Opening Remarks by Associate Professor Sirene Lim, Dean, S R Nathan School of Human Development, SUSS, at the SUSS-BDO MOU Signing Ceremony

Mr Frankie Chia, Managing Partner of BDO Singapore,

Distinguished guests, colleagues from BDO and SUSS,

Our dedicated faculty members, associate faculty, and student leaders,

Good morning.

It is a great privilege to be here today at BDO’s premises to witness a significant milestone in industry-academia cooperation. On behalf of the Singapore University of Social Sciences and the S R Nathan School of Human Development, I want to express my deepest gratitude to Frankie, Mei Khim, and the entire team at BDO. Thank you for your warm hospitality. More importantly, thank you for your shared vision in nurturing the next generation of workforce leaders.

As I was arriving today, I couldn’t help but notice just how short the walk is from Parkview Square to the site of our future SUSS campus at Rochor. We are practically next-door neighbours! I take this geographic proximity as a wonderful sign that our institutions are destined to work closely together.

Bridging Technology and the Human Enterprise

At SUSS, our mission is built on 'Shaping Tomorrow, Together'. As Singapore navigates an economic landscape reshaped by AI, the university takes responsibility as a vital bridge-builder by directly aligning our learning and industry partnerships with practical workforce needs.

When we talk about Human Resource Management, we are looking at the ultimate intersection of technology and human enterprise. Traditional HR functions are a thing of the past. The future of human capital science relies on managing data, streamlining complex statutory processes, and building agile organisational cultures.

Therefore, SUSS is deeply committed to producing graduates who are both “heart-ware” and “hard-ware” ready. The “heart-ware” represents our students’ deep social awareness, empathy, and professional ethics. The “hard-ware” represents their technical mastery and competence. This Memorandum of Understanding with BDO acts as a brilliant operational framework that delivers exactly on that promise.

The Tangible Impact of the Collaboration

This 3-year agreement directly impacts more than 1,000 SUSS students currently matriculated across our full-time and part-time Bachelor of Human Resource Management programmes. To be precise, this system will empower 401 full-time undergraduates and 633 part-time adult learners who are managing their careers alongside their studies. SUSS stands unique as the only Autonomous University in Singapore to offer a dedicated, direct-honours Bachelor of Human Resource Management mapped closely to the National Skills Framework for HR and the IHRP Body of Competencies.

Through BDO's incredible generosity in providing SUSS students with complimentary access to the Prosoft Unit4 payroll system software, we are taking applied learning to a whole new level.

Our students will no longer just read about CPF contributions, statutory levies, and tax compliance in theory. They will get their hands dirty. Over a targeted two-day workshop, they will learn to build databases and run actual payroll cycles. They will audit system anomalies and handle tax clearances independently.

Looking ahead, we also intend to expand this curriculum to explore how artificial intelligence can be integrated to automate and secure these payroll processes, ensuring our students stay at the forefront of HR technology.

This ensures our graduates are ready to contribute from day one. When they step into a competitive job market that demands instant proficiency in systems like SAP or specialised HR software, they will step forward with confidence.

Empowering the Whole Ecosystem: Faculty, Associate Faculty, and Students

What makes this collaboration a true “win-win” model is that its benefits extend beyond our student body to enrich our entire teaching ecosystem.

With us today, we have our Associate Faculty, Ms Juliana Stothard, and our Student President of the HRM Interest Group, Mr Sanjaiswaran. Their presence highlights the collaborative reality of this initiative. For our full-time faculty and dedicated associate faculty, integrating BDO’s live industry software and case studies into the classroom revitalises our curriculum design. It gives educators the tools to teach predictive human capital operations with precision. For student leaders like Sanjaiswaran and his peers, it transforms the classroom into a dynamic, tech-enabled sandbox.

By grounding technical education in real-world professional boundaries, we are empowering future HR practitioners to manage human capital with precision and ethics. They learn to understand that behind every line item in a payroll report is an employee’s livelihood, a family’s security, and an organisation’s trust placed in its people.

Supporting the Core of Singapore’s Economy

Furthermore, this cooperation carries a significant broader social purpose. A critical component of this partnership is designed to accelerate the digital readiness of our graduates so they can directly support the resilience of Singapore’s Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector.

SMEs form the backbone of our national economy, yet they are often the most hard-pressed when navigating complex digital transformations and statutory HR compliance. By training our 1,000-strong pool of HR professionals on industry-standard payroll software, we are filtering digital capabilities directly into local enterprises, boosting organisational resilience across the wider community.

Looking to the Future

As we sign this MOU today, we are doing much more than marking the start of a strategic collaboration—we are celebrating a meaningful alignment between SUSS and BDO Singapore.

BDO has demonstrated an exemplary commitment to corporate citizenship, recognising that industry leaders have a fundamental responsibility to co-develop future talent for the world.

We look forward to an exceptionally bright future with BDO, one filled with continuous knowledge exchanges, successful internships, and impactful industry visits.

Thank you, Frankie, and the entire BDO unit, for partnering with SUSS to shape a future-ready, digitally proficient, and socially responsible workforce.

Thank you very much.