Chang Xiao Ran

Discover SIM GE He started out running a gaming website that grew in popularity as early as in his primary school years. Xiao Ran’s (pictured above) passion for all things tech has taken him far and today, he is an accomplished Partner Technology Manager at Google Asia-Pacific. To gain further exposure of the world around him, Xiao Ran decided to step out of his comfort zone and left his homeland China to acquire an education in Singapore. “My three-year study at the polytechnic in Singapore helped built a solid foundation. Through the experience clocked from industry and foundation built from school, I started to realise my skills and cognitive ability were insufficient for me to reach the next level of my career. A more systematic and comprehensive study was required for me to enhance myself. That was my initial motivation to embark on my degree programme,” he shares. Despite having the opportunity to pursue his education at public universities here, he chose a more unconventional route. His quest to gain cognitive skills led him to pursue a part-time programme at SIM-University of Wollongong Bachelor of Information Technology (Computing). “My GPA from polytechnic was enough for me to apply for courses in local public universities but SIM allowed me to pursue this course at a shorter timeframe with more global exposure. “Before making the decision, I did some intensive research on the curriculum of this course. I felt that the programme would enable me to refresh my industrial knowledge and also expand my network, “says Xiao Ran. During his time at SIM GE, Xiao Ran was able to gain full-time employment at IBM after hearing about the opportunity through a friend at the institution. While it was a tough order to balance between work and studies, the challenge worked to his advantage. “I was able to understand the lectures from professors better with my own industrial perspective and also improve my school projects by using with real-world scenarios. The innovative aspects that I learned at school also helped with bringing me fresh ideas in my day-to-day work. Through this, I was able to contribute more innovative ideas to my team,” he explains. Xiao Ran was later promoted to Senior Consultant at IBM after graduating from the UOW programme with distinction. He was later headhunted by Google Asia Pacific where he took up the role of Partner Technology Manager. In this role, Xiao Ran is required to work with clients and partners to overcome scaling and operational challenges through technology. “The part-time studies at SIM-UOW have paid off as I’ve had a good start to my career so far. Besides skills, the network I built through the programme also helped me get a job offer from IBM Singapore. The four years of working at IBM has helped me gain industry experience which complements well with the knowledge I learnt back in SIM-UOW.” Xiao Ran hopes to build on his success in the innovative and fast-changing IT industry. “Technology is changing or even disrupting almost every industry. With a strong foundation in technology I hope to continuously enhance myself and gain experience in different domains and pick up new skills,” he says. Posted online, 13 November 2017 [rev_slider alias="sim-achievers-campaign-2019"]