Two Weeks in France: CCDS’ Yvonne Lim on Learning AI and Culture through GEM Discoverer

Yvonne (centre) and the international students she met in France

When Yvonne Lim Wenqian signed up for a two-week summer programme in France, she thought she knew what she was getting into: an intensive academic deep dive into machine learning alongside fellow students from Singapore. What she didn’t expect was learning Berber phrases from a Moroccan friend, sitting through tutorials without air-conditioning, or realising that an entire tech company could slow to a halt for a month-long national holiday. Somewhere between the lectures and the lived moments, her understanding of what it meant to study, work, and live in tech quietly shifted.

The CCDS Year 2 Data Science and AI student first came across the GEM Discoverer programme through a routine Outlook email (one of many announcements students often scroll past). The programme offers students opportunities to spend short stints abroad to enhance academic learning, and to discover new horizons and cultures. 

As a Turing AI Scholars Programme (TAISP) scholar, Yvonne is encouraged to seek out such high-impact growth opportunities. The overseas GEM Discoverer programme fulfilled an important component of the rigorous course at NTU, offering a global perspective to deepen her learning.

She applied, and soon found herself at CentraleSupélec, one of France’s top engineering schools, attending daily classes from morning to late afternoon. The programme was academically rigorous but familiar: lectures on machine learning, deep learning, and reinforcement learning, followed by hands-on coding tutorials that aligned closely with her coursework back home. With NTU covering most of the accommodation and transport costs, the programme was logistically accessible too. On paper, it was a straightforward overseas academic stint.

What made the experience click, however, was not in the classroom. Despite the programme being marketed mainly to NTU and NUS students, Yvonne found herself in a truly international cohort, learning alongside students from Greece, Morocco, and beyond. Conversations spilled beyond coursework into culture, language, and everyday life, so much so that she picked up basic Berber from a friend!

“I didn’t just learn machine learning — I also learnt about the French way of life and how to speak some phrases in Berber with my Moroccan friend.”

 

The turning point came during a company visit to Dassault, where she saw how software and robotics were applied beyond efficiency or profit. From Leka, an educational robot designed to support children with autism, to systems that help recover lost lobster traps while protecting endangered whales, the visit reframed her understanding of what tech could be for. It was also where she learned that August in France is effectively a national pause – many companies slow down or close entirely! That moment stayed with her. Coming from Singapore’s relentless pace, the idea that rest was structurally built into work culture felt almost radical.

By the time Yvonne returned home, she carried more than new technical exposure. Studying in non-air-conditioned classrooms at a top French university made her newly appreciative of Singapore’s infrastructure, while France’s slower rhythm prompted her to question long-held assumptions about productivity and success.

The programme showed her that excellence in tech doesn’t have to come at the cost of balance. Her advice to juniors considering GEM Discoverer reflects that clarity: apply early, do your research, and don’t dismiss short programmes. Two weeks, she realised, is more than enough time to change how you see your studies, your future work, and the kind of life you want to build around them.

 

About GEM Discoverer

GEM Discoverer offers short-term overseas programmes either in summer or winter at any of NTU’s partner institutions. The short stints, including language immersion programmes and thematic studies, allow NTU students to enhance academic learning, be equipped with relevant skillsets, and gain global perspectives on different cultures.

 

Story by Htoo Myat Noe