Matkaraportin laatija: Johan Hacklin

Osasto, pää- / sivuaineet:
Electrical and Communications Engineering, -

Hankintakanava:
Own arrangements. Personal/Family Contact/friend of a friend. I heard that CASEM needed student workers for the summer and wrote to ask.

Työ ja saamani opit:
Before arriving in Singapore, I knew little about CASEM, or the assignment I was to work on. The job description I had received was very short and somewhat fuzzy. Upon my arrival I found out more. My job was to test a new industrial digital macro camera by creating an interface that allows easy control of the camera and implementing it. A clear schedule for the project did not exist and the task meant getting acquainted with Visual C++ and the Windows API before diving into the supplied libraries of the hardware, as I had not used the language before. Luckily there were other programmers in the office who could help me with general issues. Our Senior Software Engineer was very helpful especially outside the office by showing me how to get from my accommodation to the office etc.

CASEM is an acronym for Center for Advanced Semiconductor Equipment Manufacturing. CASEM (Asia) Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of MIT (Manufacturing Integration Technology, a Singaporean semiconductor manufacturer) is a Research and Development Company developing, manufacturing and marketing high quality die bonders for high reliability soft solder die attaching. The company was founded in 1999 and has about 15-20 permanent employees mostly Singaporeans or Chinese and a few Europeans. CASEM regularly offers internships to students. Aside from me, there were two other trainees, one from University of Applied Sciences in Germany (6 months attachment) and a local polytechnic student (3 months attachment).

The regular work hours in Singapore and at CASEM are 8.30 am to 6 pm, including a 45 min lunch break and 15 min coffee break. Overtime is usual, yet I tried to keep overtime hours to as few as possible.

Palkkaus ja verotus:
My salary was 1000 SGD/month including accommodation.

Majoitus:
Matkaraportit

Internship Report: Singapore


Name: Johan Hacklin
Department: Electrical and Communications Engineering
Major: -
Internship Company: CASEM (Asia) Pte Ltd
Adress:
Blk 5004, #03-12 Ang Mo Kio Ave 5, TECHplace 2, Singapore 569872

Coutry: Singapore

Period of traineeship: 15.7. - 13.9.2002





Obtained through:

Own arrangements. Personal/Family Contact/friend of a friend. I heard that CASEM needed student workers for the summer and wrote to ask.

Work:

Before arriving in Singapore, I knew little about CASEM, or the assignment I was to work on. The job description I had received was very short and somewhat fuzzy. Upon my arrival I found out more. My job was to test a new industrial digital macro camera by creating an interface that allows easy control of the camera and implementing it. A clear schedule for the project did not exist and the task meant getting acquainted with Visual C++ and the Windows API before diving into the supplied libraries of the hardware, as I had not used the language before. Luckily there were other programmers in the office who could help me with general issues. Our Senior Software Engineer was very helpful especially outside the office by showing me how to get from my accommodation to the office etc.

CASEM is an acronym for Center for Advanced Semiconductor Equipment Manufacturing. CASEM (Asia) Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of MIT (Manufacturing Integration Technology, a Singaporean semiconductor manufacturer) is a Research and Development Company developing, manufacturing and marketing high quality die bonders for high reliability soft solder die attaching. The company was founded in 1999 and has about 15-20 permanent employees mostly Singaporeans or Chinese and a few Europeans. CASEM regularly offers internships to students. Aside from me, there were two other trainees, one from University of Applied Sciences in Germany (6 months attachment) and a local polytechnic student (3 months attachment).

The regular work hours in Singapore and at CASEM are 8.30 am to 6 pm, including a 45 min lunch break and 15 min coffee break. Overtime is usual, yet I tried to keep overtime hours to as few as possible. My salary was 1000 SGD/month including accommodation.

Salary:

1000 SGD/month including accommodation

Accommodation

The accommodation was included in my payment and arranged by the employer. I stayed in a Singaporean Chinese family's apartment where I had a simple room and shared bathroom and kitchen with the family, 3 adults and two children. The apartment was in Braddel Heights, a typical Singaporean HDB (Housing and Development Board) neighborhood. These generic apartment houses were built by the government as a response to the rapid increase of population since Singapore separated from Malaysia in the 1960s. Although the majority of all Singaporeans live in such apartments, most foreign workers stay in hotels or condominiums, hardly any foreigners get to visit an HDB apartment. I was not told what the price of my accommodation was yet the Singaporeans at the office estimated it at the lower end of a span from 200 to 500 SGD/month.

Matkajärjestelyt:
I arranged the flights myself, funded partly by the Travel-Scholarship from HUT with CASEM covering the difference. Flights to Singapore should be booked early as most regular major airline traffic is booked up a few weeks in advance, student rates may thus be difficult to get on short notice. My travel route was Frankfurt - Paris - Singapore with Air France. The flight duration from Paris to Singapore is 13 hours. My baggage was delayed by 5 days due to a strike in Paris, which entitled me to purchase the necessary daily clothing and accessories. Additionally I was upgraded to Business Class for the return trip.

A tourist visa for finish citizens (and most other Europeans) is issued upon arrival in Singapore. A working permit has to be arranged before entering Singapore and in most cases one should not enter Singapore without it if planning to work there. The application process may take several months and requires a working contract, as the employer has to issue a security bond for the employee. Most of the necessary paperwork was handled by CASEM. I had to postpone my departure from Germany for two weeks, as the work permit had not been issued up to my initially scheduled departure.
Singapore is the gate to South-East Asia, neighboring countries are Malaysia and Indonesia, many others are within reach, yet the weekly working hours restricted my traveling possibilities such that I did not get any further away than peninsular Malaysia.

Vapaa-aika:
As my accommodation did not offer much more than a bed I spent most evenings in downtown Singapore or the colonial district. The first 5 weekends were spent exploring Singapore, after that I visited Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia and Pulau Tioman, an island on the east coast of Malaysia. Most tourists only spend a few days in Singapore, and CASEM is hardly the average expatriot company, thus it was hard to meet people my age who weren't tourists.

Maan tapa:
-

Muuta:
The public transportation in Singapore is rather confusing and takes some time to get used to. To get to the office from the apartment I had to take two busses, however no schedules exist so the trip duration ranged between 15 and 45 minutes. To get downtown I had to take either one bus or change from bus to the MRT, the Singaporean metro. Fortunately taxis are rather inexpensive. My weekly traveling expenses (excluding the weekends) were around 50 SGD (minimum), often more as I spent the evenings downtown.

My time in Singapore was very interesting, although I have to admit that my job does not range among the most giving jobs I have had. My advice to anyone going to Singapore is to enquire about their accommodation in advance, as a personal shower is of great value at 33C and 90% humidity - this was a major drawback. Singapore is a very interesting place to be, although expensive compared to the neighboring countries. I would have wished for more time to travel around.
The climate is demanding during the first weeks, especially since most offices, shopping centers or other public buildings are heavily air-conditioned and the contrast between indoors and outdoors can be overwhelming. Singapore is a very sterile place, clean and organized but has its interesting and personal sides, too. If you have the chance to visit or even work or study in Singapore, it's definitely a thrill and worth the trip.

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