CNM Organises Career Forum
29 01 2008Jason Hau Hanwen | jasonhau@nus.edu.sg
the ridge news
A NUSSU Publication
Jan. 26, 2008
“Differentiate yourself from others!”
This is the advice from Jimmy Tay, Chief Executive Officer (Southeast Asia) of Hill & Knowlton, who was part of the three panellists for the annual career forum hosted by the Communications and New Media programme on Jan.25.
A/P Rivera (Left) talking to Mr. Jimmy Tay prior to the event
(Photo by Jason Hau Hanwen)
The panel gave their views on the topic, “What are employers looking for?” to a responsive audience who packed into Theaterette 1 of the Central Library.
Associate Professor Milagros Rivera, head of the CNM programme, hopes the events will give students “opportunities to interact with bosses of the main industry players” and also to build “closer ties with the industries.”
The CNM programme, which is the only academic department organising this type of events, cancelled most of its classes, freeing students to attend the sessions.
“Planning was difficult initially but it is getting better each year,” Rivera told the ridge before the talk. “Hopefully the turnout is better this year.”
The department’s hard work paid out as students, who are freed from class commitments, turned up in droves and filled the theaterette to capacity.
The panel was lively and offered numerous pieces of advice, most notably to “be like a sponge” by being a generalist instead of boxing oneself into a specialised field.
In addition, all the panellists agreed that securing internships with credible companies is the key and grades are not as vital as they are marked out to be.
For the many CNM students who attended, the words of wisdom were beneficial towards adjusting their mindset.
Justin Lye, president of the New Media Society, called it a “meaningful event”. It is also very “practical and gives everybody a clearer view of the future”.
“Very interesting! What they said made a lot of sense to me,” said Raemarie Lee, a third-year CNM undergraduate.
Besides Tay, the two other members of the panel consists of Donny Kristianto, a recent CNM graduate now at the Media Development Authority (MDA), and Teo Chor Guan, executive director of the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT game lab in MDA.
The CNM programme has been working together with its industry advisory council for three years. The council members offer valuable feedback, which are often incorporated into the different CNM modules.
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