The pursuit of lifelong learning

Even though Ms Grace Seet, 28, and Mr Kenneth Ng, 32, have been working for a few years, they decided to go back to school to study while they continue to work.

Hoping to earn academic qualifications to add to their working experience and widen their business knowledge, Ms Seet and Mr Ng enrolled in UniSIM’s School of Business degree programmes.

As Singapore’s only private university, UniSIM aims to create excellence in lifelong education through a uniquely designed learning experience.

The university offers more than 60 part-time programmes that allow students to learn and to upgrade themselves so as to reinforce future career prospects while working. Last year, UniSIM launched full-time degree programmes in selected disciplines.

Ms Seet, a personal assistant to a managing director of a swimming pool service maintenance company, chose to study for a Bachelor of Science in Marketing to expand her career opportunities, while Mr Ng, who works in the hotel business, pursued a Bachelor of Science in Business.

He said: “After five years in the industry, I wanted to upgrade my skills and advance my career prospects. Having a business degree will prepare me for a management role.”

He added: “My employer has also been supportive of my decision to further my education and readily approves my leave days to attend classes.”

THE WORLD OF BUSINESS

UniSIM’s School of Business (SBIZ) offers various industry-relevant and discipline-focused degree programmes at both undergraduate and post-graduate level. The school has more than 4,000 students, most of whom hold full-time jobs.

Many of these working adults are pursuing part-time degree programmes because they realise that employers are looking for highly skilled business managers to support and manage the intricacies of service operations and personnel.

According to the dean of SBIZ, Associate Professor Lee Pui Mun, the need for managers with the right skills to sustain productivity and innovation is now greater than ever, especially as Singapore’s economy expands.

“The SBIZ programmes prepare graduates to be managers and strategic decision makers in the highly competitive world of business. Our school aims to educate business minds and hopefully, in the process, transform the lives of our students as they graduate with a UniSIM business degree,” said Assoc Prof Lee.

INDUSTRY-RELEVANT CURRICULUM

SBIZ students can expect to have a good mix of theoretical and applied learning that will help nurture them to become effective leaders and decision makers.

The school’s curriculum brings business realities into the classroom and students into the business world.

One approach to bring business realities into the classroom is by having inspiring instructors from different industries.

These instructors incorporate their professional experience into classroom discussions where students will need to apply knowledge and skills to work-based problems.

Ms Seet said: “Our instructors come from various backgrounds and have a lot of industry experience. In class, they keep us engaged by applying concepts to work-based situations. This makes it more relevant and allows me to understand the concepts better.”

The SBIZ teaching faculty also regularly collaborates with businesses to update the school curriculum and ensure industry relevance. They adapt their teaching approaches and add new modular courses to help students keep abreast of industry developments.

Students’ learning is further enhanced through industry site visits and talks by invited business speakers from the industry and academia.

FLEXIBLE LEARNING

Student life in SBIZ involves lessons on campus on weekday evenings and occasionally on weekends. These on-campus lessons promote interactivity, encourage peer-to-peer learning, and nurture thinking and communicative skills.

At the same time, students enjoy independent learning as course lectures and materials are available through the school’s online learning system.

Ms Seet said: “Since I can access lecture notes and class messages via my mobile devices, I can study and do my assignments anytime, anywhere.”

This flexible structure allows students to better balance their work, academic and personal commitments.Ms Seet’s instructors also encourage learning by posting resources and announcements online. Some of them even set up chat groups so students can continue the discussions online after class.

Mr Ng said: “This allows us to have open discussions via online discussion boards and during classes. It enhances our learning as we can learn about different approaches to solving problems from our peers.”

In addition, UniSIM courses are structured modularly so students can choose the number of courses to complete in a semester. This gives them the flexibility to manage their time.

Ms Seet, who is a Team Singapore athlete with the volleyball team, appreciates the learning model as it caters to her busy schedule.

She said: “UniSIM’s modular structure lets me learn and do things according to my time and pace, such as when I had to defer my studies because I was involved in the SEA Games.”

APPLICATION SKILLS

At UniSIM’s School of Business, students will not only acquire new knowledge and skills, but will also learn to apply them to solve problems and improve processes at work.

Ms Seet shares how she is able to get things done more efficiently at work as she does not need to research solutions from scratch.

She said: “The knowledge I have gained from the programme has answered many of my work queries. I have seen better results from the new process that I’ve applied at work and I am able to understand and handle my customers’ needs better.”

Similarly, Mr Ng feels that the courses that he had studied have been helpful at work.

He said: “I have been able to use some of the Excel formulas in my programming spreadsheets to analyse the hotel’s club rooms’ statistics. I hope that my degree will open more doors and opportunities for me.”

SIM UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

Undergraduate programmes

• Accountancy
•  Business Analytics
•  Business
•  Finance
•  Logistics and Supply Chain Management
•  Marketing
•  Management and Security Studies
•  Visual Communication with Business

Graduate programmes

•  Master of Business Administration
•  Master in Management (Urban Transportation)
•  Master of Taxation

For details, visit www.unisim.edu.sg or call 6248 9777. Produced by The TODAY Special Projects Team

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