Science Math Talent Programme

Taking on the Science Math Talent Programme (SMTP) was honestly quite a chance event. Had the conditions been slightly different, I would not have even turned up for the selection test, or eventually, accept the invitation to join the programme.

There were only 5 people in our batch that undertook both BSP and SMTP. Of these 5, I was the only one (perhaps the only one reckless enough) to have changed her combination from Secondary school to Junior College (I decided to take H2 Biology without any Secondary school knowledge of the subject). Life does happen in strange ways though, and joining the programme ended up being one of the most interesting decisions I’ve ever made.

In HCI, SMTP provides students with a chance to extend their knowledge in Maths and Sciences (in my case Chemistry and Biology) by learning things in the curriculum at a quicker pace but also learning things outside of the curriculum. I still remember that Chemistry lesson when my group members and I were tasked to explain why electrons do not fall into the nucleus. As part of the SMTP project, my group also managed to create plastic (although I must say it looks pretty unusable) by extracting chitin from prawn shells. Being stretched academically was definitely tiring, but yet really enjoyable. To put it simply, my nerd energy was being fed by the programme and I really loved it.

Nonetheless, I definitely still struggled at the start. As a physics student, I was struggling to understand how to score well in Biology examinations, and the (perhaps self-inflicted) pressure to do well in an academically-strong class came out quite strongly for me as well. Thankfully, I had the support of my classmates and tutors that were patient in answering my queries and spurring me forward, until I performed to a standard up to my own expectations. This wasn’t easy. I spent countless nights running through lesson content that I didn’t understand, and even more school days pestering my classmates to explain concepts that I couldn’t seem to grasp.

Thinking back on it now, I wonder how different life would have been if I didn’t enter the programme. I can’t say for sure, but I know that I would have definitely regretted not being able to learn the things that I did because of the electives that SMTP had offered. I also wouldn’t have met so many like-minded individuals, people who I can have so many random theoretical, curiosity-driven discussions with, but also people who play and have fun with me.

To the SMTP community and my classmates: thank you so much for these 2 very wonderful years.