May 3, 2016

UOW graduates celebrate in South-east Asia

UOW students were recognised for their achievements at recent graduation ceremonies in Singapore and Malaysia. 

Over two weeks in April, more than 700 students participated in graduation ceremonies in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Penang. The ceremonies were held in collaboration with UOW’s transnational education partners in each location. 

In Singapore, more than 50 students graduated from UOW’s business programs in conjunction with PSB Academy, while another 330 students graduated from UOW’s IT and psychology programs with the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM). 

Highlighting industry recognition of UOW graduates, the occasional address was given by Ms Jacqueline Poh, Managing Director at Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, whose organisation actively supports the growth of innovative technology companies and startups in Singapore. 

Ms Poh shared three pieces of advice with the graduates – be resilient and don’t fret over the first sign of trouble; be adaptable and keep learning and relearning; and seek personal mastery. 

“Whatever skills that you seek to master, master yourself first…If you can be mindful of what you are thinking, feeling and acting at any time, you can master your responses to the world, and then you can master yourself,” she told the graduates. 

In Malaysia, industry representation was also a very strong feature of the Kuala Lumpur and Penang ceremonies that were held in collaboration with INTI International Colleges (part of the Laureate International Universities network). 

Nearly 330 students from UOW’s business, IT and communications programs graduated at these two ceremonies. 

The ceremony in Kuala Lumpur also included the first graduates from the Sydney Business School’s MBA program since its establishment at INTI’s CBD campus. 

The Occasional Addresses at Kuala Lumpur and Penang were given by Mr Kumaraan Arumugam from Dell and Ms Helen Wang from Intel respectively. 

Both speakers emphasised the excellence of UOW students and advised graduates to develop an all round profile beyond their academic qualifications. 

Some of the largest employers in Malaysia also attended the ceremonies to present awards to high-achieving UOW graduates, including GE, IBM, PayPal, PwC, Intel Technology, Wilmar Malaysia, ACCA Malaysia and CPA Australia. 

UOW’s Acting Deputy-Vice Chancellor (Global Strategy), Professor Trevor Spedding, led the delegation from UOW at all four ceremonies. 

In his closing address Professor Spedding emphasised the high esteem that employers from around the world held for UOW graduates, and that the current graduating cohort formed an important part of the University’s ever-growing global alumni community.