Story by | Ryan Yeo, he/him, Staff Editor
Picture credit | Yale-NUS Centre for International and Professional Experience
All study abroad programs next semester will be suspended, Lindsay Allen, Senior Associate Director for International Programmes at the Centre for International and Professional Experience (CIPE), wrote in an email to affected students on May 21.
The email follows an announcement by NUS Global Relations Office (GRO) on May 18 that all Student Exchange Programmes will be suspended for Semester 1 of Academic Year 2021/2022. The decision was made “out of an abundance of caution” amidst a fluid COVID-19 situation, according to the NUS GRO website.
Bryan Timothy ‘23 was originally supposed to study abroad at Yale University next semester. He laments: “I am truly disappointed that the semester abroad was cancelled considering how close it was to happening. I already had my Yale account set up and almost started the Visa application.”
He adds: “I was looking forward to seeing snow for the first time, but alas. I feel like crying in a puddle of tears right now.”
CIPE supports semester study abroad programmes at 35 universities and colleges around the world. Amidst a seemingly endless global pandemic, however, it remains to be seen when the programme can be launched safely again.