I am a graduate student of software engineering at the National University of Singapore, Asia’s topmost university. I had the privilege of getting selected for the NUS Overseas Colleges programme (NOC), which gave me a chance to study in Tel Aviv University (TAU), Tel Aviv, Israel. The university boasts of well-qualified professors and has excellent academic facilities. The vibrant student community conducts a lot of events including orientation programmes for exchange/international students. Israel is a land of innovative start-ups and you get a chance to meet brilliant entrepreneurs. Tel Aviv is often termed the next Silicon Valley for start-ups, and it is the place for aspiring entrepreneurs. There are events throughout the year and many encouraging communities for young and aspiring entrepreneurs. Many start-ups are also being acquired by industry giants like Google.
As part of our course, I had the privilege of working with a mobile-based start-up called Tawkon (http://www.tawkon.com). The company has developed a free mobile app which alerts the user when the radiation levels are high during usage.
Life in Tel Aviv
Israel is a multicultural, slightly expensive country, and there are many historical sites such as Jerusalem, Haifa and the Dead Sea.
The working days are from Sunday to Thursday, with the weekend being Friday and Saturday. People in Israel follow a religious holiday called Shabbat which starts by Friday evening and ends on Saturday evening. During this time, most of the shops remain closed and public transport doesn’t operate.
The people here are brilliant, quite open and friendly. The local food is extremely delicious, and you have supermarkets in every corner. People are diligent at work, fun-loving and caring. They are also religious and celebrate festivals with enthusiasm. The official language is Hebrew, but most of the people speak English really well. The temperatures are quite tolerable, with August being the hottest month. Many people warned me against my travel to Israel, but Tel Aviv is quite a safe and protected city. You have security all over the city including train and bus stations, shopping malls, etc.
Try not to miss an opportunity to visit Israel.
The writer studied at the Tel Aviv University, Israel. Email: sandeepv.nus@gmail.com
