Introduction

This essay reflects my 4-year journey in SUSS, and it highlights notable academic and non-academic experiences that have impacted my personal growth positively and widened my perspective of the world.

 

Academic Experiences

​1. Future Career

My academic journey from polytechnic to university has been unconventional – I specialised in marketing in polytechnic, worked for about a year in accounting, then decided to explore finance and programming. My university internship was in project management and user testing in a digital bank (at that time it was under development). It’s safe to say my academic and professional journeys have been somewhat colourful.

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I entered SUSS with the idea of focusing on financial analysis, which is part of traditional finance (as compared to fintech and DeFi). However, after taking modules in programming and fintech (FIN312, FIN313), I realised I wanted to learn more about fintech – digital payments, blockchains, and such.

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Hence, I chose to specialise in modules teaching blockchain, smart contracts, fintech and how it benefits people, tokenisation, and the crypto-economics of Bitcoin and Ethereum. I am glad I did that because I realised researching on fintech brands, emerging technologies, blockchain use cases, DeFi communities and crypto-economics truly excited me, more than whatever I had studied before. The other time I am this excited is when I am programming and debugging code. Any code.

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The other aspect of academic development was in data science, analytics and visualisation. I chose my minor as Data Analytics in the beginning because I thought that was what my interest was in. After completing a module on quantitative methods (BUS107), and amidst learning basic data mining (ANL303), I realised that the focus SUSS placed on the data analytics minor was more broad-based – it would be suitable for people who want to learn about business analytics, and how to use SPSS Modeler. However, I wanted to develop my coding skillsets, understand machine learning and how databases were built. Hence, I swapped minors to Data Science instead. Thus far, I’ve found what I’ve learnt to be things that employers looked for in data science roles – internship or otherwise. I will discuss this below.

 

2. The Impact of Learning FinTech and DeFi

In FIN385, a module teaching blockchains and smart contracts, I learned about how the world is applying smart contract and tokenisation for social good. E.g., Provenance made use of smart sensors to track yellowfin and skipjack tuna fish in Indonesia, from the catch made while fishing, to the time consumers purchase tuna. Using these sensors, information on the fish is recorded and appended to the blockchain using smart contracts (something like NFTs), and as the catch moves along the supply chain, the blockchain updates its movements. I also learned about OpenCert, which is used by SUSS for our certificates – integrating blockchains and hashes to track certificates and ensure their legitimacy. This knowledge would come in handy in future firms that I work for, especially if they choose to use blockchain as their choice of medium for digital transformation.

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In FIN383, I learned about the history of fintech – how the Global Financial Crisis in 2008 had driven people to develop cryptocurrencies, mobile banking, digital payments, and many other innovative technologies to widen access to financial services for more people, and to improve the personal banking experience.

 

In FIN387, I learned about financial cryptography – what the public-key infrastructure is and how it is being used in Bitcoin mining to ensure that people do not spend more than what their account balances hold, without the use of a central authority like a bank to facilitate payments.

 

These concepts were all reiterated in FIN498, my applied finance project, where I applied the information I learned into my research on Layer 2 blockchains and bridges – how L2 blockchains are helping to alleviate the scalability issue in base-layer blockchains like Ethereum, and how bridges have long been the biggest reason for DeFi hacks, and how they should be evaluated to see if they are secure.

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With the information I’ve learned on fintech and DeFi, I got to develop the following skills:

a. Community Mindedness

Blockchains, cryptocurrencies and DeFi are centred around decentralisation and community governance (member voting, DAOs, etc). That’s why, in a decentralised network, there must be an appropriate amount of incentives and punishments to encourage good user behaviour, like participating in transactions and voting, and deterring bad behaviour, like fraud.

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In FIN385, I had to propose a token design for a community that can encourage people to help the elderly. That made me research on what the elderly would need help in, and touchpoints that can enable people to recognise signs of help needed. That requires awareness of social and economic events within the community, and to know the different roles people can play within the community.

 

b. Thinking Skills and Digital, Data Literacy, Interdisciplinary Thinking

In working on FIN498, my fintech applied finance module, I developed a structured process to research on my ECA – including the questions I should consider when evaluating Layer 2 bridges and navigate between micro and macro understanding to achieve a deep analysis of Layer 2 bridges.

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I researched broadly on what Layer 2 bridges were, building on my knowledge of Layer 2 scalability solutions which I had researched on for my FIN498 GBA, so that I could understand what they do. That gives me the macro perspective, and uses the knowledge learned from FIN383 (financial inclusion) and FIN385 (scalability, blockchain structure, etc).

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Then, I researched on each of the Layer 2 bridges I could find so that I could identify 2 incumbent bridges, and 1 bridge (Connext) that I felt had good potential to contribute to the wider DeFi ecosystem, and evaluated its business model, fees and incentives and SWOT. 

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I also procured the relevant data and made use of my data analytical and visualisation skills that I picked up from ANL201 (visualisation, data cleaning and preparation), ANL303 (data cleaning, preparation) and BUS100 (spreadsheet modelling skills to present my data appropriately) to present my findings for the market analysis required for ECA.

 

Where I encountered faulty data sources and formulas, I had to use problem-solving skills to find new data sources and troubleshoot my formula. E.g., I couldn’t find data on L2 bridge fees, so I stimulated transactions on various bridges to collect the information required for my analysis. This application of data analytical and visualisation knowledge comes from a different discipline – applying interdisciplinary thinking.

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Critical thinking is especially important in DeFi, especially when we want to evaluate the feasibility of a DeFi token or cryptocurrency or blockchain or technological solution. Many cryptocurrencies and tokens often boast exorbitant rewards that seem too good to be true, but their whitepapers do their best to convince you otherwise so that people are willing to join their network.

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Imagine a hypothetical cryptocurrency, "FutureCoin," that promises investors a 50% return on investment every month. Its whitepaper is filled with technical jargon and complex algorithms that seem to justify these returns, claiming to use an advanced trading bot and decentralized finance strategies to guarantee profits.

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However, as a critical thinker, SUSS has taught me to analyse the following:

• Where are the financial rewards coming from? Is it financially sustainable in the long run to give such rewards? Can we guarantee that users are continuously participating in this network so that the circulation of money is well-distributed?

• Who are the users who decided whether someone should be rewarded?

• What kind of risks are associated with the network/blockchain? Are there risks that are not declared in the whitepaper or in any articles relating to how the token/currency works?

• Are there bug bounties available? Are there frequent security audits done on the smart contract codes by reputable auditing firms?

• Are the rules for participation clear?

• What do DeFi experts say regarding this token? Any scientific journals we can reference from?

• Are there any notable hacks relating to this currency? How have they improved on their code and security since then?

• What is the technical infrastructure like – Layer 1/2 blockchain? Is it scalable in the future? Is it secure?

Checking through these questions would help me determine whether “FutureCoin” is too good to be true – just another speculative hype, or whether it is actually a solid investment. This is what makes me stand out from the average user who trades cryptocurrencies but does not have access to the technical knowledge.

 

The same questions can be applied to traditional investments – stocks, ETFs, etc. It can be applied to life as well – are the advertisements legitimate, or are they scams? This can be traced back to SCO11 Reasoning like a Sceptic, where I learned more about critical thinking and its application. How do I determine whether news is true or fake? How do we know is a source is credible? What kinds of fallacies and arguments can be made?

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c. Curiosity

My pursue of DeFi knowledge definitely stems from my strong desire to want to learn this. Often, I research beyond the course materials provided, as seen in FIN498. Layer 2 blockchains and the concepts associated with it were not covered in any fintech module I had studied in school, except for the Scalability Trilemma, which is why I picked that topic for research for GBA and ECA.

 

On the side, I also researched on quantum technology and how that has impacted the security of blockchains today while considering the topic of choice for FIN498 ECA. I also expanded the scope of information I wanted to be aware of by joining Telegram channels like Tech in Asia and Bloomberg Crypto, which allows me to see the impact of technology and DeFi within the ASEAN/SEA region (interest stems from my OGP103 studies on ASEAN), and on the wider, global community.

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d. Collaboration and Empathy

Each FIN module had its own GBA, where I had to collaborate with others to complete assignments. For FIN498, we researched on Layer 2 blockchains. My group mates had never studied any modules related to DeFi before, so I shared my past learning materials with them, and broke down any complicated concepts that they had trouble figuring out. Some of them were working full time too, so we had to be understanding of each other’s time, and work independently.

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I also had to empathise with people’s situations (unbanked, underserved) while learning about the needs of the unbanked and the underserved so that we understood how fintech solutions can be more inclusive.

 

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3. The Impact of Learning Data Science

In doing my data science minor, I got to learn about different machine learning models, data preparation and cleaning, database management, and data visualisation skills. The common point here is coding – or rather, having a data-driven mindset.

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Through learning data science, I got to apply the following skills:

a. Resilience

Coding is all about resilience. Your code never runs on the first try, and the way I learn to code best is through debugging – learning from the errors that my code generates. It is the constant iterations and little adjustments and improvements I make to my code that enables it to run as expected. Through that, I’ve developed resilience – don’t panic when your code encounters an error. Calm down, understand what error has occurred and address each of them one by one. If you have tried multiple solutions and you still cannot solve it, try specific sections of your code from scratch – often when we start from a blank canvas, we find new inspiration and perspectives that helps us see things from a new angle.

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This resilience was something I’ve begun building since I started learning coding during my gap year. Since then, I’ve learnt to remain calm when things do not go the way I expect it to. Instead of panicking, I learn to identify the problems occurring, then work on. This mindset is also something I eventually applied to my assignments – identify the actual issue or concept that the assignment is asking for, and then work systematically through it to answer the question.

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Coding also requires us to break complex programs into smaller, easy-to-solve segments. That is why user-defined functions exist in programming – if we have repetitive sections of code, we place them into a user-defined function or a class, so that we can just call this section of code in 1 line of code, which shortens the program, and makes it easy to understand. This is something that my professor reinforced frequently in FIN312.

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b. Data and Data Literacy

A data-driven mindset is needed in navigation datasets – knowing what kind of data is needed for different types of analysis. For example in FIN498, I had to analyse Layer 2 blockchains, and one factor for analysis is the cost of and time taken for transactions to occur on L2 bridges. Without existing data, I figured that if people wanted to know how expensive a transaction is on a bridge, they would check the bridge’s website – to see if there is a fee chart provided, or execute a transaction involving very little cost, and then record the results – which is what I did.

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I also became very familiar with different platforms of data visualisation – if I find that a specific platform cannot provide me with the charts or analysis I require, I will instantly switch to another. For example, in BUS490, we needed to prepare radar charts for industry analysis. I didn’t like the design of the radar charts on Excel or Matplotlib (shown using Jupyter Notebook), so I decided to use Plotly to churn out the chart instead, using Jupyter Notebook on Visual Studio Code. However, if I wanted to do financial modelling, I would typically use Excel. Knowing when to apply the right medium is important.

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c. Thinking Skills

The most important thing in machine learning is to understand the business problem we are trying to solve. For e.g., we want to know how often customers are not paying their loans on time so that we can improve loan assessment criteria, and better predict whether a customer is likely to default on their payments. From there, we would then know that the type of data we need to collect would be a customer’s transaction history, and some information on their financial background – monthly salary, age, education level, etc. We understand that we are trying to predict something – so we use regression models only.

 

From there, we identify the right model and the relevant metrics that would tell us whether the chosen model is performing well (or not). From the predictions made, we can then make informed decisions using that information. We must also consider whether there are biases in our data. All these questions point towards a critical-thinking mindset.

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d. Interdisciplinary Thinking

I got to apply machine learning models in different disciplines – finance, business, and healthcare. Finance requires synthesising what I learned from BUS105 Statistics, and in machine learning – how these models affect generative AI and how generative AI can be applied in DeFi. The ability to draw upon and synthesize knowledge from multiple disciplines to solve complex problems exemplifies interdisciplinary thinking.

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e. Learning to Learn

Coding languages and technology is constantly evolving – new coding languages are appearing every now and then, and AI is developing at an extremely fast pace – the first robot that can understand human speech, body language and actions to understand and converse with humans, and execute simple actions, has already been launched very recently – Figure 01 by OpenAI.

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In the 4 years of education, I’ve encounter multiple instances where I’ve had to refer to the updated documentation for Pandas because the functions have been updated – and thus the way to use these functions have also changed. If I want to stay relevant, I must constantly learn. I am also constantly trying new AI tools – using AI assistants in my web browser extensions to enhance my research process – something I learned from generative AI communities on LinkedIn.

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Coding is a discipline that only improves the more you practice – just like practicing music (I play the alto saxophone outside of school, which I picked up in secondary school). Continuously assessing and refining our code allows us to code faster and more efficiently. Applying to life, it helps me to learn how I learn best – I used to learn using lecture notes and materials and textbooks, but overtime, I realised it is not the easiest way for me to understand things.

 

Instead, I prefer to learn visually – flowcharts, tables, diagrams. I prefer to ask AI and ask people around me – hey how do you solve this? What do you think this is asking for? What’s your perspective on this issue? As I learn how I learn best, I can continuously apply new ways to learn to pick up complicated technical skills – like software engineering concepts and C programming.

 

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Non-Academic Experiences and Integrating Academic Experiences

1. SUSS Current Affairs Interest Group (CAIG)

I founded CAIG with 7 other peers in my first semester because I saw value in getting our student community to be aware of the ongoing political, economic, and social news, and in being open-minded to talk about our opinions on different news. Through my time in CAIG, we have discussed security, gender, and cryptocurrencies on their impacts.

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I was made Vice President in the second year of CAIG, and as a new club, we had to learn how to set up processes from scratch. One thing we had to develop was how we were going to screen our EXCO applicants. To have a standardised basis of measure driven by data, I applied my skills in spreadsheet modelling from BUS100 to develop a scoring system where the EXCO can grade each of the applicant based on the rubrics our President developed. Scores ranked from 1 to 5, and I included conditions to ensure that people could not vote more than 1 applicant for 1 role, or input scores greater than 5 or lesser than 1.

This helped us to have an established method of picking our applicants, based on the values we think they scored well on, enabling the team to make well-informed decisions.

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Starting CAIG required a blend of leadership, organizational skills, and a keen understanding of the value of informed community engagement. Working alongside peers from various majors has broadened my perspective, allowing me to appreciate diverse viewpoints on complex issues such as security, gender, and cryptocurrencies. This experience underscored the importance of collaboration and interdisciplinary thinking in fostering a well-informed and open-minded student community. In fact, we started critical thinking workshops for the student community with Dr. Wong Soo Lam, George during my 2nd year in CAIG, and the workshop has continued after our EXCO had graduated from the club.

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2. SUSS OWLs

I joined OWLS in my first year as a peer support in the Publicity Team. While I didn’t have to apply any technical skills, I got to hone my graphic design skills by designing collaterals. The value I received was:

• Being able to work with other peer supporters from other majors (Collaboration)

• Exercising creativity and communication in how I could best communicate our event details in a visually appealing way (Creativity) – e.g. We had a tea-party-themed event, and I went with floral visuals for the designs that I traced over using Procreate.

• Communicate effectively within teams because we have designs to coordinate, and often many changes are made to the designs by our “internal clients” – the Events and Programs teams. We must be clear in our timelines and our capacities to execute the designs so that we can post the required content on time.

• Most importantly, as a peer supporter, I learned to empathise with people with mental disabilities. I got to role-play a schizophrenic person, and that made me empathise with how these people felt when people do not try to understand their situations – hearing different voices in their heads. I had to put myself in the shoes of different parties when designing collaterals for our Instagram too.

 

​E.g., we had a post series on how to self-care – I had to think about how work or school could make someone feel physically and emotionally fatigued, then research ways to address that to devise my content plan (with my teammate of course).

 

​3. SUSS Investment Group (SIG)

I joined SIG in my second year as a Global Macro analyst due to my interest in macroeconomics (ECO203). As an analyst, I did bi-weekly presentations to educate general members on the French economy and notable investments they could keep a lookout for, particularly in the tech sector. As such, I had to actively recall and synthesise my knowledge from ECO203 to evaluate metrics like GDP, inflation rate, and interest rates, and how government support for specific sectors affected their growth. I also applied the same skillset of synthesising such economic information in BUS490, where I did the PESTEL analysis for one of the GBAs – this is applied in the Economic section of PESTEL analysis. I had to apply critical thinking in my research - ensuring that whatever I was researching was truly relevant and value-adding to our members and that the investment funds I had recommended were not just boasting returns that weren't financially sustainable.

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I did financial modeling in a peer mentoring program in SUSS, and learning how to create my own dashboard for stocks helped me understand how exchange-traded funds worked, and helped me to improve my recommendations for investments in SIG.

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I also got to practice my data visualisation skills because that was the best way to illustrate financial information in our presentations in SIG. I learned how to beautify my charts – right-aligned chart titles, removing x and y-axis headers where possible, removing gridlines, have a transparent background – I actively applied these skills in subsequent modules or projects that required data visualisations. E.g., In BUS490, FIN498, etc. My commitment to enhancing my presentations with refined data visualization techniques reflects the practical application of interdisciplinary thinking, merging economic analysis with technical skills to educate and inform.

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4. Sociovation

My participation in Sociovation saw me facilitating a group of ASEAN students to create documentaries that explore the 17 SDGs. We chose SDG 6. This experience was a profound exercise in collaborative learning and cross-cultural communication, as it brought together diverse perspectives towards a common goal of promoting sustainability.

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Drawing upon my foundational knowledge from SCO211 and SCO107, this project was an opportunity to apply theoretical insights to real-world scenarios actively. In SCO211, I got to learn about the different water sources available in Singapore and why they are critical to our water supply. Meanwhile, SCO107 offered a critical examination of sustainability challenges using the 17 SDGs, encouraging a questioning and investigative approach towards environmental conservation.

 

These modules equipped me with the necessary tools to guide discussions on the SDGs we should work on, and how we could draw upon other media that we saw to create our documentary (we used Raya and the Last Dragon), encourage critical thinking on the kind of questions to ask our participants that the group interviewed for the documentary, and foster an environment of mutual learning among the students.

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Sociovation was not just about documenting issues but also about exploring the potential of visual media as a powerful tool for advocacy and change. It was a testament to how storytelling can transcend cultural and linguistic barriers, creating a compelling narrative that highlights the urgency of our collective action toward sustainability. This initiative underscored the importance of media literacy in today's digital age, where information is abundant, but impactful communication is crucial.

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Through Sociovation, I learned the value of empathy and understanding in leading diverse teams toward a shared vision. It was a practical demonstration of how sustainability issues require not just scientific understanding but also creativity, collaboration, and a deep commitment to global citizenship. This experience has profoundly broadened my perspectives, reinforcing my belief in the power of education and collective effort in addressing some of the world's most pressing issues.

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5. Internship at MariBank

I interned at Maribank in Year 3, and while applying for the job, I used my knowledge from CDO152 to write my resume and cover letter for the application. In the interview, my hiring manager accepted me because of the entrepreneurial spirit that I demonstrated through CAIG – she asked me what kind of processes we had to set up and how we came to determine that. It was very apt since that was much of what I worked on during my internship – optimizing, documenting, and devising new business processes as part of project management.

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I also applied my skills from BUS100 to create spreadsheet models for tracking project tasks and calculating user testing statistics. Being in SIG, learning financial modeling and coding made me very proficient in navigating spreadsheets and formulas, and I was able to help troubleshoot formula errors in existing spreadsheets that my company faced, which allowed us to report the right information for our bank-wide meetings.

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These experiences not only demonstrated the relevance of my academic learning in professional contexts but also highlighted my adaptability and eagerness to tackle new challenges, underscoring the continuous integration of learning and application throughout my journey at SUSS.

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In project management, I had to learn to identify and communicate any risks that could delay project timelines. I also learned about the software development life cycle and agile methodologies, and how our technology and operational risk teams conducted various questionnaires and assessments to identify outsourcing and business risks that could occur. That information came in handy when I did FIN382 Risk Management for FinTech in the following semester because half the module was dedicated to technological risk assessment frameworks and how MAS uses these to regulate the banking industry.

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Broadening Perspectives

Through the various academic and non-academic experiences, I got to broaden my perspective of the world. I took OGP103, which introduced me to ASEAN and how the organisation came to be formed. It exposed me to the intricate dynamics of regional cooperation and the importance of understanding cultural and political nuances within Southeast Asia – given how diverse we are, and yet we are all relatively small nations compared to superpowers like US and China. If we do not band together and share our resources to better one another, it is easier to be taken advantage of by superpowers, like how we were colonised in the past.

This, along with my participation in Sociovation, where I facilitated ASEAN students in developing a documentary on Sustainable Development Goal 6, underscored the value of empathy and cross-cultural collaboration.

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Furthermore, I took external courses outside of SUSS. I took AI200 from Heicoders Academy, where I got to learn the different machine learning models and methods like feature engineering and one-hot encoding – some of which were covered in ENG335. This allowed me to explore interests outside my primary field of study, fostering a more holistic understanding of the interplay between technology, finance, and societal impacts – machine learning can be used for good, like use of computer vision models to identify pictures of hotels often used for trafficking to build tools to combat child trafficking (google Thorn).

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These experiences, coupled with my engagement in various coding courses online, have not only enhanced my technical skills but also encouraged me to adopt an open-minded approach to problem-solving and continuous learning.

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Addressing Complex Issues

Throughout my time at SUSS, I've been equipped to tackle complex issues across various domains, thanks to a curriculum that emphasizes critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and interdisciplinary learning.

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Modules like FIN385 and FIN498 have provided me with insights into the challenges and opportunities presented by financial technologies, enabling me to critically evaluate the security, scalability, and ethical implications of emerging digital solutions.

 

SCO101 taught me critically evaluate the concepts of social good and ethical responsibility, encouraging me to reflect on my values and the impact of my actions on society, which deeply enriched my perspective on the multifaceted nature of social issues and the importance of ethical decision-making in addressing these societal challenges.

 

As highlighted, SCO211, SCO107 and later BUS308 continuously emphasise the importance of sustainability, what it means to be sustainable, how to critical evaluate whether companies are greenwashing, and the importance of data privacy, which was also highlighted in BUS362. My involvement in projects that examine social issues, environmental sustainability, and technological ethics further illustrates my capacity to apply academic knowledge to real-world problems.

 

This helps me to relate to articles I read in my personal time on issues of inequality, access to education, and the value of labour in today’s society. While I cannot write as eloquently as a sociology or political science student, I can at least understand the impact of these societal and environmental issues in today’s world, have a conversation on these topics with other people.

 

Future Direction

It’s been a colourful 4 years with SUSS. The experiences I've garnered have equipped me with not just the knowledge, but the wisdom to navigate life's complexities with empathy, integrity, and a deep-seated commitment to making a positive impact.

 

As I move on to the next chapter of adulthood, I carry with me the invaluable lessons of collaboration, innovation, financial inclusion, and ethical leadership, ready to embrace challenges and opportunities with an open heart and a keen mind. My journey through SUSS has not only broadened my perspectives but has also empowered me to envision and work towards a future where technology, finance, and humanity converge to create sustainable, (financially) inclusive, and thriving communities.

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Even now, in my final year, I still have many areas I want to explore professionally: AI engineering, machine learning deployment, learning software engineering, and deeper research on DeFi technologies and crypto-economics.

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If I had a chance to further study, I would either specialise in crypto-economics, which is a novel field, or in data science, like OMSCS from Geogia Institute of Technology.