#dare2bEXCEPTIONAL

Success takes more than technical competence. Good grades may open doors but it is soft skills that help our students stand out. With a plethora of extracurricular activities, personal and career development programmes, our students step up to every opportunity to develop exceptional qualities in leadership, critical thinking, communications, teamwork and adaptability that will help them ace their careers and lives.

BUILDING CHARACTER THROUGH SPORTS

As the Singapore University Sports Council Chair for 2018/19, SIM Global Education (SIM GE) played an active role in promoting student participation in sporting events such as the ASEAN University Games, World University Championship Sports and Singapore University Games. Through more than 30 sports clubs and 60 sporting activities, our students learn teamwork and perseverance and build long-lasting friendships, among other things.

Similarly, conquering Mount Fansipan, the highest mountain in the Indochinese Peninsula, was a high point for our team of students from the SIM Outdoor Adventure Club. But it was the valuable life lessons in being resourceful, taking responsibility and showing empathy that will continue to shape their lives.

SIM-RMIT University student executing a challenging wushu manoeuvre at the 19th ASEAN University Games held in Myanmar, and clinching gold medal.
SIM Outdoor Adventure Club students and SIM staff at the peak of Mount Fansipan, 3,143 metres above sea level.
Project 1095 - Student Life @ SIM GE

PURSUING ARTS FOR SOFT SKILLS

Arts and cultural activities provided students with a platform to express their individuality, cultivate cultural awareness and hone their artistic and leadership skills. To put the science into the arts, we introduced a developmental framework among all the 11 arts and cultural student clubs, benefiting more than 700 students. Not only did our students acquire the necessary soft skills to enhance their employability, the quality of their performances improved too.

SIM students put up 10 theatre, dance and music productions. Highlights included the SIM Malay Cultural and Muslim Society's 'Introspeksi Kalbu', promoting community awareness and support for anti-drug campaigns; and 'Evolusi Muzika' which educated the community on the progression of Malay music throughout the years. Students of the SIM Esprimere Singing Club were also featured in the Top 20 of the televised local singing competition, SPOP Sing!

On the invitation of the editors, SIM Japanese Culture and Gaming Society examined Japanese and Hong Kong popular culture, and contributed two chapters to the book, 'Studying Hong Kong: 20 Years of Political, Social and Economic Development'. The book was published by World Scientific and sold internationally.

SIM Malay Cultural and Muslim Society students putting on an intense performance during 'Introspeksi Kalbu' to raise anti-drug awareness.
 
The SIM Japanese Culture and Gaming Society students proudly holding the publication containing their contribution on Japanese and Hong Kong popular culture.

GETTING CAREER READY

To enhance employability and prepare themselves to be career ready, our students took career planning seriously and took part in more than 250 career-related programmes and events. These activities helped them develop a better understanding of themselves and take charge of their career paths.

For the first time, we organised a one-day boot camp for our freshmen to discover their career interests and explore the different types of jobs and industry sectors. Our students also benefited from our new one-stop online portal, UNICORN, that offers useful information on career development, events, internships and job opportunities.

SIM GE partnered industry players such as SGTech, Singapore Fintech Association and Ping An’s OneConnect Financial Technology to provide our students with internship and placement opportunities. Employment and networking opportunities were also made available through our career fairs which showcased organisations including start-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises, public and not-for-profit companies.

For the first time, students participated in an internship programme in New York, USA, where they lived together, received on-the-job training at one of the 25 host organisations, attended professional development workshops and networked with the US government agencies.

Our industry partners and alumni were also engaged to mentor and guide our students. Such initiatives included the Young Graduates Forum where young SIM GE graduates working across different sectors provided career advice based on their own journeys and experiences; and the first International Student Career Forum helmed by international graduates.

To give our international students a leg up in employment in their home cities such as Jakarta, Hanoi, Yangon, Shanghai and Guangzhou, we also organised career development initiatives in these cities to expose them to first-hand industry trends and employment landscape.

As a result of our career development initiatives, our graduates had done well. In the inaugural SIM Alumni Survey1 to track the progress of our graduates five years after they had graduated, it was found that our alumni had made remarkable strides in their career once they have been given the opportunity. Besides earning commendable salaries, 97% were employed with more than half working in large companies; one in four held a managerial position while 61% were in an executive or senior executive position. Job mobility was also good with three in five having at least one promotion in the last five years. Separately, in the annual 2017/2018 SIM Graduate Employment Survey2, overall full and part-time employment rate within six months of graduation increased to almost 84%.

An SIM GE student engaging a potential employer at the SME and Technovation Career and Internship Fair, which attracted more than 600 students and 50 companies.
Our Indonesian students on a visit to the Lippo Group in Jakarta to gain career insights.

1The SIM GE's Alumni Survey 2018 was independently conducted by Media Research Consultants on the 2013 cohort of SIM GE graduates from the full-time Bachelor’s degree programmes of RMIT University; University at Buffalo, The State University of New York; University of London and University of Wollongong. 1,133 respondents out of 5,321 participated in this survey with an overall response rate of 21.3%. Our survey results focused on the employment outcomes of 1,113 respondents who were economically active. The survey was conducted from June 2018 to July 2018.

2The SIM GE's Graduate Employment Survey 2017/2018 was independently conducted by Media Research Consultants on the 2017 cohort of SIM GE graduates from the full-time Bachelor’s degree programmes, approximately six months after completing their studies. 2,422 respondents out of 5,542 participated in this survey with an overall response rate of 43.7%. Our survey results focused on the employment outcomes of 2,365 respondents who were economically active. The survey was conducted from November 2017 to April 2018.

PLUGGING INTO THE REAL WORLD

SIM GE also organised a number of business competitions and other events that gave students opportunities to gain real-world global and business perspectives. Through these, they also built up public speaking, communication and negotiation skills.

Such events included the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute Research Challenge and Tata Crucible Campus Quiz. Our students also had the opportunity to network and shine at overseas conferences such as the Harvard National Model United Nations conference in Boston, USA.

To give them a better grasp of current affairs and a voice on topics that impacted them and their local communities, our students were engaged in dialogue sessions with Singapore politicians such as Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, Speaker of Parliament, and Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Our winning SIM GE team at the CFA Institute Research Challenge together with one of the judges, Mr Ho Hin Wah, Managing Director and Head, Total Return Equities Asia Pacific, GIC (1st from left).
Dr Lee Kwok Cheong, CEO, SIM Holdings (right), thanking Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, Speaker of Parliament, for his engaging dialogue session with students on ‘heartware’ versus hardware.

NURTURING GLOBAL CITIZENS

In an interconnected world, it is important for our students to acquire global competence and multiple intelligences – creative, social, emotional and digital – so as to be effective global citizens. This was achieved through on-campus personal development programmes and study abroad programmes with highly ranked partner institutions from Europe, Japan, United States and South Korea.

SIM students forging friendships with foreign students at a dragon boat activity during an SIM International Summer Programme.

MAKING AN IMPACT IN CAMBODIA

Bringing the SIM brand of holistic education to our students at Singapore (Cambodia) International Academy (SCIA) to better prepare them for the real world, we provided programmes beyond the standard core subjects to include business management, information and communications technology as well as soft skills such as communication, problem-solving and cyber wellness. Teachers also focused on building moral character, leadership skills and global awareness in students through co-curricular and other activities.

SCIA students showcasing their STEM project at the annual STEM Festival in Cambodia.