For UniSIM Bachelor of Accountancy full-time undergraduate Kenneth Lim, one of the most memorable moments of his time at UniSIM to date came during an overseas stint that gave him the chance to use the technical skills he had learnt to help a social enterprise start-up. 

The 24-year-old participated in a two-month programme organised by Lingnan University in Hong Kong. It was a summer school for service-learning, with work attachment. 

Kenneth is interested in social issues and was attached to a social enterprise start-up in Hong Kong. Together with his teammates, he researched on various fields, including financial planning, website design and marketing. Thanks to UniSIM, he was not starting from a clean sheet. 

“The courses learnt in UniSIM provided me with the technical knowledge and the necessary skills for adaptation like critical thinking and problem solving.”

BEING AN AGENT OF CHANGE

Having learnt the relevant technical skills, Kenneth was able to focus on other aspects of his attachment. 

“Hong Kong’s social issues are similar to those of Singapore, which is why I could relate to them. One of the common social issues is an ageing population. As a society, we need to find ways to help and assist the elderly,” said Kenneth.

Today’s globalised economy offers workers numerous opportunities to work closely with colleagues from all over the world. Kenneth feels that his overseas stint will help him be a better team-player and more effective contributor when he enters the workforce.

“This stint has given me the experience of working with diverse groups, of understanding each team member to form a stronger team. It has also given a better understanding of other countries, in terms of their work environment and culture. I also learnt to integrate into a diverse group faster,” he said.

HEAD, HEART AND HABIT

Kenneth’s experience reflects UniSIM’s educational philosophy of producing well-rounded graduates who have what it refers to as terms the 3H’s — “Head, Heart and Habit.”

The “Head” component refers to professional competency and job readiness. This relates to the knowledge and skills that a UniSIM graduate learns in his/her programme.

Students learn about, and practice “Heart” through their service-learning. Service-learning is conceived as a pedagogy to empower students to further develop and act on their sense of social responsibility, grounded in real-world ideas and practices to contribute meaningfully to society.

The “Habit” portion refers to developing the skills for self-directed learning and the attitude towards life-long learning. Said Kenneth: “This habit builds on both our ‘Head’ and ‘Heart’ components, to continually upgrade myself and care for the community.”

This educational philosophy means that course content is regularly updated to enable students to stay relevant in the face of rapidly changing global developments. It is what has helped Kenneth gain confidence to be effective in the business world.

“Not only does UniSIM help me learn technical knowledge, it also constantly provides me with the necessary skills for adaptation, which is what the 3H’s mean,” he said.

“Head, Heart and Habit” has helped Kenneth make his decision to enroll at UniSIM a relatively easy one.

“I was intrigued by UniSIM’s focus on personal character development. UniSIM’s philosophy of “Head, Heart and Habit” — which focuses on being a committed learner, yet being professional and having a heart for community — resonated with me.”

IN THE CLASSROOM AND BEYOND

For a night owl like Kenneth, UniSIM’s flexible programme structure fits right in with his studying habits. He appreciates the fact that his schedule is not packed with classroom hours, giving him the option of accomodating late-night study sessions into his routine. This flexibility also manifested itself in UniSIM’s common curriculum, which, according to Kenneth, gives students ample opportunities to research interesting topics.

UniSIM’s relatively small full-time student population means that more resources are available for students. It is also easier for professors to guide the students. Said Kenneth: “They provide a lot of student support outside classes — some of them have become my mentors.”

“UniSIM offers many opportunities that students are able to experience and learn from. Students not only learn from the academic courses, but they also forge strong relationships with friends, professors, staff and community partners.”

OUR FULL-TIME PROGRAMMES

• Bachelor of Accountancy

• Bachelor of Human Resource Management with Minor

• Bachelor of Science in Finance with Minor

• Bachelor of Science in Marketing with Minor

• Bachelor of Science in Supply Chain Management with Minor

• Bachelor of Social Work with Minor 

Produced by the TODAY Special Projects Team