{"status":"success","message":"Reviews retrieved successfully from Redis","data":{"data":[{"_id":"6401fff23fcbdae0bd16e739","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"AH2201 Chinese Painting: Styles and Masters","code":"AH2201","review":"Took this on AY21/22 Sem 1\n\nLecturer - Dr. Cai Heng\nTutor - Ms. Jennifer Lam\n\nExperience: (9/10)\nReadings: (9/10)\n\nWorkload:\nTutorial Participation (10%) - Includes a presentation and a QnA component\nSlide Tests (30%) - Happen in mid-semester and end of semester\nIndividual Visual Analysis Paper (20%) - 300 words\nResearch Paper (40%) - 1500 to 2000 words\n\nThis module was really ambitious in its content because it was a broad survey on visual culture since prehistorical times in China. Each week, we focused on the different periods of Chinese history and discussed the significant paintings of its time. The lecture slides for each week have like 60 or more, and each slide introduced us to one new painting. You can imagine the information overload we faced during the lecture and classes usually overrun because there were too many paintings to cover. This was also the first module that I gave up reading the readings as they can go up to 100 to 200 pages long and actually serve more as background information for the paintings of the period we were studying. In my opinion, the explanation by Dr. Cai Heng is sufficient for students to understand the content.\n\nHowever, like all other Art History modules, I find the content super interesting because every painting affords different visual narratives to interpret. Also, both the professor and the tutor were super knowledgeable about the content, which makes the teaching more compelling. They also invited Mrs Gretchen Liu, daughter-in-law of the late Liu Kang, to teach the modern Chinese art session, which is another plus point for this module.\n\nAlso, the module was completely taught in English, so those who have no mandarin language knowledge can pick up the content easily too! However, I do admit that there are benefits to coming into this module with being adept at both English and Chinese language because I have a more variety of scholarly sources to research and use for my final paper. Furthermore, for some dynasties, there tend to have lesser English writings found online which makes this language issue a greater problem. But fret not! Because the teaching team understands that not all students speak Mandarin as their mother tongue and they propose students to rely more on their own visual reading and analysis of the painting to make an argument for the final paper.\n\nAdvice: Like any Art History module, start early with your essay, and go to the library to borrow books relevant to your tutorial presentation and final essay. There might be books online you can refer to and if you can read and understand Chinese words, you can also consider the Chinese library in NUS or CNKI, the centralized Chinese journal database.\n\n*Do note that the module focuses largely on Chinese visual culture across history. If you want to learn about material culture, you can take CH2293: Introduction to Chinese Art taught by Dr. Hwang Yin.","datetime":"2023/03/03 22:10:57","difficulty":3,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":3,"workload":3,"rating":3.5,"__v":0},{"_id":"64dca29ff03b482ce9b72b79","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"ALS1010 Learning to Learn Better","code":"ALS1010","review":"AY22/23 Sem 2\nLecturers: Robert Kamei, Magdeline Ng, Chng Wei Heng\nAssessment:\n30% Attendance\n20% Survey Completion\n15% Learning Plan 1st Draft\n15% Finalized Learning Plan\n20% Course Reflection Slide\n\nCourse Difficulty\nThe module is pretty much a series interactive and informative sessions on how to better your learning methods and discover some strategies to improve your learning. As different people have different learning methods, we get to explore each of these and the methods offered, such as blocked vs interleaved learning, doing a root cause analysis, chunking strategy, SMART goals, and many more.\n\nThe workload below is measured weekly.\nLectures - 2h\nCompulsory participation, interactive PollEv sessions, I have not much comments on it.\n\nPersonal Opinion\nFree 2MC if I would say, including the learning plan assignment itself. It is also an opportunity for you to reflect on your learning strategy so far because why not, who knows your productivity can really increase by employing these strategies!","datetime":"2023/08/16 18:19:11","difficulty":1,"enjoyability":2,"practicality":2,"workload":1,"rating":3,"__v":0},{"_id":"676a1cc410ef5f3090f0db93","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CDE2502 Cities for All","code":"CDE2502","review":"Got B+\n\nAttendance (10%)\nReflection Assignment (15%)\nParticipation and Engagement (15%)\nStudio Project (60%) - Individual (20%), Group (40%)\n\nI'm taking a Minor in Cities, and this is basically an extension of CDE 2501 in my view, though with a more specific focus on the \"liveability\" of cities as it covers said topics like housing, accessibility, health and ageing. Though this mod has a much smaller class (about 40 to 60), and in the end two studio slots merged into one.\n\nThere isn't much of a workload; just a need to engage with some discussions on Canvas or during the Studio. There's a World Café forum which is rather interesting as each group explores an issue (we are given articles) and we have to go around to discuss and the international students offer more interesting perspectives. The seminars, while compulsory to attend physically, aren't as engaging however.\n\nThere's still a final presentation at the end. My group was allocated Sengkang and we have to identify issues relating to the urban systems in said area and come up with solutions. Preparation for the final studio presentation isn't really as rushed compared to CDE2501, and I think we delivered our presentation well. Although truthfully a bit disappointed that I ended up with a B+. Maybe my insights aren't deep enough, or I should have engaged more during the seminars.","datetime":"2024/12/24 10:30:27","difficulty":2,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":4,"workload":3,"rating":4,"__v":0},{"_id":"63cff90164ac453ae93a5a4c","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CE1103 Principles of Structural and Geotechnical Engineering","code":"CE1103","review":"Taken in AY 22/23 Sem 1\n(second batch for this mod)\nDifficulty: quite hard\nWorkload: medium\nLectures: Monday 1 hour, Thursday 2 hours\nTutorials: Monday 1 hour\nLecturers: Prof Qian Xudong and Prof Darren Chian\nTutors: Evan Chok and Prof Darren\n\nThis module is separated into 2 parts, statics and mechanics by prof Qian, and geotechnical engineering by Prof Darren. This module is the lovechild of two former modules, EG1109 and CE2112.\n\nPart 1: Structural Engineering\nGrade weightage:\nIn-Class Assignment (Do in tutorial class, can ask tutor) (5%)\nGroup Project (Designing a Truss bridge) (10%)\nQuiz 1 (10%)\nExam (25%)\n\nPart 2: Geotechnical Engineering\nGrade weightage:\nIn-Class Assignment (Take home and do and submit) (5%)\nLab Report (Soil experiment) (10%)\nQuiz 2 (10%)\nExam (25%)\n\nNote that finals exam is half structural, half geotechnical engineering.\n\nThoughts:\nOverall this module has quite the learning curve. For part 1, the introductory chapters like FBDs and equilibrium equations most have learnt before, so they just build on it. Afterwards, for truss, frames etc and mechanics, almost everyone have 0 prior knowledge so there is significant learning curve here. For part 2, pretty much nobody will have experience on learning about soil mechanics, so here also got quite the learning curve. Therefore, this module will be very unfamiliar to most students. I find most (including myself) struggling a lot on mechanics.\n\nYou might be able to pre-read some chapters for the mod. For structural part, there are resources online, but for geotechnical engineering, I cannot find much resources online. Overall for part 1 just try to watch all the videos prescribed before the lecture as I find it makes me understand (though still lost sometimes) the lectures better. Make sure to attend lectures and tutorials so can directly ask questions after the session. The profs are very welcoming to questions.\n\nSo this mods have 2 prof covering it for the 2 parts, both with differing styles of teaching. Prof Qian is more direct and gets through the slides, while Prof Darren likes to crack a few jokes to make lesson fun and give his experience in the field, while also going through the topics.\n\nTutorials:\nFor part 1, it is alternating between recapping the topics and going through the tutorial question and in class assignments. There will be 2 in-class assignments, first one on first 2 chapters (particles and rigid bodies), and second one on the 2 chapters after that (Truss, frames, cables).\n\nFor part 2, prof Darren himself takes the tutorial and goes through the tutorial questions on the 3 chapters while recapping all you need to know.\n\nAt the last week of the module, one lecture slot will be Prof Darren giving a last recap on geotechnical engineering, and the other slot will be the return of Prof Qian to recap on structural engineering.\n\nFinal Exams: Ded. Part one generally quite hard. Although the bending moment question must score one. For part two, a bit hard also but more manageable. They will give redundant info, as well as non-si units to trick you (e.g using cm, mm, ml, need convert to forces/stress yourself etc). Since this mod is quite new, don't exactly have much resources to study.\n\nPossible resources: (Tutorial qns, Additional Practices, R.C Hibbeler (2019) Statics and Mechanics of Materials textbook, past year papers of CE1103, and past year papers of the parent mods of EG1109 and CE2112)","datetime":"2023/01/24 23:28:00","difficulty":4,"enjoyability":2,"practicality":3,"workload":4,"rating":3.5,"__v":0},{"_id":"676a1ba2f94bf4b08e4dfa5a","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CE3155A Structural Behaviour","code":"CE3155A","review":"Taken in AY24/25 Sem 1. Got B-. Lecturer was Xudong Qian\n\nIn short this is a slightly more advanced version of CE2155, which teaches you Structural Idealisation, Internal Forces and Resistance of Structural Members, Method of Virtual Work, Slope‐Deflection Method and Plastic Analysis. For this course, there are weekly Assignments (Canvas Quizzes) – 10%, an open-book Quiz (f2f) – 50%, and the Group Project – 40%.\n\nThe lectures aren't much since it's basically reading off the slides, and generally the quizzes are answers you can find from the slides. I recommend trying the tutorial questions, but the final exam would have greater difficulty than the tutorial questions provided.\n\nFor the project, you have to create a model of bridge made of basswood, string, and superglue with two friends, and run some analysis with Etabs for the predicted load. I didn't do this part very well, because my two teammates are also as clueless as I am, and our structure wasn't stable enough to withstand the minimum load.\n\nIn the end, for this mod it's best if you can have good friends to help, otherwise all will struggle through.","datetime":"2024/12/24 10:25:38","difficulty":5,"enjoyability":2,"practicality":4,"workload":3,"rating":3,"__v":0},{"_id":"676a1c2a1cc11c05644a2535","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CE3155B Structural Modelling","code":"CE3155B","review":"Taken in AY24/25 Sem 1. Got B. Lecturer was Poh Leong Hien.\n\nMini quizzes on Canvas (20%), Pop Quizzes during lectures (5%), ELiSA3D (3%), Project (22%) and Two open-book Quizzes (50%)\n\nThis course in my opinion is easier to digest than CE3155A, although the content is significantly more complex as we tackle stiffness matrix for truss, beam and frame analyses. But the lectures are very engaging and there are plenty of conceptual questions during the lecture pop quizzes on Pollev. But don't worry if your answers are wrong; you just need minimum 40% correct to get the 5% of the course.\n\nThe mini quizzes are rather tough, but you can also refer back to the lecture slides. You get three attempts per question, and each attempt would give you the solution. Just note the parameters would change.\n\n25% of the mod goes to learning how to run Elisa (which also uses Matlab). Just remember to play around the software early on in the course for the 3% participation marks; it's very easy. Then the project (do ownself) takes at most a week to do; you have to determine the best placement for a swimming pool on an annexe and design the roof and structural supports over the pool, while keeping to a minimum budget. Hint: there are very limited suitable placements.\n\n50% goes to the two quizzes. While they are doable, I felt we are given very limited time to tackle the complex calculations needed for the questions (we're only given 40 minutes). So, I didn't score very well for this component.\n\nBut overall the course is manageable. Just remember to keep to the deadlines for the Canvas quizzes and Elisa and you get at least 45% of the course.","datetime":"2024/12/24 10:27:53","difficulty":5,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":4,"workload":4,"rating":4,"__v":0},{"_id":"639e6359d308cb09af7d3440","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CFG3001 Career Advancement","code":"CFG3001","review":"Took this module in Y3S2 as I was gonna start my internship in Y4.\n\nAll content are 100% online, with the exception of opting for live interviews hosted by the CFG team - first come first served basis (ungraded).\n\nBreakdown:\nVIPS worksheet + ConnectUS profile creation 20%\nInformational interview + Reflection journal 20%\nMock interviews 20%\nMCQ test on all topics 40%\n\nLectures were written and published in SCORM. This is quite an unique way of learning and I loved it! Though reading may sound daunting to some, the whole interface was quite interactive and lectures weren't boring at all.\n\nI would recommend you to take this module as it would be really helpful for those who are venturing into the workforce - basically all of us!","datetime":"2022/12/18 08:48:25","rating":3.75,"__v":0,"difficulty":2,"enjoyability":3,"practicality":5,"workload":2},{"_id":"647bdea70179e9897bcba00d","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CFG3001 Career Advancement","code":"CFG3001","review":"AY22/23 Sem 2\n\nAssessment:\n10% MCQ Quiz\n10% conNectUS Profile\n10% Informational Interview Invitation\n30% Reflection Journal\n10% conNectUS Forum Response\n10% VIPS Worksheet\n20% VMock Interview Report\n\nCourse Difficulty\nThe course covers different tips on advancing your career journey, starting from defining your brand, communicating it via resume and online profile, networking, gaining essential interview skills, knowing what to do on the first days of work, and getting to know some office etiquettes. One way to help one define his or her own brand is through the VIPS worksheet, which can be communicated via a conNectUS profile to gain new connections, which some may be available for an informational interview. Through this informational interview, you can learn new things that might go into your final reflection journal. Finally, VMock helps you to ace your interview skills as they can evaluate how well you answer the question as well as how well you behave during answering the question.\n\nPersonal Opinion\nI feel that this course does give me some new things to learn. I had a great informational interview, overall an enjoyable course as I can actually practice and reflect on myself on how to go ahead in the future.","datetime":"2023/06/04 08:45:26","difficulty":2,"enjoyability":3,"practicality":4,"workload":2,"rating":3.5,"__v":0},{"_id":"638b1a595774e7267c22e62d","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CLC1101 Engaging and Building Communities","code":"CLC1101","review":"[AY20/21, Sem 1]\n\nLecturer: Dr Satveer Kaur\n\nLessons\n3h Seminar on Zoom*\n\nAssessments\n20%: Individual response paper about community development models/frameworks and its applicability to Singapore\n40%: Digital community mapping group project to create a digital community trail*\n20%: Individual solution to address issue identified from group project\n20%: Class participation\n\n[*Format due to COVID-19]\n\nScope of theories to community development and approaches to community development is broad and may be overwhelming. Although the case studies were extra useful in helping to make sense of the theories. Group project during COVID-19 was made easier with established team-mates that had their own community-based projects and/or prior awareness of community projects outside of school.","datetime":"2022/12/03 17:43:52","rating":2.75,"__v":0,"difficulty":2,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":3,"workload":2},{"_id":"638989430f570be73e670ab5","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CLC2204 Community Development With Youth","code":"CLC2204","review":"Taken in AY 19/20, Semester 1\n\nLecturer/Tutor: Dr Satveer Kaur\nClass Format: Weekly 2h 35min seminars, physical\n\nAssessments: \nIndividual Assignment 1 (application of community development theories to our chosen communities in Singapore) - 20%\nGroup Project (mapping of the assets/needs of a physical community) - 40%\nIndividual Assignment 2 (making a video on the solution for a problem observed in the physical community analysed) - 30%\nClass Participation - 10%\n\nWhat it's about: \nIt talks about the various models and theories that are present in the community development sphere. It also delves into how we can all develop communities and evaluate the impact of the activities.\n\nThoughts about the module: \nI went in knowing nothing about community development and came out with an in-depth overview of the field with just the intro module. The professor provided us with a lot of case studies from all over the world and brought guest speakers who have made a difference to practice the community development theories in Singapore. She also broke down the heavy theories effectively such that I, a person who dislikes theories, could also understand it easily. This module would be extremely useful for people who want to create change in their communities (e.g. NUS CCAs, ground-up initiatives etc.).","datetime":"2022/12/02 13:12:34","rating":3.75,"__v":0,"difficulty":2,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":2,"workload":2},{"_id":"657e2b7853c1496daa22529a","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CLC2204 Community Development With Youth","code":"CLC2204","review":"Taken in AY22/23 S1\nInstructor: Kuah Ting Ting\n\nAssessment Components:\nClosed book MCQ [Individual] (20%) Due Wk 5\nIndividual Assignment [Individual] (30%) Due Recess Wk\nGroup Project [Team] (35%) Due Reading Wk\nClass Participation [Individual Grade] (15%) Throughout the semester (optional class discussions and reflections)\n\nMod Review:\nThe first 4 weeks are pretty content heavy, since you have to learn all the foundational theories. The remaining weeks will focus more on specific topics, like applications of these theories in Sports, Arts, Social Enterprises etc, and research methodologies etc. I think the assignments are pretty tough (like the MCQ killed a lot of people) so do be aware! The individual essay assignment will be based on a VIA activity of your choice (selected from whatever Ting Ting gives yall), so it's more unique and hands-on + she cancels a seminar to make up for this.\n\nI did enjoy the content taught, since it was focused on strategies and theories on youth community development, hence there's a lot of linkages that you can make with what you learn from other modules/majors. There are also multiple guest speakers from various organisations invovled in the youth community development scene in Singapore, which allows you to see how theories are practised on the ground. This is something pretty unique since you don't usually see this in normal mods!\n\nTing Ting is a very passionate and caring instructor! She will answer your questions and is very friendly so it's really nice to have someone engaging (especially if the content gets dense at times). I really do appreciate her efforts in giving us assignment feedback and listening to her students' feedback on how to improve her lessons/course.\n\nOverall, I think this is a tough but manageable mod. DO NOT COME HERE EXPECTING TO DO VIA!! Rather, come here to learn about the theories and principles that community leaders try to incorporate in their activities like VIA. It's a different take from community service that most of us are aware of, but it's something that's fresh and relatively \"unseen\".","datetime":"2023/12/17 06:58:00","difficulty":3,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":3,"workload":2,"rating":3,"__v":0},{"_id":"680c8d4412211cecf9d59385","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CM1102 Chemistry - The Central Science","code":"CM1102","review":"may be a bit tough for those that are weak at physical chem as no organic chem is covered. main topics are MO theory, molecular symmetry and chemical kinetics","datetime":"2025/04/26 15:37:37","difficulty":4,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":4,"workload":4,"rating":4,"__v":0},{"_id":"63888753b2b7b7bea13b74d1","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CS1101S Programming Methodology I","code":"CS1101S","review":"Taken in AY20/21 Sem 1\nLecturer: Martin Henz, Low Kok Lim, Boyd Anderson\n\nThere was 1 Midterm, 2 Reading Assessments, 1 Practical Assessment and 1 Final Exam.\n\nProgramming assessments in the form of Missions, Paths, Quests are given out on a weekly basis on Source Academy, the online platform the module uses. There are also a few Contests where students get to express their creativity. These assessments provide EXP, which constituted 18% of the module grade. However, the threshold for getting the full 18% is only about ~63% of the total EXP, so doing only the Missions + some Quests should suffice. Doing more, however, is rewarded through the 1MC mod CS1010R, which is offered in Semester 2. Extra EXP attained beyond the threshold will determine one's grade in CS1010R, so if one does almost all the Missions, Paths, etc, an A/A+ for CS1010R should be guaranteed.\n\nThe module places more emphasis on functional programming and recursive thinking at the beginning (Source 1 and Source 2 don't even have loops!), and teaches the iterative approach at the second half of the module. I feel that this is quite different from other programming courses, that usually teaches iterative thinking and dive into loops early on. Having had some prior experience programming before this module, I think that this approach is actually rather helpful as it \"forces\" students to understand the philosophy of functional, effect-free programming better, and generally programs in the functional programming paradigm tend to be more understandable and easier to debug in the long run.\n\nThis mod was held during COVID period, so tutorial slots were split into face-to-face and Zoom sessions. I took the Zoom tutorial slot. Apart from the usual weekly tutorial, we did Mastery Checks (as pairs) and the EV3 programming (as a tutorial group).\n\nThere were two Mastery Checks, where tutorial mates pair up and explain to our Avenger (tutor) the content we learnt so far, which helped to correct any misconceptions we may have had, before moving on with the module. Despite it having been the COVID period, we still had the robot programming section with the Lego EV3s, which was done through Zoom + Source Academy.\n\nDue to COVID, tests were held online through LumiNUS and invigilated through Zoom proctoring. Screen recordings also had to be captured and uploaded. It was more tedious to set up compared to a physical exam, but has the advantage in the sense that answers could be edited easily (as we entered code through a text box in LumiNUS), compared to writing code down on paper.\n\nOverall, CS1101S was quite thought-provoking and enjoyable.","datetime":"2022/06/05 6:04:03","rating":5,"__v":0,"difficulty":1,"enjoyability":5,"practicality":5,"workload":2},{"_id":"63888772b2b7b7bea13b74d9","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CS1231S Discrete Structures","code":"CS1231S","review":"Workload: Decent. There's compulsory tutorials (2h) every week, and you are expected to present your solution in class! There are quite a number of questions in each tutorial as well. The take home assignments generally are around the length of a tutorial, but do not require that much effort. Revising for finals and midterms can be daunting as there are infinitely many different problems that they can throw at you for you to prove, so it is good to read through what was done previously to build up a general understanding.","datetime":"2022/06/01 2:04:03","rating":3.3,"__v":0,"difficulty":2,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":3,"workload":2},{"_id":"6388875db2b7b7bea13b74d3","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CS1231S Discrete Structures","code":"CS1231S","review":"Taken in AY22/23 Sem 1 under Prof Aaron Tan Tuck Choy\n\nSummary: Hard, fun, don’t give up\n\nTopics:\nSee http://web.archive.org/web/...\n\nWorkload:\n- 3h of Lectures per week\n- 2h of Tutorial per week (attendance graded)\n- 2 Assignments across the semester\n- 2h Midterm\n- 2h Finals\n\nAssessment:\n- 5% Tutorial Attendance (strictly attendance, no need to participate)\n- 2 x 10% Assignments\n- 25% Midterm\n- 50% Finals\n\nOf the 100 mark finals only 18 marks were based on topics that were covered in midterms. Assignments are meant to be completed individually, but almost everyone gets close to full marks for assignments, so that rule is obviously ignored if you consider that the median for assessments hovers around 50%.\n\nI was around the lower quartile for my assignments and just below the median for midterms. I was fully intent on S/U-ing, but sage advice from a senior told me to not completely give up because the second half of the module is fairly distinct from the first half, and contains topics that probably favours those with programming experience. I ended up far exceeding my expectations for finals (upper decile).\n\nContent:\nThis module is known for being tough because most students will have 0 familiarity with any of the content prior to NUS. This however means that there’s a relatively even playing field, since most of the students who have prior background and would have ez no kick destroyed the bell curve are probably in MA1100 or MA1100T. That said, complete knowledge of pre-university level Mathematics is assumed, and as a former bad student I personally struggled with doing basic algebraic manipulation which you had to show steps for during the early topics. By the end, you could get away with just writing (by basic algebra) in your proofs.\n\nOf all the modules I took in Sem 1, this had the most Δknowledge by far for me, and thus was my most satisfying (albeit difficult) module. Even though this was my only S/U-able module, the content, especially the later topics on cardinality/graphs/induction, was interesting enough for me to not have the discipline to stop reading the slides/tutorials and focus on saving my other modules even though I was fully intent on S/U-ing this module. Most of the content is really helpful for other CS mods, which I wouldn’t have predicted going into the module.\n\nSomething a bit weird that I would recommend is to find someone who takes MA1100T (the discrete math module for prospective Special Programme in Math students) and ask for their Cardinality slides/notes (I discovered this by accident because I was lucky enough to have a friend who was smart enough to be in MA1100T and helpful enough to teach me stuff the day before my finals). Cardinality will be the most difficult topic for most students because it feels so abstract and somewhat defies common sense. Their module goes far deeper in-depth than CS1231S, and a lot of “hard questions” in CS1231S that we would through are just trivial results and corollaries for those students. For example, the hardest MCQ question in this semester’s finals paper (Q17, 27.6% correct) asks you to verify statements that are trivial results in MA1100T lecture slides but incredibly difficult if you only have CS1231S resources and a normal human brain.\n\nTeaching:\nLectures were taught by Prof Aaron with some taught by Prof Leong Hon Wai, and they were recorded. I did not attend or watch lectures. The slides are good and comprehensive enough to use to study, and my friends say that the lectures are good.\n\nTutorials are taught by 1 TA, who can be an undergraduate (usually assigned to 1 class) or a graduate student (usually take multiple classes). You are expected to have attempted the tutorial questions and thus have some familiarity with the content before the tutorials. My tutor was a grad student Sherman Yuen who was fantastic – I wasn’t the best student and often didn’t pay attention or attempt the worksheets before the tutorials, but when the stars aligned and I did both, his explanations were always very clear, his delivery was engaging, and he makes a huge effort to follow-up on doubts in class via email. If I had to choose between paying attention to the lectures XOR paying attention to (+ doing the worksheets for) the tutorials, I would choose the latter.\n\nIf you have a grad student TA, it is worth being friends with students who have undergraduate TAs, because they usually make Telegram groups where they dispense Past Year Papers and their Answer Schemes to their students. Otherwise, PYPs are uploaded without model answers.","datetime":"2022/05/01 2:07:03","rating":4,"__v":0,"difficulty":4,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":4,"workload":3},{"_id":"63888787b2b7b7bea13b74df","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CS2030S Programming Methodology II","code":"CS2030S","review":"Taken in AY2022/2023 Sem 1, under Lecturer Adi\n\nYou can look at kok's review for the content and weightage breakdown.\n\nThis module was shambolic to say the very least. It is taught poorly, and the labs, assignments and general content had quite a number of mistakes.\n\nI would like to preface my review by stating that Lecturer Adi is probably overworked like the majority of educators in the industry, in addition to the fact that he has a family and kids to look after. He also caught covid during the course of the module and was also sick for an additional week or two. From what I can gather, he also genuinely cares for the students.\n\nThe experience I had in this module was unpleasant and unenjoyable. There was a lot of needless suffering and the content could be taught, and applications shown in so many more efficient and engaging ways. Some of the labs simply throw you into the deep end and I would have straight up become deceased if not for the fact that I was taking this module with friends who have been of great assistance, in addition to my godly TAs.\n\nPE1, PE2 and finals were conducted in the utown auditorium. I am not going to speculate about the choice of location, but all I can say that it was definitely not conducive to hold a coding practical exam in. The only silver lining was that since the table could only fit your laptop, nobody was able to utilise their external keyboards.\n\nHighlight of this module would be wrecking my mental health in an attempt to submit the 2 particularly insane labs by the Tuesday deadline after PE1 and PE2 on Saturday respectively.\n\nThe TAs for my lab were both of great assistance during the lab sessions.\n\nI would not have made it through this semester if not for my module-mates and TAs. I do not recommend taking this in Semester 1.\n\nWorkload 5/5\nPain 5/5\nUsefulness 4/5, I must admit it was really interesting when you finally understand the content taught and see its usefulness, after slamming your head against the wall the entire day.\nOverall experience 0/5\n\nIt has been 29 days since PE2 and I have no idea how I did.","datetime":"2022/06/03 2:04:03","rating":4,"__v":0,"difficulty":4,"enjoyability":3,"practicality":3,"workload":4},{"_id":"664aa8df5278023cf528e2b8","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CS2040S Data Structures and Algorithms","code":"CS2040S","review":"Taken in AY23/24 S2 under\nSeth Gilbert (lectures 1-11)\nArnab Bhattacharyya (lectures 12-20)\nShao Lin (lectures 21-23)\nHu Conghui (recitation tutor)\n\nWorkload\n\nLectures: 3h/week\nTutorials/Recitations: 3h/week\nLecture quizzes: 2/week\nProblem sets: 1/week\n\nUnlike some of the other commenters, I found the workload to be higher than CS2030S as I got stuck on some problem sets trying to figure out why private test cases were failing. In comparison, I did not get stuck on any of the CS2030S exercises. Sometimes I spent days debugging since the website does not give any feedback or indication of why test cases are failing - I think they could've at least told you whether they're failing due to correctness, performance or simply because you put too many System.out.println()s.\n\nCourse Content\n\nIt's what you'd expect from a data structures and algorithms course as explained by others. It builds on top of your CS1231S foundation, so make sure you learn that well. I generally found the course materials to be good, although the lecturers towards the end were slightly harder to understand.\n\nAssessments\n\nTutorial + recitation participation: 10%\nMy recitation tutor did not take attendance or ask for people's names, so I'm not sure how/if they're keeping track of recitation participation. That said, new concepts are taught in recitations and they get tested, so you definitely do not want to miss them.\n\nEverything else: 90%\nThe goal is for everyone or almost everyone to reach level 35 on coursemology and most people do get it, so I think the main differentiators are going to be the midterm and final.\n\nTips\n\nThe most important thing is to understand the content very well and be able to think on the spot instead of only relying on a cheat sheet. In particular, make sure you know how the data structures used for an algorithm affect its properties and are able to figure out how using a different data structure for the algorithm would change its properties.","datetime":"2024/05/20 09:35:26","difficulty":3,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":4,"workload":4,"rating":4,"__v":0},{"_id":"6388877ab2b7b7bea13b74db","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CS2040S Introduction To Data Structure And Algorithms","code":"CS2040S","review":"Not sure what I learnt throughout the course to be honest, many seniors advised to SU this mod from the start, but I was a little stubborn and studied the contents till mid terms (major regret). First few weeks of content were easy to digest, and the questions asked during tutorial were straight forward. Then came mid terms, which I was completely destroyed despite studying so hard for it. From then on, I skipped all live lectures and attended tutorials without attempting the questions. Assignments were pretty okay and we were about 10 days to complete (a lot of time, slowly do). Some of the answers given are ridiculous, like they can pull a theorem out of another level.","datetime":"2022/04/21 7:04:03","rating":4.5,"__v":0,"difficulty":4,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":3,"workload":3},{"_id":"64a62079497400cca6be557c","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CS2103T Software Engineering","code":"CS2103T","review":"Taken in AY22/23 Sem 2\nGrading:\nParticipation - 5%\nIndividual Project (iP) - 15%\nA Java bot that helps with task management. I think it serves as a nice introduction to basic project.\nTeam Project (tP) - 50%\nUsing an address book as base, either augment it or turn it into something vastly different. There is some restrictions, but you basically can go ham here with cool ideas. Don't be lame, people don't want to look at another AB3/task management clone...\nFinals - 30%\nNo comment... I refer you to the UML mafia review. He is exaggerating though, UML is only half the paper.\n\nContent Difficulty: 6/10\nTheory-wise, a lot of stuff, ranging from design patterns, testing, development cycles to everyone's favourite UML diagrams. Though, the content itself is very straightforward and not difficult to understand.\nMost of this is practical, and you will demonstrate it through the individual project and team project you have.\n\nWorkload: 9/10 (or 6, if you want to put in the least effort)\nThis depends on how much effort you want to put into this module. for individual project, you can really do the bare minimum every week and get full marks for it. Granted the end product won't be something you are proud of.\n\nAs for team project, manageable if you are in the right team. Expect some conflicts and discussions since this is pretty much 5 people trying to get some ideas across to each other. You can also do the bare minimum here and get full marks, though I think it would be more fun to develop crazier stuff with it.\n\nUsefulness: 8/10\nCommon developmental approaches are taught, and the design patterns used in creating programs. These are instrumental for internship and can be asked by interviewers. Apart from that, UML diagrams and some documentations are not used much internally, unless you are working on open-source projects. With the wise words of my internship superior : \"I can read your code, we are all technically trained\", as I present to him my codes with documentation. I think he has a poor reasoning, and I sure hope he doesn't read this review.\n\nExperience: 7/10\nGenerally it was fun, with the exception of bug testing. The idea of trading marks with someone (someone catch your \"bug\", you lose marks and he gains some) just makes it unfun. Often times, it results in a lot of poor quality issues caught (with the time limit to catch bugs), which are mostly out of scope or fake \"bugs\" that are not even there. My team has about 70+ bugs and honestly I only appreciated like 7 of the bugs. About 30 are reasonable, the rest just puts \"???\" on my head.","datetime":"2023/07/06 10:01:26","difficulty":3,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":4,"workload":4,"rating":3.5,"__v":0},{"_id":"638b192d5774e7267c22e624","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CS2108 Introduction to Media Computing","code":"CS2108","review":"AY21/22 Sem 2 under Prof Ng Teck Khim\n\ntutorials 20%\nproject 30%\nfinal exam 50%\n\nI decided to take this mode after seeing the nice module reviews below and thought I would enjoy this module. Oh boy I was wrong.\n\nCons:\nThis module is basically Signals and Systems which is quite foreign for CS students. The matter is made worse because there are engineering students who have already learnt the content in other modules. Some of them would keep asking advanced questions during the lectures and leaving everyone else confused. Due to all the unnecessary questions, it took prof 4 or 5 weeks to finish the first set of slides.\n\nMoreover, the lectures were conducted on zoom, but not recorded (even after multiple student requests). If you happened to encounter technical issues or if you didn't understand the lecture, good luck. There is no way to rewatch the lectures.\n\nThe topics are not difficult per se, but they are very confusing and hard to understand. I couldn't keep up with the lectures, and the notes are not self-learnable. In the end I had to rely on YouTube videos to understand the basic concepts.\n\nThe tutorials and projects are absolutely fun to do, although they are not as related to lectures and exams as you would expect. There were some sample exam questions for us to practice but answers are not provided. I was quite shocked when I saw the exam paper, cuz they are not the type of questions I was expecting. When I compare the answers we wrote for exams with my friends, everyone has different answers for every questions lol. I feel maybe we all flung our exam haha.\n\nOverall:\nDifficulty: 4/5\nEnjoyable? the content itself is very interesting and enjoyable, but the delivery of the lessons made me hate myself.","datetime":"2022/12/03 17:38:53","rating":2,"__v":0,"difficulty":3,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":2,"workload":4},{"_id":"6547349436dcd83c38ab3403","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CS3203 Software Engineering Project","code":"CS3203","review":"AY22/23 under Prof Ganesh\n\nBeing fair, the module was okay, but I just hated it and found it extremelyboring. Changes did bring the module workload down, 20-page report, okay check ins etc. But the module relies way too heavily on a good understanding and comfort with C++\n\nProject was to build a static program analyser with C++. Unfortunately,\nwithout prior knowledge in C++, it was not taught properly. The main takeaway from the C++ primer was to throw shared pointers everywhere.\n\nGiven that my team did not have anyone with experience in C++ (and half the team was year 4s), it was just harder for my team to get things set up. Setup instructions were scattered around the github page which brought some headache and problems way into milestone 1 submission.\n\nCA components include weekly individual and team submissions on SE\nprinciples (always got the average score). Midterm SE design, scores were never released. Weekly code checkins and contribution.\n\nProject evaluation consisted mostly of automated evaluations (bugs, then very minorly performance) and report writing. Curve for report writing was insanely high and a fully scored report would not have brought you far. Automated evaluations were done in 3 milestones with increasing requirements in features and complexity of test. A report of test pass/failed was provided but not the actual test themselves, which proved challenging in back testing and fixing previous bugs. An extensive testing regime would have fixed many of the projects\nbugs but proved improbable given actual feature development.\n\nUltimately, I just found the theme of the project rather boring and having to wrangle with the quirks of C++ painful. Perhaps the use of C++ is important in industry, but a SWE module with 2 primer lecture is probably not the venue. Writing simple algos using even a PQ was just much more complicated than necessary and it was practically\nnot very possible to do proper code review.\n\nA team that was previously proficient in C++ would have handled this module easily. Otherwise, a lot of stress and pain, even for things like running cross platform. This was an unfortunate core module for me but its probably a good thing it isn’t for next batches.","datetime":"2023/11/05 14:22:12","difficulty":4,"enjoyability":2,"practicality":2,"workload":5,"rating":2.5,"__v":0},{"_id":"655afe44271c1475814acb58","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CS3211 Parallel and Concurrent Programming","code":"CS3211","review":"AY22/23 SEM 2\n\nLecturer: Cristina Carbunaru\n\nTL;DR: You should take both CS3210 and CS3211.\n\nBoth are great courses taught by Cristina, one of the nicest lecturer in SoC. Also, shout-out to the awesome teaching teams. Difference between CS3210 and CS3211? The former focuses on parallelism and performance, while the latter explores various concurrency paradigms in programming languages such as C++, Go, and Rust. Thus, minimal overlaps with each other.\n\nFor reference, the weekly lecture topics are as follows:\n\n1. Introduction to Concurrency\n\n- Motivations for studying concurrency were discussed.\n- Concurrency vs parallelism.\n- Processes and threads.\n- Synchronization constructs such as locks, semaphores, etc.\n- Definition of race condition, deadlock, and starvation.\n\n2. Task, Threads, and Synchronization in Modern C++\n\n- How to use threads in Modern C++.\n- The notion of ownership (and RAII) were briefly introduced.\n- Race condition vs data race.\n- Locks and condition variable in Modern C++.\n\n3. Atomics and Memory Model in Modern C++\n\n- Almost everything from https://en.cppreference.com... were discussed.\n\n4. Testing and Debugging Concurrent Programs\n\n- Some guidelines for testing were introduced.\n- Dynamic analysis tools such as Valgrind and sanitizers were briefly mentioned.\n\n5. Concurrent Data Structures\n\n- Some advice on building thread-safe data structures.\n- Fine-grained lock-based queue were discussed quite extensively.\n- Brief mentions of lock-free data structures.\n\n6. Concurrency in Go\n\n- Goroutines and channels were introduced.\n- Message-passing concurrency was the focus here.\n\n7. Concurrency Patterns in Go\n\n- Concurrency patterns in Go such as pipelines and fan-out/in were introduced.\n- Go runtime and the notion of work stealing.\n\n8. Classical Synchronization Problems in C++ and Go\n\n- Classical synchronization problems (e.g. producer-consumer, barrier, dining philosophers, and barbershop) were revisited, and their solutions were coded in C++ and Go.\n\n9. Safety in Concurrent Programming with Rust\n\n- The concepts of ownership, borrowing, and lifetime in Rust were introduced.\n- Smart pointers in Rust.\n- Concurrency libraries such as Tokio and Rayon were briefly mentioned.\n\n10. Asynchronous Programming in Rust\n\n- Motivations for doing asynchronous programming were discussed.\n- How Future works, and to some extend, how to implement it.\n- Async/await in Rust.\n\n11. Model Checking\n\n- This lecture is a bonus, so its content was not examined.\n- Model checking was introduced. It is a method for checking whether a system meets a given formal specification.\n- Usage of TLA+ was demonstrated.\n\nAs you can see, the course was roughly 50% C++, 25% Go, and 25% Rust. You don't actually need to know any of the languages to take this course. They are not difficult to pick up, and primers will be given, so don't worry too much.\n\nThe weekly tutorials were 1 hour officially. But the TAs will actually be hanging around for another 1 hour to answer questions. I like this format a lot since I got to chill and hang out with my TA. Cristina will often attend the tutorials too, so it's really nice when you want to clarify some concepts in person. Also, a lot of interesting topics were covered in the tutorial (e.g. lock-free queue), so make sure you attend them.\n\nThe assessment was:\n\n- 8% tutorial attendance\n- 12% quizzes, four of them, each worth 3%\n- 40% assignments (20% C++, 10% Go, 10% Rust)\n- 40% final exam\n\nAssignments were easy (compared to CS3210) and should take less than a day to finish. However, I had a lot of experiences with C++ before, so your mileage may vary.\n\nThe final exam was challenging though, but there were some quality questions which I had the pleasure of doing.","datetime":"2023/11/20 14:35:48","difficulty":4,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":4,"workload":4,"rating":4,"__v":0},{"_id":"6565c80aef6cf1df0b72a98f","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CS3216 Software Product Engineering for Digital Markets","code":"CS3216","review":"Taken in AY22/23 Sem 1\n\nCS3216 is not your typical software engineering module. Instead of focusing on technicals entirely, it focuses on building products that are useful, and the expectation is that you will build something that solves a problem faced by many people, validate it and actually garner real users. CS3216 gives you a taste of how it is like to build a startup from scratch. As per the other posters, this module has a really high workload that is not immediately obvious because it is only 5 MCs.\n\nComponents\n\nThree assignments, one final project and weekly reflections. Each assignment is done in a team and you cannot group with the same person more than once. Each assignment starts before the previous assignment has ended, so the workload is quite intense. Assignment and project descriptions can be found at cs3216.com, so I wont delve too much into it, but I will focus more on the expectations, schedule and grading as well as my opinions.\n\nAssignment 1\n\nThe expectation here is to come up with a cool app that will solve a real problem, validate the problem and come up with a design and then further refine your design through user testing. In my semester, quite a lot of teams didnt do as well as expected and voiced our frustration at the seemingly arbitrary grading rubrics, which were only released after the grades were out. A significant chunk of the grading (30%) is arbitrarily defined as \"coolness\" which felt really useless as most useful products are not cool, and most cool ideas are not useful. The remaining 70% is mostly graded based on how you executed the design process and consulted with your users.\n\nAssignment 2\n\nWell, this assignment was quite a waste of time as you are merely picking another person's innovation to present on. A valuable 2 weeks is lost which could have been better used elsewhere.\n\nAssignment 3\n\nThis assignment, you are tasked to build a progress web app (PWA) to solve a problem of your choice. This assignment is the most technical of the three as you actually have to implement a working product in 2 weeks and a bulk of the grading is based on the technical aspects and intuitiveness of your design\n\nFinal Project\n\nThis is the bulk of the module (50%) where you can pick any problem and app to develop BUT with the caveat that you must be able to reach out to potential users, interview them, develop the app and convince them to use it in only six weeks.\n\nUnfortunately, six weeks is way too short of a runway to develop anything meaningfully while still garnering users AND making a real impact, and I felt that nearly all of the group's ideas werent really that useful, with a lot of teams building apps for NUS users (since thats how we can easily recruit users and market them) but there are only so many NUS apps that you can develop that tends to repeat itself every year.\n\nLessons\n\nUncle Soo invites speakers of various backgrounds from tech to business to psychology to talk about a certain topic such as fundraising, scaling a product up or building your dream team.\n\nOverall\n\nCS3216 is about as different of a CS module as you can expect and it gives you a taste of building and shipping a product in a lean, startup way. I have spent countless nights from 10AM till 6AM working on deadlines just for this module because of the tight deadlines, but I enjoy the freedom of being able to create just about anything I want. However, the short 6 weeks and emphasis on \"coolness\" really derails it from being a complete start-up experience, because nobody can really build anything meaningfully in six weeks, make it \"cool\" but also useful and also get real traction. Also because you are ultimately graded by Uncle Soo and the TAs, none of whom are entrepreneurs, I dont exactly feel this module made me any more ready for building a start-up than before I took this module. If this course was meant to develop the Mark Zuckerbergs of NUS, then it probably isnt very well designed. But for a core module to clear your CS requirements? Heck yeah, way more meaningful than CS3203!","datetime":"2023/11/20 18:59:22","difficulty":4,"enjoyability":5,"practicality":5,"workload":4,"rating":4.5,"__v":0},{"_id":"6388876bb2b7b7bea13b74d7","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CS3219 Software Engineering Principles and Patterns","code":"CS3219","review":"All in all , i think its a relative ok mod in terms of work load compared to the other 3k cs mods ? If you done any web development internship its essentially a free A. If you hate doing projects outside of the curriculum and figuring things out urself its a painful mod Difference to cs2103T: I believe the focus on the mod is about applying some of the principles you learnt in 2103T to the projects that is similar to a real life scenario (since bimlesh doesnt restrict you from what you want to do) as compared to 2103T where the prof more or less silos u within a number of parameters to grade you","datetime":"2022/06/01 2:04:03","rating":3.5,"__v":0,"difficulty":2,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":3,"workload":2},{"_id":"64ec238c4e53e379bd9c23d7","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CS3219 Software Engineering Principles and Patterns","code":"CS3219","review":"AY2022/23 Sem 1\n\nBreakdown:\nproj - 30%\nindiv assign - 35%\nquizzes/ participation - 10%\nfinals - 25%\n\nLet me just say first that this mod imo is NOT a 4mc mod (even if u have exp in some FE/ BE dev), its heavy maybe about 5mcs and my friends who took this w me agree. Its heavy because on top of the proj u have an otot indiv assignment (Imagine udh exp in React, Express and u gotta learn to use it in ur proj + assignments while juggling other mods). But if u pace urself and depending on how nice u want ur proj/ assignment to be, it shld be fine.\n\nThis mod does NOT teach u web dev, its more like the assignments n proj require u to use such tools so u will HAVE to pick them up yourself in your own free time. You will touch stuff like react, express, mongo, orms, docker, k8s, kafka, nginx, redis (or u can pick other stacks or add even more). The freedom to decide how u want to build and design ur application is rly there and ig that's partly why i love this mod.\n\nlectures + lecturers:\nprof akshay is rly boring ngl. prof bimlesh is not too bad. the stuff they teach include design patterns, microsvcs vs monoliths, msg queues, and architecture styles\n\nassignment:\nthis is an otot assignment separated into 5 main parts (not linked) and a few misc parts. its given at the start of the sem and due at the end so PACE yourself properly and start early. the total marks for all 5 parts go beyond the required 35 marks so as long as u hit 35 youre good to go. the assignment imo cannot b rushed in a week so at the end of the sem there were a few ppl who didnt submit anything simply bcuz the mod is just that heavy and they didn't have time to start/ finish it while juggling the proj + other mods.\n\nproj:\narchitecture, tech stack and everything is up to ur team of 4. do note that there is a compulsory report + presentation so that adds to the workload. there's a clear set of mvps to hit, but ur workload also depends on how much ur team wants to push for the proj. (i.e do u want to have more features/ do u want it to look nicer)\n\nfinals:\ncs2103 style but open ended","datetime":"2023/08/28 12:33:15","difficulty":3,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":5,"workload":4,"rating":4,"__v":0},{"_id":"6388878fb2b7b7bea13b74e1","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CS3230 Design and Analysis of Algorithms","code":"CS3230","review":"Taken in AY22/23 Sem 1\nGrading: Weekly Assignments (20%, 3 of which are graded for correctness), Midterms (40%), Finals (40%), Bonus (8% for 2 optional assignments, 4% for canvas discussion part).\n\nI think they adjusted the bonus % due to some students being unhappy about it, since tagging a % to bonus is basically saying you should do it to save your grades. (adjusted to 4 + 2 according to the other comment) The cap is still 100%, the bonus only kicks in if you have not hit 100% yet.\n\nContent Difficulty: 8/10\nAs expected of an algorithm mod, it is not going to be easy to understand and implement. However, the lectures are well done and made easy to grasp with a lot of examples. The TAs are very knowledgeable as well! Half of this module is manageable since it carries over from CS2040S. The other half... hard but very useful for your leetcode adventures :)\n\nWorkload: 7/10\nAssignments are not the most difficult, since you don't even have to get it correct (except those 3). They mark based on your effort. I even spent a long time on a single question, gave up and wrote \"I'm not sure how to do this, but here is what I got...\" and gave a wrong answer, and still get the marks for it. Also, never submit your assignment late. I was late by 1 minute once and my marks are cut by half.\nOther than that, the workload just comes from being able to catch up with the weekly lectures, which are honestly not an issue. I find the lectures to be concise in teaching you the fundamentals, then the assignments and tutorials are enough to further your understanding. With these, the exams should be manageable.\n\nExperience: 9/10\nThe TAs heading this module are really knowledgeable. Every part of this module is also very smooth sailing. The only controversy is probably the one regarding the bonus marks. Honestly, I don't really care about it so it doesn't affect me much, even though I am only getting 4/10 for the bonus.\n\nReally this is about the mindset you went in with, I took this module to learn and decided to forgo the priority of my grades for a better learning experience. Hence, these bonus marks are just incentives to me, and I believe those who actually done it truly deserves it, for helping others in the discussions or attempting the assignments (which are not easy at all).","datetime":"2022/11/11 2:04:03","rating":3,"__v":0,"difficulty":2,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":3,"workload":2},{"_id":"63b41929ca4068c2f00403a7","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CS3233 Competitive Programming","code":"CS3233","review":"Taken in AY20/21\nLecturer: Steven Halim\n\nLet me try to provide more (neutral) insight about this module, since the other reviews look a bit extreme (LL is different league, and someone (the other reviewer) seems like either exaggerating/underprepared or the module format became different). And just as a heads-up this is COVID sem, so the class size is small (16 people remaining in the end). I won't really be mentioning about the scores in the remaining of the review (if you're really curious can refer to the website)\n\nLecture: For every week, the lecture which starts with a 75-minute mini contest, which consists of 3 problems: 1 easy/trivial, 1 medium (at least half of class should be able to do), 1 hard (meant for CS3233R people/tiebreaker). The mini contests are based on/related to last week's lecture, so you can prepare in advance for each topic. After the contest the TA will present the solutions. After that the prof will go through the lecture like normal. The topic will be about a section in CP4 let known beforehand, so you can prepare by going through the reading list. Participation marks can be earned by answering questions during lecture. Most of them are actually related to the topic. Throughout the semester, only a handful of the questions are off-topic (and some of the off-topic ones are well-known). Not to mention they take up a relatively small portion of the grade, so I would say it is really not a big deal.\n\nHomework: Submit one report every week, detailing your learning/any CP-related topic that you want to talk about (this is most likely the place you can earn the Surprise Us achievement). You can (should?) also give your thoughts on the part of the CP4 in the reading list (about next week's topic), and might have to answer some exercise listed as well (the exercise shouldn't take much time if you did the reading). There will also be a Kattis set each week for you to do. Each Kattis set consists of 9 problems (also surrounding the topic of the following week), but you only need to do any 3 problems of your choice for it to be counted (if you want to save time just do the 3 easiest).\n\nExams: The exams are done in the form of two team contests, which are the midterm team contest and the final team contest. The contests are done in ICPC style, so you get to have a taste of what it is like to do an ICPC team contest. The team allocation IN OUR YEAR is decided by having the leader in the leaderboard choose their teammates, then followed by the next top scorer (that has not yet be chosen as a teammate) choose their teammates and so on. Not sure how the team selection is done in the other years as I am not sure if this is feasible for larger class size. I think most teams will have around the same score (do the easier few problems), except the very top few teams will be able to score more.\n\nCompetitive Programming (CP) is a vast topic, and not all can be fit into the books, but if you really want to know more there is a wealth of online resources (also listed in the book) for you to do extra reading. Not to mention CP is a very hands-on activity. It is not sufficient (in some cases, necessary) to just know why the algorithm/solution works, you also need to be able to implement the solutions in functioning code (and quickly and cleanly too). The book we are using is CP4 (not CP3), and I have found it to be pretty sufficient (with plenty of explanations, diagrams and sample codes provided)\n\nIf you are solely interested in knowing why certain XYZ algorithm works, then you may be better off taking some other modules like CS3230 which is a lot more theoretical and proof-oriented. But if you are interested in becoming a stronger problem-solver/coder (with the benefit of getting better at algorithm tests/interviews), learn more harder algorithms along with how to implement them efficiently, then can consider taking this module. And don't be too stressed out about the grade, as from my experience as long as you put in reasonable amount of effort/preparation.","datetime":"2023/01/03 20:01:44","rating":3.5,"__v":0,"difficulty":2,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":3,"workload":2},{"_id":"65e27cb3bc6e01dbcff50f8c","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CS3241 Computer Graphics","code":"CS3241","review":"CS3241 Computer Graphics\nAY 2023/2024 Sem 1\n\nProfs - Dr. Low Kok Lim\n\nWeekly Classes\n- 1 x 2h recorded lecture\n- 1 x 2h tutorial\n\nGrading Scheme\n- 40% - Final\n- 25% - Midterms\n- 30% - 4 Labs\n- 5% - Tut Attendance\n\nEstimated Time Spent (Tracked throughout the sem)\nTotal ~ 77.5h\n- Lectures ~ 16h (watched recordings)\n- Tutorials ~ 12.5h\n- Revision ~ 18h\n- Lab 1 ~ 4h\n- Lab 2 ~ 4h\n- Lab 3 ~ 8.5h\n- Lab 4 ~ 11h\n- Midterm - 1.5h\n- Final - 2h\n\nTopics\n- Introduction to Computer Graphics\n- Elementary OpenGL Programming\n- Input & Interaction\n- Geometric Objects & Transformations\n- Camera & Viewing\n- Clipping, Rasterization & Hidden-Surface Removal\n- Illumination & Shading\n- Texture Mapping\n- Basic Ray Tracing\n- Curves and Surfaces\n- Misc. Topics & Wrapping Up\n\nReview\nThis module mostly covers about the old OpenGL rendering pipeline, from setting up the primitives all the way to putting the pixels on your screen. Lectures were recorded, and Prof Kok Lim seems to be generally interested in teaching, but the pace of the lectures was too slow for me, so I decided to watch recordings at x1.5 speed instead most of the time. Aside from being a bit slow, lectures were conducted quite well imo. If Prof can't finish the lecture, then the remainder gets covered in the tutorial by the TA. Tutorials are officially 2 hours long, but they usually finish in just slightly over an hour since the tutorial sheets aren't long. The 2nd hour is just to let you ask the TA any questions about the lectures or the labs.\n\nThe 4 labs essentially have you implement some parts of a recent topic from the lectures. For lab 1, we had to set up a wheel primitive consisting of a triangle fan that loops to form a circle, make them move around the screen and bounce off the walls like a DVD logo, and add some interaction such as clicking to generate a new random wheel. Lab 2 involved setting up a car primitive, positioning it accurately in the world space so that it would drive around a great circle of a sphere centered at the origin, and allowing camera movement around the sphere. Lab 3 was setting up a reflective surface by using an imaginary viewpoint and texture mapping the result and manually adding any texture mapped object of our choice into the scene. Lab 4 was about ray tracing where you'd implement sphere hit detection, recursive ray tracing for reflections, and create any new scene you want. They all had a lot of template code where you'd have to fill in some parts or functions. OpenGL's style of first setting up the state then doing things can seem a bit confusing, but you'll get used to it. C++ is used for all the labs, so it'd be helpful to learn basic C++ syntax beforehand.\n\nBoth midterms and finals were all MCQ items of varying weightage. The midterm was held during lecture time. Both had unlimited printed notes and were both very generous with time, so you could do a manual ctrl+F on entire lectures multiple times and not run out of time. I distinctly remember some seeing some people around me leave the finals venue already about an hour in. A lot of the question types are also recycled from pyps, so if you do and learn the pyps, you should be set for a decent grade. The curve might be slightly steep tho due to the tests being easy, so careless mistakes here can ruin your grade.\n\nOverall, I generally enjoyed this module. It is on the lighter side of CS mods, and it was really cool being able to see your output get rendered in the labs. I would recommend taking this if you have even a small interest in graphics or games. I believe that CS4247 is the sequel to this module and covers more modern topics such as shaders.","datetime":"2024/03/02 09:11:14","difficulty":2,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":4,"workload":3,"rating":4,"__v":0},{"_id":"63d2bf127756e0b3b7554b0f","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CS4211 Formal Methods for Software Engineering","code":"CS4211","review":"I took the module in AY22/23 Sem1 under Prof. Dong Jin Song.\n\nGrading scheme:\n- 50% project: 1 to 5 people, can choose own teammate\n- 50% finals (online for my sem)\n\nTook this module to clear my breadth as I don't have many other choices.\nI would say that the Prof is very kind and helpful, but the way he delivered the content can be improved. I find the lecture to be inefficient as he tried to engage with the students like a tutorial session, and spent too much time waiting for students' answers.\n\nYou will learn mathematical / formal notation and code in PAT which is a system the prof's team built themselves on top of C#. Unfortunately I cannot appreciate everything I learnt in this module and how they will be useful to me. You will also feel lost when revising the module for finals as the prof does not give emphasis on what will be tested in exams. Sometimes important things tested in exams can be breezed through and instead lots of time are spent on topics irrelevant to exams.\n\nIf you have no intention to go into the formal swe in the future, the only benefits you can get from this mod is probably the workload which I would say is pretty low compared to other CS mods. The module content itself is not difficult, but you might still find it difficult as you can't learn the resources online yourself (since PAT is developed by the teaching team).","datetime":"2023/01/27 01:57:38","difficulty":4,"enjoyability":3,"practicality":3,"workload":4,"rating":3.5,"__v":0},{"_id":"63c20a98d108cbebb5bd3bbe","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CS4218 Software Testing","code":"CS4218","review":"AY21/22 Sem 2 taken under Prof Cristina Carbunaru\n\nI took this module as part of my software engineering focus area requirement to round it off. It's a module that introduces to you concepts and ideas that are familiar and you've learnt previously, but takes a bigger dive into how to design test cases and using different methods (e.g. mutation testing) for creating a test suite in order to better test software.\n\nI found the content interesting: the mesh of concepts I knew before with newer, unfamiliar topics helped to keep me interested in the module.\n\nThe workload of the module was mainly the project, which took up a large portion of my time spent on the mod. The project involved designing test cases for a simple CLI with commands involved (e.g ls, wc, mv). The skeleton is given and you're tasked to fix bugs, add features and create tests for this CLI. I won't lie, this part was really tiring and frustrating because of a lot of random small errors that popped up throughout, and also test writing was tedious.\n\nProf Carbunaru was an excellent professor who tried to keep the students engaged in her lectures and made sure she explained things clearly before moving on. She was also very helpful in replying queries regarding the project, as well as questions related to content in lectures.\n\nOverall, this mod was very tiring and the project portion killed the vibe quite a bit due to its tedium and scale. Otherwise, the content and how it was taught was great, and I did learn a lot from it about testing my software better.","datetime":"2023/01/14 09:51:20","rating":3.25,"__v":0,"difficulty":2,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":3,"workload":2},{"_id":"638edebe36f31fff89b1723e","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CS4221 Database Applications Design and Tuning","code":"CS4221","review":"Taken\nAY2021/2022 Semester 2\n\nBrief Overview\nAn overall fun module which teaches about the ways to slow your SQL queries and engage in SQL tuning via query optimization on the database level. Also, goes into detail about technologies, which are the grandfather for more NoSQL technologies.\n\nProfessor Stephane Bressan is an engaging lecturer and I strongly recommend to attend the lectures face-to-face.\n\nWorkload\n5.5/10\n\nNot too much, except for the research project, 2 assignments and 2 quizzes involved. Do take this module with a couple of friends though\n\nDifficulty\n6/10\n\nIt recaps on CS2102 Database Systems and CS3223 Database Systems Implementations concepts! But there will be a short refresher on SQL queries.\n\nIt was not too overwhelming as long as you revise your stuff a few days before the quizzes and you'll get a decent grade at this.\n\n","datetime":"2022/12/06 14:18:38","rating":4,"__v":0,"difficulty":2,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":3,"workload":2},{"_id":"644c773cf8750bfb0d24767a","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CS4222 Wireless Networking","code":"CS4222","review":"I took this in AY22/23 Semester 2. The lecturer was Prof Ambuj Varshney.\n\nAssessment:\nCA: 70%\nFinal Exam: 30%\n\nTo be honest, it didn't seem like I learned too much about Wireless Networking. Sure, it covered some wireless networking technologies (as in the course description), but I learned more EE-related Physics stuff than about said technologies.\n\nAlthough the assignments weren't spaced out very well (possibly due to porting issues from Contiki to Contiki-NG), the assignments were fun and interesting to do. It took a lot of time, and you would need to do some research and understand the documentation properly but it was worth the effort.\n\nBecause there are group projects involved, make sure to take it with someone you know, and preferably if they are interested in IoT. This makes the assignment more bearable.\n\nTo give credit where its due, although Prof Ambuj spoke really fast during lectures, the re-recorded lectures (in the form of YouTube videos) were really good and condenses the lecture information really well -- although it does not cover everything in the lecture notes.\n\nTake this course if you want to do IoT stuff. Don't take it if you're expecting to learn more about Wireless Networking technologies, because this did not seem to be the main focus of the course.","datetime":"2023/04/29 09:47:40","difficulty":3,"enjoyability":3,"practicality":3,"workload":3,"rating":3.5,"__v":0},{"_id":"65b4d39eb35bb404a415324f","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CS4225 Big Data Systems for Data Science","code":"CS4225","review":"Taken in AY23/24 Sem 1 under Asst. Prof. Bryan Hooi and Dr. Ai Xin\n\nTopics are the same as both of the AY22/23 reviews below.\nAssessment:\n- 25% Assignment 1 (write a basic MapReduce program on Colab, and suggest some optimisations)\n- 25% Assignment 2 (Spark ML pipeline on Databricks, need to hit a certain Mean Absolute Error for full credit)\n- 50% Finals\n\nI liked the course in general. The course essentially goes through the different ways data is:\n\n1. Processed -- MapReduce, Spark, Stream Processing (Spark Streaming and Flink), Graph Processing\n2. Stored -- NoSQL Data Models, Distributed Database, Delta Lake\n\nI think it gives a good overview of these techniques and acts as a good primer for further learning. I like that the course is fairly unopinionated and presents the pros and cons of each technique for different contexts.\n\nI also think the course is especially useful for system design interviews one may encounter when applying for software engineering jobs.\n\nThe course is pretty self-contained, and IMO you don't really need CS2102 knowledge for it as long as you are familiar with what a relational database is. There was a very brief mention of how relational algebra operators (selection, projections etc) map to MapReduce steps, but it was never assessed.\n\nI did not attend live lectures, but they were recorded and I watched most recordings. Lectures by both lecturers are excellent, and both lecturers are responsive in Canvas Discussions. Tutorial worksheets are useful and slide decks with answers are prepared and uploaded by TAs.\n\nIt's definitely more chill than other CS mods -- up until finals, you can technically AFK from the whole course except for the 2 Assignments, which most people score full marks for. This means that the finals are effectively 100% of the weightage of the mod, and with the finals themselves not being very difficult, the bell curve is probably going to be very steep.\n\nI think the assignments could've afforded to be harder and require greater application of the lecture concepts (for both assignments, the assignment briefs themselves were enough to get full marks for the assignments, even if you never watched or read a single lecture). I also think assignments on other concepts like Stream Processing would have been cool. I'm not really sure how grading can scale for this course though -- grading ~300 Colab / Databricks Notebooks manually must be hell.\n\nOverall, it's a chill but useful course that I would recommend. While it's a DB Focus Area Primary I think it's pretty decoupled from other DB mods -- and IMO it's useful to take even if you don't plan to specialize in DB.","datetime":"2024/01/27 17:57:50","difficulty":2,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":3,"workload":2,"rating":3.5,"__v":0},{"_id":"6388879eb2b7b7bea13b74e5","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CS4225 Big Data Systems for Data Science","code":"CS4225","review":"Taken in Sem 1 AY20/21 under Prof. He Bingsheng. Breadth-focused mod. You will learn: Map Reduce, Hadoop, Spark, Scala, etc. Fun mod, very chill. Prof alone makes it worth it. Seriously, Prof. He is my hero. He answers questions very promptly and thoroughly. If somebody doesn't mute themselves on Zoom he will pause and call them out. Someone said their recording for final was 160GB, Well, you will need to store it for at least 3 weeks. Way too dank. Just make sure you take it with at least one friend and don't run down the project.","datetime":"2022/09/15 7:33:05","rating":4.5,"__v":0,"difficulty":2,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":3,"workload":2},{"_id":"638887a5b2b7b7bea13b74e7","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CS4225 Big Data Systems for Data Science","code":"CS4225","review":"Taken in Sem 1 AY21/22 under Prof. Bryan Hooi. Breadth-focused module. Topics: Data center schematics, Map Reduce, Hadoop, NoSQL, Spark and a bit about Streaming using Storm. The focus is more on understanding the concepts such as Map Reduce, when to use different schemas like NoSQL vs SQL vs streaming etc. No math, minimal calculations. Very chill CS module, take it if you want to balance with harder modules but just be prepared to not learn much. Weightages: - Assignment 1: Map Reduce & Hadoop in Java - [ (25%) - Assignment 2: Spark (25%) - Finals: 50%. Both assignments were quite trivial, with the first one requiring some thinking. Finals average difficulty some tricky questions but manageable. Prof. Bryan is a great lecturer, very friendly and accomodating to extending deadlines if required (but trust me, you won't need to).","datetime":"2022/03/12 16:53:08","rating":4.5,"__v":0,"difficulty":2,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":4,"workload":2},{"_id":"63981dbcae335cefed5cea02","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CS4225 Big Data Systems for Data Science","code":"CS4225","review":"AY 22/23 Sem 1 with Prof Bryan Hooi.\n\nCovers a lot of topics without diving deep into any of them. Essentially all you need to do is to follow the lecture slides (and it's not hard to follow).\n\nAssignment 1 (25%). Hadoop MapReduce, should be easy if you follow the lecture. Grading is not based on speed or anything, you can just do a trivial MapReduce that runs really slow and still get full marks. Note that lectures/tutorials do not actually teach you coding, but only general ideas of MapReduce, so you need to learn the framework syntax on your own.\n\nMidterm (20%) in week 7, in-person open book test with a few yes/no questions and a few essay questions. It is not hard and mostly testing your understanding of the taught systems. I failed to print the slides and brought nothing to the exam but still score full marks.\n\nAssignment 2 (25%): some exploratory data processing using Spark, you are required to explore a log file using Spark to mine some information with given context. This one is more lightweight than assignment 1 with only a dozen of lines of code.\n\nFinal (30%): during last lecture in week 13. Similar style to midterm.\n\nOverall the module is not hard.","datetime":"2022/12/13 14:37:48","rating":4,"__v":0,"difficulty":2,"enjoyability":5,"practicality":4,"workload":2},{"_id":"64b3e176a0043fbac42e8f97","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CS4225 Big Data Systems for Data Science","code":"CS4225","review":"AY22/23 Sem 2\nLecturers: He Bingsheng and Ai Xin\n\nAssessment:\n25% Hadoop Assignment\n25% Spark Assignment\n25% Midterm Test\n25% Final Test\n\nCourse Difficulty\nThe course covers different concepts about big data systems and how can one manage such vast amount of data, going through the pros and cons of different data systems one by one. It started with the 4 V's of big data (velocity, veracity, volume, and variety), principles of big data management, MapReduce and Hadoop, how it relates to relational databases and data mining. On the second half of the semester, the course covers NoSQL and Spark, explaining how BASE is used instead of ACID, as well as Spark's use cases in relational databases, streaming, and machine learning, wrapped up with delta lake(house), PageRank and how graph algorithms play a role in this course.\n\nThe workload below is measured weekly.\nLectures - 2h+1h\nThe lectures are recorded so I only managed to come face-to-face to less than half of the lectures. I like the pace of Prof He's lectures and how he regularly checks on whether we can keep up with it or not. I had no regrets coming to the venue to listen to it directly although most of the time I had errands to which I couldn't come for it. Prof Ai Xin's lectures are rather slower but it's not that slow, so some people may be able to keep up better with this pace. Clarity-wise they both did fine, so I had no issues understanding what was going on.\n\nTutorials - 1h\nThis is a rather quick tutorial so there is not much to cover. I never came to the live session of this so usually I would just skim through the questions and the solutions. Take note that this is not weekly, on average this is rather fortnightly.\n\nAssignments\nThe first assignment is using Hadoop and MapReduce to implement something taught in the lectures. Code speed is not an issue in this assignment as long as you can produce the right answer. On top of this, you also have to submit a video explaining how your code works, so make sure you can manage your time to explain the possibly long code that you have.\n\nThe second assignment is using Spark to implement SQL-like queries and perform machine learning. This assignment is rather more straightforward than the previous one, but is given a reasonable time limit. Similar to the previous assignment, you also have to submit a video explaining how your code works.\n\nExams and Personal Opinion\nI have a strong feeling that both midterms and finals will be left-skewed, which kind of explains why this module has a steep bell curve. That being said, I enjoyed doing the assignments a lot.","datetime":"2023/07/16 20:24:19","difficulty":3,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":4,"workload":3,"rating":4,"__v":0},{"_id":"63888764b2b7b7bea13b74d5","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CS4226 Internet Architecture","code":"CS4226","review":"This is the lightest CS mod I have taken, and is very manageable, both content and workload wise. I took this module because I wanted to learn more about the internet, but we only got to the meat of that in the second half of the sem. The first half of the semester was on the theory of computer networks in general, where we learnt about models for Queueing, Little's Law, and Resource allocation in general. This is the hardest part of the module, but tbh it's just applying some techniques taught in the lecture that are pretty systematic and algorithmic for the most part (doesn't require coming up with creative solutions or anything), and is easier than most things I have done as a CS undergrad. The more interesting stuff was in the second half of the semester, where we learnt SDN, BGP, and P2P. I personally wish the rest of the module was on these kind of topics.","datetime":"2022/06/01 2:04:03","rating":2,"__v":0,"difficulty":2,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":3,"workload":2},{"_id":"63e89ab313a364735c6cf908","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CS4231 Parallel and Distributed Algorithms","code":"CS4231","review":"Taken in AY19/20 Sem 2\nLecturer: Prof Yu Haifeng\n\nAssessment: 40% Midterm, 60% Finals\n\nThe mod has zero programming, and is very \"mathematical\" in nature. \"Mathematical\" in the sense that it is rather proof-based and is taught like a typical mathematics module where one first define the objects in the playground, then use these first principles to proof certain lemmas before getting to the main theorems.\n\nProf Yu expects proofs to be rigorous, however, if you are generally exposed to modules in mathematics that requires proving you will do fine, and in fact you will realise is rather manageable. The concepts are more or less intuitive, just stated in a very formal manner. Some of the proofs in the module can get very long and convoluted. Be reminded that memorising proofs is not the point of module but rather, understanding a certain principle and applying it will help anybody taking the module in the long run.\n\nThe workload is generally light because there are no assignments, just some questions set by Prof himself or from the textbook that he goes through every week. The assessment is generally not too difficult if you master the concepts and know the basic definitions. The last question of the paper is usually the most difficult question that has a lower weightage, and requires some out of the box thinking.\n\nFinally, I like to add say that I enjoyed this module thoroughly because it exposed me to some new Computer Science, and I would think that if you are very used to the style of mathematics modules, this could be a suitable module for you to take.","datetime":"2023/02/12 15:52:18","difficulty":3,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":3,"workload":2,"rating":4,"__v":0},{"_id":"63b7d6ac8caf69f0a02760bd","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"CS5250 Advanced Operating Systems","code":"CS5250","review":"Taken in AY20/21 Sem 2 under Prof Wong Weng Fai.\n\nThis module acts as a deep dive into the Intel x86 build of the Ubuntu Operating System. This can be seen as a deeper version of CS2106. You will explore the x86 Ubuntu, learning more about stuff like the intel x86 instruction set (no need to memorise), linux scheduler (how it evolved from O(n) to O(1) to CFS and BFS), linux memory management, filesystems (briefly about ext2, 3, 4, and btrfs).\n\nDuring my semester, there were 4 assignments, 9 pop quizzes (during lectures), and final exam.\n\nThe 4 assignments were all done via VirtualBox. It is advisable that you use VirtualBox to run the Ubuntu version specified so that whatever you did is replicable by Prof Wong.\n- Assignment 1: Explore configuring Ubuntu kernel options. This assignment requires you to complete a set of tasks related to configuring the Ubuntu kernel. The assignment is relatively straightforward except for the part where you need to try and compile a smaller (or the smallest if you want) kernel. The speed of this assignment is dependent on how many cores your computer has as compiling a default configuration kernel on a duo core computer took me 2+ hours. I was able to procure a virtual machine with 16 cores to speed up to around 10~mins. Of course if you knew exactly which configuration were not needed, your builds would also be faster since there is less to compile. However, if you do not know then you would end up trial and error, slowly building and testing the kernel you built. I probably built around 40 kernels before giving up and settling with a kernel build that was only slightly smaller than the default 1. The 2nd part of the assignment is answering some questions regarding the Intel x86 instruction set. The approach for this part is to download the volume (I think volume 2) of the x86 instruction set and find the instruction of interest and try and understand how each segment of the instruction works. It takes awhile to understand this so do not start last minute.\n- Assignment 2: Tracing the kernel. The first part is learning how to print kernel messages then using ftrace to trace the call stack of kernel functions. The assignment requires does not teach you everything so you need to find a guide that shows you how to do the tracing. It is not difficult but you need some time to understand how to use ftrace. Part 2 is about the GOT and PLT. The lectures don't cover in detail how it works. Prof Weng does attempt to show it live for a simple program but it is not enough to answer this part. I found a youtube video that explained in a little more detail which helped.\n- Assignment 3: Build a device driver. The assignment provides a template for which you need to complete it to create a device driver that functions as per the small test case provided. This is not too difficult although it was somewhat ambiguous due to how simple the test case was. Part 2 is CS2106 scheduling questions and 'Draw the red black tree'. If the lecture's explanation of insertion into red black tree is ambiguous, google the insertion algorithm (note that there seems to be 4/5 insertion cases depending on who you ask).\n- Assignment 4: Build a buddy allocator, paging system, and LRU cache. This is probably the hardest assignment as it required significantly more programming than the other 3 assignments. This assignment, as usual, is ambiguous as you can't really tell if the output is correct or wrong. If your program handled input in a manner that seems reasonable to Prof Wong, which he doesn't really say what is reasonable, then you will get your marks. Otherwise, you will be deducted marks if your output 'seems unlikely' with no further justification from Prof Wong. We were supposed to use C but we were also allowed to use C++ after requesting. C++ helped as I did not want to create the common data structures needed (e.g. list, map).\n\nThe pop quizzes are essentially small tasks released during the lectures and normally to be done before the end of the day unless the task is big (e.g. trace the linux scheduler). The pop quizz","datetime":"2023/01/06 16:07:08","rating":3.75,"__v":0,"difficulty":5,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":3,"workload":3},{"_id":"63c406e9c55df90dde416c53","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"DSA3101 Data Science in Practice","code":"DSA3101","review":"AY22/23 Sem 1\nLecturers: Vik Gopal and Zhao Jingyuan\n\nAssessment:\n5% Git Assignment\n5% Docker Assignment\n10% Dash/Shiny/API Assignment\n5% Datacamp\n30% Group project success\n15% Individual project technical report\n15% Individual project journal\n5% Project peer review\n\nModule Difficulty\nThis module serves as an example of how one does a data science project as a team. The team consists of the frontend and the modelling or the backend team.\n\nFirst six weeks, we learnt essential things like how one uses Git and Docker, then using API ft. Flask, then Shiny and Dash on R and Python respectively. Then we spent the second half of the semester working on the group project while guest lecturers take over and share their experiences in the professional world's data science lifecycle.\n\nThe workload below is measured weekly.\nLectures - 4h\nFour hours and you end late at night. Attendance is not compulsory though but I found Vik's lecture nice to attend live as he's approachable as well for direct help!\n\nHowever, once the group project starts, I found doing the project DURING the lecture slot to be more effective as that's the best time when the teammates can meet, and watch the guest lecturers' recording instead.\n\nGroup Project\nThe project starts with the group selecting their preference from some set of provided topics along with the role preference (backend/modelling, frontend, or neither). Next, the modelling team and the frontend team of the same topic preference are grouped together, forming a bigger team.\n\nEach project topic has a problem statement, persona, data description, and what to present at the final presentation video. Each subgroup of the team are to abide the requirements stated.\n\nAfter some weeks working on the project, there was an interim discussion with Vik to update on the progress from each subgroup of the team and some possible improvements on the status quo of the project.\n\nIn the end, a final presentation video explaining what the team has been working on to solve the problem statement is submitted along with the technical report and the project journal from every single member of the team. Peer reviewing other team also comes along.","datetime":"2023/01/15 22:00:08","rating":3.75,"__v":0,"difficulty":2,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":3,"workload":2},{"_id":"647007c459ac85e6ae97941d","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"EC3361 Labour Economics I","code":"EC3361","review":"Semester Taken – 2021/22, Semester 2\n\nInstructor and TA – Ong Eecheng\n\nAssessment (I can’t remember the breakdown as it was a class that I took some time ago) –\nClass participation (pre-lecture quiz, attendance);\nMid-term exam;\nGroup project;\nFinal exam\n\nClass content –\nI found the material to be interesting and manageable. The first half of the class dealt with constrained optimisation applied to the context of labor economics (labor-leisure trade-offs; reservation wage, etc.). The content from the first half builds on the material that was taught in EC2101, EC2102 and EC3101. The second half of the class introduced new models and tools for analysing different types of labor market phenomena (e.g., compensating wage differentials and why workers choose to work in risky jobs; the Roy model and immigration).\n\nThroughout the class, Dr Ong incorporates various landmark papers in the slides and explains the econometrics behind the paper (e.g., Card & Kruger and their minimum wage paper; Borjas’ research on the Mariel boatlift). I found the part where she explained the research papers the most interesting in the lectures as it enabled me to see how the models taught were held up in reality.\n\nDr Ong also incorporated various readings into the course. They were mainly just book chapters from various books, and news clippings from The Economist, NYT, etc. They were interesting and would be tested in the exams. The readings were also very interesting to me as it went through topics like automation (which is very relevant today with the advent of ChatGPT and AI). However, I vaguely remember her saying that the readings are optional if you don’t really care about your grades.\n\nAssessment –\nFrom my memory, the mid-term exam was mainly just analytical (math) questions. Nothing too difficult. She also tested some questions from the readings and asked stuff like the implications of this news article and things like that.\n\nI recalled the final exam to be more challenging, but it was largely still doable. There was this question where she asked about the Roy's model which I felt was quite challenging. I think Dr Ong tried to adapt the Roy's Model to the Singapore context, so there were three types of labor - (1) high-skilled; (2) low-skilled and (3) middle-skilled (in contrast to just high and low skilled in the traditional Roy model). So make sure you understand the models well if you want to do decently for the class.\n\nThere was also a group project where you had to use labor demand and supply to explain why a particular line of work was vanishing (i.e., investigate why a trade is vanishing using labor demand and supply). We had to go out to the field to interview people practicing the trade, and take notes from these interviews (interviewees were self-sourced, go find the people yourself). The project culminated in a 15 minute (I think) presentation in tutorial. Don't use a script and present naturally if you want to score well. Dr Ong was vey nice and helpful if you faced roadblocks along the way for this.","datetime":"2023/05/26 09:13:40","difficulty":4,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":4,"workload":4,"rating":4,"__v":0},{"_id":"66e6a1a8b166d380c105b554","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"EE2023 Signals and Systems","code":"EE2023","review":"Taken in AY2023/24 Sem 1:\nLecturers: A/P Loh Ai Poh/ A/P Ng Chun Sum\nTutor: A/P Loh Ai Poh\n\nGrade distribution:\n10% Mathematics Assignment\n25% Midterm Quiz\n15% Assignment 2\n50% Final Examination\n\nTeaching Staff\nLecturer and Tutor: There were 2 different classes and I was in A/P Loh's class. Overall, A/P Loh is an excellent lecturer/ tutor — having experienced one of the worst lecturers ever in EPP1/2, I was very pleasantly surprised. A/P Loh is competent and clear in her explanations of concepts. In addition, should you require any consultations she is very receptive. Overall, she is very committed to ensuring that students do well and understand the concepts clearly. In addition, she will compile a databank of topical questions for both signals and systems from PYPs. She takes the time to mark your work. I would suggest picking her over the A/P Ng — albeit personal biases.\n\nContent\nTopic for discussion:\n\nSignals:\n1. Signals Classification and Basic Signals\n2. Time-domain Operations & the Dirac Impulse\n3. Discrete-Frequency Spectrum (Fourier Series)\n4. Continuous-Frequency Spectrum (Fourier Transform)\n5. Spectral Density and Bandwidth\n6. Sampling & Reconstruction of Signals\n\nSystems:\n1. Systems Classification & Analysis\n2. Linear Time-Invariant (LTI) Systems\n3. Bode Diagrams\n\nFor the first part of the semester you will be learning the first 5 topics in signals. After the midterms, you will start on systems and sampling. Personally feel that the systems part of the module was easier than the signals.\n\nRecommended textbook: Schaum’s Outline of Signals and Systems 3ed.\n\nIn my opinion, the recommended textbooks are not necessary at all. However, if you want extra practice questions, this is probably the best out of the 3-4 books that the professors recommend. Personally, I had a pdf copy for light reference only. The questions were mostly focused on mathematical proof rather than any use of the theorems(especially for the signal part). Overall, the PYPs and tutorials should more than suffice.\n\nFinal thoughts\n\nEnjoyability: 8/10\nOverall this module is very mathematically rigorous. You will need prior knowledge of Laplace transform from MA1512. That being said, the Laplace and Fourier transforms used in this module are not very challenging at all. They are not the type that you see in MA1512 PYPs. The motivation for this is to apply the concept of Laplace/Fourier transform to solve system/signal questions rather than testing the student's sheer mathematics skills.\n\nUsefulness: 10/10\nPersonally, if you are looking to specialize in Industry 4.0/Robotics this module will be a foundation for higher level modules such as EE3131C, EE3331C, EE37131C, EE4302/3.\n\nDifficulty: 7.5/10\nThe difficulty of this module lie with not the concepts but rather their application. I would advise all students taking this module to redo the tutorials and pyps and you should do relatively well. Compared to other 2k EE mods like PC2020, EE2027 and EE2026/8 this module should be slightly easier.","datetime":"2024/09/15 16:58:16","difficulty":4,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":5,"workload":4,"rating":4,"__v":0},{"_id":"657e2bd70d2db21997081e15","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"FSC2101 Forensic Science","code":"FSC2101","review":"Super fun module, especially if you are interested in forensics! The 3 hours lecture did not felt like 3 hours with the good pacing and extremely engaging lecturers and content. Workload is very managable with just in-lecture quizzes and class participation via canvas forums. It is also very beginner-friendly. Highly recommended!","datetime":"2023/12/17 06:59:35","difficulty":2,"enjoyability":5,"practicality":3,"workload":2,"rating":3.5,"__v":0},{"_id":"68006bbdc51467a4a160ba0e","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"GEA1000 Quantitative Reasoning with Data","code":"GEA1000","review":"workload isn't too heavy and content is still manageable. heaviest thing would be the presentation but can be tackled if the members split part A and B","datetime":"2025/04/17 10:47:22","difficulty":3,"enjoyability":3,"practicality":4,"workload":3,"rating":5,"__v":0},{"_id":"649fec47e283b951a89aeff9","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"GEA1000 Quantitative Reasoning with Data","code":"GEA1000","review":"Taken in AY2022/23 Sem 2:\nLecturer: Ma Siu Loon, David Chew\nTutor: Timothy Lim\n\nAssessments:\n11% 6 Quizzes (6 quizzes with the first being purely on the chapters 1,2,3 and 4 respectively. The remaining 2 quizzes are from an assortment of questions from all 4 chapters.)\n4% Pre + Post course exercises\n15% Tutorial participation, in-class quizzes\n30% Group project\n40% Finals\n\nTeaching Staff:\nLecturer: Negligible. They mostly acted as module coordinators and left the lecturing to the tutors and other staff.\n\nTutor: Timothy is a good tutor and explains concepts adequately. I particularly like his style of showing us both the excel and r-studio methods. I personally use excel to sieve data first(removing outliers, anomalous data, etc.) before using r-studio to interpret the cleaned data. Thus, I really appreciated his style of not favouring r-studio over excel and vice versa.\n\nContent:\nTopics for discussion:\nchapter 1: Exploratory Data Analysis and Design of Experiments (Problem, Plan)\nIntroduces the various sampling methods, variables and summary statistics, experimental and observational studies, etc.\nchapter 2: Categorical Data Analysis (Data, Analysis)\nExplores concepts such as rates, association, rules on rates, Simpson's Paradox and Confounders.\nchapter 3: Dealing with Numerical Data( Data, Analysis)\nGoes through concepts such as Univariate EDA, Bivariate EDA, Correlation coefficient and Linear Regression.\nchapter 4: Statistical Inference(Analysis, Conclusion)\nFinally, we touched on probability, Conditional Probability and Independence, Random Variables, Confidence Intervals and Hypothesis Testing.\n\nIt is worthy to note that this module is not very computational and instead focuses more on data interpretation.\n\nAssessments:\nThe other parts of assessment have been discussed ad nauseum so I shall limit my review to the group project.\n\nMy team had the misfortune of having an absolute legend that MIAed almost all tutorials and all group meetings. Dude didn't even know there were tutorials until week 9?! That being said the other 3 members of my group — if you all are reading this review, you guys were awesome — were all very committed and competent. Honestly, the team project was relatively enjoyable; a rarity in group projects. This module is admittedly quite dry but please do not be selfish and MIA.\n\nAlso, in class quizzes will test you competence in Excel and r-studio so be sure to know your stuff before coming to tutorials. Overall, the ICQs are manageable if you have reviewed lecture videos.\n\nEnjoyability: 8/10\nUsefulness: 6/10\nDifficulty: 5/10 (As other reviews have hinted to, you can study a few days before finals and do relatively well)","datetime":"2023/07/01 17:05:11","difficulty":3,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":3,"workload":2,"rating":3.5,"__v":0},{"_id":"640f2425ca29ca54eb774a7c","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"GEH1022 Geopolitics:Geographies of War & Peace","code":"GEH1022","review":"AY2122 SEM 2 (fully zoom)\nLecturer: Carl-Grundy Warr, Simon\n\nContent:\nThe first few weeks is about basic geopolitical theory and terminology. Every week thereafter we cover a different case study in geopolitics, watching a lot of excerpts and videos. There are readings for each week, but they are not necessary unless you plan to write an essay for that week. Please attend lecture. It'll save your tutorial.\n\nTutorials:\nFirst session started with self-introduction (which took up half the class haha). Every session starts with a review of the past few lectures, then we are split into breakout rooms to discuss something. Afterwards one person from each group will present something. That's why I say the lectures are important for the tutorial. It's the shortest way to review the week's content. Just reading the lecture slides doesn't help much in my opinion. Zoom breakout sessions are awkward as usual.\n\nAssessment:\n- 2 essays, one for each half of the semester\n- 1 tutorial presentation (replaced by another essay)\n- 3 more essays (originally an exam but changed to take-home assignment)\nI haven't done this kind of analysis in a very long time, so it took me quite some time to write good essays (must read more readings and do ample online research). The essays which I churn out within a week really show themselves in the grade.\n\nThoughts:\nAs a STEM student who has long forgotten the trainings of humanities courses, the lecture format and the essay writing really took me some time to get adjusted to. The lectures feel like a long storytelling session, and sometimes I end class feeling like \"wait, what did I learn today?\" But that's fine since I remember some of the key concepts and the content is interesting, so that's good enough.","datetime":"2023/03/13 21:24:52","difficulty":3,"enjoyability":3,"practicality":2,"workload":3,"rating":3,"__v":0},{"_id":"679c6feb5648de6887ecf461","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"GEN2070X Community Link (ComLink) Befrienders","code":"GEN2070X","review":"It’s not a difficult course, but it’s made difficult due to the managing team (the sso supervisors) being extremely inefficient and having the habit to cancel on us last minute. For example we confirmed the volunteering session with them last week, but it was not until we were about to leave for the destination that they told us the families were not available. Overall very unenjoyable but you need to take one of these mods to pass. So kudos to you nus ","datetime":"2025/01/31 14:38:34","difficulty":5,"enjoyability":1,"practicality":1,"workload":3,"rating":1,"__v":0},{"_id":"638b18af5774e7267c22e61c","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"GEQ1000 Asking Questions","code":"GEQ1000","review":"Lecturer: A lot\nWorkload: Biweekly Lectures, 6x Quizzes, 1x Final Report (and draft), 6x Forum Posts\n\nBasically this mod is a requirment for graduation, and since it is on CS/CU basis, minimal effort was needed. The module revolves on how to ask good questions and why it is important. Lectures talk about the six topics (Philosophy, Physics, CT, Economics, Engineering and Design),Each lecture come with some activity to supplement, with some requiring preparatory work. Attendance is taken, so just come and if you are not feeling to take this mod seriously, just do other things in this class.\n\nThe quizzes are MCQs on LumiNUS concerning the material given. Just make sure to at least submit, I got less then 25% most of the time in these. The forum posts is about some discussion topics covered; just submit/paraphase some ideas related to post. For the final project, you need to write a reflection related to this mod. It is possible to use the forum post earlier with modifications. Do note that you (can) submit a draft for feedback beforehand.\n\nOverall pretty dry module, light workload tho. Do not put too much stress here.\n\n","datetime":"2022/12/03 17:36:46","rating":3.5,"__v":0,"difficulty":2,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":3,"workload":2},{"_id":"638b18dc5774e7267c22e620","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"GEQ1000 Asking Questions","code":"GEQ1000","review":"Taken in AY19/20 Sem 1\nTutor: Dr. Chan Kok Hoe\nGrading Scheme: 36% Tutorial Attendance/Participation, 14% Forum Participation, 36% 6 online quizzes (6% each), 14% Final Reflection Paper\n\nThis is a module that satisfies the requirement of General Education module under Asking Questions pillar. All NUS students, except RVRC and maybe other RCs students must take this module. This module is essentially an introductory module for almost all faculties in NUS. This module is CS/CU graded, so it makes this module more or less negligible.\n\nTutorials are absolutely boring, and I don't even know what I am doing during the tutorials. The tutorials are held fortnightly. I have no idea what's being discussed since I don't even read the lecture notes, which have numerous pages. You also need to submit an origami folding around the mid semester. And you also need to submit a wallet design at the end of the course.\n\nFor forum participation, you are expected to write 6 forum posts in total, 3 before recess week, and the other 3 after. Just throw any bs can count for some marks already.\n\nOnline quizzes are somewhat hard, but it does not really matter for me since it is a CS/CU module. Fun fact: I scored 25th percentile and below for ALL my quizzes :). Just CTRL+F the lecture notes for all questions, but it only applies for few questions. Still, it is sufficient to give you a pass.\n\nTbh, this is a module that is very hard to fail. If you fail this module, something is wrong with you dude.\n\n","datetime":"2022/12/03 17:37:31","rating":3.5,"__v":0,"difficulty":1,"enjoyability":3,"practicality":3,"workload":1},{"_id":"638b18f45774e7267c22e622","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"GEQ1000 Asking Questions","code":"GEQ1000","review":"Taken in AY20/21 Sem 1 under Dr. Anne Chong Suet Lin (tutor).\n\nThis module is a compulsory module for all NUS students, so there's no running away from it. That said, its a very chill module with negligible workload. Overall, I spent less time on it than a 1-MC module which I was taking this semester. Topics covered include philo, physics, computational thinking, engineering, econs, and design thinking.\n\nLectures were all pre-recorded, but i highly doubt that more than 10% of the cohort actually watched them. Tutorials were held once every fortnight over Zoom for this semester. There were biweekly quizzes which were not timed, and doing badly in them shouldn't cause you to fail the module (the only person whom I know got a CU for the module was somebody who skipped all the tutorials). On top of the quizzes and tutorial attendance, other graded components include forum posts and a final essay.","datetime":"2022/12/03 17:37:56","rating":4.2,"__v":0,"difficulty":1,"enjoyability":3,"practicality":2,"workload":1},{"_id":"64b493b4a7edd1ff89de3c38","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"GES1002 Global EC Dimensions of Singapore","code":"GES1002","review":"Taken in AY2022/23 Sem 1\nLecturer Chan Kok Hoe\n\nCame into this module with neutral expectations, and was pleasantly surprised.\nWould consider the best GE module I have taken out of all 5 GE modules.\n\nWorkload: 3/10 (Benchmark being 1 for GEQ1000, 3 for GER1000, 5 for PC1201/ACC1701/CM1102, 7 for CS1010x Modules, 8 for CS2040)\nDifficulty: 2/10 (Content heavy but tbh a lot of general knowledge and very useful)\n\nNot a fluff module, learn useful stuff like how singapore manages monetary policy, why SG govt engages in certain policies, how it balances risk with fintech growth, etc.\nTbh, covering a lot of the issues you see in the newspaper.\n\nTopics Covered\n\n1. Economic History (pre and post 1965)\n2. Trade and Foreign Investment\n3. Monetary Policy\n4. Financial Sector Development\n5. Govt Finance\n6. Inequality\n7. Migration\n8. Productivity and Innovation\n9. Energy and environment\n10. COVID-19\n\nGrading:\n20% - 2 Oral Presentations as a small teams (2-3 members), each weighting 10%\n10% - PollEV class participation (Free marks)\n10% - Tutorial Participation\n20% - Group Paper on one of the 2 topics you presented on\n40% - Finals\n\nFinals comprised 8 short essay questions across the different topics covered.\nOne example was \"To what extent has Singapore's development policies negatively affected its neighbours and infringed on global issues like income inequality.\"","datetime":"2023/07/17 09:04:49","difficulty":3,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":3,"workload":2,"rating":3.5,"__v":0},{"_id":"638b18765774e7267c22e618","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"GES1002 Global EC Dimensions of Singapore","code":"GES1002","review":"Took during 2020/2021 sem 1.\n\nThe mid-term was 25% which was MCQ and was pretty easy to score if you studied the content and made notes. The bellcurve was fairly steep though, I got 45/50 and it was 60+ percentile.\n\nThere was also a group assignment and presentation which was 15%. It didn't take up too much time for me as it was a 4 person group writing a 5k word essay. I also only prepared for the presentation 3 days before and it turned out alright.\n\nThe finals (40%) was an open book 2h test done on examplify with 10 short answer questions. imo most of the questions didn't require you to know the content and wanted you to give creative and 'out of the box'\nsuggestions for many aspects of Singapore.\n\nOverall I feel that the workload is minimal, I only spent around 3-4 hours per week on the tutorials, group project and watching the prerecorded lectures. Was one of the easier mods for me overall and Dr Connie is one of the nicest profs imo.","datetime":"2022/12/03 17:35:49","rating":3.2,"__v":0,"difficulty":2,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":3,"workload":2},{"_id":"63ad6cffebb8d2423fb69710","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"GES1035 Singapore: Imagining the Next 50 Years","code":"GES1035","review":"Taken in AY21/22 Sem 2.\n\nGrading Items:\n- Critical Reflections (20%)\n- Group Presentation (20%)\n- Tutorial Participation (15%)\n- Presentation Group Write-up (15%)\n- Open-Book Individual Quiz (30%)\n\nI took this module during a covid semester so the module was online. Yes this module is a CS/CU module but there is still a baseline to be maintained.\n\nLectures:\nLectures were pre-recorded and fully available from the start so you can watch it at your own pace. The content was created by SMU, NUS, UNISIM, NTU, SIT, SUTD. Content is somewhat interesting to me, your mileage may vary. Content is testable on the Quiz.\n\nReadings:\nThere are 2 readings for the 6 topics, 1 mandatory and 1 optional. 4 of the topics require a critical reflection on either the mandatory or optional. The reflection should be 100-200 words long.\n\nGroup Presentation and Tutorial Participation:\nTutorials are mainly for group presentations starting from the 2nd tutorial onwards (1st tutorial is admin, next 4 tutorials are group presentations). The group presentation is on the topic for the week and normally has 5-6 people in a group. The presentation should last no longer than 20 mins. My advice is to get the 1st or 2nd presentation slot so as to reduce the end of sem workload. Try to get the group to start early too so that the group would make a coherent presentation (I assume the random people you would be grouped with don’t care too much for the module itself).\nThe tutorial will start with the presentation from the group presenting that week, followed by a Q&A session where the other groups each ask at least 1 question. It then ends with the tutor sharing some relevant content.\nIn my opinion, the participation is probably graded based on if the tutor sees you asking questions and when you engage with the tutor when he asks the class a question. Decide for yourself how much participation you want to have.\n\nPresentation Group Write-up:\nThe Write-up is an academic writing on the group’s presentation. The write-up should include the presentation details and improvements based on the Q&A session. There are only 800-1000 words allowed so it might be difficult to reduce the presentation content to fit the word limit. Note that it is an academic writing so proper citation is expected.\nOpen-Book Individual Quiz:\nThe quiz has 6 short answer questions. All lectures and mandatory readings are testable. My advice is to at least skim through the readings once to get at least a vague idea of what is where and to also watch the lectures for the same reason. There is a lot that can be tested but the answers are really short. You might find it helpful to write notes if you wish to do well for the quiz.\n\nRecommendation:\nI would recommend this module if:\n- you want a CS/CU module\n- you need to clear a GES/GESS pillar\n- are interested in a low risk module on Singapore’s current circumstance\n\nExpected Grade: CS\nActual Grade: CS","datetime":"2022/12/29 18:33:34","rating":3.25,"__v":0,"difficulty":2,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":3,"workload":2},{"_id":"65630d94ea1a025b8835f19c","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"GESS1025 Singapore: Imagining the Next 50 Years","code":"GESS1025","review":"Highly recommend this module","datetime":"2023/11/26 17:19:16","difficulty":1,"enjoyability":5,"practicality":5,"workload":2,"rating":5,"__v":0},{"_id":"638b1b0c5774e7267c22e640","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"GET1020 Darwin and Evolution","code":"GET1020","review":"Taken AY19/20 Sem 2\nLecturer: Dr John van Wyhe\nGrade: B+\n\nReview:\nI took this module after hearing good things about it from my peers and seniors. The content was really interesting and I strongly recommend everyone to take it if they’re interested in learning about what evolution is, and how this guy Darwin became so popular/well known.\n\nBesides 2 lectures a week, there are also readings which content will be tested on. There’s a lot to read, and it can be quite daunting, but it’s still manageable. The lectures were not intended to be webcasted, and you’re expected to attend every live lecture, but things changed after COVID for this semester. Only lecture slides are provided, but the slides consist mainly of pictures and names of people/places/things, so you are expected to write your own notes (or get some reference from a friend).\n\nThe kind of questions asked in the exams were mostly factual, so if you were paying attention in class, you should be able to answer most of them without much issue. Then a small portion is on the readings. There are a lot of names, places, and discoveries, so when you revise you do have to take note of the sequence things happened, and how they eventually led to this other discovery, which led to another discovery, etc.\n\nThe module breakdown is simply a 50% mid term and 50% final exam, both consisting of 50 MCQ each. This makes for a steep bell curve so do be prepared.","datetime":"2022/12/03 17:46:52","rating":3,"__v":0,"difficulty":2,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":3,"workload":2},{"_id":"638b1ae25774e7267c22e63b","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"GET1020 Darwin and Evolution","code":"GET1020","review":"Taken in AY2021/22 Sem 1\nTaught by Dr. John van Whye\n\nAssessments:\nMidterm - 50%\nFinal - 50%\nFor both: 50 MCQs on Examplify - open book, no backward navigation\n\nContent:\nThe content breadth taught was broader than I expected, which is interesting. The parts that were most complex to me were the areas that had a lot of content about geography, which I really was not familiar with. If you come from a Bio background, you'll find the parts about Mendel fascinating! (I did :D) For me, I found that the second half of the semester had lighter content than the first half. I like that this module encourages us to engage in healthy scepticism and question 'facts', as prof goes through some historical myth-busting. It's great that his lectures last around an hour, so it is the perfect learning duration for me. The Q&A zoom sessions are lots of fun too.\nI do not enjoy readings, but it will be alright as long as you pace yourself accordingly.\n\nPersonal Feedback:\nDr John is an awesome prof, but I hope he uses the LumiNUS Announcements platform more so that we can get informed more quickly. Throughout the semester, there were times when his software, such as Panopto, was not working and so lectures were delayed/cancelled but we were waiting. Aside from that, I enjoy his lectures thoroughly :)","datetime":"2022/12/03 17:46:09","rating":4,"__v":0,"difficulty":2,"enjoyability":5,"practicality":2,"workload":2},{"_id":"638b17b45774e7267c22e613","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"GET1020 Darwin and Evolution","code":"GET1020","review":"Taken in AY16/17 Sem 1 by Dr. John van Whye\n\nContent: This is a HISTORY module, about the history of evolution, so being a life science major does not give you any advantage at all. First 2 lectures are a bit boring because they have nothing to do with Darwin but do bear with them as they set the historical context; a lot of names introduced will also come back in later lectures. Things get exciting from lecture 3, where we learn about Darwin's life, his famous Beagle voyage, his conception of Origin, the surprise of Wallace, etc. Along the way, there's a lot of cool myth-busting, like did you know the Galapagos finches were NOT Darwin's source of inspiration for Origin? Did you know Larmack's theory is NOT inheritance of acquired characteristics? Etc, etc...\n\nLecture Style: This is the tricky part. Dr. John's slides are mostly pictures with very few words, and he expects students to make their own notes by taking down stuff he says during the lecture. (Lectures are NOT webcasted.) He delivers his lecture in a narrative style, so it is usually not difficult to keep up with him, but sometimes he can speak very fast when he gets excited. An option would be to do a voice recording, and play back the parts you missed, which would also be useful if you somehow manage to fall asleep during his lecture.\n\nWorkload: Very light. Lectures are biweekly, no tutorials, no projects.\n\nExams: Mid-term (50 MCQs, 50%, closed book), final (50 MCQs, 50%, closed book). Since everything is multiple-choice, it is quite easy to score if you paid attention during the lectures and studied well. One thing to note is that even though Dr. John says he does not test dates, he DOES. At least for my finals. So if it's not too much of a hassle, just try to cram in some important dates; might get you a few more marks.","datetime":"2022/12/03 17:32:35","rating":3.25,"__v":0,"difficulty":2,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":3,"workload":2},{"_id":"63ad7e67b396aa2839b03888","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"GET1020 Darwin and Evolution","code":"GET1020","review":"I took this module in AY19/20 Sem 1 by Dr. John van Whye.\n\nAs mentioned in the other's reviews below, this module is not a science but a history module (I wasn't putting attention to this precaution before bidding for this module). Being a life science major, who also took LSM1105 in the same semester, didn't give me a much advantage except for some last chapters.\n\nI wish to stay attending the class because Dr. John is a very good and humorous lecturer. Classes weren't dry at all since Dr. John always came up with interactive teaching methods or funny jokes. However, a big amount of memorization needed making me already gave up after midterm test because I am not someone who love to memorize. But, I would still suggest this module for those who are good at memorization or just looking for interesting GET modules given they still have S/U quota.\n\nThe content of this module started with some early ideas about evolution, then going through Darwin's life and the Beagle voyage, Wallace's life, The Origin of Species and its reception, Victorian naturalism, other works of Darwin, Darwin & Religion, Neo-Darwinism, modern opponents of evolution, new theories, human history, and finally principles of evolution (which is the only chapter I could really understand). Dr. John would also give myth-busting and clear all misconceptions about Darwin.\n\nGrading components: (i think both exams' portions were equal)\nMidterm: 50 MCQs testing all chapters up to recess week.\nFinal exam: 50 MCQs testing all chapters (however I thought it was only testing chapters in the second half of the sem).\n\nI guess both exams' bell curves were quite steep as the MCQs weren't that difficult. I was planning to S/U this module since the midterm was over and I was only expecting a pass grade. But, just 15 mins before the final exam was started, I borrowed a piece of some random past paper questions from my friend and turned out around 70% of the questions came up in the final exam (such a miracle!, or maybe the lecturer was very busy to make a new set of questions haha).","datetime":"2022/12/29 19:47:51","rating":3,"__v":0,"difficulty":2,"enjoyability":5,"practicality":3,"workload":2},{"_id":"6468d20fbf6c1f40badb3e6d","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"GET1025 Science Fiction and Philosophy","code":"GET1025","review":"AY20/21 Sem 1 (Covid)\nLecturer: AP John Holbo\nTutor: Angel Wu\n\nI like reading and scifi and I don't mind writing essays, so I was quite excited for this mod. The content hasn't changed much from previous sems so I won't repeat it here. I'll just focus on the mode of delivery.\n\nLike previous sems, Prof Holbo records a podcast, then there's a zoom live lecture. Although it was early in the morning, the appearance of his cat always motivates me to join the zoom. In the later part of the course, the first hour of the lecture is a Q&A session and only the second hour is Prof Holbo actually lecturing.\n\nAccording to Prof Holbo there used to be a graded quiz on the content of the readings to make sure students actually read them, but because of covid, it was changed to a one-on-one consultation. I found that very useful as a) I could just focus on the readings that I liked and not have to read all of them in case they appear on the quiz, and b) I got advice on how to improve my essays.\n\nI don't have much to say about tutorials as I either slept during them or forgot to attend them :(\n\n10/10 recommended, even for me, an engin kid. The content and readings are very engaging, and I find it a pity that my friends hate essays so much they won't even consider this mod. To me, as long as you have a strong opinion on any of the topics or readings, it's not so hard to fill the word count. And with the variety of topics and readings (not all compulsory of course, so you can choose) it wasn't hard for me to find something I liked.","datetime":"2023/05/20 21:58:39","difficulty":3,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":3,"workload":2,"rating":4,"__v":0},{"_id":"683eb8bec3dafbd8f2347e87","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"GET1041 Disney and the Theme Park World","code":"GET1041","review":"I would recommend any student to steer clear of this module, as the Professor was changed after the original professor retired. As a result, the content was completely overhauled from the previous batches. \n\nProf. Lou Antolihao was absolutely terrible at teaching this module. He doesn't know anything about Disney and ended up delivering a very pessimistic course, with content that was completely unrelated to what one would expect from a module that sounded fun based on its title. The material was incredibly difficult to enjoy, and I honestly don’t think he knew what he was doing.\n\nThroughout the module, the content focused on things such as Disneyfication, which framed corporate (not from the disney company) practices in an overly derogatory and negative light. However, most of the concepts taught were completely unrelated to Disney itself, such as the cold war, Chu Chi Tunnels, imperialism (and I should mention that the professor has never even watched a single Disney movie).\n\nThe final exam reflected this disconnect, with questions about completely unrelated topics such as Dubai, asking which slide photo I liked most from the lectures, and including questions that were loaded with false and misguided assumptions.\n\nTaking this module was an absolute waste of my UEs, and I have never been so disappointed with a so-called \"fluff\" module. It is impossible to rate Professor Antolihao positively.\n\nThe direction of the mod was absolute garbage. I strongly recommend against taking it.\n\nExpected grade after midterm: A (received a very good grade and feedback when the paper was NOT marked by the prof)\nFinal grade: B+ ( I tried to approach writing the final questions by debunking loaded assumptions within the question, but the prof obviously is unable to understand his own content)","datetime":"2025/06/03 16:53:34","difficulty":1,"enjoyability":1,"practicality":1,"workload":2,"rating":1,"__v":0},{"_id":"683eb89cc3dafbd8f2347e84","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"GEX1023 Disney & the Theme Park World","code":"GEX1023","review":"I would recommend any student to steer clear of this module, as the Professor was changed after the original professor retired. As a result, the content was completely overhauled from the previous batches. \n\nProf. Lou Antolihao was absolutely terrible at teaching this module. He doesn't know anything about Disney and ended up delivering a very pessimistic course, with content that was completely unrelated to what one would expect from a module that sounded fun based on its title. The material was incredibly difficult to enjoy, and I honestly don’t think he knew what he was doing.\n\nThroughout the module, the content focused on things such as Disneyfication, which framed corporate (not from the disney company) practices in an overly derogatory and negative light. However, most of the concepts taught were completely unrelated to Disney itself, such as the cold war, Chu Chi Tunnels, imperialism (and I should mention that the professor has never even watched a single Disney movie).\n\nThe final exam reflected this disconnect, with questions about completely unrelated topics such as Dubai, asking which slide photo I liked most from the lectures, and including questions that were loaded with false and misguided assumptions.\n\nTaking this module was an absolute waste of my UEs, and I have never been so disappointed with a so-called \"fluff\" module. It is impossible to rate Professor Antolihao positively.\n\nThe direction of the mod was absolute garbage. I strongly recommend against taking it.\n\nExpected grade after midterm: A (received a very good grade and feedback when the paper was NOT marked by the prof)\nFinal grade: B+ ( I tried to approach writing the final questions by debunking loaded assumptions within the question, but the prof obviously is unable to understand his own content)","datetime":"2025/06/03 16:53:00","difficulty":2,"enjoyability":1,"practicality":1,"workload":2,"rating":1,"__v":0},{"_id":"659910dd0876015d6f642260","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"HSI2004 Cell Based Proteins for a Sustainable Future","code":"HSI2004","review":"Taken in AY22/23 Sem 2\nLecturer: Dr Lieu Zi Zhao\nTutor: Dr Lieu Zi Zhao\n\nGrading:\nAssignment 1 (individual): 20%\nAssignment 2 (group): 25%\nAssignment 3 (individual): 20%\nClass Participation: 20%\nLearning Reflections: 10%\nPeer Review: 5%\n\nThis is one of my favourite modules that I have taken during my candidature, and it is extremely beneficial in laying the foundation in understanding the problematic meat industry and the novel solutions that are being developed. In this module I learnt about the processes behind cell-based proteins, and the different types of novel proteins. The lecture can be quite science-heavy, but it's more so for understanding the technical processes. The tutorials focus on media framing and influencing consumer perception, and factors such as heuristics and cognitive biases. Overall, it was a hugely insightful module and there was a great balance between the science and the arts. As a student from an arts background, I was intimidated at first by the sheer volume of scientific content but the assignments are not exams on technical terms and processes, but test your understanding of the role of communication in science and the disparity between science and public perception. Highly recommended to gain valuable knowledge and stay one step ahead.","datetime":"2024/01/06 16:35:41","difficulty":3,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":3,"workload":3,"rating":4,"__v":0},{"_id":"63888780b2b7b7bea13b74dd","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"IS1128 IT, Management and Organisation","code":"IS1128","review":"Taken in AY2022/23 Sem 1.\n\nAlright mod, relatively chill and very interesting content. \n\nComponents:\n- Weekly quizzes (50%) \n- Group project (40%)\n- Individual Assignment (7%)\n- Participation in lecture Poll Everywhere (3%)","datetime":"2022/05/29 2:04:03","rating":4,"__v":0,"difficulty":2,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":3,"workload":2},{"_id":"6388cb7ab921f8d89d4463ca","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"IS2218 Digital Platforms for Business","code":"IS2218","review":"Very very chill and interesting mod, recommended to take! But lots of calculations involved.","datetime":"2022/12/01 23:42:49","rating":4.5,"__v":0,"difficulty":2,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":3,"workload":2},{"_id":"65162e31abb04df0f0fae1d0","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"IS2238 Economics of IT and AI","code":"IS2238","review":"Taken in AY 22/23 Semester 2\nLecturer: Prof Kim Seung Hyun\n\nTook the module for the purpose of fufilling Interdisciplinary (ID) course requirements.\n\nContent:\n- Each lecture felt quite modular, covering briefly a different economic concept and the digital IT / AI impact. Topics covered included Digital Economy, IT business model transformation and impact on supply chain, market structures, price discrimination, network effects and externalities, switching costs, free riding, information asymmetry, search costs, behavioral economics and economic impacts, risks and regulation of AI.\n\nTopics are briefly covered and in-depth knowledge of each topic is not really required, except maybe when applying in the group project. Basic economic concepts such as market structure, dd/ss, cost-benefit are covered. IMO, it is a bit of a fluff mod.\n\nCA Breakdown: (officially)\nIn-Class Exercise, Participation, & Attendance 10%\nAssignments (including self-learning assignment): 15%\nProject (group-based): 25%\nFinal Exam (Open Book): 50%\n\nWorkload: 2hr lecture per week + ad-hoc group assignments & project\n- Physical lecture (not recorded) happens to be on friday evening (semester 2) and hence more often than not does not garner full attendance. The attendance portion is taken by answering time sensitive quizzes set during the lecture duration that are specific to lecture content. In fact, the most interesting part of the lecture was seeing how Prof. Kim modified the quiz to check for attendance due to students messaging their friends the answers. Prof also sometimes uploads related readings and articles to be read before or after the lecture.\n\n- Outside of the lecture, the workload is very manageable with 3 group assignments and 1 group project for a team of 4-5. You can request to be grouped with your friends for these groups, otherwise they are randomly assigned. Assignments consisted of some open-ended questions relevant to the course content. They are generally manageable, not requiring more than an hour to work through them if questions are split among members.\n\n- For the group project, we were required to apply concepts covered in the module onto an existing company, with the breakdown being: 40% meaningful/creative, 35% rigor in analysis and 25% presentation and Q&A. Each group is also required to consult Prof once. Prof Kim is approachable and the group project is flexible as long as it demonstrates covered concepts.\n\n- Final Exam is open book consisting of a large portion of MCQ question and smaller open-ended questions. Answers were straightforward and if you print out all the lecture slides, you can probably answer most of the questions correctly. Most students prepare a helpsheet.\n\nGenerally an interesting module. Recomended if you need a ID module that has a light workload. If possible, take with reliable friends to have an easy time. Prepare a S/U in case of a highly steep bell curve.","datetime":"2023/09/29 09:53:53","difficulty":2,"enjoyability":3,"practicality":3,"workload":3,"rating":3,"__v":0},{"_id":"657464b3d139ef9fbf466dcb","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"IS2238 Economics of IT and AI","code":"IS2238","review":"AY 23/24 Sem 1\nLecturer: Prof Nakyung Kyung\n\nAssessment Components\nIn-Class Participation, Attendance, and Attitude: 15%\nGroup Project: 20% (Group Slides + Presentation)\nGroup Assignments: 15% (3 group assignments)\nMid Terms: 20% (Closed book 10mcq, 6short answers) - Only test first half up to mid-term\nFinals: 30% (Closed book mcq,short answers, short essay question) - Only test second half from mid-term to finals\n\n*Do take note Midterms is 1hr and Finals is 1hr 30min. NUSmods may not reflect the correct exam duration.\n\nLow workload, Group of 6-7 with only 3 questions to do for group assignments. The group project requirement is higher but manageable. Best to take this mod with your friends as we are allowed to pick our teammates, else it will be random. Mid terms and Finals, just memorize the keyword and you are set and a bit of definition. Can study 1 day prior as long your memorizing skill is good.","datetime":"2023/12/09 20:59:31","difficulty":2,"enjoyability":3,"practicality":2,"workload":2,"rating":3,"__v":0},{"_id":"638d4e78c012282091b8b452","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"IS3106 Enterprise Systems Interface Design and Development","code":"IS3106","review":"Taught by Prof Lek Hsiang Hui\nTaken AY2019/2020 Sem 1\n\nDeliverables:\nAssignment 1 (15%) - build a Twitter clone using JavaEE, JSF, PrimeFaces in NetBeans\nAssignment 2 (15%) - improve Twitter clone UI using any other UI frameworks (eg Bootstrap/AdminLTE) except PrimeFaces\nGroup project (40%) - create a web app, any web app, using any tech, but it has to be useful/fun. Presented during STePS. You can check STePS for past students' submissions, eg https://isteps.comp.nus.edu...\nExam (30%) - I forgot the exact format. Just refer to past papers and practise. You'll do fine if you code enough during the group project.\n\nBasically a web development module, focusing more on the frontend side, although the first half of lectures cover on old JavaEE technologies. This is only needed for the assignments and exam. After that, you can pray never to see it again. NetBeans is buggy and JavaEE is unpleasant to work with. Second half lectures cover on basic frontend stuff - html, css, js, jquery, and only 2 lectures on react. If you've worked on any web development projects before, you can pretty much skip the lectures, just go for those that you wanna learn. Personally, I would have preferred to have more React lectures than JavaEE lectures.","datetime":"2022/12/05 09:50:48","rating":3.75,"__v":0,"difficulty":2,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":3,"workload":2},{"_id":"639829022924dabe67d1e467","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"IS3240 Digital Platform Strategy and Architecture","code":"IS3240","review":"I did this mod in Sem 1 2020/21 under prof Anand Mohan Ramchand. Despite its low coursework, you can expect to pick up some of the most useful skills of pitching ideas and ramping up and improving business models in tech companies. This module is basically like NUS's version of the tv show \"Shark Tank\". You are given Harvard Business School cases to roleplay as different companies and startups in different industries, be it Google, Uber, Carousell, Career Karma and imagine what kind of strategic decisions would you be making to make it through the competition and shine with the use of technology.\n\nFor example, How do you make Google Assistant win the voice wars with Alexa and Siri? How do you help Carousell stand and survive against Facebook marketplace? Who wins the race between Uber and Lyft and what lays in the future of the AI self driven car industry? How do you capitalise on that and enjoy economies of scale?\n\nIn return for light coursework, this module instead is looking for a lot of innovative and unique thinking in terms of changes you would bring to a company's business model. These ideas of yours would be untried and untested for the company and hence you need to do your research with your team to demonstrate and present that your idea will work in the real world in front of the class audience, who are going to find every chance to grill you, nitpick and play the role of investors for at least 45minutes.\n\nI did ask the prof how is it possible for us to be brilliantly creative in a possibly saturated industry with tried, tested, accepted and rejected ideas. Prof simply replied, \"Well now you know that the pros aren't really smarter than you. They have more data but they still have the same struggles as you are having and the whole objective is to push your thinking ahead of them. That's a lot of hard work, but kind of seasoning and sharpening of your mind will take you the long way.\"\n\nPretty well-designed mod!","datetime":"2022/12/13 15:25:53","rating":3.5,"__v":0,"difficulty":2,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":3,"workload":2},{"_id":"645cec7076a91444e69d0bb5","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"LAG2201 German 2","code":"LAG2201","review":"Taken in AY22/23 Sem 2, under Frau Ursula Hwang\n\nContinuation of German 1. You get your A1 certification after completing this module.\n\nGerman 2 felt a somewhat easier since it builds upon grammar concepts taught in German 1 such as cases, prepositions etc. Classes were also fun and engaging.\n\nWorkload\n- 3 Vocab tests\n- 2 Video assignments\n- 2 Written assignments\n- Several Padlet discussions\n- 2 Semester Test\n\nSame story as German 1. Do try to score for you vocab tests so that it can help with your overall score. Just use flashcards, they are really helpful.\nFor grammar concepts, there are practices within the textbook. You can also find websites online that have grammar practices (esp. on Reddit).\n\nClosing Comments\nThe mod team was great, there was this out-of-class activity before our first semester test, where we went around AS3 to do exercise sheets based on what was coming out for the test. For semester test 2, there were exercise sheets created for us to practice on in class to clarify our doubts too.\n\nFrau Hwang was also very nice and baked a pie for the class before our last lesson. Her classes were also pretty engaging and she makes sure to get us to practice speaking German and our grammar by having a quick 10min chat at the start of each lesson.\n\nThe last week for the mod was a rush though. I had my vocab test 3 on the first lesson and semester test 2 on the last lesson so a lot of studying had to be done, but if you stayed consistent, there really isn't much to study for the semester test, just try your best to find exercises to practice.","datetime":"2023/05/11 21:23:59","difficulty":3,"enjoyability":5,"practicality":5,"workload":4,"rating":4.5,"__v":0},{"_id":"6428fdbcd4c27826eee0c249","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"LAJ1201 Japanese 1","code":"LAJ1201","review":"Taken in AY22/23 Sem 1\nLecturers: Mr Yuzuru Hamasaki, Ms Yukiko Saito\nTutors: Ms Keiko Amano, Ms Loy Wei Peng\n\nModule Assessment:\nClass Participation, Graded Quizzes, Assignments - 30%\nNon-Graded Quizzes & Presentation - 20%\n2 Term Tests and 2 Oral Tests - 50%\n\nI had 0 experience with Japanese, heck I did not even watch anime prior to taking this module so don't be afraid to try new things!\n\nJapanese is a really high workload module, with quizzes and homework every week, with some week with two quizzes in the same tutorial! (Quizlet was very helpful to prepare for quizzes). Each tutorial and lecture is 1h35min, and lectures are all recorded. However, listening quizzes are conducted during lectures so you would still need to attend those lectures.\n\nThe presentation component was fairly simple, where you just needed to prepare a 1-2min presentation in Japanese on your favourite person, place or thing. The term tests, however, were very tricky and term test 2 was significantly harder than the first (besides the fact that more content was tested, a reading comprehension component was also included). For me, one of the most difficult component of Japanese was the listening quizzes as they speak fast and I struggle to catch the gist of what they were saying. Sometimes, they make it complicated by using negatives to convey their point, but this, however, is not unexpected of a listening quiz. Furthermore, they read most passages only once!\n\nOral tests were also fairly straightforward, as long as you and your assigned buddy are willing to work together and practice. Note that you won't know how you did for oral tests, presentation and class participation.\n\nThe following are the mean and median of the Term Tests:\nTerm Test 1 Mean: 74% Median: 78%\nTerm Test 2 Mean: 65% Median: 66%\n\nI was way above the median for Term Test 1, but fell behind the median for Term Test 2. This was why I thought I was screwed. But surprisingly, I got an A+.\n\nThe senseis were really knowledgeable and made lessons really interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and actually looked forward to going for classes every week. I highly recommend you to take this module, as long as you are willing to put in consistent effort throughout the module.\n\nがんばってね！","datetime":"2023/04/02 11:59:56","difficulty":4,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":3,"workload":5,"rating":4,"__v":0},{"_id":"64275e590e271f39032d9be5","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"LAK1201 Korean 1","code":"LAK1201","review":"Taken in AY2020/2021 Sem 2\nTutor: Choi Nuri\n\nOverview:\n\nThis module is an introduction to the Korean language. The pace of the class is very fast. The first week is spent understanding Hanguel. Subsequently weeks are basically building vocabulary and proper grammar usage. Lecture pace is fast, but very rewarding. You get to learn how to understand and construct some basic Korean sentences. The end result of all the hard work is great. You will be able to understand perhaps 25-50% of what your favorite kpop idol is saying in his/her instagram posts. Considering I knew barely anything at the start, I feel like I have learnt more in this module than some of my CN and MA modules.\n\nWorkload:\nHeavy, but then again, it's not for nothing. Mostly memory work for the vocabulary and the sentence structure. Aside from that, there are E-learning lectures to watch (about 30 mins a week) and 2x2 hrs of lecture each week.\n\nTests:\nThere are 2 oral tests, 2 vocabulary tests, 2 written assignments and 2 examinations. The first oral test is a pre-recorded voice recording of you reciting a passage, while the second oral test is basically the lecturer rapid-firing you questions and also describing someone's hometown. They are not that hard. The vocabulary tests are all doable if you studied, and the written assignments are not hard at all. The hardest part of the tests is the examinations. Time is extremely tight in the midterm exam, and I seriously bet if the exam was in Chinese I wouldn't finish. The finals was much easier time-wise, but there was much more content to learn. Bell-curve was also very steep. However, I did not care much about getting an A, since I was just in here for the lols and fun.\n\nLecture Quality:\n\nMiss Choi is an awesome lecturer. I genuinely feel that if you want to learn Korean, it is much better to take the modules in NUS than self-studying. Her explanations are very clear and she is very patient with all of us. I think I had a lot of fun studying Korean, despite the very tedious process. I was very satisfied with the delivery of lessons every day, and there was a clear goal for each lesson. Kudos to her for that.\n\nConclusion:\nThe rise of various Kpop entities such as BTS, Twice and BlackPink has increased the relevance of the Korean language in today’s culture. I feel that I have learnt the most in this module, and this module was definitely a serious morale lifter when I had to take other very laborious and pointless modules. But do bear in mind that it has perhaps more workload than other modules, such as CS2040. Take if you have some interest in Korean Language, and I am sure the interest will get you somewhere. After taking this module, I will definitely try to take Korean 2 next semester to further my knowledge of the language.\n\nDifficulty: 8.5/10\nHow fun was this module: 10/10!","datetime":"2023/04/01 06:27:36","difficulty":4,"enjoyability":5,"practicality":4,"workload":5,"rating":4,"__v":0},{"_id":"640456d77542320d02350735","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"LAK3201 Korean 3","code":"LAK3201","review":"Taken in AY21/22 Sem 1\nLecturers: Lee Misun and Kim Eun Hye\nAssessment:\n• Participation and Oral Project (25%)\n• Midterms and Finals (60%)\n• Assignments (I think 2 short essays) (15%)\n\nGeneral Comments:\n\nI skipped Korean 2 via the placement test. I self-studied Korean during the holidays regularly through my Korean friend and Lingodeer. I had absolutely no problems catching up with the content in this class. I did this because I wanted to graduate with Korean 4. Korean 3 and 4 are offered only in Sem 1 and 2 respectively.\n\nAfter completing this module, you should be able to hold a basic conversation with your Korean friend completely in Korean. I am able to text my Korean friend in Korean whenever I need to, which is so so cool. However, if your goal is to understand KDramas without subtitles, you will need a lot more than this.\n\nLectures:\n\nVery similar to Korean 1, except that now instructions are all given in Korean, and it is definitely a step-up from Korean 1. Both lecturers understand English so you may clarify your doubts in English if you have any. And don't be shy. I made many embarrassing mistakes while learning the language and the teachers just laugh it off. I think it attending classes was quite fun in general.\n\nAssessments:\n\nMidterms and Finals were much, much harder than Korean 1. The difficulty is really a step-up and the listening portion was definitely the hardest. As a rough gauge, I showed my Korean friend an excerpt about a weather forecast, and he said that this speaking pace is essentially what you hear on real Korean news. LOL! I scored below the median for both tests, but still ended up with a B+.\n\nThe oral project was difficult but really fun to do because we had to speak in Korean for about 5 minutes while trying to keep a straight/natural face. My entire video project was about Kpop/Korean Shows (Nayeon, Running Man, Red Velvet, Itzy....). Dr Kim even knew what a MIDZY and ONCE is before we explained it to her, which is quite cool IMO.\n\nOverall comments:\n\nThis is one of the most meaningful modules I have taken in my university life. Take this module if you are interested in a deeper appreciation of Kpop or anything Korean. For me, it was was really rewarding to learn the language and simultaneously have a deeper appreciation of Kpop lyrics, instead of just listening to them blindly. For example, I did not know that some of BTS's lyrics were so motivating until I actually understood them. I definitely will try Korean 4 next semester.\n\nDifficulty: 4.5/5\nHow fun was this module: 10/10","datetime":"2023/03/05 16:46:14","difficulty":4,"enjoyability":5,"practicality":4,"workload":4,"rating":4.5,"__v":0},{"_id":"65623aee5cf276851a305851","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"MA5208 Algebraic Geometry","code":"MA5208","review":"Tooooooo hard","datetime":"2023/11/26 02:20:30","difficulty":5,"enjoyability":3,"practicality":5,"workload":5,"rating":3,"__v":0},{"_id":"669df167e37a52c11222966b","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"MA5250 Computational Fluid Dynamics","code":"MA5250","review":"Professor Cai is indeed a great teacher","datetime":"2024/07/22 13:43:03","difficulty":4,"enjoyability":5,"practicality":4,"workload":4,"rating":5,"__v":0},{"_id":"68fc62e54402819318e726c2","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"ME4245 Robot Mechanics and Control","code":"ME4245","review":"-","datetime":"2025/10/25 13:40:54","difficulty":4,"enjoyability":1,"practicality":3,"workload":3,"rating":3,"__v":0},{"_id":"68f0a71df44bd23657806cbd","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"PL1101E Introduction to Psychology","code":"PL1101E","review":"The lecturers and tutorial professors are very engaging and it is clear to me that they enjoy their work in psychology very much! The content taught piques my interest in psych even further and I look forward to future modules. ","datetime":"2025/10/16 16:04:45","difficulty":3,"enjoyability":5,"practicality":3,"workload":3,"rating":4,"__v":0},{"_id":"6441d2056d172cf144b9e6b2","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"PL2132 Research and Statistical Methods II","code":"PL2132","review":"Taken in AY21/22 Semester 2\nConducted partially online – Online lectures, Physical tutorials\nLecturer – Dr. Melvin Yap\n\nAssessment:\nModule participation (5%)\nQuizzes x5 (3% each)\nGroup project (50%)\nFinals (30%)\n\nThis module heavily focused on ANOVA and Regression. Dr. Yap lectures were very short and succinct and were all pre-recorded online for your own convenient viewing. Module participation just required us to do surveys (2 of them iirc) that Dr. Yap posted on Luminus. Dr. Yap is a great lecturer and he responds to questions posted on the forums very frequently.\n\nThere were 5 quizzes throughout the semester. These were very low-stake quizzes and serve as a knowledge-checker of sorts. As long as you watch the lecture and internalise what was taught, the quizzes would not be an issue.\n\nFinals were MCQ and covered everything throughout the semester. It was difficult (T.T). The calculations were not insanely difficult, but I had quite the trouble with it as what was taught was very abstract and difficult to understand (FOR ME). I managed to answer every question with 30 seconds to spare. It is important to review tutorials and do the lecture homework (questions posted on forum for learning).\n\nOverall, this module is definitely difficult especially if you hate mathematics. However, constant review of what was taught and doing the lecture homework will help with your learning. The group project is also difficult but with good groupmates, the experience will be enjoyable.","datetime":"2023/04/21 08:00:05","difficulty":4,"enjoyability":3,"practicality":3,"workload":3,"rating":3.5,"__v":0},{"_id":"64ab67e74f1de73cbd2b7677","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"PL3105 Social Psychology","code":"PL3105","review":"Took this on AY21/22 Sem 1: Conducted fully online\nLecturers - Dr. Rebekah Amelie Wanic\nTutor - Dr. Kaur, Susheel\n\nReflection Essay (30%) - 1,000 words due week 6\nTutorial Participation + Forum Posts (20%)\nGroup Presentation (20%)\nFinal essay (30%) - 2,500 words due week 13\n\nThis module is a core module for all psychology majors but i would recommend this module to those who want to minor in psychology or perhaps UEMs. There are pre-lecture videos to watch in the multimedia tab which mainly covers the content for the week. Live lectures are not compulsory and not recorded. It is mainly just to expand more on the multimedia pre-lecture videos.\n\nReflection Essay. Pick on aspect of ourselves (race, religion, gender, vocation etc) that is important to us and how this aspect of our identity influences us (thoughts, behaviors, feelings) and interacts with the environment (other people). How the social aspect of us benefits us or holds us back. In the essay, it is about self-reflection and connecting it to 3 course concepts learnt earlier.\n\nFinal Essay. Identify 1 behaviour we want to change and set a concrete goal. Keep track of the behavior for a minimum of 2 days and then try to change it for 2 weeks. The essay will be about how this change attempt went and why it failed/succeeded. Connection to 4 course concepts needed and it is also about reflection.\n\nGroup presentation was done differently. Instead of a typical PowerPoint presentation, we were asked to do a podcast recording regarding anything to social psychology. Max 15mins. The podcast was fun to make and during the presentation day which is the 4th tutorial session, every group plays the podcast for everyone to listen.\n\nTutorial participation and forum posts. During tutorials, we go into breakout rooms and discuss some questions the tutor proposes. After which we return to the main room and then present what we have discussed. My tutor was Prof Kaur and she is amazing. She asks a lot of thought provoking questions and every session is very interesting.\n\nAcross the semester there were 3 forum posting periods. Each lasting a week. All 3 are regarding podcasts. First posting asks us to listen to 2 podcasts related to social psychology and write about what it is about and what are the good points about it which we can learn and use in our podcasts. Second posting asks us to review 4 posts made by others during the first round and assess if we agree / disagree with their posts. Last posting round asks us to assess at least 2 groups' podcasts. What are our thoughts on it, what the podcast was arguing for and the strengths and weaknesses.\n\nOverall, this module is really interesting and fun. The new approach to group presentation was fresh and fun. Concepts taught in this course are very applicable and interesting since it involves us and the environment. I recommend this module to those minoring in psychology.","datetime":"2023/07/10 10:07:35","difficulty":3,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":4,"workload":3,"rating":4,"__v":0},{"_id":"63abb6070c18ca1998a64cd2","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"PLS8003 Cultivating Resilience","code":"PLS8003","review":"Taken AY19/20 Sem 2\nLecturer: Jelissa ONG (one of the lecturers out of many)\nGrade: CS (Pass/Fail; only 3 classes, full attendance is required to pass)\n\nFor those who don’t know, the PLS800x (8001, 8002, 8003, 8004) modules are from the Department of Psychology. Each module consists of 1 MC, and counts as a non-1k UE module. They are all very soft skill-oriented and is definitely something to check out if you’re interesting in self-help and self-improvement.\n\nI took this module purely out of interest and partially to count towards my UE space (with CFG). The lecturer was really captivating and managed to make the lectures a fun to attend. It was only 3 hours of lesson for 3 weeks, and the lessons sometimes ended early. There is negligible workload, just 70% participation, and 30% reflective journal (3×10%, one for each lecture, like just 1 page).\n\nThe lecture covers a lot of cognitive behavioral therapy methods, and introduces you to many ways to build resilience, reminding yourself of what’s what, and calming yourself when your mind starts to run wild. It teaches and introduces you to possibly methods on how to combat negative thinking, and is definitely a good start for people interesting in improving their lives.\n\nThis module is definitely not for everyone, and some might think that it’s useless, a waste of time, or a waste of credits. But I still think it’s an important soft skill-oriented kind of module that helps you as a person.","datetime":"2022/12/28 11:20:38","rating":4,"__v":0,"difficulty":2,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":3,"workload":2},{"_id":"66963602c19c100f560b6647","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"PR1152 Pharmacy Foundations: Science & Therapeutics I","code":"PR1152","review":"I took this mod in AY23/24 sem 1\n\nThis is the first foundation course for all pharmacy students and in all honesty, this course is very content heavy and draining. It covers the following subjects:\n1. Cell biology\n2. cellular physiology \n3. biochemistry \n4. genetics \n5. immunology \n6. foundational anatomy \n\nGrading: \n1. Lab report (15%)\n2. Anatomy CA (25%)\n3. written assignment (10%)\n4. finals (50%)\n\nYou should start studying from day 1 and please also rely on other materials to study as well (textbooks, online resources etc.). For non-bio students, it is a very steep learning curve but you will get the hang of it. This is a 6 unit course that you must take in Y1S1. I personally did like the content taught although the content was huge. It was very content heavy and I struggled a fair bit here. ","datetime":"2024/07/16 16:57:38","difficulty":4,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":4,"workload":5,"rating":4,"__v":0},{"_id":"691445864430561e7dfe09c3","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"PR3151 Infection: Optimising Prevention & Treatment","code":"PR3151","review":"Everything about infection, from microbiology to antimicrobial stewardship","datetime":"2025/11/12 16:29:58","difficulty":3,"enjoyability":3,"practicality":5,"workload":5,"rating":3.5,"__v":0},{"_id":"676a809f87e640351c2d64cd","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"PS2237 Introduction to International Relations","code":"PS2237","review":"The course was engaging overall. Prof. Elaine’s lectures were dense but manageable, and she explained things clearly. I had my tutorials with Mr. Haziq Hakimi, and while they were challenging at first, his dedication stood out. He was both encouraging and incredibly sharp, pushing us to think critically. By the end, I genuinely felt like my perspective had shifted. Mr. Haziq’s approach was unique compared to other NUS tutors I’ve encountered—he’s more intense but in a constructive way. That said, I do get the sense that he’s quite strict with grading. Overall very enjoyable, if you plan to SU this mod.","datetime":"2024/12/24 10:36:30","difficulty":4,"enjoyability":5,"practicality":5,"workload":3,"rating":4,"__v":0},{"_id":"6677d518b293b417ea8a2766","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"QF1100 Introduction to Quantitative Finance","code":"QF1100","review":"AY23/24 Sem 2\nLecturer: Prof Zhang Lei (In my opinion, this prof is not very effective, so I would just recommend self-study, till today I'm not even sure I grasp this module fully, half the time I just memorise content without truly understanding it)\nTutor: Forgot his name, I skipped half the tutorials\n\nTopics:\n1. Interest rates (Simple and Compound)\n2. Force of interest\n3. Annuities\n4. Loans\n5. Present Value and Future Value\n6. Bonds\n7. Probability and Random Variables\n8. Forwards\n9. Futures\n10. Hedging\n11. Options(Put and Call)\n13. Binomial Models\n\nAssessments:\nQuizzes (10% iirc) 10/10 6 Quizzes, they take best of 5\nHomework (15% iirc) x3 15/15\nMid-term (20%) 44/50 (Median was 42)\nFinals (50%)\n\nOpinion:\nStruggled a lot after mid-terms as I have had no clue what the prof was saying and he was not clear in his explanations also. Other people were equally clueless as me.. I just resorted in studying myself and redoing tutorials, homework and pyp. Made a comprehensive cheat sheet for the finals and summarized formulas and key concepts. If you be independent and self-study and collaborate with peers it can help you manage the workload and understand the material better. Despite the struggles, it is possible to do well with consistent effort.\n\nExams:\nQuizzes and homework go discuss with your friends and secure full marks. Mid-terms was relatively straightforward and easy with 1 double-sided A4 cheatsheet provided. Finals also same 1 cheatsheet but was more difficult and nearly impossible to finish within the 2-hour time span. Nobody I knew managed to complete the paper. It came down to how many marks you could secure. I remember leaving 10-15 marks blank because I couldn't finish.","datetime":"2024/06/23 15:56:07","difficulty":4,"enjoyability":3,"practicality":3,"workload":4,"rating":3.5,"__v":0},{"_id":"63e049e3aaf5936255463533","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"QF1100 Introduction to Quantitative Finance","code":"QF1100","review":"AY22/23 Sem 1 Prof Zhang Lei\n\nAssessment\nHomework: 3 assignments across the span of the semester (Week 5, Week 9, Week 12) each bearing 8%, 8%, 9% respectively. Questions are manageable and expected to get close to full marks. Median was around 24/25 for all iirc.\nMidterms: 25%. Midterms was manageable as well. Median was about 42/50 iirc.\nFinals: 50%. Prof Lei already mentioned he was going to make finals hard as the median for midterms was higher than expected. Finals was way harder compared to midterms, tutorials and homework. The disappointing thing was that we were only give ONE practice paper for finals.\nTutorials and attendance are not graded. Only attended 3 tutorials.\n\nReview\nSyllabus-wise, content was manageable and easily absorbable especially after doing practice. Pace picked up quickly after midterms. The module content was interesting and would recommend to those considering taking QF as a 2nd major or just want to learn more about QF. Do note that the bell curve for this module is expected to be quite high and hence there is little room for mistakes. One complaint I have is that the number of errata in the module lecture notes, tutorials, homework answers etc is uncountable... You would need to download a new set of lecture notes, tutorials etc every week because they are constantly updating the content. I once was stumped 1hr + on a question just to realise they released a updated answer key. Nevertheless, interesting and fun module, recommend to do with friends to discuss homework and tutorial answers.","datetime":"2023/02/06 08:29:22","difficulty":3,"enjoyability":4,"practicality":4,"workload":4,"rating":4,"__v":0},{"_id":"690162f209aba786ec330320","author":"User","avatar":"https://source.boringavatar.com/beam","module":"UTC2734 Ideas to Pitches: Tech, Innovation & Entrepreneurship","code":"UTC2734","review":"I have my startup team emerging from this course","datetime":"2025/10/29 08:42:25","difficulty":3,"enjoyability":5,"practicality":5,"workload":4,"rating":5,"__v":0}]}}