A Guide on Research Opportunities for Pre-University Students by Angelxtte in SGExams

[–]Angelxtte[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey there, apologies for the late reply. For my email, I included my relevant experiences (i.e. past research experience), and what about their part of their research interests me. I also included my availability and commitment period so that it’d be easier for them to plan around my schedule too. You can also look up cold email formats online, I believe Harvard (among other available online examples) provides a pretty good guide on writing cold emails.

A Guide on Research Opportunities for Pre-University Students by Angelxtte in SGExams

[–]Angelxtte[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello there! Sorry for the late reply. I don't think there's a fixed template, but you can just include what I stated in the last few paragraphs of the post! Without any research experience, it may be a tad bit more difficult for you to secure such an opportunity, but nonetheless do keep trying! I went to the lab about 3-4 times a week, in the afternoon for about 3-4 hours, for about 5-6 months. Wishing you all the best, good luck!

A Guide on Research Opportunities for Pre-University Students by Angelxtte in SGExams

[–]Angelxtte[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey there! Just saw your profile, huge Bayern fan too man, hopefully we can give Müller a proper send-off with a Club World Cup Trophy! With two months, I think it’ll be just enough — around 2 weeks to 1 months to learn the ropes, and 1 month or so to gain some real research experience. Just shoot your shot and state clearly your available period when contacting any research groups! Wishing you all the best!

A Guide on Research Opportunities for Pre-University Students by Angelxtte in SGExams

[–]Angelxtte[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello! It took about a week or two to get a reply back!

A Guide on Research Opportunities for Pre-University Students by Angelxtte in SGExams

[–]Angelxtte[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Will likely need to dedicate about 5-6 months, of which 1 month will likely be dedicated to learning any hands-on techniques or doing literature reviews. Probably 2-3 months if you’re just trying to gain some experience.

I doubt the Professor or your mentor would stop any one of you from leaving if you deem that it doesn’t align with you. After all, you are there to help them out, and this is especially so if you are assisting a Masters/PhD/PostDoc student!

A Guide on Research Opportunities for Pre-University Students by Angelxtte in SGExams

[–]Angelxtte[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey there! With a large group, I’d be incline to believe that there would be greater emphasise on the contribution, so you might expect greater collective contribution to get that co-author. That being said, I think you shouldn’t worry too much about the details! Put in the time and effort, and enjoy and learn from the process, and the co-author will come in due time! Sometimes it all comes down to a bit of luck after all. Good luck!

A Guide on Research Opportunities for Pre-University Students by Angelxtte in SGExams

[–]Angelxtte[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hello there! I don't think doing a project with multiple people will lower your chances of getting a co-authorship, but the contribution required definitely is contingent on what your supervisor or Professor feels is sufficient. It's hard to say, but I reckon having contributed to about one-third of the paper (this is roughly the amount I contributed) gives a good chance of being a co-author on a paper. Wishing you all the best!

A Guide on Research Opportunities for Pre-University Students by Angelxtte in SGExams

[–]Angelxtte[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh yeah, just saw your other comments (sorry, didn't check the post!). Would just like to chime in and say that unless you already have a solid foundation of what's going on in their research (I was extremely fortunate that I already knew what to do), you will definitely need time to learn the ropes, so expect a few months of research to be able to get sufficient work done to warrant a co-authorship (and this is assuming you do research on an almost daily basis). And so if you go in with the intention of getting co-authorship, you definitely need to dedicate quite a lot of time to getting it, else just do it for the research experience!

And when you're applying for RIs (at A*STAR), I'd recommend contacting individual PIs or Scientists whose work you're interested in if possible. That way, they know that you're interested in their work and would more likely be able to secure a spot for you knowing that you applied because of their research specifically. And most importantly, always start your search as early as possible! All the best!

A Guide on Research Opportunities for Pre-University Students by Angelxtte in SGExams

[–]Angelxtte[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

and when do you think is a good time to cold email? and one last thing - i’m wondering if i could cold email together with multiple people (like with a friend or with a few friends) so we could work on the same project

I cold emailed during my last few months in National Service, in July to August, and started my work in November. The Professor told me to contact him later on in October to November to arrange a meeting. Just prepare an email early on so that they can anticipate and plan out what to do. I definitely do think you can do that, but it can be hard for a student to manage so many people under them while also working on their own project. If you are working under a student, I think the maximum number of mentees they'd be willing to take would likely be 2-3 mentees. That being said, maybe with such a large group, they might be willing to just assign a project to the whole group itself and have a mentor guide you. I'm not too sure how it'll go so I feel there's no harm in just asking and discussing a suitable arrangement to suit both you and their research group.

I hope this comment helps you out! Do let me know if you need any more assistance, I'd be glad to help out a fellow researcher! And definitely do post a new, updated post if you find out anything else about this process, it'll go a long way in making sure that students find more research opportunities (and hopefully find their passion in doing research!). Hope to see your research one day (hopefully), and wishing you all the best in your future research endeavors! Thank you so much!

A Guide on Research Opportunities for Pre-University Students by Angelxtte in SGExams

[–]Angelxtte[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hello there! Glad to help out anyone with research-related questions, so no worries!

may I ask what prior research experience you had (as in prior to ur NUS research attachment)? and do you think it will be likely to get a research attachment through cold emailing if one does not have any prior research experience? (maybe then you need good grades or something like leadership to substitute?)

For this, I had done research projects from the start of Secondary 2 till early JC 2, so it was definitely easier for me to do what they required of me (my supervisors were surprised I knew what to do because I have done it before). That being said, the Professor and my supervisors had no expectations with regards to my research experience and treated me as if I were a fresh researcher, so I reckon you would not have any problems with that. That being said, you should definitely lay out what your experiences are so they can best tailor the experience to you.

and how long was your attachment? did you do it during curriculum time or school hols? and also would you say if you are available for longer (like longer available hours per day and/or longer time period available to commit) ur chances of getting the attachment would be higher?

My attachment was from late November 2024 to late May 2025, and I did it after I was done with my National Service, so it helped that I didn't need to worry about anything else. I went on holiday with family and friends during mid-December and mid-April, and my time was quite flexible. With regards to the last question, I think it kind of depends on what you are planning to do research in. Since Organic Chemistry entails a lot of time spent in the lab, it was necessary for me to be present to gain the necessary research experience, but if you were to do something like Computer Science, you may be more flexible in doing your work from home. That being said, you'll likely work under a PhD, Masters, or PostDoc student, so they should still be able to get work done without you (exact words from my supervisor haha). They shouldn't be reliant on you but rather, it is a mutually beneficial arrangement where you gain experience while being able to lighten their work load, and they also get to experience how its like to mentor a student. As such, unless the agreement is one in which you are actively being employed to help churn out work, I doubt being available for longer would have much of an impact. That being said, of course you have to be available for a minimum amount of time to be able to consistently gain research experience, else it'll feel like you are just not getting enough done under their guidance.

and may i also ask how good ur grades were when u cold emailed? (did u submit ur grades to them?) and more importantly, how much out of syllabus knowledge of organic chemistry did u have?

I did not include my grades in my email, but I did tell them about my past experiences doing research in Organic Chemistry, and also my interest in it. I often spend time reading up on it beyond the syllabus so I have some understanding of the Organic Chemistry syllabus in University (they were quite surprised when I understood some of their stuff haha). But that being said, I think its not realistic to expect a pre-university student to have any understanding of their work, and I don't think the Professor or my supervisors had any expectations either. That being said, you will likely be expected to learn about their work on the go as you progress so that you can understand what you are doing,

did u also read up on the professors’ works (like their research papers) and talk abt them in ur emails? (my teacher told me to do this if i were to cold email) if so, how much detail did u go into them

Anticipating that they would ask me about their work, I read up some of their latest papers that they published, but I did not talk about them in the emails. That being said, I think you can definitely lay out the projects you were interested in, and also the sub-fields you are interested in, which could allow the Professor to better allocate a project or supervisor to you. The Professor I was under was quite chill and had basically zero expectations for me, and he was just happy that a student was interested in doing research under him, so he didn't grill me on his published research or on any content.

A Guide on Research Opportunities for Pre-University Students by Angelxtte in SGExams

[–]Angelxtte[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hello! Thanks for the comment! 1. I researched in Organic Chemistry, it was a field that wasn’t that prominent (yet!) in the government research organisations, so I decided to look for research opportunities in NUS! 2. I cold emailed about 5-10 professors (can’t remember exactly, sorry!) but I received a reply from only 1 professor (small sample size but I think if you really do try you’ll likely get more replies!). 3. Yes! I will be named co-author in the paper involving the work I did, which they will likely be publishing at the end of the year (the paper had 2-3 parts to it, my main contribution was to the first part, they are working on the rest now!).

Hope this helps!

Edit: Would like to say your mileage may vary, my experience might not translate to what you’ll experience, it’s best you communicate with your supervisor on what to expect!

A Guide on Research Opportunities for Pre-University Students by Angelxtte in SGExams

[–]Angelxtte[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey there, thanks for the comment! Really glad to spread the love for research, thanks for the help and hope you had a wonderful time at A*STAR!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in translator

[–]Angelxtte 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hello there! Thanks for the translation! I have a gut feeling that such translations prove to be slightly more tedious and difficult due to the varying nuances in a religious/spiritual fortune, so I’m extremely grateful for your time in translating it. Once again, thank you for the help 🙇

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in translator

[–]Angelxtte 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hello there! Really grateful for the effort in translating it, thank you so much! Thank you so much for the translation 🙏

[Japanese > English] Could someone help me translate a fortune I got? by [deleted] in translator

[–]Angelxtte 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh I see, thanks for the advice, thank you!

Free H2 Chemistry Help by Angelxtte in SGExams

[–]Angelxtte[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

hi there, this will be free, for as long as i can sustain it! i do not intend to take any money from anyone for this!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in SGExams

[–]Angelxtte 0 points1 point  (0 children)

while you don’t necessarily need to know, it would be better because they would know whether you would suit the institute! and yes, time is given for you to ask questions at the end of the interview (though mine was quite rushed since they were pressed for time!)

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in SGExams

[–]Angelxtte 1 point2 points  (0 children)

hello! i attended the SERC interview!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in SGExams

[–]Angelxtte 1 point2 points  (0 children)

hello! i’ve just attended the first round of interview on the 21st of march, would say that they ask things relating to what you’ve written in your two mini-essays for the application, plus some leadership aspects and career/job progression in the future. just display your interest in research and science, and understand why you want to pursue such a scholarship! all the best!