Welcome Address by SUSS President Professor Tan Tai Yong at the First-Year Assembly 2026

1. Today marks an important milestone: the beginning of your journey as a student of the Singapore University of Social Sciences. 

2. It is especially meaningful that this year’s First-Year Assembly coincides with SUSS Day, bringing together our new cohort together with the wider University community.

3. Now, let me begin by congratulating each of you.

4. You have arrived here through different pathways. Some are joining us directly from school, while others are returning to study after time in the workforce. Some will study full-time, while others will balance their studies with careers, and family responsibilities. 

5. Many of you have had to manage competing responsibilities, overcome setbacks, or find the courage to begin again. Your determination and resilience have brought you here, and your differing experiences and perspectives will enrich our community.

6. As a university where learning meets life, we welcome students of different ages, at different stages, and from different starting points. 

7. But higher education is more than just gaining another qualification. It is about remaining curious, adaptable, and open to change. It requires the humility to recognise that there will always be more to learn, the courage to begin again when circumstances require us to, and the resilience to persevere in difficult moments and move forward.

8. You will learn that our students embody a simple but powerful ethos: living to learn and learning to live. You bring your experiences from work, family, and society into your learning, and carry what you learn back into the workplaces, homes, and communities. Learning is never separated from life, and each enriches the other.

9. At SUSS, we believe education should be a force for good. It should develop people who ask not only what the world can offer them but also what they can contribute back to society.

10. Your experience here will extend beyond lectures, assignments, and examinations. You will learn through conversations with people whose experiences differ from yours. You will encounter ideas that challenge your assumptions and find guidance from lecturers, mentors, classmates, and others you meet along the way.

11. Sometimes, these experiences will not come looking for you. You must be willing to take the first step.

12. Speak to somebody new. Ask a question. Seek guidance when you need it. Join a student group, take part in a community project, and learn from someone further along the journey.

13. Be open to opportunities that feel unfamiliar. Do not be afraid of not having everything figured out. Few people do when they begin something new.

14. Growth often starts with uncertainty. What matters is that you keep an open mind, take the next step, and allow others to walk alongside you.

15. This is what we mean when we say: Dream. Dare. Do.

a. To dream is to imagine possibilities beyond what you already know. 

b. To dare is to step forward despite uncertainty: to ask, participate, try, and sometimes, fail and try again.

c. To do is to turn your learning into purposeful action. 

16. These are values I hope you will carry throughout your university journey and your lives. 

17. As SUSS approaches its tenth anniversary in 2027, we are especially glad that you are here to be part of our next chapter. Through your ideas, participation, and contributions, you will help shape what comes next. 

18. May your years at SUSS be a time when your experiences enrich what you learn, and what you learn enables you to live with greater purpose. 

19. Once again, welcome to SUSS.