Despite juggling many academic activities in my final year at the Nanyang Business School, I couldn’t resist taking part in the Undergraduate Research Experience on CAmpus (URECA) programme, a vigorous by-invitation-only elective that aims to bring out the researcher in us.

I chose to work with Asst Prof Kim Young Han on a finance and psychology project that involved analysing interviews given by CEOs to the financial media.

As an undergraduate majoring in tourism and marketing, I jumped at the chance to delve into a complementary field of expertise that I wouldn’t normally be exposed to.

Our aim was to find a way to detect the subtle clues CEOs inadvertently reveal in public media through their non-verbal behaviour. This purpose may seem trivial, but the results could help investors make more well-informed decisions on where to put their money – we’re talking about billions of dollars!

Using special software, we observed these subtle gestures and found that head twitching in front of the camera could be an indicator of how well a CEO’s company is performing.

I learnt a lot from my supervisor, Asst Prof Kim, who was not only patient, but committed to helping me master the intricacies of the finance world – an uncharted territory for me.

The 11-month stint has given me a good glimpse into the multiple facets of academic research. It was fun to get to the heart of quantitative research and to practise its methodologies. I was also inspired enough to consider taking up postgraduate studies.

Although I’ve since decided to pursue a full-time career in the corporate world after graduating in July, this experience with URECA will forever be etched in my memory as an academic milestone.

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