Temasek Business School - Student Activities

Activities Organised by A&F Interest Group

A&F Sports Day At A&F, it’s not just all work and no play; among many fun events we organize, our students engage one another in various sports and games during the A&F Sports Day. This is an annual event organized by the A&F Interest Group. Vibrant Campus Life The A&F Interest Group (A&F IG) participated in the above event organised by the Business Studies Club. The objective of the event was to enable Freshmen to experience campus life as well as to raise funds for the various interest groups. A&F IG sold brownies and second-hand textbooks to students especially Freshmen. The funds raised from the sale will be used for A&F IG activities for the benefit of all A&F students.
Eye-opening Study Trips in a Foreign Land A&F students had the opportunity to go on study trips to Shanghai and Beijing. Highlights of the Shanghai trip include visits to Jiao Tong University, Shanghai Bao Steel, Shanghai K&C Digital Science and Technology Co Ltd and Bank of East Asia. The highlights of the Beijing trip include visits to TsingHua University, a Beijing gift factory and 77^th street Plaza which is owned by local entrepreneur, Elim Chew, to see how a business is being run; an orphanage which provides the students with the opportunity to do community service; and Tianlun Dynasty Hotel to appreciate how a Beijing Hotel runs its business and understand its accounting rules and practices. Read about the students' reflections on the trip here.
A&F IG Sub-Committee Night Camp Organised for the A&F IG members, the objectives of the camp are to foster team spirit among the IG leaders and members, to build leadership qualities as well as for the IG leaders to learn how to run a full day event. Highlights of the camp include an Adventure Learning Programme and an outdoor cooking session to build teamwork and to learn survival skills, and a motivational talk by an external speaker.
Investment Sub-Comm Our Investment Sub-Comm has organised and participated in many activities to promote students’ practical understanding of finance. Recently, A&F students competed in the NEFMQ (National Economics and Finance Management Quiz) - organised by NUS. They were put to the test and sharpened their know-how on money management, financial planning and investment. A&F students also participated in the OCBC Securities Stock Challenge, jointly organised by OCBC Securities and NTU. Using an online platform, students traded securities and managed an investment fund over a 3-week period.
Inspiring Sharing by A&F graduate From time to time, A&F graduates are invited back to TP to engage our students by sharing their work and life experiences. One such session saw A&F graduate Juliah Bee giving an inspiring account of her prolific involvement and experiences in community service. Highlights of her sharing included tsunami relief work in Aceh with Mercy Relief and Habitat for Humanity, overseeing youth projects in East Timor, Sabah, India and Indonesia and reaching out to sex workers in Geylang in the Sex Workers Outreach Project, and many more … The impact of her sharing on the students was evident throughout the 1-hour session, as staff and students present were deeply moved by her selfless dedication and stories of human suffering. It was heart-warming to see students crowding around her after the session, expressing interest in the work that Juliah had spoken about.
Community Service Besides work and play, A&F students also do their bit to serve the community. The A&F IG organises regular community service activities. Recently, they brought a group of excited children from the Children-At-Risk Empowerment (CARE) Association to Changi International Airport, Terminals 2 & 3, where they were treated to lunch, a guided tour and a drawing competition. On other occasions, the A&F IG organised trips to the Singapore Zoo and Bird Park for the children. A&F students also reached out to underprivileged children from the Tampines Family Service Centre. A visit to our sprawling Temasek Polytechnic campus was organised during the school holidays, with half a day of outdoor activities and indoor games to interact with the visitors. It was heartwarming to see the children leave the campus in high spirits, with the prizes and toys they had won. In another outing, A&F students brought cheer to the elderly residents in the Jamiyah Home for the Aged by serving tea and chatting with them. They also donated food items like biscuits, fruits and cakes as well as performed some song items for them.
Overseas Community Service Recently, the A&F IG organised a community service trip to Bintan, Indonesia, which was partly sponsored by the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore (ICPAS) and CPA Australia. At the Pesantren Al Ghazi orphanage, the students were divided into teams to re-paint rooms and classroom furniture, and interacted with the children through games and learning activities. The team also donated toys, stationery and food items. The sweat and toil invested was truly worthwhile when the student volunteers saw how the orphans benefited from their efforts. “It’s a meaningful and memorable trip. We get to help people who are less fortunate, and at the same time, we realise how blessed we are,” quipped Siao Wei, IG President.
Overseas Exposure through Exchange Programmes There are opportunities galore for students to engage themselves globally through Cross Disciplinary subjects like Global Citizenship and Overseas Exchange Programmes with foreign universities. One such student exchange program is with the Jyvaskyla University of Applied Sciences in Finland. Two A&F students, Edwin Sia and Cheryl Tan, embarked on this programme which spanned 3 weeks. Besides learning independence, these two globetrotting adventurers also had a taste of a different education system, culture and a memorable time making friends with students from different nationalities. Read about their exciting exchange experience here.
Talks by Industry Speakers - learning about the latest developments in the accounting and finance profession One of the industry speakers invited was Ms Chua Ying, Director of Fiduciary Asia Management Services Pte Ltd who spoke on current developments in the audit profession to Accounting & Finance seniors taking Audit Practice. She spoke on areas covering: The misunderstood roles of an auditor Expectation gap of auditors in the light of the recent NKF saga Recent corporate scandals Possible warning signs of corporate fraud Developments in audit profession
Careers & Further Education Talks Talks on careers and further education, targeted at our A&F seniors, are regularly organized to create greater awareness amongst these graduating students about the many employment and further education opportunities available, so that they can make more informed choices. For instance, on 25 July 2008, two talks were held: Career Talk by Mr Wallace Yeung, Vice President of Global Wealth Management Services, Merrill Lynch Further Education Talk by Ms Mona Poomy, Vice President of South East Asia, Securities & Investment Institute
Learning through Field Trips Field trips provide opportunities for students to have practical exposure on concepts learnt. One such field trip was to Gardenia Foods (S) Pte Ltd organized for Junior year A&F students with the objective of building practical understanding of the concepts learnt in Cost and Management Accounting such as process costing, activity-based costing and standard costing by observing the bread-making process. The students were shown a video explaining the bread-making process followed by a guided tour of the plant. The students were not just rewarded with a better understanding of the cost concepts but also Gardenia bread!
E-filing Volunteer Service – assisting the public to e-file tax returns Through the Volunteer E-Filing Service (VES) conducted jointly with IRAS, A&F students have the opportunity to assist members of the public to complete income tax returns electronically at community clubs. Our students guided taxpayers to navigate the e-filing tax portal and answered their enquiries. They also encouraged taxpayers to e-file on their own whenever possible and advised taxpayers on various avenues to obtain tax information. By volunteering their services, the students were able to put their knowledge on the basic taxation process to good use.
Celebration of Learning …. end of the 3-year journey in TP This annual event marked the end of three years of studying in TP for graduating A&F students. Items include a talk on "Interview Techniques and Business Etiquettes" by Ms Yvonne Goh, Manager for the Commerce & Industry Division of Michael Page, a HR recruitment firm, and “Life Beyond Singapore” by Ms Chan Lai Khoon, Director CPA(Aus) Singapore Division. The highlight of the celebration is the farewell item presented by the graduating students which reminisce their memories of TP and appreciation of lecturers.