Hello everyone, I am Sim Yu Jie, Year 4 ECE Computer Engineering (CEG) student, and the 6th and 7th ECE USC President.
What is ECE USC
The ECE USC refers to the Undergraduate Student Council under the ECE Department. As the student council, our main duty was to be the bridge between the ECE student body and the department. During the academic year, we organise various major events such as the Freshmen Welcome Party, Graduation Party, ECE Career Fair, as well as a Student-Staff conference, where we propose changes to academic matters to improve the learning experience for all ECE students.
Decision to take charge of my student life
I was first introduced to the USC by a fellow friend in the same cohort. As a new freshman in NUS, I was captivated by the idea of taking initiative to change my student life. Through my first term as a cohort representative, I developed my interpersonal skills. I learnt how academic policies were put in place, forged many new friendships, experience what it was like to run a student-led event and learnt about the strengths and flaws of the council. To me, I always held a strong belief that the student council required strong leaders. As students who often must communicate with professors and stakeholders; people with greater authority than us, and work under time-induced pressure from organising events, it requires a certain level of courage to perform. It was with this vision that I ultimately chose to run for the USC Presidency.
Opportunities to harness my leadership and communication skills
As the USC President, I had many opportunities to work on my leadership skills. One of the peak events that was held during my tenure was the ECE Career Fair 2021. During the Covid-19 period, many face-to-face events were cancelled, and most classes were held online. Despite the uncertainty of the turnout rate, with the encouragement of the ECE Department, the USC persisted in organising the fair for a chance for companies and students to interact in a safe and controlled manner. This was especially tough due to the many measures we had to put in place to ensure social distancing. After much tedious planning and liaising with companies, we managed to pull off one of the few physical events of the year with a very high turnout rate. There were also refreshments catered to participants such as bubble tea, donuts, and cookies.
Teamwork and motivation
During my term as USC President, one of the lessons that I have learnt was that great things are never done by one person, but they are done by a team of people. Without many of my fellow peers, like Imtiaz, Isabella or Pranati, my duty as President would be infinitely harder to accomplish. Through my personal interactions with my fellow council members, I have learnt more about their strengths and weaknesses, fears and aspirations. I used to be a person who did not rely on people as I did not like conflict. However, after taking on this role, I have learnt to delegate responsibilities, and how to better resolve conflicts.
