- Commenting on the renaming, Minister for Higher Education and Skills, Ong Ye Kung, said, “The name was chosen to reflect the AU’s mission of driving lifelong learning anchored in disciplines with a strong social focus. SUSS will add diversity to Singapore’s higher education landscape and complement the existing five AUs. What will be most unique about the University is its tradition of applied education, and outreach to adult learners, all of which will be kept and strengthened.
The University’s Distinctive Features
- The University will have two distinctive features in its provision of higher education: (i) the social sciences, and (ii) continuing and lifelong education.
(i) Social Sciences
The AU’s name reflects its focus on applied education in the domain of the social sciences, as well as in disciplines that have a strong impact on human and community development. The University will continue to offer the range of programmes that UniSIM had offered previously, targeted at both fresh school leavers and adult learners. The focus of its programmes will be on those that prepare individuals for careers in the social sector, such as social work and early childhood education, careers with a strong social orientation, such as human resource management, as well as law (focusing on family and criminal law). At the same time, the University will continue to retain a limited offering in other areas such as business and engineering, especially for adult learners. The name also embodies the AU’s social mission, in terms of the educational opportunities it will provide to both students and adult learners.
(ii) Lifelong Learning
SUSS will also focus on lifelong and continuing learning. Since its inception in 2005, UniSIM was focused on providing applied and lifelong education to adult learners, many of whom are working adults, equipping them for career advancement, career transitions, and to serve society. Moving forward, SUSS will strengthen its provision of inclusive educational opportunities to many more students and adult learners, and participate strongly in SkillsFuture – Singapore’s national movement for fostering continuing education and skills development.
- SUSS will continue to cater to a wide range of learners – students, employees looking to upgrade their skills, and passionate learners keen on gaining new knowledge, while providing flexibility for their learning. We are committed to ensuring that SUSS remains at the forefront of innovative, flexible, and applied tertiary education through close collaboration with industry, employers, and the community in the development and design of our programmes. Leveraging technology, our faculty will be progressive and adaptive in catering to the varied needs, backgrounds, and abilities of learners,” added Professor Cheong Hee Kiat, President, Singapore University of Social Sciences.
For media queries on this release, please contact:
Ms Vera Lui
Senior Manager, Communications
Singapore University of Social Sciences
DID: 6248 4305
Email: veralui@unisim.edu.sg
Ms Dorothy Siok
Officer, Media Relations, Communications Division
Ministry of Education
DID: 6771 3252
Email: Dorothy_Siok@moe.gov.sg
ANNEX
TRANSLATIONS FOR THE NAME
"SINGAPORE UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES"
| Language | Translated Name |
| Chinese | Complete form
新跃社科大学
Short form
跃大 |
| Malay | Universiti Sains Kemasyarakatan Singapura |
| Tamil | சிங்கப்பூர் சமூக அறிவியல் பல்கலைக்கழகம் |