Southeast Asia Friendship Initiative (SFI) Course

Southeast Asia (SEA) Friendship Initiative (SFI) officially launched in AY2022/23 Special Term Part 1.

The course is designed for undergraduate (UG) students in residential units. It is a credit-bearing course introducing them to a S.E.A country, complemented by a study trip to the destination country centred on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SGD) and/or Innovation and Enterprise.

This initiative is run by 12 Residential Units, i.e., 6 Halls, 2 Houses and 4 Residential Colleges in collaboration with the Global Relations Office and Provost’s Office, with Southeast Asian Studies and Malay Studies Departments as academic hosts.

Pioneer House provides PH residents the opportunity to take the SFI Course, which is a 4-unit grading course with experiential learning component to Indonesia.

The course is open to UG students living in Pioneer House, being enrolled in full-time UG degree programmes who are paying tuition fees to NUS. As SFI course extends beyond the examination results release date, all students will be receiving an IP grade at the end of the term.  To avoid affecting your promotion and seniority, please plan your study plan carefully.

This course is not applicable to:

1. Non-graduating/exchange students.
2. Students who have read SFI course. Students can only read the course once during their candidature.
3. Year 4 students in their graduating semester.

1. 3 x 2-hour lectures and 2 x 2-hour tutorialsParticipants will be introduced to the country covering relevant aspects in history, population, government, politics and society, economy and heritage.
2. 10-hour Bahasa Indonesia.Participants will be introduced to the basic phrases and familiar expressions used in everyday communication. Students will acquire language skills through participation in various communicative tasks. As language is one of the graded components, please note that for students who already have basic conversational skills in Bahasa Indonesia or Malay, they will be required to take another language offered by a different hostel, in replacement.
3. Overseas study trip (see below for more information)

1. AY22/23 Special Term 1: Malang-Batu, Indonesia
2. AY23/24 Semester 1: Yogyakarta-Semarang, Indonesia
3. AY23/24 Semester 2: Malang-Batu, Indonesia
4. AY24/25 Semester 2: Malang-Batu, Indonesia

Yes, attendance for both lectures and tutorials are mandatory, as they are designed to enhance participants' learning experience and contribute to their overall assessment.

For more information on lectures and tutorials schedule, please refer to NUSMODS at:
https://nusmods.com/courses/SFI2014/introducing-indonesia-with-introductory-indonesian#prerequisites

1. To enable students to acquire a broad-based familiarity with Indonesia.
2. To facilitate an understanding of how key issues normally studied in disciplinary terms (history, anthropology, politics, economics, etc.) are inter-connected in the context of a particular national setting.
3. To help students acquire cross-cultural awareness and skills through academic learning and cultural immersion (e.g. study trip).
4. To help students to be better able to relate to real life issues “on the ground” that affect communities on an everyday basis.
5. The students are able to comprehend words, phrases, and simple sentences on familiar topics about their personal details and surroundings.
6. The students are able to express themselves in conversation on familiar topics using a variety of words, phrases, and simple sentences.

1. The component of study trip and its focus of experiential learning. Students are expected to apply and promote critical thinking through engagement with important sites, and two-way dialogues with representatives from universities, well-established organisations and community partners related to targeted SDGs or social enterprise, and government offices, to understand and empathise with the issues that are important to the community.
2. Students apply what they learn in classes to out of class through immersion learning and real-life experiences.