Duke-NUS Reviews

1. Outdated, Toxic Management Culture The department I was in had a highly toxic "if you're not in the office, you're not working" mindset, even well into the post-COVID era. While WFH was reluctantly allowed once a week, bosses frequently revoked it under the guise of "fairness". Especially if even other team's colleagues had to be in the office all week, even if you don't. This logic punished everyone and created resentment. If flexible work is important to you, ask clearly about WFH policies during interviews and be cautious if you're dealing with this department. 2. Zero Respect for Work-Life Balance Director would frequently expect immediate replies—even after hours and on weekends. Bosses have no hesitation in burning out staff to accommodate students’ "preferred" weekend schedules. Saying no will quickly get you labeled as difficult. There is little to no respect for personal time or mental well-being. 3. Micromanagement and Deep-Seated Biases Micromanagement is rampant—senior leadership holds onto workstreams instead of empowering staff, and team leads rarely advocate for their teams. Favoritism is very obvious: some employees are unfairly overloaded because they're seen as “reliable,” while others are sidelined for arbitrary reasons and denied growth opportunities for years. Promotions happen not based on merit, but on how well-liked you are by certain higher-ups. 4. Unprofessional and Petty Reporting Officers Some ROs engage in gossip about their own team members, openly and unashamedly. Some lunch topics were thinly veiled personal attack towards other colleagues or content that was uncomfortable. If you raise concerns, expect your issues to be laughed off, minimised, or ignored altogether. Constructive feedback is rarely welcomed; calling out problems often results in personal retaliation. Leadership qualities were noticeably absent in my time there, and I’m not alone in that sentiment. 5. Constant, Top-Down Changes with No Real Consultation Your portfolio can be changed abruptly with little to no explanation, and “consultations” held after the fact are purely performative. Staff input is not genuinely valued. Decisions are already made before discussions even happen, and you’re expected to go along with them without question. It's telling that there have been cases of sabbaticals due to burnout and mental health struggles. That alone should be a serious red flag. (Hint: If you’re interviewing for a role that works closely with curriculum and exams, ask detailed questions about the culture and reporting structure. You’ll know this department when you see it.)

Career There is no career progression in place and they mostly hire from outside to fill their “faculty PI position”, which is really outdated US system that promotes toxic competition. Research fellows are not allowed to apply for their own funding again becuz they are not “PI”. So what’s the point of doing a PhD or a research fellow at DukeNUS then if you are not allowed to get your own funding, co-supervise or supervise your own students at official capacity, and contribute to the uni and society, all of which are what research fellows should be exposed to as soon as they finish their PhD. Research environment Not very collaborative compared to some of other research centres I have worked in the UK/Aus. Common lab equipment not maintained very well, lab spaces are not maintained very well. Paints coming off the wall, mould spots on the ceiling tiles, no air pressure gauge on the wall, damaged spots everywhere on the lab vinyl floor. This is not that bad on Level 7 but shockingly bad on level 9 Emerging infectious diseases program. The building has dodgy and slow good lifts, and there are not enough (and badly designed) office spaces), which means some people are sitting/drinking in the lab with flip-flops. This is due to the fact that there is a giant hole in the middle of the building, silly/lazy design really. Not enough conference rooms and quiet rooms, and really bad AV infrastructure in these rooms with projectors and HDMI working less than half of the times, and are not ZOOM-capable thus screen sharing on half-ass HDMI-projectors. I find that the program retreat that I went (apparently this is compulsory) was a giant waste of a day. I saw PIs stroking each others ego all day long, food provided was ok, coffee served was horrendous. I instead went to Coffee Academic for a real cup of espresso. HR Slow as turtles. found a RAs through interview but this RA found an another job whilst waiting for DukeNUS HR and contract, UNBELIEVABLE. Others DukeNUS is located in SGH and is too far away from everything else. MRT/bus is on the outskirt of SGH, and no underground pass/shops from MRT into SGH either, what a planning eh. There is no decent cafeteria and food places around. Walking under the SG sun and humidity mid-day for lunch is just not pleasant at all. Claiming expenses (ie for conferences and travelling) and the process involved is just unnecessarily silly and protracted.