In wrapping up the session, Mr Hsieh added that he believes that even though values are supposed to be intrinsic, learning adds to one’s awareness and it can change behaviour.

The selection for Eduniversal 2009 rankings was made by a scientific committee that established a global mapping system for the criteria of universality and the international reputation of each academic institution.

Of particular importance is that the ranking was done by 308 deans worldwide. Each Dean from the universities and schools on the Eduniversal list of 1,000 best business schools vote to recommend other academic institutions. NUS Business School is one of three business schools that showed major reputation improvements among the Deans who voted, with 76 more deans’ references this year than in 2008.

The Eduniversal Palmes indicate the level of an academic institution's international reputation and is awarded using two criteria: the degree of internationalisation and Deans' vote.

Through the generosity of 28 donors, a total of $440,000 was raised for financially needy undergraduates at the NUS Business School.
 
Forty-two bursaries were handed out to financially needy undergraduates, each worth $2,500 at the NUS Business School Undergraduate Bursary Award Ceremony held on 10 November. The bursaries go towards paying for the tuition fees of the undergraduates. The remaining 134 bursaries will be given out in subsequent years.

Earlier this year, Mr Peh Chin Hua, the School’s Asia-Pacific Executive MBA alumnus and a former Member of Parliament, initiated a donation drive to raise funds for NUS business undergraduates who require financial assistance amid the financial crisis.

As appreciation for their donations, Mr Peh created personalised paintings with special inscriptions for the donors. Mr Peh himself also donated $50,000 and named a bursary fund after his father, Peh Boon Poh.

The second NUSBSAA Bursary Award Ceremony was held on 11 November 2009. The occasion was hosted by the Vice-Dean of Undergraduate Studies of the NUS Business School, Associate Professor Hum Sin Hoon and the President of the NUS Business School Alumni Association, Mr Benny Lee. The event was attended by 70 guests and donors who witnessed 12 students receiving their bursary awards in a touching and convivial atmosphere.

The fund was set up last year to encourage and help needy students. Recipients were not only from Singapore, but also from Bangladesh, Vietnam and China.

Over 100 participants attended this conference. The conference is partly funded by Prof Saw Swee Hock.

Sponsored by Citigroup, the Citi International Case Competition is the first international business case competition held in Hong Kong.  This year’s competition was held at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology's School of Business and Management (HKUST Business School).

Teams were given Octopus, a contactless smart-card company in Hong Kong as a case company. NUS Business School’s team, Aegis Consulting impressed the judges with their in-depth analysis  of the case and innovative ideas.

The team consisting of Kelvin Teo, Lin Xun, Low Kah Kee and Chan Fun Ruey were top in their group and emerged second runners up overall. The faculty advisor for the team is Assoc Prof Tan Soo Jiuan from the Department of Marketing.

In order to drive home the NUS MBA’s recent success at such competitions and to better prepare students to compete and showcase the NUS MBA student acumen, the Knowledge Management Club hosted the formation of the inaugural Business Case Competition Team (BCCT) through a series of preparatory workshops for the incoming batch of students of 2009 with joint leadership and support from Prof Tan Soo Jiuan and Mr Richard Rubnan Que from the MBA Office.

The two months of intensive prep sessions, included a broad, comprehensive agenda from core fields such as strategy, marketing and finance to the softer side elements needed for such competitions such as case analysis tips, presentation skills as well as leadership and team-building modules.

The program culminated on the 8 November with an Internal Case Competition to enable students to test out their newly acquired skills for the first time and to get a flavour of what to expect from forthcoming competitions. These ‘graduates’ from the program are now uniquely positioned to leverage their learning and prove themselves on a global arena.

We would like to congratulate to NUS Business School’s alumni who were recognised at the recent NUS Alumni Award. Every two years, NUS accords recognition to remarkable alumni who, in their personal pursuit for excellence, have made significant contributions both to their alma mater and society at large. Be these their notable accomplishments in their diverse fields of careers or their resolute dedication in giving back to their alma mater, these exceptional individuals are the exemplification and embodiment of the culture of excellence that is the guiding principle of NUS.

On the evening of 10 November, NUS paid tribute to 20 such individuals, in a ceremony held at the Shaw Foundation Alumni House. Here is the list of Business School alumni that were recognised:

Eminent Alumni Award
Mr S Dhanabalan
Mr Dhanabalan is currently the Chairman of the NUS Business School Management Advisory Board.

Distinguished Alumni Service Award
Ms Chong Siak Ching (MBA 1991)
Mr Peter Tay Yew Beng (BBA 1974)
Mr Lim Soon Hock (Post Grad Dip BA 1981)

Outstanding Young Alumni Award
Mr Howie Lau How Sin (BBA 1992)

Over two days, close to 30 APEX-C Class 33 alumni and their family gathered at Shenzhen for their yearly reunion. Prof Chong Juin Kuan, new Academic Director of APEX-C Programme, and Mr Calvin Yan, Director of NUS Business School Shanghai Office were also present at the reunion.

Unable to join in this joyous reunion, Prof Bernard Yeung, Dean of NUS Business School sent the alumni a personal letter of appreciation to thank the alumni for their support to the School and recent Financial Times EMBA ranking.

During the reunion, besides visiting OCT East Resort in Shenzhen, the alumni shared their experiences in the past year. Though the world including China is suffering from the financial crisis, most of our alumni were not affected by it and some are even taking the opportunity to grow their business locally and globally.

In order to maintain the strong friendship among classmates, regular reunions were proposed. For this, the class committee suggested that a fund can be established to fund such events. This will ensure that there will always be platforms for the alumni to meet and catch up with each other. Ms Zhou Xing said, “The fund is the bond of friendship among classmates. It will strengthen our bond further despite our busy schedule. With this fund, our reunion will be conducted every year.”

After a day and a half of in-depth discussions and bonding, APEX-C Class 13 alumni concluded that the next reunion will be held in Northeast of China next year.