Fast Track

Introduce yourself!
I’m Lec, and I’m currently a Masters student from China. I’m here on a summer trip with my girlfriend, Coco, who just graduated with her own Masters degree, so this is also a grad trip for her.

Cute! How did you and Coco meet?
We were undergrad classmates studying translation and interpretation. She later went on to pursue journalism and communications for her Masters, while I went on to pursue Artificial Intelligence (AI) for mine.

Oh, why the big switch in fields of study?
I think I have more of an interest and preference for technological stuff, and actually, what I’m studying now isn’t purely AI, but more of the connection between AI and corpus linguistics. My professor in Shanghai actually transferred over to my school from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), and he’s told me lots of stories about Singapore, which is why we thought we’d visit.

How does the Singapore weather compare with Shanghai’s?
It’s actually not too bad! I think it’s quite cooling here, actually (laughs).

Really? We can’t imagine how hot it must be in Shanghai then! Is Shanghai a city you’d like to stay in after graduating?
I’m actually considering going to Hong Kong or coming back to Singapore to get my Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

Oh! So you’re leaning towards academia?
Yeah, maybe because I don’t really fancy working in an office. I previously intervened at ByteDance in China, and felt that working in big companies in the corporate world is not for me. After work, it doesn’t even feel like your body belongs to you, you know? I don’t like that feeling.

Yeah, we can relate. Outside of school and studying, what do you enjoy doing?
I like exercising, gymming, and playing sports, particularly basketball and swimming. I also like watching sports tournaments.

What kind of sporting events do you watch?
Basketball matches and F1!

Then you should come back for the Singapore Grand Prix!
But most of the tickets are already sold out! And actually, the Singapore Grand Prix tickets are quite expensive, and hotels here are hard to book.

True, it’d be quite an expensive holiday for sure. Who’s your favourite F1 driver? Have you been a fan since you were young?
My favourite is Charles Leclerc! And yes, I’ve been watching F1 races since I was young. Back then, I didn’t really understand the rules, but I’d watch it religiously anyway. As I grew older, I slowly began to understand the rules more and more, and that’s when I got into it even more.

Love the dedication! You mentioned you and your girlfriend Coco have been together for four years now. In this time, what’s the biggest lesson she’s taught you? And what do you admire most about her?
She’s definitely taught me patience. As for what I admire most about her, it would be her kindness and dedication in whatever she does. I’ve learned so much from her.

That’s sweet! Are you two planning on getting married?
Well, we’ve met each other’s parents (laughs).

Here’s hoping for good news soon! Coming from different hometowns, do you feel like there are any differences in your habits and preferences?
Both of our hometowns (mine in Sichuan and hers in Jiangxi) are known for their spicy food, so I feel like there isn’t much of a difference there in our palettes. In terms of habits, we get along very well, so I’d say there aren’t any big differences in our lifestyles.

Final question: what’s one thing you’d like to achieve this year?
I’d like to write an academic paper and have it accepted and published!