About 200 students at the PSB Academy (PSB) in Singapore graduated with degrees in business and engineering from the United Kingdom's Coventry University on March 3.
Coventry University Bachelor of Arts with Honours Business and Marketing Top Student Award winner Patricia Neo hopes the newfound confidence and global perspectives she gained during the programme will give her the edge to succeed in her new job.
A key topic covered by both Kai Peters, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Business & Law, Coventry University, and Dr Sam Choon-Yin, Dean, PSB Academy, in their speeches at the graduation ceremony was the increasing necessity for graduates to consider opportunities and challenges in an international context as they enter a new age of work.
"Our role has been to educate and prepare (our graduates) to deal with this new reality. We have seen with great clarity the good and bad effects of increasing economic integration and experience every day the impact of rapid technological change. We will continue to foster in all our graduates the elements of success to face challenges that today cannot be viewed in isolation by a single country - an openness to new ideas, an understanding of the importance of innovation and creativity and a global outlook," said Peters.
Said Dr Sam: "Coventry University and PSB Academy, as leading modern education institutions, share mutual goals of strengthening the international profiles of our institutions, and we strive to be relevant in today's fast-paced, nebulous world by providing our students with the best possible education. We hope our students can become torchbearers for our collective mission to help people to thrive in the future economy. They are our future makers, and will be key to driving the region's transformation into a more innovative and dynamic economic community."Among the graduates was Patricia Neo, who chose to invest in a business degree from Coventry University when she faced difficulty in finding a job during the 2015 global recession. Now top of her Bachelor of Arts with Honours Business and Marketing cohort this year, she attributes her success in finding her ideal job with the newfound confidence and global perspectives she gained during the programme.
"The business and marketing programme reinforced my understanding of why I did what I did at work. As I embark on a new role in a start-up company, I have greater confidence in assisting my CEO in running the business. The degree programme has exposed me to so many new ways to market and do business - something I never had the opportunity to learn in my previous jobs," she said.
As part of Coventry University and PSB's collective commitment to internationalism and nurturing skills that would contribute to a growing Asean, the two partnered to launch a Bachelor of Science degree with Honours in Ethical Hacking and Cybersecurity late last year - in support of Asean's goals to strengthen the region's resilience against the increasing threat of cybercrime.
Coventry University was ranked Modern University of the Year an unprecedented three times in a row in 2014, 2015 and 2016 by The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide. It is the UK's Top Modern University as ranked by the Complete University Guide 2018.
