Yale-NUS Science curriculum offers wide range of opportunities for students

The liberal arts and science curriculum at Yale-NUS College offers a wide range of opportunities for students. Students engage with different academic disciplines across the sciences, humanities and social sciences, and learn different ways of interacting with knowledge.

Two science courses offered last semester allowed students to explore new fields and equipped them with knowledge and skills for college and beyond.

From left: Associate Professor of Science (Physics) Ng Hui Khoon, and Assistant Professor of Science (Life Sciences) Ying Chang. 

Fungi and Society is a new course taught by Assistant Professor of Science (Life Sciences) Ying Chang. The course encourages students to consider the complex interactions between fungi and society.

“Fungi are far beyond mushrooms, molds and pathogens,” explained Asst Prof Chang. “Their presence is ubiquitous in the environment. However, with globalisation and climate change, fungi bring new challenges to our lives such as emerging pathogens. Conversely, they can also provide solutions for a sustainable future, like bio-fuels and degradation of plastic wastes.”

Not only does this course encourage learning across different fields, it also aims to cultivate learning within and beyond the classroom. According to Asst Prof Chang, a primary aim of her course is to raise students’ awareness on environmental problems so that they can think of solutions to face the sustainability challenges of the future – two very important things to note for a responsible global citizen.

“This course introduces students to the hidden world of fungi and their interactions with humans.  It opens the door to an unknown world for many students, hopefully broadening their knowledge and providing them new options, directions, and ideas for further study and career paths,” she said.

Focusing on a different area of science, Quantum Information and Computation is an advanced physics course taught by Ng Hui Khoon, Associate Professor of Science (Physics) and Head of Studies for the Physical Sciences major.

According to Assoc Prof Ng, the course aims to introduce students to the world of quantum information and computing, a broad field encompassing physics, mathematics, and computer science. It aims to use quantum phenomena to accomplish information processing tasks, and offers potential advantages over standard classical (that is to say, non-quantum) technologies.

As part of students’ learning experience, Assoc Prof Ng incorporates both calculational and conceptual skills to encourage more in-depth learning.

For Dikshant Dulal (Class of 2023), this course was a difficult but rewarding experience. “This course helped me develop the foundation I needed for quantum computation, and Assoc Prof Ng’s in-class activities were key. This is where we get to use the skills that we learned and solve problem sets in class.”

Additionally, this class also aims to equip students for career opportunities in the field – students can consider research internships, graduate school opportunities, and more.

“There are many opportunities for students in quantum research groups and quantum companies,” Assoc Prof Ng explained. “Undergraduate students can have an extra edge in the field if they have done a quantum information and computing course, beyond doing the standard quantum mechanics coursework.”

Rytis Kazimieras Jonynas (Class of 2022), another student from the class said the course was an invaluable exploration into quantum computing as a cutting-edge research and development field.

“Before this course, I was not able to understand the principles of quantum computing, nor assess how similar or different it is from classical computation,” said Rytis. “With the knowledge I gained from this course, I can follow the latest academia and industry developments, and assess their significance, as well as potentially, find out how I can contribute to the research and development of algorithms and infrastructure for quantum computers.”

In addition to helping him understand the material in class, this course has allowed Dikshant to apply the same framework of thinking to research projects – including one he is collaborating on with Assoc Prof Ng.

“I enjoy doing research and the problem-solving skills and theoretical knowledge that this course has taught me have been really useful,” Dikshant explained. “I can tell you that I can now fully understand research papers on quantum information, and I am not intimidated by the content anymore.”