Singapore, 25 July 2012 (Wednesday) - The Singapore Management University celebrates the graduation of 1,929 graduands at the University's Commencement ceremony which began this afternoon at the Suntec Singapore International Rock Auditorium. This is SMU's ninth and largest batch of graduates.
The opening ceremony was graced by Guest-of-Honour, Dr. Mary Ann Tsao, President and Director of Tsao Foundaton. Also present at the event was Education Minister, Mr Heng Swee Keat and SMU Chancellor, Mr Yong Pung How. This year's Commencement ceremony is held over three days with eight sessions.
Admitted mostly in 2008, this batch of 1,929 students has seized the opportunities presented by an SMU education in the academic arena and beyond. Many had the chance to see and know the world as global exposure is a hallmark of the SMU education.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, SMU President, Professor Arnoud De Meyer commented “ While every batch of our graduates has enjoyed 100 per cent or close to 100 per cent employment, we will not have done our job if the world you step into does not benefit from what you bring to it. I urge all of you to carry our CIRCLE values of Commitment, Integrity, Responsibility, Collegiality, Leadership and Excellence with you wherever you go. These values are an integral part of SMU's holistic approach to education. We have always emphasised not only the training of graduates intellectually, but also the nurturing of graduates with the heart.”
Each year at the Commencement Ceremony the University recognises students from each School who have embraced these values with CIRCLE Awards. Winners of the CIRCLE Award are also distinguished by their all-round excellence in Student Life, Student Leadership, Community Service and Academic Studies. They have been actively involved in serving and giving back to SMU and the community at large. In addition, they have demonstrated leadership abilities, are upright in character, and well-respected by peers, staff, and faculty.
This year's graduands comprise 1,598 bachelor degree graduates. SMU has also been steadily growing its postgraduate programmes, both at the master's and doctoral levels. It is conferring postgraduate degrees on 327 master's students, four PhD students which also include SMU's first doctoral student in Economics.
The 29 students from the pioneer batch of SMU's first Executive MBA programme were drawn from 10 countries, with an average of 19 years of work experience and an average age of 43 years. They have completed their residential segments in four different countries - Singapore, United States, India and China.
(Please see the Annex for details.)
Valedictorian Lim Xuxiang, Alex
Awarded annually to the highest ranking student of each graduating cohort, this year's SPH Valedictorian Award goes to Lim Xuxiang, Alex ( 林旭翔 ), who graduates Summa Cum Laude with a double degree in Accountancy and Business Management.
A Lee Kong Chian Scholar, Alex has regularly demonstrated academic excellence throughout his tenure at SMU. He was placed on the Dean's List in 2008 and 2009, won the Deloitte Meritorious Award in 2008 and 2009, and was presented the Dean of Students' Award for Student Leadership excellence in 2011. He was responsible for organising the Bain and Company Case Competition and the Citibank Case Challenge for SMU students, as well as the Prudential-SMU Business Case Competition, which was the first international case competition organised by SMU with participation from 10 overseas universities. He also planned and successfully executed the SMU Ministerial Forum 2009 graced by the then-Minister for Education, Dr Ng Eng Hen.
Outside of his studies, Alex also proved himself as an active and outstanding student leader. As the President of the Student-Managed Investment Fund (SMIF) from 2008 till to date, he leads a team of 50 student analysts in portfolio management. He represented SMU in a Financial International Case Competition organised by Simon Fraser University which was held in Vancouver, Canada and bagged the “Best Qualifying Case” award. A member of the SMU Cognitare Business Case Club, a student interest group, he took part in the Scotiabank International Case Competition in 2009 and clinched the top prize. He also represented SMU to participate in the Mitel International Case competition and won the 3rd prize.
At the community level, Alex was appointed the Programme Head to carry out educational activities for students and home construction efforts in the Philippines for Project Pangarap 2008 organised by the Gawad Kalinga Community Development Foundation, Inc. This meaningful undertaking fostered a closer integration between the youths of Singapore and the Philippines. During the same year, he also assisted in the fund-raising efforts for Paralympics Singapore organised by the Singapore Disability Sports Council.
Alex is currently employed with a leading European bank and looks forward to broadening his perspectives and meeting exciting challenges in his career in the corporate world.
Salutatorian Ng Jun Yong, Shaun
This year's recipient of the Salutatorian Award supported by SPH Magazines – given annually to the second highest-ranking student from the graduating cohort – is Ng Jun Yong, Shaun ( 黄俊勇 ). He graduates Summa Cum Laude with a double degree in Accountancy and Business Management.
During his years at SMU, Shaun has consistently excelled on the academic front. He was awarded the PricewaterhouseCoopers Scholarship prior to commencing his studies at SMU. Additionally, he was a three-time recipient of the Deloitte Meritorious Award from 2009 – 2011 and won the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore Scholarship in 2010 and 2011 consecutively. In 2010, he also clinched the Certified Practising Accountants Australia Bachelor of Accountancy Outstanding Second Year Student Award. Throughout his SMU tenure, he had maintained a perfect GPA by achieving a distinction in all his modules and managed to complete his programme in 3-1/2 years.
While pursuing his degree, Shaun served as a teaching assistant to six professors. These stints allowed him to develop his passion for teaching and mentoring the younger students, strengthen his technical knowledge, and contribute to his School and to SMU.
Outside of the classroom, Shaun had been extremely active, serving as the finance director and captain of the SMU Men's tennis team in 2010 and 2011, respectively. During this time, the team won two gold medals at the Singapore University Games. At the community level, he serves as a volunteer at the Orange Valley Nursing Home to reach out to, and care for, the senior citizens. He is also actively involved in the teaching ministry of the Maranatha Bible-Presbyterian Church and has assumed various positions such as Chairman of its Combined Youth Conference, coordinator for its Junior Workshop, coordinator for the Church's annual magazine and teacher for its vacation bible school.
Shaun is currently employed with a reputable auditing firm and looks forward to contributing in his new role as an Associate with its Corporate Tax Department.
DBS Bank School Valedictorian Award in Social Sciences, Tan Wei Loong, Jonathan
This year's recipient of the School Valedictorian Award in Social Sciences supported by DBS Bank – given annually to the highest ranking student from the School graduating cohort – is Tan Wei Loong, Jonathan ( 陈威龙 ) . He graduates Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Social Science with first major in psychology and second major in Organisational Behaviour & Human Resources.
During his four years with SMU, Jonathan was awarded SMU Scholarships from Academic Year 09/10 to AY11/12. He was also on the Dean's List for AY 08/09 and 09/10. One of Jonathan's most outstanding achievements was the successful organisation of SMU Challenge 2010. He headed the Human Resources and Welfare Unit of the Organising Committee for SMU Challenge 2010 which successfully raised $78,000 in cash and in kind, for the elderly in need, surpassing the group's initial target of $30,000.
In addition, Jonathan was also the recipient of Ministry of Foreign Affairs' (MFA) DUO-SINGAPORE Exchange Fellowship Award when he went for his overseas exchange programme in France. He also received the Ho See Beng Excellence Award for being the top graduating Social Science student majoring in Psychology.
Senior Class Gift 2012
The graduating class of 2012 is making a collective Senior Class Gift to SMU to celebrate their transition from students to alumni. This is a tradition started in 2004 by the pioneer batch of SMU graduates to encourage each graduating cohort to give back to their alma mater so as to help needy SMU students. This year, contributions from the Senior Class Gift will be channelled towards a “Graduating Class of 2012 Scholarship” . The award will help provide the tuition fees of needy undergraduates for one year of study at SMU. The scholarship will be awarded next year for AY 2013/2014. This year's collection continues till October/November 2012.