Originally posted by nightzip:
pardon my limit of knowledge, who's He Ruimin, is it you?
so you're brother gonna be COA?
Not that elite
erh..it came out in the news 2 years back wat..Now he's a CPT on one of the ships (heck..maybe MAJ?)
If you got OA account can search for his name..
MOST university students take four years to complete a basic engineering degree. Singaporean He Ruimin, 23, went one better - he did a doctorate in economics while studying for his first degree in electrical engineering.
He managed this at no less than the renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston, the United States.
MIT officials said what he did is unprecedented. His dons said he is probably the first to bag a first degree and a PhD in such a short time.
But the man himself played down his achievement yesterday, saying: 'There are many MIT students who are academically brilliant. Many gain a masters and a basic degree in four years.'
Still, the older son of an electrical engineer and a computer scientist unwittingly underlined his feat when he let on that he had started his PhD studies only at the end of the second year. Most people take four to six years to complete their doctorate alone.
'I was initially thinking of studying for a masters in engineering. But then I thought, why not do something outside of engineering altogether,' said the former Raffles Junior College student, who was given the President's and Singapore Armed Forces scholarships.
Lieutenant He, who returned to town last month and is currently serving out his six-year bond on missile corvette RSS Victory, said it is not particularly unusual for MIT students to cross disciplines.
'Science and engineering undergraduates are required to spend about a quarter of their time on the humanities, so it's common for students there to straddle disciplines and be good at both.'
He took several economic classes in his first two years and made such an impression that several tutors helped him make a case for taking up a PhD programme concurrently.
A sailing enthusiast, he still found time to sail the Charles River near his university, run in the Boston Marathon, as well as serve on several student bodies, including as president of the Singapore Students' Society in MIT.
He said he learnt how to juggle 'outside interests' and his studies while in school, and added: 'That certainly came in useful.'
His younger bro of 4 years now in MIT also on PS/SAFOS scholarship..COA to be
