LEOM SHENG RUI
RENAISSANCE ENGINEERING PROGRAMME
It was a no-brainer.
Leom Sheng Rui’s A-level results gave him a number of options for further studies, but his top pick was never in doubt.
“NTU is renowned globally for its excellence in engineering, and this is exemplified by ‘Technological’ in its name,” says Sheng Rui.
He was offered a computing programme by another local university, but his mind was always set on NTU’s Renaissance Engineering Programme (REP).
“REP has always been my first choice. And it was an easy one,” he says. “It allows me to get two degrees in just four and a half years – a Bachelor of Engineering Science from the College of Engineering and a Master of Science in Technology Management from Nanyang Business School.”
Sheng Rui, you see, is keen on not just engineering research, but on the business aspects too. He has a startup idea in his mind, to use software to streamline company processes. But at the moment, he is just enjoying his studies and campus life.
After his A-levels, the Raffles Institution alumnus read up on REP and he was impressed with its well-known professors, ample facilities and resources. At the tea reception introducing the programme, he met some of the professors and he admitted to being a little star-struck. His decision was then cast in stone.
“Some people admire K-pop stars, while I look up to my profs whose research helps make the world a better place,” he quips.
“The professors are approachable and easy to relate to. They are experts in their area, and they communicate clearly.”
On his first day on campus, Sheng Rui visited the REP Makers’ Lab, located just below his hall room. “I was excited, even ecstatic,” he says. He was like a kid in a toy store as he explored the lab’s facilities, and was itching to try out the 3D printing machine.
Sheng Rui loves the community life on campus and mixing with students from other NTU schools, which is what the Interdisciplinary Core Curriculum (ICC) allows him to do. He enjoys all the courses in his first year – from electronic and information engineering to materials and manufacturing and fundamentals of management. He’s likely to specialise in computing, but values the broad-based academic foundation that REP offers.
Sheng Rui swears that he’s never been a teacher’s pet and that he truly appreciates his REP professors, who are easy to talk to after classes and even during term breaks.
Sheng Rui looks forward to going overseas in his third year as part of the REP curriculum. His top choice is the University of California, Berkeley, in the US, famous for computing, though he’s also open to the equally prestigious Imperial College London.
Having secured an internship with Home Team Science & Technology Agency in his first year at NTU, it sounds like everything is blue skies for Sheng Rui.
Any dark clouds? “Not that I can think of,” he says confidently.
For him, the key is making the right decisions in life – and choosing REP is a decision that is already paying off for him.
Monday nights are jam time with his coursemates. Sheng Rui is the keyboardist in REP jam band Beginners’ Luck.
This story was published in the Jan-Feb 2025 issue of HEY!. To read it and other stories from this issue in print, click here.
