to different cultures and engage in cultural exchange with those we met. We were keen to apply what we had learnt about global citizenship and valuing diversity during our GC lectures and tutorials in a real context. What we had learnt came in handy during the numerous opportunities we had to interact with the British and French, as well as the many other international visitors we came across.

Part of the cultural experience was also visiting the famous sites of the cities, which included a ride on the London Eye, a huge Ferris wheel right in the heart of London (very much like the Singapore Flyer), taking a night cruise on the famous River Seine in Paris, visiting the Eiffel Tower and having fun at Paris Disneyland !

Besides these, we also visited places that held a special interest for us from the Diploma in Financial Business Informatics. We went to the Bank of England Museum and gained knowledge on how the banks in England started and how their currency has evolved from coins to paper notes. We also learnt the importance of having a sustainable economy. At Thomson Reuters, we were given insight into the latest version of "Reuters Traders' Asia", a software that we have been using in our course. We also visited the University College of London (UCL) and were provided with an overviewof what it meant to study in one of London’s top universities, itsadmission criteria andsome of its key operations.

This study tour has really been beneficial in giving me a taster of what living in London and Paris is like. Being a first-time traveler overseas, the trip has really widened my horizons. I realise that there is still so much more of the world for me to explore, and I look forward to many more learning journeys overseas in the future. Furthermore, having my best friends as my travelling companions and being able to spend quality time with them really made this trip an awesome and unforgettable one.