SMU and Chinese Chamber strengthen collaboration

On 2 April 2013, SMU played host to the new Council members of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCCI).  A campus visit was organised for the delegation, followed by a luncheon as a gesture of ‘neighbourly hospitality’.

The two parties, which have been collaborating in a number of joint projects and initiatives over the years, also used the occasion to ink a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

Under the agreement, SMU’s Centre for Professional Studies (CPS) and the Singapore Chinese Chamber Institute of Business (SCCIOB) will leverage on the strengths of each other to organise training and networking programmes for government officials and business executives from China.  SCCIOB will, through CPS, engage SMU lecturers to conduct training for the Chinese officials and businessmen in topics relating to health management and banking and finance, whenever possible.

Both parties will also jointly develop and deliver short courses, conferences and seminars aimed at helping local as well as foreign business entities achieve enterprise transformation and organisational excellence.  SCCIOB and CPS would accord priority consideration to each other in terms of expertise engagement and resource deployment.

[Photo: SMU President, Professor Arnoud De Meyer, welcoming the new SCCCI Council members to SMU.]

“I believe such a partnership will maximise both parties’ strengths and outreach efforts in China and with the Chinese business community looking to advance their competence of the China market. Participants will also, through this partnership, benefit from more comprehensive and in-depth offerings, providing them with the necessary hard and soft skills to navigate the burgeoning Chinese market and a means to plug into the Chinese / China ecosystem,” said SMU President, Professor Arnoud De Meyer.

Mr Thomas Chua, President of SCCCI said in his address that SCCCI treasures its close relationship and partnership with SMU.  He commended Associate Professor Annie Koh, SMU's Vice President for Business Development & External Relations and a faculty of SMU’s Lee Kong Chian School of Business, for her contributions to the Chamber's Research & Publications Committee.  He also noted that from 2002 to date, the SCCCI Foundation had awarded 36 scholarships to SMU undergraduates in the Business Management programme.

[Photo: SMU’s gift to SCCCI – a Chinese couplet expressing the gathering of talents from across the land, celebrating diversity and achieving excellence.]

Mr Chua hoped that this MOU will elevate SCCCI's partnership with SMU to a new level, and with this new instrument of cooperation, more referrals, academic and industry support, as well as joint initiatives will be established and realised.