SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business undergraduate Anisah Abdul Khalid completed a five-month student exchange programme in Kazakhstan and a two-month internship in Abu Dhabi last year. The 23-year-old came from a madrasah (religious school) background and topped her cohort at Madrasah Al-Maarif before pursuing studies at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. Anisah said that polytechnics are more specialised in providing students with work skills, hence making her transition to SMU easier as she was trained to voice out her opinions and make presentations within a short period of time. Anisah is in her final year. She majors in strategic management and corporate communication and was the president of SMU’s Islamic Banking and Finance Association.