Mr Cheong Ming Foong, Consul-General in Mumbai,
Mr Rajan Luthra, Chairman's Office - Head of Special Projects, Reliance Industries Ltd,
Mr Ajay Ramasubramaniam, Founder & CEO, Startup Réseau
Mr Aditya Malkani, Regional Director, Membership - Asia Pacific, The Association of Commonwealth Universities
Ms Ishana Malkani, CEO, Think Education Advisory Services LLP
Our friends from Enterprise Singapore,
Industry Partners, Ladies and Gentlemen
Good Afternoon. Namaste to all of you.
I am delighted to welcome you to the launch of our Success Academy in Mumbai, a collaboration between SUSS and Think Education Advisory Services.
2. As you have heard, this is our eighth Success Academy to be launched in a two-year timeframe. Last year, we launched three academies in Ho Chi Minh City, Beijing and Shenzhen. In the last two months, we launched another four academies in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Manila. We now have a network and ecosystem to expand our programmes and initiatives in ASEAN, China and India, which is very much the focus of our university.
3. For a small and young university like SUSS, these launches signal our commitment to our region, especially ASEAN, China and India, and to the important mission of training our students to become engaged with the peoples, cultures and societies of the region.
4. I want to stress that our Success Academies are not just for SUSS students and our own internal community. We also offer opportunities for us to engage with each of the local communities in which they are based, offering learning opportunities for local students, curating Continuing Education and Training (CET) opportunities for the adult workers of local companies and fostering social entrepreneurship and innovation on local and multi-sited comparative social issues.
5. In all this, SUSS is being true to its focus on social good – we’re also seeking the social good of our regional societies. This Mumbai office is yet another testament to the strong bilateral cooperation between Singapore and India across multiple domains, including education, trade and investment, digital economy and startup ecosystem, tourism and culture. We share similar national priorities, such as a mutual dedication to enhancing education and talent development, investing in infrastructure, and improving healthcare and social welfare. Strengthened by this shared commitment, our two countries collectively contribute to regional stability, economic growth and cultural enrichment in Asia.
Elevating Learning & Training for Students & Industry
6. The SUSS Success Academy in Mumbai is our own humble contribution to furthering the ties between our countries and peoples through international exchanges, industry immersions, internship opportunities, and interdisciplinary global learning.
7. Allow me to just briefly detail some of the things that are underway:
- Together with notable industry partners in India such as Tata Group and Singapore Airport Terminal Services (SATS), we will offer our students overseas work attachment programmes, lasting from 8 to 24 weeks. These opportunities will enrich both their personal and professional growth as they gain experience in culturally diverse work environments.
- In collaboration with Confederation of India Industries (CII) and Singapore-India Partnership Foundation (SIPF), we launched our inaugural Global Industry Immersion Programme (GIIP) last year in Pune. This initiative provides students with opportunities to develop global agility, enhance their awareness, and deepen their understanding of diverse business cultures, cultural norms, operational practices, innovations, and challenges.
- In partnership with the Academy and Jio Institute under the Reliance Group, we aim to kick-start our Industry-based Study Programme (IBSP) by December 2024 to deepen our students’ understanding of Digital, AI and Sustainability technologies and its applications in India.
- Our signature regional entrepreneurship programmes, SUSS Impact Startup Challenge and Venture Builder, will be open to budding student-entrepreneurs from both countries to be exposed to real-life opportunities and environments, and to learn how to take their concepts from lab to market. Since 2017 when we started this programme, SUSS has impacted more than 1,000 students in over 10 cities through this programme.
- Aside from industry partners, we also hope to work closely with local universities such as Vishwakarma University, Symbiosis International University, ATLAS SkillTech University and NMIMS to co-design and co-deliver interdisciplinary and experiential global learning and service-learning programmes for the mutual benefits of our students and those of our partner institutions. Experiential learning is a very big part of what SUSS does – we believe that it’s not just about what happens in the classroom, but what our students learn from the communities and their engagement with them.
- Come December 2024, SUSS will partner CHRIST University to co-create and co-deliver a credit-bearing service-learning course on Sustainable Living in Bengaluru, which will broaden our students’ intercultural competencies to become responsible and effective global citizens in an inclusive and sustainable world.
8. Beyond its student focus, the Academy will also create professional training and development solutions for industry partners, organisations and institutions.
- The Academy will act as a strategic overseas centre, building strong networks and partnerships for SUSS to work with local industries and institutions. Together, we will design programmes and achieve outcomes that address real-world demands.
- We will also offer upskilling and reskilling opportunities for workers and our industry partners here in Mumbai through our Continuing Education courses which can stack up to our executive and graduate programmes, including graduate certificates, graduate diplomas, and master’s programmes. These stackable programmes are a hallmark of SUSS’ adult education model; it means that working adults can learn at their own pace, and yet also accumulate qualifications towards full credential graduate degrees.
From Impacting Singapore to the Region
9. There’s still much for us to do to fulfil our mission, and there are exciting times ahead.
10. I would like to extend my gratitude to Think Education Advisory Services, our steadfast partner in India, and to our dedicated SUSS Student Success Centre team without whose efforts, this would not have been possible.
11. I am also very grateful to Singapore Consul-General, Mr Cheong, Mr Luthra and all dignitaries for joining us today to witness this triumphant milestone.
12. I look forward to the deeper ties and collaborations that we will see in years to come, and more partnerships that will benefit the people and societies of both our nations.
Thank you.