BBA Alumnus Speaks
Earlier received a letter forwarded to my email box. A nice surprise. It was from Francis, an alumnus who is now working in Beijing, China and his candid views on “NUS Business Graduates Start Well” which was published in ST Forum (see below).
(Although the letter was received much earlier, it's being posted now to seek his prior consent. Personal thanks to Francis for his kind consent and support.)
His Letter Uncensored here:
Dear Professor Quek,
I refer to your comments made in the Article “NUS business grads start well” which appeared on The Straits Times on March 18, 2006.
I graduated from NUS with a BBA in 94 and went back for my MSc in 04 on a part-time basis. I have been following the interesting comparison on the type of University education provided by NUS, NTU and SMU.
Arguments so far have somehow narrowed down to two main factors; Starting Salary and Creativity. I started to wonder are these the only two measurements for a good University education?
From my experience thus far, especially when you’re in the Global Arena, you’re competing with people coming from all over the world having different experiences in life but no less with a University education either at home or aboard ! How do you then differentiate each candidate’s abilities without having the opportunities to work together? My experience tells me, the Reputation of the University!
I have worked nearly 12 years after graduation and the last 5 years have been with Volvo Financial Services responsible for SE Asia. I moved to Beijing at the end of last year to establish and then head the operations here upon securing the necessary license from the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC).
During the application process, one of the important criteria is that the appointment of the Senior Management Team must be interviewed and approved by CBRC. And this is where I found the reputation of the University important.
Mentioning from where I graduated, the Authority immediately recognized the School and a nod of approval was noted. No longer was there any question on either academic or performance issue. The seal of approval from the Authority of a Country which boast Beijing, Qinghua and Fudan is something different.
The Business School has been working hard on establishing herself beyond the shore of Singapore and I firmly believed this should be the long term goal. Reputation cannot be earned overnight; it has to be accorded by others. History is the best judge and no one or amount of advertisement can replace that.
Finally I would say that I am proud to be an Alumni of NUS, especially the Business School.