Mr Lin Jiayi, Counsellor (Political), Head of Political Section, Singapore Embassy in Beijing
Ms Eileen Chong Pei Shan, First Secretary (Political), Singapore Embassy in Beijing
Ms Ammily Lim Xin Bei, First Secretary (Information), Singapore Embassy in Beijing
Mr Ma Chao, Beiing Cuihu Sci-Tech Development
Mr Liu Tian Shu, CEO of MY CN HUB (MCH)
Industry Partners, Ladies and Gentlemen
Welcome to the inaugural launch of the SUSS–MCH Success Academy in Beijing, China. And just tomorrow, we will open our next Academy in Shenzhen. These events certainly mark a momentous new chapter for SUSS and our partners, brimming with potential and opportunities born from the synergy of collaboration, innovation and education. I extend my most heartfelt gratitude to MCH, our steadfast partner and friend in Beijing, and to the dedicated SUSS Student Success Centre whose efforts have transformed this vision into reality today.
Elevating Learning & Training for Students & Industry
China and Singapore have cultivated a strong and interconnected relationship, built upon a mutual commitment to shaping a prosperous future for our citizens and economies. This bond extends to the realm of education as well, where we have fostered substantial collaborations. These partnerships continue to facilitate vital exchanges of educational initiatives, offering our students opportunities for experiential learning and our businesses access to academic insights and corporate training. The launch of the SUSS Success Academy in Beijing not only reinforces the strong ties between our two nations, but also fits nicely into this mutual emphasis on talent development and training.
Centred primarily on student success, the Academy will expand and elevate student cross-learning and entrepreneurial journeys. It will leverage SUSS’ well-established overseas internships, Impact Startup Challenge, Venture Builder Programme, among other platforms. These programmes will not only benefit SUSS students. We will also invite students from other institutes of higher learning (IHLs) in Singapore to co-learn and co-innovate with our own students, and importantly, those from our host country China as well.
- To achieve this, first of all, we have and will continue to foster collaborations with notable partners in China to establish overseas work attachment programmes that advance the professional preparedness of our students while addressing dynamic talent needs of native corporates. To date, we have emplaced about 80 students on such overseas work attachments in China including Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Nanjing, just to name a few. In December 2023, we will launch a new run of up to 30 internship placements in Beijing. This comes with opportunities for our students to intern with emerging companies from Beijing’s Zhongguancun Tech Hub and other dynamic districts over a transformative two to six-month journey. They will receive not only hands-on work training but also direct coaching from industry professionals.
- Additionally, we have partnered with Taobao Education to roll out a credit-bearing Industry-Based Study Programme (IBSP) for students to learn and receive mentorship from practitioners in the industry. More than 250 students from SUSS and across various IHLs in Singapore have benefited from this programme since it was launched in 2019. Over COVID, we pivoted it to an online programme. Now, we are planning to resume it as an on-site physical programme in the later part of 2023 for students to gain invaluable face-to-face exposure and exchanges.
- Next, our signature entrepreneurship programme, the SUSS Venture Builder Programme, will be extended to students in both countries to expose them to real-life opportunities and environment in becoming entrepreneurs who can take their concepts from lab to market. For a start, a two-week immersion is planned for some of our Venture Builder Trainees in the July 2024 run of the programme to work with impact startups in local incubators and meet with potential partners, customers and investors in China.
Beyond its student focus, the Academy will also leverage SUSS’ expertise in adult and workplace learning. It will also create professional training and development solutions for industry partners, organisations and institutions.
- The Academy will be a strategic overseas centre to catalyse strong networks and sustainable partnerships for SUSS to work with local industries and institutions to co-design programmes and co-deliver outcomes that address real-world demands.
- We will kickstart this by availing our executive and graduate programmes, such as Graduate Certificates to Graduate Diplomas to Masters programmes, directly to local industry partners. We will also partner with local institutions to customise training programmes to boost their capability and allow them to grow.
- Additionally, the Academy will scan, identify and leverage its partnership network to realise meaningful and insightful overseas study trips and exchanges for students in our graduate programmes.
From Impacting Singapore to the Region
The SUSS brand is characterised by its emphasis on learning for life, experiential engagement with the ASEAN China India (ACI) region, and social good. In the coming days, we will successively open more branches of the SUSS Academy in the region, so that we can extend our impact to more communities, student groups and industry players. We are most honoured by the trust and support extended by our governments, partners and students in carrying out our mission. With this invaluable trust and support, we hope to build an ecosystem for social good that transcends borders.
I wish to express my deepest gratitude to Mr Lin Jiayi, Ms Eileen Chong, Ms Ammily Lim and Mr Ma Cao for joining us today to witness our new milestone achieved. Our deepest appreciation, once again, to our cherished partners and friends in Beijing and China, whose unwavering support has been instrumental in bringing this vision to fruition.
Thank you.