Q&A: With Henrik, Our Norwegian Intern
Q: What do you think about the start-up culture in Singapore?
Very vibrant, there’s a lot happening here. Especially when you are working in the middle of the start-up community at block 71. At NUS enterprise we have networking and educational events every week and I’ve attended some of them. I also have the impression that the government here is very supportive for the start-up community.
Q: How’s working at AfterYou?
I’m very happy to get the opportunity to work with AfterYou. Everyone is friendly, I feel completely free to ask questions, and I’ve got responsibility for my own project. Working independently while working with that excitement of not knowing exactly what to do with the freedom to explore has been a great learning experience for me. I also feel that I’ve really got the start-up working experience, which is great because learning what it takes to build a tech startup and do business development is something I wanted to experience during my program here in Singapore.
Q: What’s the best food you’ve had in Singapore?
Sirloin steak at the food court where I live. Hehe, I’m still not used to the Asian food. But I’ve started to like it more and more, especially the Chicken rice.
Q: What’s the most fun thing you’ve done in Singapore?
Going to Pulau Ubin and cycling around the island. It’s great to see a more remote part of Singapore. On the way back is was raining heavily, in the middle of the jungle on a narrow track, and it was very exhilarating
The Garden Beats event in Fort Canning Park was also a blast. We had just finished a very busy week with a final assignment and presentation for venture capitalist investors at NUS, so everyone was very happy and ready to celebrate.
Q: How do you like Singapore so far?
It has been a great experience. The people I meet are very polite and nice to speak to. I’ve made a lot of new friends, most of them are Norwegian from my program but also some Singaporeans and expats.
The city feels very clean and safe. And I love the Hawker centers with all the different food and it’s very affordable. The only meal I need to make is breakfast at home. It’s very different from Norway where we cook most of the meals ourselves.
The infrastructure in Singapore is great. I use the MRT sometimes, but most of the time I Uber around. It’s a great way to get around and it’s pretty awesome to me (because Uber is illegal in Norway). The facilities here are great and they’re lots of sports facilities like swimming pools readily available. I actually swam most mornings during my stay here to make full use of it.
So all in all, Singapore has met my expectations are so much more ☺
