Launch of NUS-Singapore Business Federation Business Advisors Programme

04 Aug 2009

The NUS Business School Alumni Association (BSA) announced the launch of the NUS-Singapore Business Federation Business Advisors Programme (NUS-SBF BAP) on 31 July 2009. For NUS graduates and alumni who have been affected by the economic crisis, the NUS-SBF BAP will help match them with SMEs for short-term assignments.

Singapore Business Federation (SBF) CEO Mr Teng Theng Dar said: "This collaboration between SBF and NUS is aimed at facilitating business, manpower and technology capability building by enabling SBF members to tap on the talent pool of students, faculty and alumni from the university."

In the next 14 months, the NUS-SBF BAP hopes to match 30 Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs) with SMEs, with each match resulting in a BAP project. The programme aims to have half of its projects address engineering and technical initiatives with the rest of the projects oriented towards business management innovation.

On how SMEs will benefit from the programme, Dean of NUS Business School and Stephen Riady Distinguished Professor of Finance Prof Bernard Yeung said: "SMEs are usually vulnerable to economic crisis. With the right talent on board, it could increase their capability to adapt and navigate through the difficult global market and explore new opportunities, especially at the beginning of the recovery."

"The valuable skills and experience of our alumni will be a boon for SMEs in terms of managerial talent. This project will hopefully also go some way in bridging the mutual perception gaps of local SMEs and our NUS graduate PMETs," noted Mr Benny Lee, President of NUS Business School Alumni Association.

SPRING Singapore will support the NUS-SBF BAP by funding 70 per cent of the project fees, while the rest of the fees will be borne by the SME. The total payable fee per month for each project is capped at $5000.

In addition to the BSA and NUS Business School, the other participating NUS partners include the MBA Alumni-NUS, NUS Business School Mandarin Alumni Association and the NUS Entrepreneurship Centre.