Over 160 alumni and industry partners attended the latest SMU Industry Night for Banking and Financial Services industry on 26th May 2016. Held at Empire located on the 45th floor of the Singapore Land Tower, the alumni networked with one another and with industry professionals over food and drinks.
Ian Chong (MAF, 2016) (pictured above far left) said, “I am graduating this year from the Master of Science in Applied Finance programme and I came here to expand my network of contacts. Everyone knows that the job market is quite tight nowadays and thus professional networking events such as these provide possible career opportunities.”
Emcee for the night, SMU Alumni Association (SMUAA) Executive Committee member Ford Lai (BBM, 2007) welcomed the crowd and introduced the many avenues that alumni can connect with one another and with the University. The Office of Alumni Relations (OAR) organises events such as Industry Nights, Interaction Nights, and Career and Professional Development programmes to meet the needs of SMU’s growing alumni community.
The SMU Industry Nights provide a platform to promote professional networking amongst alumni and for alumni to expand their professional network of contacts. Each event is focused on a specific industry and held at a conducive venue in the Central Business District.
Alumni can also increase their contacts and connect with one another by joining an Alumni Group. The Alumni Groups are niche communities formed under SMUAA and supported by OAR. The groups are categorised under school-based, interest-based, programme-based (or postgraduate) and affinity alumni groups. In his speech, OAR Director Associate Professor Low Aik Meng encouraged alumni to join a Group and to look out for affinity alumni groups based on companies in the near future, especially for those in the banking and financial services industry.
Two lucky winners walked away with a complimentary one year SMUAA membership and a bottle of wine each by the end of the night. With two more industry nights planned till the end of the year, alumni can look forward to more of such networking events to meet industry professionals and to gain access to career opportunities. The next Industry Night would be held for those in the Accounting, Audit, Tax and Consulting industries on 14th July 2016.
For more photos from the event, please click here.