Latest news with #postgraduate
CNA
2 days ago
- Business
- CNA
As Singapore grows in popularity with Chinese students, universities roll out Mandarin-taught programmes
SINGAPORE: After nearly a decade in the workforce, Ms Jin Qi decided in 2020 that it was time to pursue a master's degree to advance her career. But with a full-time job, preparing for English-language tests required by many foreign universities proved difficult. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic delayed her plans further. But when the Chinese native resumed her search after the pandemic, she discovered that some Singapore universities offer postgraduate programmes taught in Mandarin. Ms Jin, now 35, applied to both the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU), eventually enrolling in NTU's Executive Master of Science in Managerial Economics programme in Mandarin. She began her studies in March this year. When she completed her undergraduate studies at Chongqing University a decade ago, most of her peers aspired to pursue further education in the US or Europe. Today, many of her classmates at NTU are Chinese students who view Singapore as the preferred destination for postgraduate studies straight after earning their first degree, she said. "They really like Singapore. I think it's because Singapore's economy has done very well these few years," Ms Jin said. "Ten years ago, growth in the US and Europe was very good so everyone wanted to go there. Now, we want to come to Singapore because the economy is doing well and there's access to the Southeast Asian region, which is also growing. So there are more job opportunities here.' SINGAPORE MOST POPULAR CHOICE AFTER UK A report by China's Ministry of Education and Beijing-based think tank Centre for China and Globalisation ranks Singapore as the second-most popular destination for Chinese students, after the United Kingdom. Singapore universities are responding to this trend by introducing more Mandarin-taught postgraduate programmes. NTU, the Singapore Management University (SMU), the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) are among those launching new courses. NTU's Nanyang Business School will introduce a new Executive Master of Business Administration in Mandarin this October, said Professor Boh Wai Fong, NTU's vice-president for lifelong learning and alumni engagement. About 50 students graduate from the joint MBA programme between NTU and Shanghai Jiao Tong University each year, he said. Enrolment in the university's three other existing Mandarin-medium programmes has remained steady, with about 240 students in total admitted annually. One of these is the Master of Science in Technopreneurship and Innovation, which sees about 50 students on average per academic year. SUSS launched its first Mandarin-medium postgraduate course in 2024, which received strong interest, a spokesperson said. This prompted the university to roll out more Mandarin programmes in areas such as fintech, data analytics and intellectual property. These new programmes will begin this July. Applications by international students rose by 30 per cent between the 2024 and 2025 academic years, with a significant increase from China and ASEAN countries, the spokesperson said. SUTD's first Mandarin-taught Master's in Technology and Design programme will start in September this year, with about 60 students enrolled so far, including students from China, said the university's chief of staff for student experience and transformation Jonathan Kua. SMU's business school is set to launch a Chinese Executive MBA in January 2026. 'While it is still early in the admissions cycle and we cannot confirm the final student profile, we have seen strong interest from Chinese-speaking applicants, including those from China,' an SMU spokesperson said. RANKING, NETWORKING AND COST KEY FACTORS Chinese students who spoke to CNA said the growing appeal of Singapore universities lies in their strong showing in global rankings. In the latest QS World University Rankings published in June, NUS ranked eighth globally and top in Asia, while NTU climbed three places to 12th. "For Chinese students, what they value most is the QS rank of the school," said Ms Wang Xuan, a former NTU master's student. "Singapore actually has two schools in the top few. So it's really a good option for the students." The 27-year-old was deciding between Singapore and Hong Kong, and eventually decided on the former because she thought it would expose her to more cultures. 'If you look at the top few (universities), basically all those in the US and UK, the language issue is a major problem,' said Ms Wang. Singapore universities are easier for Chinese students as they do not have to take TOEFL or IELTS exams, she added, referring to the English proficiency exams required by some universities. Mandarin-taught MBA courses are particularly attractive to Chinese nationals seeking to expand their business networks in Southeast Asia, she added. Some students also see these programmes as a way to integrate into the local community. Mr Xu Ren is pursuing a part-time MBA at NUS while working at a bank in Singapore. He first came to Singapore in 2016 to study for a master's in wealth management at SMU after graduating from a Canadian university and working there. 'A master's degree is kind of like a must nowadays for students in China,' said the Beijing-born 35-year-old. 'Another reason I chose Singapore is because I wanted to go somewhere where I would have the opportunity to immigrate, to get permanent residency and even maybe get citizenship as well.' Having considered Australia, Canada and Singapore, he picked Singapore due to its relevance to his finance background. He chose to enrol in NUS because of its high QS ranking and reputation. 'SMU is a good school and offers a very good education, but it doesn't really have a QS ranking … Now I can say I'm a graduate from one of the top 10 schools in the world,' said Mr Xu. With a sizeable Chinese-speaking population, Singapore offers a 'good place for bridging' for students less fluent in English, he added. Cost is another consideration – university fees in Singapore are relatively lower than in the US and UK. Ms Jin estimated that studying in the US would have cost her around 1 million yuan (US$140,000), compared with half that amount in Singapore for a one-year course. 'Actually Singapore is already quite expensive now. But what they can get in return, the QS rankings that they can bring back to China to try to find a job … it's very worth it,' she said.
Independent Singapore
7 days ago
- Business
- Independent Singapore
Singaporean man shocked as friend with master's degree only gets S$3.2k–S$3.5k job offers
SINGAPORE: It seems that holding a master's degree no longer guarantees a well-paying job these days, as one Singaporean man recently discovered through his friend's experience. In a post shared on the r/singaporejobs forum on Wednesday (July 23), the man explained that his friend had just returned to Singapore after completing a postgraduate degree overseas. Armed with strong academic credentials and high hopes, his friend had expected to secure 'at least a decent entry-level role' upon coming home. Unfortunately, things didn't work out the way he had imagined. Despite months of sending out applications and attending interviews, his friend is still unemployed. Worse still, the few offers he has received only come with salaries between S$3,200 and S$3,500, which is far below what he had anticipated, given his qualifications. To rub salt in the wound, they have also learned that several of their other friends, who hold only local degrees or diplomas, have managed to secure S$4,000-paying jobs, reportedly 'thanks to their early work experience and family referrals.' Worn down by the job market, the man said that his friend has started to question whether pursuing a Master's degree was truly a worthwhile investment. 'It's making my friend question whether the extra time and money spent on that postgrad was even worth it.' He then asked other locals, 'Is this common these days? Has the degree premium faded, or is it more about luck, timing, and who you know now?' 'Please put down the pride and be humble.' Unlike the man, many were not at all surprised by his friend's experience. Some were quick to point out that in today's job market, fancy certificates alone don't guarantee anything. One individual said, 'Getting a master's is just one entry in his CV. It's not a golden ticket.' Another shared, 'Having a degree just shows that you can study in academic settings. Someone who has a history of proven work experiences and skills is worth more in terms of what value they can bring to the employer.' A third simply said, 'A master's means nothing with no work experience.' A fourth added, 'Your friend is delusional. Please put down the pride and be humble and put effort into preparing for the interviews, including not overblowing the academic qualifications, especially if he has no working experience.' In other news, a working adult in his late 20s recently opened up online about feeling insecure over having less than S$10,000 in savings. Posting on Reddit's 'Ask Singapore' forum on Tuesday (July 22), the man shared that he often feels left behind when his friends or colleagues talk casually about their investments and how much they've managed to save. Compared to them, he admitted, his progress feels painfully slow. Read more: Man in his late 20s feels insecure about having less than S$10k in savings
Times
02-07-2025
- Business
- Times
Students ‘using universities as UK migration backdoor'
International students are using universities as a back door to long-term settlement in the UK, a report has suggested. The paper from Policy Exchange, a centre-right think tank, calls for the graduate visa route to be scrapped for all students except those pursuing postgraduate research degrees. The government announced plans earlier this year to reduce the amount of time that overseas students can live and work in the UK using the graduate visa route from two years to 18 months. International students in the UK are already banned from bringing dependants with them apart from some postgraduate research courses or courses with government-funded scholarships. However, the report said the changes, introduced in January last year, did not go far enough and called for tougher rules to ensure that studying at UK universities was not a 'migration back door'. The paper said: 'The purpose of student migration should be to study, not to provide a backdoor route to longer-term migration or settlement. Increasingly, studying in the UK has become a pathway for widespread and sustained immigration.' The number of international students in the UK increased by 66 per cent between 2014-15 and 2023-24, the report said. It added that in 2023, 40 per cent of those who arrived on student visas transferred to a different visa type within one year in 2023 — up from just 3 per cent in 2019. The number of individuals transferring directly from study visas to health and care worker visas rose from nearly 4,000 to more than 26,000 between June 2022 and June 2023, according to the report. Zachary Marsh, research fellow in education at Policy Exchange and author of the report, said: 'The government and universities must go further to clamp down on those gaming the system. A more muscular approach is needed to restore public confidence that international students are good for our universities and wider economy and society.' The report has suggested that overseas students may be 'crowding out' UK students at some universities, although institutions have argued that the much higher fees paid by foreign students help to cross-subsidise domestic students and keep courses afloat. Neil O'Brien, the shadow education minister, is due to address a Policy Exchange event in London on Wednesday on higher education and migration to coincide with the launch of the think tank's report. He is due to say: 'It's not just taxpayers who are losing out. The current system isn't working for too many students, who are promised great things but find themselves having to pay back huge sums on very low wages. 'Too many students are being ripped off and we have to ask whether there are better uses of taxpayers' money that will leave young people better off.' THOMAS KRYCH/STORY PICTURE AGENCY Jo Grady, general secretary of University and College Union, said: 'Under the current broken funding model, to which the government sadly remains wedded, international students are essential to the financial stability of our higher education sector; they also contribute tens of billions of pounds to the UK economy each year.' Tim Bradshaw, chief executive of the Russell Group, said: 'In an increasingly competitive global market, the UK needs to maintain an attractive offer for international students. This includes the graduate visa route, which allows international graduates to remain in the UK to work and contribute to the economy for a period after their studies. We know that international student recruitment, like any immigration policy, needs to be robust and fair to maintain people's trust in the system.' • A spokeswoman for Universities UK, which represents vice-chancellors, said 'Every UK resident is £355 a year better off, on average, as a result of the international students universities attract. The soft power Britain gains from attracting international students is immeasurable. 'For the UK to remain competitive the graduate route is essential. It is a time-limited visa which does not lead to a permanent path to settlement.'
South China Morning Post
24-06-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
5 Harvard postgraduates opt for Hong Kong's HKUST after US sanctions
Five Harvard University postgraduate students have accepted offers from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) following the United States government's ban on international student admissions last month. Advertisement A HKUST spokeswoman confirmed that the university extended offers to six Harvard postgraduate students. 'The university has extended admission offers to six postgraduate Harvard offer holders and current students, whose research spans science, technology, humanities, and cross-disciplinary fields,' the spokeswoman told the Post. 'To date, five of these applicants—including students from Pakistan, Georgia, and Mainland China—have accepted their offers.' She added that HKUST received nearly 200 inquiries from students worldwide since they announced support measures for those affected by recent US policy changes. Advertisement Last month, US authorities said that international students at the university had to either transfer or leave the country.
Irish Times
02-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Letters to the Editor, June 2nd: On PhD students, Israel and Pine Martens
Sir, – Advising potential US PhD students not to come to Ireland is perhaps an understandable reaction from students who have not been able to secure adequate funding for ever-increasing costs of living ( 'As PhD researchers this is our advice: avoid Ireland', Opinion, May 29th) . The article, however, contains a number of inaccuracies and omissions about the general conditions of Ireland's postgraduate research students. A PhD is the highest academic award a university can grant to a student. It comes with rigorous quality control and assessment. The sense of achievement on graduation is enormous, as are the benefits to the PhD graduate. Embarking on the (four-year plus) journey to obtain a PhD qualification is a very individual choice. Our supports for PhD students undoubtedly need to improve, but they are among the best in Europe and are far better than those on offer in most US universities, where many 'funded' students pay fees or work long hours as graduate teaching assistants. The four years is also an investment long term in their individual earning potential. As the recent HEA report on graduate outcomes has demonstrated, a PhD graduate is earning €815 per week compared with the €655 being earned by a graduate with a master's degree. The recent decision by Government and the main funding agencies to increase the PhD stipend to €25,000 per annum was welcome. All universities campaigned for this increase. We need to go further in increasing this base level – on that we all agree. READ MORE However, a direct comparison with the minimum and living-wage levels does not provide the full picture. PhD students do not pay tax or PRSI, unlike minimum wage workers. In addition, almost every student on the €25,000 stipend also has their tuition fees paid, at a further cost of between €5,000 and €13,000 each year – again a financial support not available to minimum wage workers. Dublin City University has moved all of our internally funded PhD students on to this new rate of €25,000, plus fees. This was done without additional Government support – at a significant cost to the university, but it is the right thing to do. The opinion piece suggests that universities seek to attract non-EU research students in order to raise income. Non-EU full-time research students are overwhelmingly on scholarships, where the higher rate of non-EU fee is paid by the research funder or the university, and they do not add significantly to university incomes. All of the universities have argued that the additional costs for those students, including visa fees, should be covered by funders. Furthermore, universities do not make a profit from PhD-based research. That research is significantly subsidised from other activity and through fundraising. Universities are also accused of acting like businesses in 'balancing the books'. The Universities Act sets out an obligation in law for each university to run a balanced budget. There are very significant consequences if this is not achieved. Despite the claim that 'many' of our universities are running financial surpluses, even the Government accepts that there is €307 million annual shortfall in public funding. In the absence of that funding being provided by government, universities have no choice but to seek to raise funds in all sorts of ways – including from business. Seeking external research funding is a key objective for all research-intensive universities. With regards to the profits made by DCU on-campus accommodation, our on-campus accommodation makes a significant portion of its revenue during the summer months when we charge full commercial rates to conference attendees and visitors to Dublin. Income from this period goes straight back into the university to help DCU to keep student accommodation rents as affordable as possible for students and their families. We need to properly fund our PhD students, including the additional costs of visas for international students, as well as increases to the basic stipend. To do that we need a properly funded public university system, and a wider research and innovation ecosystem. That is more urgent than ever in the current geopolitical uncertainty. Education, research and innovation have been at the heart of Ireland's social transformation, and will need to be again, as we adapt to the current turmoil. – Yours, etc, PROF JOHN DOYLE, Vice-president for Research, PROF SHARON O'BRIEN, Dean of Graduate Studies, Dublin City University Dublin 9. Squirrel spotting Sir, – Frank McNally's mentioned the common grey squirrel in a recent Irishman's Diary (Friday, May 30th). As luck would have it, only a day previously, I was fortunate enough to espy the lesser-spotted red variety scaling a tree in a wooded area in the Farnham Estate in Co Cavan. Moments later, a pine marten crossed my path at speed before disappearing into the undergrowth. A local woman to whom I recounted this wildlife encounter opined that the noticeable proliferation of red squirrels in the area was almost suggestive of a veritable truce having been declared between the two species. This state of affairs, she suggested, might be directly related to a corresponding reduction in the numbers of the once-thriving grey variety in the locality. Pine martens, she believes, are now content to ignore the agile red variety and instead concentrate their predatory instincts on their slightly larger and perhaps less athletic grey cousins. – Yours, etc, KIERAN FLYNN, Ballinasloe, Co Galway. Death and Gaza Sir, – As a proud Irish citizen of the European Union, I fear trust in the institutions of government have been irrevocably damaged if not completely eroded over the lack of sanction (or indeed any tangible action) from the EU on Israel's war in Gaza. The elephant in the room is that the EU has put US trade relations way above our human rights obligations as a block. Russia could be immediately sanctioned (rightly so) yet the dithering and feeble posturing over Palestinian slaughter has been embarrassing, infuriating and inhumane. This is not an EU of equals if Germany and Austria, with a few others, get to dictate our response to plausible genocide. Were we wrong to pass Nice and Lisbon treaties (albeit reluctantly) and dilute our voice in Europe? Have we left the warmongers in charge once more. Has business become our master in chief once and for all? I am a citizen, not a 'consumer'. I live in a country not a 'market'. I respect human life and dignity. Why have the citizens not been heeded? Why should we respect or participate in EU institutions any further when it was all fine words about culture, but in reality nothing more than an offshoot of multinational capitalist enterprise? – Yours, etc, SEAMUS HUGHES, Galway. Sir, – As a citizen of the EU, I would like to know what number of dead we in the Republic should expect to endure if we were being attacked by an outside state before we could anticipate that other countries would intervene to help us with actual action. It seems that we could look forward to at least 122 000 deaths (adjusting the current death-toll in Gaza for Irish population statistics). Just for context, in 2024 there were around 34,800 deaths registered here. Not that we need ever worry about being abandoned by the moral countries of the world; their recent track record inspires such confidence and pride. We would never be considered to have deserved such a fate though – we are, after all, far more human than the Palestinians. – Yours, etc, MARY MORAN, Shannon, Co Clare. Respecting the national anthem Sir, – I wish to fully endorse Kevin O'Regan's letter on the national anthem (Letters, May 29th) and fully support his suggestion of the introduction of a mandatory two-minute pause between the end of the anthem and the start of play in intercounty GAA games. I have noticed in recent years, especially at intercounty GAA games, a lack of respect for our national anthem. Some players do not stand to attention, and others break away from formation before the completion of the anthem. At a recent match I attended, the singer clearly didn't know the words, some players didn't even bother to stand to attention, and all players were breaking formation long before the anthem was finished. I understand players are anxious to get on with the game, but is one or two minutes going to make any difference to the starting? Gaelic games are our national games being watched worldwide, our national anthem deserves respect. – Yours, etc, VINCENT CARROLL, Dublin. Sir, – I wholeheartedly agree with your correspondent Kevin O'Regan on the apparent disregard for our national anthem within the GAA. It is a source of annoyance to see these players performing box-jumps and warming up during the anthem and not one of them actually reciting the words. I have long held the view that it should be compulsory for the players to sing the anthem and stand still to show respect. Compared to Six Nations rugby and the pride and passion the players show for their anthems, the GAA should hang their heads in shame. – Yours, etc, MARY LEE, Newbridge, Co Kildare. Sir, – The suggested mandatory two-minute pause between the end of Amhrán na bhFiann and the start of play at GAA matches would not be welcomed by corner forwards. – Yours, etc, LOMAN Ó LOINGSIGH, Kiltipper Road, Dublin 24. Climate change and fines Sir, – Ireland generates less than 0.1 per cent of the world's total greenhouse gas emissions. We are facing potential fines of up to €20-30 billion if climate targets are not reached by the end of the decade. Will the same penalties be proportionately applied to the world's biggest polluters, namely China, India, the United States and Brazil? If so, then their economies will justifiably collapse. A level playing field must surely apply. – Yours, etc, JOHN BURNETT, Co Cork. Cycling days gone by Sir, – I am sure readers of my vintage can recall the centre of Dublin, in places like College Green, being full of bicycles, riding several abreast. I'll wager not one of those riders considered him or herself a 'cyclist,' or had ever read a cycling magazine. The bicycle was transport, unless you were fairly well to do. Now, almost all bikes are ridden by enthusiasts. Having paid up to several thousand euro or pounds for their machines, and a tidy sum for helmets, clothing and accessories, they become members of a sort of parallel society, with its own rules and conventions – one of which seems to have a flagrant disregard for traffic lights and pedestrian crossings. I instinctively dislike extra laws and compulsion, but I feel it would be no bad thing if, as in some other countries, bicycles were registered and displayed a number plate. Where to mount it on some modern machines is another question. – Yours, etc, PAUL GRIFFIN, Liverpool.
