SMU, which has about 7,300 undergraduates, noted that three-quarters of the 2.6 per cent of students who went on leave in the first semester of the last academic year did so for internships. Students who took leave said that they wanted to gain work experience, as they saw the value of learning skills which they cannot truly pick up in school. Others like SMU business undergraduate Wu Songjun, 24, took leave for social causes, like teaching English in Cambodia. They are among a growing number of undergraduates who are taking leave from school to pursue interests beyond books. Instead of taking the usual three to four years to earn a degree, they take a "customised" approach, extending their study period to do an extra internship, volunteer overseas or start a business. The trend is most evident at NUS, which has about 27,000 undergrads. About 340 of them took leave in the 2012 academic year, a 10 per cent increase from three years ago. NTU said that its numbers have remained stable, but did note that more are taking leave to intern or start a business.