Two sides of the same coin

College of Humanities and Sciences (CHS) Year 2 student James TEO believes that problem-solving requires both quantitative and qualitative skills.

He was drawn to CHS for this reason. This, together with the interdisciplinary nature of CHS modules, which allows him to ease into the multifaceted curriculum following his “hybrid” choice of junior college subjects covering both history and the sciences.

James, who is interested in the fast-developing financial technology (fintech) sector, is part of the inaugural cohort reading the Data Science and Economics Cross Disciplinary Programme (DSE-XDP), one of CHS’ new programme offerings.

Describing the XDP as “closely aligned” with his interests, James is looking forward to the higher level modules, where he will discover how new technologies can help companies and consumers better manage their financial operations and processes using new analytical techniques like machine learning, as well as specialised software and algorithms.

The programme is also timely, given the exponential growth in economic datasets. He adds, “I am keen to explore econometrics, where I will have the opportunity to apply theoretical statistical models to quantify economic data and phenomena for policymaking.”

On the Common Curriculum modules, his takeaways are twofold – “understanding the complex challenges in contemporary society and acquiring the interdisciplinary skills and know-how to be able to contribute back to modern society.”

Beyond academics, James is an active sportsman in football and tennis. He is also interested in volunteering and he is organising an Overseas Service Learning trip to Bangalore. He plans on pursuing an internship soon.