Mr Vanu Gopala Menon, High Commissioner, Singapore High Commission in Kuala Lumpur
Dr Ong Kian-Ming, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Taylor’s University
Mr Wesley Hui, Founder, WiseNet Asia
Industry Partners, Ladies and Gentlemen
Selamat Pagi. Good Morning.
Welcome to the launch of our Success Academy by SUSS and WiseNet Asia in Kuala Lumpur.
1. We are delighted to be launching our newest Academy in Kuala Lumpur today.
2. Last year, we launched three academies in Ho Chi Minh City, Beijing and Shenzhen. Just three days ago, we launched one in Bangkok. After today’s launch in Kuala Lumpur, SUSS will be opening three more in Jakarta, Manila and Mumbai in the next few months, making it a total of eight regional academies in all.
3. The partnership of SUSS with WiseNet Asia supports the university's commitment to fostering continuous learning and impacting lives – which is our vision, by providing ample opportunities for students to enhance their perspectives and skills.
4. The SUSS Success Academy is designed to enhance the connection between education and enterprise. It focuses on the progress of students by enriching their education experience with dynamic international exchange programmes, practical industry exposure, internships, and cross-disciplinary overseas studies. This is all part of our vision to be a university that inspires learning for life and impacts lives.
5. Aspiring student-entrepreneurs from Singapore and Malaysia can utilise our regional entrepreneurship programmes, including the Impact Startup Challenge and Venture Builder Programme, to seize practical opportunities and settings, and to understand the process of transforming their ideas from the laboratory to the marketplace.
6. In July last year, we kicked off the first of such partnerships with Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), offering our Impact Startup Challenge as a credit-bearing course for both SUSS and UKM students in a six-day hackathon-styled programme, which trained them on the Lean Startup methodology, as well as equipping them with tools to test and calibrate their ideas and pitch to investors.
7. Just last month, we organised a study trip to Perak for participants of the SUSS Ecopreneur Innovation Programme (EIP). The objective was to facilitate interactions between ecopreneurs and local businesses, as well as key players in the startup ecosystem, to explore potential collaborations.
8. Our students visited Orang Asli villages to gain insights into the community's needs, brainstorm innovative business ideas, and develop prototypes aimed at enhancing their well-being.
9. To further advance our work and partnership in Perak, I am pleased to announce our signing of a Memorandum of Understanding yesterday with Bonanza Educare and Perak Academy to promote knowledge exchange and innovation, internship opportunities, and co-design and co-delivery of experiential programmes.
10. Aside from industry partners, we also work closely with many local universities including Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman and Universiti Sains Malaysia to co-design and co-deliver both credit and non-credit interdisciplinary and experiential global learning programmes.
11. Over the course of two years, over 60 SUSS students have had the opportunity to study with their Malaysian counterparts, enhancing their intercultural skills and preparing them to be conscientious and efficient global citizens.
12. In addition to launching the Success Academy in Kuala Lumpur, we have partnered with Belum Eco Resort to establish an experiential education site called Camp R.A.I.S.E at Temenggor, focused on student leadership development in Social Sustainability.
13. This place-based education programme will enable students to explore environmental stewardship, sustainable practices, eco-preneurship, well-being and mindfulness strategies, and to deepen their practice of the SUSS values: Respect, Adaptability, Integrity, Service, and Empathy, hence, R.A.I.S.E.
14. This morning, I was touring our facilities and the High Commissioner asked me, so what will the Academy do in Kuala Lumpur, what do we hope to achieve through the Academy? The Academy will go beyond serving students by utilizing SUSS' knowledge in adult and workplace learning to develop professional training and improvement programs for industry partners, organisations, and institutions.
15. The Academy will act as a strategic overseas centre for SUSS, forming robust connections and collaborations for the university to engage local industries and institutions. Collectively, we aim to develop programmes and achieve outcomes that meet the practical needs of the world.
16. SUSS offers a range of executive and graduate programmes, such as Graduate Certificates, Diplomas, and Master’s degrees. All these will be available through partnerships with our local partners here. In collaboration with local institutions, industries and schools, we will tailor training programmes to enhance their skills and promote development.
17. Additionally, the Academy will tap into its partnership network to identify and facilitate meaningful overseas study and immersion trips for our post-graduate students, industry partners and executives. So these are a range of activities and objectives that we hope to achieve through the establishment of such academies.
18. The SUSS brand is defined by our commitment to learning for life, experiential engagements across the ASEAN, China, India (ACI) region, and the achievement of social good. With regional academies in eight cities, SUSS will work closely with university and industry partners to expand our influence and create positive change that benefits communities and industries in Singapore and beyond. We are profoundly grateful for the trust and support extended by our governments, partners, and students in advancing our mission.
19. I want to extend our gratitude to WiseNet Asia, our partner and friend in Malaysia, and to my dedicated SUSS Student Success Centre team whose efforts have transformed the vision into reality.
20. A special note to thanks to Mr Vanu Gopala Menon, Dr Ong Kian-Ming, Mr Wesley Hui, and all dignitaries for joining us today to witness this launch. A big thank you, too, to our cherished partners and friends in Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia, whose unwavering support has been instrumental in bringing this vision to fruition.
Thank you very much.