Mr Lee Rong Cheng never thought he would graduate with first-class honours in the Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Management with International Business awarded by Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), at Kaplan.
Reflecting on his past, the 28-year-old described himself as a playful teenager who lacked focus and was lazy. He was a school drop out and was asked to leave another local private higher education institution due to poor results.
It was only on his third attempt at pursuing a higher education that Mr Lee succeeded, as he realised the need for paper qualifications to improve his career prospects and ability to provide for his family.
Mr Lee was attracted to Royal Holloway because it was admitted as one of the Schools of the University of London and constituted as a teaching university in the 1900. That meant that the degree awarded to students is the same as that awarded to on-campus graduates in RHUL in the United Kingdom (UK).
In addition, he liked how Kaplan works directly with partner universities and flies in lecturers from its home university overseas to teach the modules. The other pull factor was that Mr Lee was able to gain direct entry to Year 2 and complete the degree in 18 months.
As the students in his cohort were mostly working adults with multiple commitments, Mr Lee found the tight-knit student committees useful as members met monthly to resolve issues and garner feedback to continuously improve the programme.
The experienced local and overseas lecturers also equipped him with a global mindset, and broadened his business knowledge of global markets.
“We had to research different markets in the United States, UK and Asia to gain an understanding of how governments and culture can impact consumer behavior,” said Mr Lee.
One year after graduation, Mr Lee is now working as a business development executive at a training company that educates business owners and budding entrepreneurs in various fields. He attributes his smooth transition to the working world to the preparation he received from RHUL.
Recounting the skillsets that he had mastered during the course of his studies, Mr Lee is most proud of his improved interpersonal skills.
He said: “The skills to interact, engage and establish rapport instantly with anybody I meet is useful, especially at work when I have to liaise with business partners and overseas vendors.”
He added: “I highly recommend the Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Management with International Business awarded by RHUL, at Kaplan, to anyone who wants to enjoy a headstart in their business management careers in an increasingly competitive market. It was one of the best choices I’ve made.”
Article by Renata Wan, Lynn Yang, Nicolette Ong, Trudy Kwek
Source: TODAY© Mediacorp Press Limited.