Sandra Davie
The Straits Times
Friday, Nov 13, 2015
National University of Singapore (NUS) graduates are among the most
sought after by employers.
Yesterday, NUS placed 17th in the world for turning out employable
graduates, up from 39th last year.
Nanyang Technological University was 117th among 150
institutions.
Into its fifth year, the Global Employability University Ranking is
designed and commissioned by French human resource consulting
agency Emerging and carried out by German market research firm
Trendence.
The survey was conducted with over 2,200 recruiters from 21
countries, including Singapore, who were asked to vote for the
universities that were producing the best "ready-for-work"
graduates.
Harvard University displaced the University of Cambridge at the
top. The highest-ranked Asian university was Japan's University of
Tokyo in 12th place.
NUS deputy president (Academic Affairs) and provost Tan Eng Chye
said he was delighted by this recognition of NUS graduates.
He said the curriculum for degrees is developed closely with local
and global industry leaders. Students in every faculty are
encouraged to intern with top companies in Singapore and overseas
or study abroad through the NUS Overseas Colleges programme in six
business hubs around the world, including Silicon Valley and New
York.
"This is a strong affirmation of the quality of NUS graduates and
the university's focus on producing "future-ready" graduates," said
Professor Tan, stressing that the fast-changing nature of knowledge
and information made it important that students are agile and
adaptable.
He said: "Through a holistic combination of local and overseas
experiential programmes, enhanced general education curriculum and
personalised career advising, we equip our students with the
knowledge, skills and ability to approach ideas and issues in
creative, thoughtful and multidisciplinary approaches."
The graduate employment survey for last year's NUS class showed it
enjoyed a higher median salary than earlier cohorts.
The median gross monthly salary of fresh NUS graduates in full-time
permanent employment was $3,200 last year, compared with $3,000 for
2013. Close to nine in 10 found jobs within six months of
graduation.
The top 150 list is dominated by US institutions, which claim seven
of the top 10 spots and 39 places in the overall top 150.
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