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CHEW Jia Qing Analyst (Equity Linked Technology, Global Markets Research Technology)
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
BSc (IS Management)
2007 entry batch
"SMU students has always been branded as 'different'. It may seem like a marketing gimmick, but after four years in SMU, I can vouch for that statement. I come from a polytechnic background and the focus was mainly on the technical aspects. The SIS curriculum complemented my skills by developing my understanding of the business needs and how technology can potentially be a powerful catalyst to a firm's growth. In essence, the right technology at the right place at the right time.
SIS offers tremendous opportunities to students such as internships, networking sessions, the IDA ELITE programme and the Master fast-track programme. I was given the chance to be part of both the programmes and they have greatly added value to my development and widened my domain knowledge in bridging business and IT needs from both the operational and senior management perspectives.
My current role at Bank of America Merrill Lynch requires me to communicate and present ideas effectively, work in a diversified team, problem-solve, be resourceful and not be afraid to ask questions - all of which are the soft skills I learnt from SIS. As an educational institution, SIS goes an extra mile in imparting not only knowledge but also soft skills, the secret sauce that makes a student an all-rounded and a 'different' person."
Consultant
Accenture
BSc (IS Management)
2006 entry batch
"Studying in SMU, especially in SIS, was probably the best decision I ever made in my life. It may sound exaggerated, but I am truly thankful for the skills and values that the school instilled in me. Not only did I learn hard skills like SQL and effective research which come in really handy in my everyday work, I also learnt soft skills like working effectively with people you have never met before which is crucial since my job is project based. SIS's culture has instilled humility, a learning-to-learn attitude, and so much more among my peers and I – something really unique to SIS.
If I had never come to SMU SIS, I probably wouldn't have gotten the chance to meet Bill Gates, receive 5 job offers, and settle down into my current role as an Analyst in Accenture so quickly. My current role gives me the opportunity to work internationally and across industries, coupled with very steep learning curves. But I know that SMU SIS has prepared me well, having given me the skills and attitude to take on all challenges ahead.
Thank you for all the tight deadlines, ridiculously tough projects and exams, assigning us to work in project teams that sometimes including difficult team dynamics, and making internship compulsory. I now know why. =)"
Analyst
Deutsche Bank
BSc (IS Management)
2006 entry batch
"I joined Deutsche Bank about 9 months ago. I am still in my first rotation in a Production Support role. My responsibility is to ensure the stability of the production environment and address queries from my business users. One of the greatest challenges, which is also what makes my work exciting, is understanding and linking up financial product knowledge with the functionalities of the system.
The SMU BSc (ISM) course is a very business-focused IT course. In terms of the IT aspects of the course, it provided me with a broad view of various functions of IT at different levels of details. This allows me to perform various roles such as business analyst, function/system analysis, and technical analyst efficiently. Besides technical IT knowledge, it incorporates a great deal of business knowledge which has proven to be useful at work. In addition, having a second major in Finance is a big advantage for me as I work in an investment bank. I've found myself being able to understand the business much faster.
Looking through the list of SIS learning outcomes, I think most of them are very relevant, particularly those for 'Integration of Business and Technology'. Soft skills such as learning-to-learn, collaboration, working across countries/cultures/borders and communication skills are being applied every day in my role."
Senior Product Executive, Business Strategy team within the Products and Solutions division (P&S)
StarHub
BSc (IS Management)
2005 entry batch
Your job title, job role
My role has actually changed AGAIN, all due to the ‘blessing' of being a flexible and adaptable person (according to big boss).
I'm Andy Choi, Senior Product Executive in StarHub. I'm part of the Business Strategy team within the Products and Solutions division (P&S), with a focus on mobile payments and other emerging technologies/solutions, as well as assisting other teams within P&S with their strategic planning and project execution.
What's your typical day like?
Due to the exciting role that I am in, I don't have typical days! I spend most of my time away from my desk, speaking to consultants, innovators, and technology providers on crafting new opportunities in the mobile payments industry. I also research new technologies and buzz-words that the management in StarHub has noticed, and brainstorm possible strategies to anticipate such changes in the market and add value to the organisation. My role also gives me opportunities to meet with the different product teams in P&S, and assist them in their short-to-medium term product roadmaps and strategies.
Even though I am in a business development/consulting role, the technical know-how and thinking processes that I acquired during my SIS days have a great impact on my ability to carry out my job well. A sound technical understanding of systems and architectures allowed me to plan and executive service creations and deployments, while project management and critical analysis skills gave me the edge when analysing strategic projects and decisions. Other skills I picked up through electives, such as communications, negotiations, finance and economics, gave me a solid foundation to handling everyday business problems, from drafting business plans to handling contract negotiations with vendors.
Another valuable trait that I gained during my time in SIS was the how-to in networking and relationship building. To carry out your job functions in a large company, you need other people's assistance more often than imagined, and being able to quickly establish strong working relationships with colleagues across different departments and team made my work life much simpler. Plus, it paved the way to more Christmas gifts and New Year greetings!
Technical Analyst, Corporate Systems IT
Credit Suisse
BSc (IS Management)
2005 entry batch
"A little over six years ago (2005), I looked through a couple of offers from universities and picked one. I didn't know then that I had made a choice that would change my life. I picked SMU SIS because everything about the school was different, right from the admissions approach, to the interviews, even the essay topic.
Over four years in SMU SIS I learnt solid technical skills in the classroom and invaluable soft skills outside. I was forced to step out of my comfort zone and interact with people I had never met before, work on projects that showed me how little I actually knew but also how much I could and would learn, and let me push my limits and stretch myself beyond what I would have thought possible.
Working with diverse teams made me more aware of myself as an individual and taught me valuable lessons on how to work across different cultures, and recognise, appreciate and harness the unique strengths and skills each person brought to the table. One of the most valuable lessons I learnt at SIS is that education is so much more than a classroom, exams and grades.
SIS taught me that education is life long learning and working towards surpassing myself and the barriers and boundaries all of us unconsciously tend to set for ourselves.
View more...One thing I recall very vividly of the early days is a statement Prof Miller made during our very first Academic briefing - he said h e would not make it easy for us to change schools even though we may want to and that he would push us to take up a second major. "A single major seems hard enough and now I have to take up a second too?" I thought to myself then. Looking back today, I'm immensely thankful for being pushed to declare and follow through with a second major because it has presented me with career options that I would not have had the opportunity to even consider otherwise. My Law major has also led me to pursue a professional qualification after graduation that has expanded my future career prospects immensely.
Today I am an analyst at Credit Suisse where I interned at the end of my second year in order to fulfill the internship requirement of SMU. I signed on with the firm in 2009 as part of the Technical Analyst Programme which is the technology graduate programme at Credit Suisse. All of the presentations, assignments, group projects, CCAs and being part of the vibrant community of SMU SIS paid off over the last 1.5 years. I've worked with a global team on business analysis and development projects and it was second nature to get involved in the various employee forums and contribute towards diversity, work life balance and career building initiatives and to get to know my colleagues from across the bank which has resulted in me being offered my first mobility move to a business management role which I am due to take up shortly.
So what can I say but, " Thank You, SIS " for the project requirements that sometimes took me days to understand, the assignments that had me sitting up all night, the LOMS that forced me to critically evaluate myself, the second major that I would not have considered if not for being pushed into it, and all the great people I've had the privilege of getting know by being a part of your community. Choosing SIS was one of the smartest things I ever did :) "
SIM Yan Cheng Audwin
Assistant Manager, Channel Migration and Analytics, Group Remote Banking,
Standard Chartered Bank
BSc (IS Management)
2005 entry batch
Job Role
Coordinating and managing countries across Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, under the bank's footprint to migrate customers from Traditional Channels. For instance, migrating from Branches and Call Centers to Remote Channels like Online Banking, Mobile Banking, SMS Alerts and eStatements, to provide a round-the-clock coverage of banking services for our customers.
How SIS has helped you in your job or job-related activites
The approach by SIS is to create curiosity for learning and this has been a changing factor for me. The challenging projects that we did in SIS have honed my thought process, helping me gain adaptability and time-management skills which provided me with an intellectual platform from which to excel at work. The conviction that IT can enhance services and improve how people collaborate, coordinate and innovate still remains strong today and it has greatly helped me in my professional endeavours .
YEO Sue Mae
Regional Project Manager – DMS, Africa
Millicom International Cellular S.A.
BSc (IS Management)
2005 entry batch
Your job title, job role
Regional Project Manager – DMS, Africa
Responsible for the implementation of a distribution system in 6 African Operations
What's your typical day in Millicom International Cellular, SA like?
BUSY… Waking up in the morning and reminding myself of the new time zone and managing the team to work together to solve issues
How SIS/skill sets has helped you in your job or job-related activites
Other than providing a corporate-like academic environment, SMU -SIS provides students with opportunities to experience life outside Singapore such as overseas academic exchanges, overseas community service projects and business study missions.
With these opportunities, I went for an 8-month overseas academic exchange in Israel and led a community service project in Vietnam. These overseas experiences allowed me to adapt to different environments quickly, which is an important aspect in my current career.
In SMU-SIS, the school approaches the development of the students in the area of Information Technology from a business perspective. This equips me with the capability to analyse, present and implement the business values of IT related projects.
During my 2 years career with Millicom, the company has given me the opportunities to travel to 10 different operations to do market analysis, from Asia to Latin America to Africa. Currently, I am based in Africa where I am exposed to a very different way of life: learning to implement complex enterprise solutions with high level of constraints.
Piyush CHAUDHRY
Technology Graduate Programme
Barclays Capital
BSc (IS Management)
2004 entry batch
CHIA Jiawei, Alvin
Associate
LEK Consulting
BSc (IS Management)
2004 entry batch
"In SIS, you get professional technical skills as well as business skills. You can go anywhere with the degree and your career path can be either in IS or in management."Most valuable experience:
"SIS is a school where students are very close-knit. We are very active and take part in a lot of competitions and sports in school and outside of it. Generally, I'd say we are very well-rounded people as a result."Reflections:
"Students in the other SMU schools recognise SIS students' abilities. When these other students see us in projects, they often say we may 'spoil the market' because they know for sure we will work hard and we've got the skills!"
Geraldine GOH
Citi Technology Infrastructure,
Customer Service Centre, Asia Pacific
BSc (IS Management)
2004 entry batch
You learn to be observant and put together facts based on logical assumptions. This is important, as every business situation would not be as defined as a chapter from a textbook. Many SIS modules have exposed us to such scenarios, as the projects are developed from real business cases.2. Learning to learn
Many a times, you may feel some SIS modules are completely new to you and that you have to maximise every channel (for example, your Professors, Academic Staff and more importantly, your peers) available to you to grasp a topic. Once again, this is as real as it gets! This is the closest to what you will get as to what "on the job learning" means.3. Communicating and presenting ideas clearly to others
You may wonder why I listed this as one of the top competencies, since presentations are what we do on a regular basis. I have come to appreciate the presentation practices that we get at school, as we are able to articulate and present our opinions and thoughts on the multitude of facts present in a company confidently. This is especially useful when you have to correspond with different levels of management.One of the key points that makes me proud to be an alumni of SIS is the family culture we have. The professors, academic staff and management support team have always provided genuine support and listened to what the students have to say beyond the classroom. Though this is a small contribution of mine, at this point of time, I hope my reflections (also echoing those of many alumni) are an indication that the school's dedication and investment in each of us has certainly paid off."
LEOW Xue Li, Shirley
e-Business Analyst
SingTel
BSc (IS Management)
2004 entry batch
Stella ONG
Operations Analyst
Barclays Capital
BSc (IS Management)
2004 entry batch
"SIS gives more us more confidence to ask questions and to be more pro-active. It's so seminar-based and interactive that you just have to ask questions in class or you won't know what's going on afterwards. "It's also a project-based course, so you learn how to work with a lot of different classmates in school, many with different working styles from you." "Being an SIS grad, I can be a link between IT and management in a company. We should be using technology to help us forge ahead with new opportunities. IT should not impede new products or services from being launched."Most valuable experience:
"SIS tends to be a close-knit group, especially when exams are around the corner. When you study together, you share your notes and your motivation with friends around you. If you see your friend not being motivated and slacking off, you don't let him 'rot' alone, you help him. We drag one another across the finishing line. That's the SIS spirit I remember."Reflections:
"The old way of doing IT is just to make things go smoothly for a company. Now, it's more about using IT for change, for transformation, in a business. To do that, you'll need to have a basic grasp of IT – you know the limitations, yes, but you also know how to link IT and the goals of a business to management."
TAN Huiyan, Michelle
Management Consulting
Accenture
BSc (IS Management)
2004 entry batch
Jeremy TAY
ERP Project Manager, Asia Pacific
Arkema Pte Ltd
BSc (IS Management)
2004 entry batch
Application Developer Credit Suisse
BSc (IS Management)
2004 entry batch
The main question on your mind now is probably , "H ow did I get my current job and what is the role of SIS in my career achievements? " SMU's SIS program me in my opinion is very aligned to the realities of the corporate world:when I joined Credit Suisse , I was struck by the similarities between SMU SIS's education pedagogy and the conditions of real w o rking life.
SMU SIS has a "classroom based" interactive approach where students are actively encouraged to think and question and learn and internali s e for themselves, and these skills are highly valued in a workplace, along with independence and initiative. SMU SIS' "group project" is another example with parallels in the workplace: the ability to work in or lead a team and, above all, manage people and expectations across its members while delivering results is a vital skill that four years' worth of SMU SIS g roup projects tries to instill in its students.
These skills in my opinion are much more important than the academic knowledge SMU SIS tries to impart to its students. Courses I now find particularly useful as an application developer include the module of Software Development and the Software Development Life Cycle and IS Programming Foundations, as well as the first - year modules on Object Oriented Programming, Design and Analysis. Architectural Analysis was my most fun course, and I find it particularly useful now, because in my team at Credit Suisse we have a motto that goes , " We (in IT) Are All Architects " . I restate the importance of soft skills in the previous paragraph as SMU SIS's key differentiator between it and its competitos.
Whatever your eventual choice is, do remember that your learning will continue beyond university. In my current job at Credit Suisse, I'm still constantly learning and developing new skills. For interns who join us as well as fresh graduates in a full time job, the Information Technology division has a very structured and robust program me in place for candidates.
Rest assured, if you choose SIS, you will definitely be in the best position to derive maximum value from your first job.
To conclude a long, tedious essay: if you think you are an independent, passionate, extroverted, and colorful person with a variety of interests who likes doing things differently from the norm, then SMU SIS's pedagogy is a good fit for you."
Ray YAP
Business Analyst
Shell Marine
BSc (IS Management)
2004 entry batch
"SIS breeds discipline in you. You don't just present ideas but you've got to follow through — that's one of the first things you learn. You cannot 'smoke' your way through the courses because in SIS, you know that after presenting a project proposal, you have to get your hands dirty and do the programming and coding. You have to implement your ideas." "If you don't do that, your project goes up in smoke. In other words, you don't just sound good on paper. You must deliver."Most valuable experience:
"Some of my closest friends are from SIS. Even now, we meet every week or two. The bonding is like what you get in the Army. It's something you forge through hardship and work together, so the friendship is stronger than usual."Reflections:
"SIS is a tough faculty... we stay overnight in school often but it's fun. Sometimes, we stay until the time for the last bus or train passes us by. We finish late, but we always go supper together and for drinks... so it's also not just all work."
HADISANTOSO Boy Arvadino
Business Development Consultant
Oracle
BSc (IS Management)
2003 entry batch
(pioneer batch)
Hadi, who has a second major in Management, says the best part of the SIS course is the flexibility and real-world utility that it provides. He says: "You can have IT skills but not business skills, or you can have business skills but no IT knowledge. As an SIS graduate, I got both."Most valuable experience:
Says Hadi: "Your scope is wider. Since you can do a dual major, you are better off with problem-solving as an SIS grad."Reflections:
"SIS is an open school, where everyone tends to be more outgoing. It's the kind of character that can help play a role in grooming management roles. What you want in the end is to have a balanced curriculum and I'm glad I had that."
NAMASIVAYAM Viswanathan
Pre-sales Consultant
SAS
BSc (IS Management)
2003 entry batch
(pioneer batch)
Shwetank SHEEL
Co-Founder and BI Principal,
Neobytes Asia Pte Ltd
BSc (IS Management)
2003 entry batch
(pioneer batch)
“While I wasn't sure when I first signed up for it, looking back now, my SIS education continuously serves me every day, enabling me to do better at my job.
Though the curriculum is technology focused, SIS emphasises the role of technology as an enabler to the business, rather than an end to itself. The value of this mindset when entering any industry as a fresh graduate cannot be overstated.
But most significantly, SIS especially taught me how to learn. While the faculty and staff was extremely supportive and helpful, the SIS projects required us to do a lot of our own in-depth investigations and self-learning. The combination of doing many projects that required the integration of IS capabilities and business understanding, and doing a lot of “learning-to-learn” with guidance from the SIS faculty and staff is what really helped me for my professional career.
The content of any specific class in your university education may or may not serve you later in life. But learning how to teach yourself about new things, how to intelligently sift through large amounts of information, how to identify what is important, and finally how to internalise and apply that information is critical to your success. SIS is exceptionally effective at given you these skills, because of the way they bring together information systems, business know-how, and learning innovation.“
VOON Hui Hui
Business Analyst
DFS Group Limited
BSc (IS Management)
2003 entry batch
(pioneer batch)
