#dare2bCOUNTED

Often it is not just what we know but who we know that matters. At the heart of our inclusive network of learners are our members, students, alumni, partners, trainers, lecturers and staff. What gives this community vibrancy and value is the fact that everyone’s voice counts. The network is enriched when community members give feedback, and share and build on ideas to make a difference.

The Perks of Membership

At SIM, we provide valuable networking opportunities for our 35,000 corporate and individual members. Likewise, our eight Interest Groups are also an integral part of continuing development for our members.

About 150 activities, such as talks, workshops, and local and overseas business study trips, were organised during the year for SIM and Interest Group members to share knowledge and experiences, and to cooperate and collaborate.

Members from the SIM Innovation and Quality Management Group visiting the SATS Maintenance Centre to learn about their operational innovations.
Individual members Number of members
Honorary Fellow 9
Ordinary 1,279
Associate 1,078
Student 32,648
Silver (Retired) 49
Total 35,063
Corporate members Number of members
Companies with 1-100 employees 213
Companies with 101-500 employees 98
Companies with 501-1,000 employees 28
Companies over 1,000 employees 37
Total 376

SIM Honorary Fellows

Mr Wee Cho Yaw

Mr Shaw Vee Meng

Mr Pillay J Y

Dr Richard Eu Keng Mun

Mr Hochstadt Herman R

Mr Ngiam Tong Dow

Professor Cham Tao Soon

Mr Hsieh Fu Hua

Mr John Yip Soon Kwong


Business Management Group
President: Ms Lee Beng Guat, Partner, Kam Boat Chinese Cuisine
To sharpen members' business management skills and help members optimise their professional performance and potential.

Human Capital Interest Group
President: Ms Yap Mei Cheng, Managing Consultant, Nissi HR & OD Consultancy
To promote continuous learning and exchange of best practices in human capital management contextually in tandem with the changing business needs in a VUCA environment.

Information Technology Group
President: Dr Tan Kow Wah, CEO, AKW International Pte Ltd
To provide a network for information exchange and promote the use of information technology in sharpening one’s competitive edge in the marketplace.

Innovation & Quality Management Group
President: Mr Chua Kok Leong, Marketing Director, ERA Realty Network Pte Ltd
To be the premier network of practitioners to embrace quality and innovative concepts and methodologies among organisations and individuals in Singapore.

The Entrepreneurship & Strategic Management Group
President: Mr Michael Leong Yew Meng, Principal Consultant, Ideaz People
To promote keen leadership, entrepreneurship and strategic skills for that edge in business.

SIM I Toastmasters Club
President: Ms Imeldawati Ahmad, HR Manager (SG & SEA), SP Jain School Of Global Management Pte Ltd
To help members sharpen their communication, presentation and leadership skills through enjoyable and interactive programmes.

SIM II Toastmasters Club
President: Dr Rosalind Ho, Dental Surgeon, Shenton Dental Surgery
To help members sharpen their communication, presentation and leadership skills through enjoyable and interactive programmes.

SIM Mandarin Toastmasters Club
President: Ms Apple Lin, School Teacher, PAT's Schoolhouse
To help members sharpen their communication, presentation and leadership skills through enjoyable and interactive programmes.

ENHANCING ALUMNI’S PROSPECTS OVERSEAS

To connect with our overseas alumni, SIM Global Education (SIM GE) established the Shanghai Overseas Alumni Chapter (OAC). Shanghai is the eighth chapter and second one in China, after earlier ones set up in Indonesia, Vietnam and Myanmar.

A new mandate in alumni engagement is to enhance the employability of our international graduates in their home countries. Besides organising career development initiatives in cities such as Yangon and Shanghai, SIM opened its first Representative Office in Jakarta, Indonesia. One of its first initiatives was to tie up with industry partners to offer internships, management trainee programmes, career talks, workshops and seminars for our growing Indonesian alumni group. With the first Representative Office in Jakarta, plans are afoot to open more SIM GE offices in Asia and ASEAN countries to tap on fast-growing demand for quality higher education and better support our overseas students and alumni.

SIM GE alumni from Myanmar enjoying a fun night at an OAC gathering in Yangon.
SIM staff and partners toasting the official opening of the SIM Representative Office in Jakarta, Indonesia.

A VIBRANT ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIP

Our international university partners are an integral part of the vibrancy of our learning environment.

Our relationship with one of our longest standing partners – the University of London (UOL) – was further strengthened with the official opening of the UOL-SIM GE Regional Centre in Singapore in April. Under the auspices of the Centre, two scholarships were awarded to our alumni for their postgraduate degrees in London at University College London and London School of Economics and Political Science, two of the 18 UOL Member Institutions in the United Kingdom.

In recognition of the outstanding contributions he made towards the information technology and education sectors in Singapore, Dr Lee Kwok Cheong, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), SIM Holdings, was conferred an honorary doctorate by the University of Stirling.

Our two SIM-UOL alumni setting their sights on the United Kingdom after obtaining UOL scholarships to pursue their Master’s degrees.
 
Dr Lee Kwok Cheong, CEO, SIM Holdings (right), receiving his honorary doctorate degree from Professor Gerry McCormac, Principal and Vice-Chancellor, University of Stirling.

LEARNED AND LEARNING TO IMPACT

At SIM, we value our faculty members whose dedication to sharing their knowledge and experiences has a direct and positive impact on our students. To help our faculty members continue to update their knowledge and teaching pedagogies and be role models of lifelong learning, we organised different professional training platforms and introduced various resources to support their work.

To enhance the educational experience of our students in a digital age, we have embarked on online and blended learning. SIM GE partnered DioWorks and Surge Consulting to organise blended coaching workshops for our lecturers. Lecturers were also introduced to the possibilities of implementing chatbots to inspire students to do self-directed learning.

Our teaching staff have been able to increasingly leverage technology to enhance learning for our students. Multimedia such as animation and videos were developed to illustrate difficult learning concepts for students in various programmes such as the International Foundation Programme and Management Foundation Studies. We also developed the use of an accounting software to simulate an authentic learning environment for our accounting students, and a chatbot to handle queries on our Learning Management System.

SIM GE organised a series of local and regional education conferences to share the latest teaching trends including empowering students to thrive in the 21st century and beyond. The second SIM GE Regional Educators Conference held in Singapore attracted about 90 educators from 12 countries. Educator conferences were also held in Taiwan, China and Myanmar.

This year, our educators from Singapore (Cambodia) International Academy (SCIA) underwent professional development training by school leaders as well as by Cambridge Assessment International Education, Apple Inc and St John Association Singapore on areas including learning styles, pedagogy, use of technology in learning and first aid.

Educational leader Dr Saundra Yancy McGuire giving insights on learning strategies at an education conference for SIM GE lecturers.
SIM staff sharing the latest teaching trends with participants at the SIM Regional Partners Conference in Thailand.

INVESTING IN PEOPLE AND INFRASTRUCTURE

SIM believes in cultivating a strong learning culture that encourages staff to embrace lifelong learning so that they can be confident and positive contributors to the organisation.

Last year, we invested close to $1million in staff training. Most of our staff achieved an average of 33 hours of training through public and customised courses to improve their skills in core and functional competencies as well as soft skills.

To keep our campus safe and conducive for learning, we are constantly upgrading our teaching facilities. We also enhanced our campus medical safety, with additional automated external defibrillators, first-aid boxes and medical emergency signs. Staff participated in first aid training, fire drills and simulated flu pandemic business continuity management exercises to be better prepared for emergencies.

PAYING IT FORWARD

This year, a total of 32 scholarships and sponsorships worth $587,000 and 118 bursaries to the value of $233,000 were given to SIM GE students and graduates. SIM International Academy (SIM IA) and SCIA also gave out scholarships worth more than $155,000 (six students) and $250,000 (13 students) respectively.

While our scholarships, sponsorships and bursaries are bond-free, we encourage our students to give back to the community in other ways. For the first time, the SIM Outdoor Adventure Club engaged the residents of the Bedok community, inclusive of under-privileged children, through the sport of rock climbing and bouldering. In SIM IA, students were provided with opportunities to lead in various community outreach programmes of their choice, as part of their learning of global issues and leadership development. Examples of these outreach programmes were the Willing Hearts and Food Bank Projects, where students reached out to the needy.

SIM Governing Council member and senior management with the scholars at the SIM Scholarship Presentation Ceremony.
Students from the SIM Outdoor Adventure Club promoting an active lifestyle to residents at HeartBeat @ Bedok.