Gayathiri Babu Reddiar

Discover SIM GE A WORLD-CLASS overseas education lays the foundation for professional career advancement. And for those with wider ambition, it also opens doors to job opportunities across the globe. The traditional route is to apply directly to the overseas university of your choice, say, in the UK, America or Australia. And when you are admitted, you fly over there to stay for several years until you receive your qualification. This approach is costly and life in a Western country could be a cultural shock for many young people in Asia. However several resourceful students - from Sri Lanka and India - have found a better alternative: They selected the university and the degree programme they were keen on, but instead of travelling to a far destination, they came to Singapore. Gayathiri Babu Reddiar (above) is from Sri Lanka. She’s now a final year (2012) University of London (UOL) student at the Singapore Institute of Management Global Education campus. She could get a top-rate UK education in Singapore which is as good as what is offered in London, but without the heavy expenses. Gayathiri estimates that she would have spent a total of 3.2 million rupees for her three-year stay in Singapore. This sum covers all her course fees, accommodation, food and daily expenses. If she were to live and study in London itself, it would cost more than twice the amount. UOL Diploma in Economics The 21-year-old first arrived in Singapore in 2009 to do a UOL Diploma in Economics, a one-year programme conducted by SIM. “Initially I was lost,” says Gayathiri. “Economics as taught by UOL is based on real-world data, while the subject I learnt in school in Sri Lanka was just a collection of theories.” After her diploma course, she entered straight into the second year of the UOL Bachelor in Accountancy and Finance programme. “There is also a UOL-affiliated centre in Sri Lanka where I could have pursued the same degree course,” she points out. “But at SIM, lecturers from London fly over to teach us. “There are also mock exams where the same lecturers would mark our answer scripts and comment on our weaknesses and areas of improvement. All these ‘extras’ are provided only by SIM, a kind of tuition service to give us the extra push to pass the exams.” SIM enriches students’ life SIM Global Education offers prospective students a rich, diverse choice of academic programmes from top universities in Britain, the United States, Australia and Europe. The campus at SIM has a global ambience, with local students interacting with students of many Asian nationalities. Not often in life would you have the opportunity to study, socialise and share with individuals from so many interesting cultures and traditions! Parents too will be happy to know the holistic setup at SIM Global Education where their children can both excel academically and be enriched in sports, culture and the arts. Gayathiri is confident of getting at least a Second Upper in her degree and knows she can easily secure a position in a local bank back home. But the world’s her oyster and she knows she would want to work beyond Sri Lanka. --- Posted online, October 2012 Updates after graduation Gayathiri graduated in 2013 and returned to Sri Lanka. She writes on November 1, 2015 on her work: "I'm currently working in British American Tobacco company in Sri Lanka as a Management Trainee in Finance. It's a two-year accelerated programme to become a Manager. "So far I am in my last leg of the programme- 6 more months to graduate.The objective of the programme is to groom trainees into future leaders. This programme has opened my eyes to an array of opportunities and moulded me into a business professional from a mere financially-trained person. "I am currently doing my last two papers in ACCA. Hopefully by end of this year I will be done with my ACCA as well. Apart from my work and ACCA I am involved in certain community projects here in Sri Lanka." Visit SIM GE Regional website for Sri Lankan students for more information.