Venue

The conference will be held at National University of Singapore.

Getting To Singapore

Check that your passport has at least 6 months validity from the time of your departure from Singapore. 

Attendees travelling with passports from certain countries will require a visa, refer to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority of Singapore website. 

Singapore has strict laws. The immigration and customs procedure is generally pretty smooth. Information on prohibited items can be found here.

Everyone will need to fill out the SG Arrival Card (here) anytime within the two days prior to your arrival. It's just a short form and there's no fee. It's fine to fill it out upon arrival prior to proceeding through immigration.

Changi airport (SIN) on the eastern edge of the island is the main gateway to Singapore. It should be fairly straight forward to find regular flights to and from most major cities with minimal connections. 

 

Getting From Changi Airport

MRT: The East-West MRT Line (green metro line) goes from the airport to the city centre and onwards to Buona Vista nearby to most of the conference accommodation options. The journey is just over an hour to Buona Vista since Changi is on the eastern tip of the island and you'll have to swap trains at the Tanah Merah stop. The green line is busy on peak commuter hours.

 

Taxi: The faster option from the airport is to take a cab. At each terminal there is a taxi rank and separate ride hailing app waiting area (typically right next to each other). 

 

Accommodation

There are three accommodation options to suit different budgets:

Park Avenue Rochester ($$$) 

The Park Avenue Rochester is a 4 star hotel located in the One-North/Buona Vista area. It is well connected to NUS campus via a short bus trip and is located close to Buona Vista MRT stop for getting in and out of the city center, to the airport or to Kent Ridge MRT stop on NUS campus. 

 

Lyf One North ($$) 

Lyf One North is an aparthotel offering "studio" style accommodation (breakfast not included). It's in pretty much the same area as the Park Avenue Rochester (so the same food advice applies) but closer to One North MRT stop on the circle line than Buona Vista. 

 

Travelodge Harbourfront ($$) 

Travelodge Harbourfront is a conveniently located mid-tier hotel in the Harbourfront area. It offers great value with easy access to the MRT, putting attractions like Sentosa and NUS just a few stops away. The area boasts diverse dining options. 

 

Tips

  • English is the lingua franca in Singapore.
  • There's no culture of tipping here.
  • When packing, keep in mind it will be hot and humid outdoors! Being in the tropics, there could be occasional rain during your trip. 
  • You may need a plug adapter. The power socket in Singapore is type G (the same one as the UK and Ireland with three rectangular shaped prongs).
  • When eating in Singapore's famous hawker centres (and food courts etc), you are typically expected to return your tray/dishes to a drop point. 
  • On busy escalators - the left hand side is the 'standing lane' and the right hand side is the 'fast lane'. This mirrors road traffic; vehicles drive on the left and overtake on the right (when crossing the street - look right first). 

 

Currency and Going Cashless

The local currency is the Singapore Dollar.

The usual credit/debit cards are accepted pretty much everywhere. However most hawker centre and cafeteria food stalls do not accept card. For eating at either (including many of the lunch options at the conference venue) you can:

1.Get some cash from an ATM.

2.Go cashless. Check out GrabPay, a digital wallet that allows you to load money in via card payment. To pay at a foodstall you just scan a QR code and enter the payment amount. Make sure to load in cash into the digital wallet in advance though. Grab is also the Uber equivalent in this part of the world and you can hail a ride with the same app.

 

Getting Around

In General

The public transport system is excellent and pretty cheap. You pay with Apple Pay, Google Pay or a contactless credit/debit card as you get on and off. You can purchase a physical EZ-Link card if you don't already have a contactless option.