As we enter our 39th year of enabling a digital economy, equipping talent with core competencies and inspiring them to be game changers, we are ever more mindful that in this digital age, the process is sped up and amplified. A challenge for all industries, disruption is only a threat if one watches and an opportunity if one acts.
When the new year began, nobody expected the global economy to experience the unprecedented slowdown. The terms ‘flatten the curve’ and ‘circuit breaker’ became rallying calls to action for entire industries and societies. As we do our best as a community to battle COVID-19, the pandemic has proved to be a harbinger of change, and our response rings true in the adage crisis generates opportunity. Living in such unprecedented times, it only pushes us to rethink the way we live and work while it becomes even more critical to build resilience into one’s career.
In 2019, NUS-ISS embarked on a strategic plan to support the upskilling and reskilling of our larger community. We actively supported NUS’ transformation plans, having trained 1,200 NUS participants in skills such as agile methods, data driven analysis and design thinking. We have also conducted five consultancy projects in business process reengineering and held digital transformation training for various NUS units, including the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. In the spirit of organisational excellence, this will carry on in 2020, as we partner several other NUS schools in delivering the MSc in Industry 4.0 programme.
A key focus for us was encapsulated in 3Vs - Volume, Variety and Velocity. Between our teaching and administrative teams, we regularly shared and listened to feedback on ways to innovate processes and maintain service excellence - all while valuing the development and growth of our people.
We delivered on 3Ms – A Million Means to Mastery – having issued 2,285 Graduate Certificates through our Stackable programmes, launched new Professional Certificates and seen close to 141,800 professionals walk through our doors for learning since 1981. In tandem with the national strategy and supporting Singapore’s Smart Nation and SkillsFuture goals, we look to empower individuals and organisations on their journey in Skills and Career Transformation through delivering impactful learning pathways and transformation programmes. In that vein, our career services team launched the NUS-ISS Jobs & Skills Portal, housing an intuitive algorithm, which recommends courses one should take based on their skills gap, going beyond a simple job search. Proactively, our career consultants also reach out to alumni and current students to match them to organisations looking for talent to implement digital transformation.
I am thrilled to share on the progress of our facilities expansion as we look forward to a rejuvenated campus in Q4 of 2020. We have not stopped or slowed down in delivering our programmes while managing to function effectively across all three interim campuses since 2019, and we are now able to offer all courses and their assessments fully online as well. This would not have been possible without the tireless dedication of all colleagues at NUS-ISS, to whom I would like to express my deepest gratitude. A refreshed environment will soon be unveiled where students and staff can shape the future in an inspiring, collaborative space.
2020 will be a pivotal point as NUS-ISS, with our unwavering commitment, continues to forge exciting pathways ahead with initiatives to elevate the ecosystem, to foster more workplace learning and launch corporate academies. The prospects are truly inspiring as we all work closely together as a community to emerge stronger and better in the post-pandemic future!
Mr Khoong Chan Meng
CEO, NUS-ISS