· School of Information Systems revises curriculum to produce future-ready graduates as IT redefines jobs
· Business and accountancy schools offer analytics specialisation to arm accountancy, finance, marketing, operations management students with analytics skills
Singapore, 24 October 2016 (Monday) – Demand for infocomm professionals in Singapore is outpacing supply with 30,000 new infocomm jobs expected by 2020. The Infocomm Media 2025 masterplan has identified salient trends that are significant for the next decade, these include Big Data & Analytics, Internet of Things and Cybersecurity. The masterplan also highlighted future key infocomm job areas: Software Development, Cybersecurity, Data Analytics, and Network Infrastructure.
Globally, the demand for IT talent is also rising. Research by Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) on employer hiring trends shows significant growth in demand for skilled analytics talents. 51 percent of all companies surveyed globally in the 2015 GMAC Corporate Recruiters Survey planned to hire business graduates in 2015 to fill data analytics roles, up from 44 percent in 2014.
In response to these industry trends and demand, SMU has strengthened its undergraduate curriculum in three schools to contribute to the 'future-proofing' of Singapore.
School of Information Systems’ revised undergraduate curriculum
The School of Information Systems (SIS) has revised its undergraduate curriculum in response to changes in technologies, nature of jobs and market demands.
Starting from August 2017, undergraduates at SIS will undergo a revised curriculum which emphasizes creating innovative computing and information solutions for business and society.
Professor Pang Hwee Hwa, Dean of School of Information Systems said, “IT will be the central nervous system of not just most businesses, large and small, but also of metropolitan cities around the world and small city states such as Singapore. Emergence of new industries such as Fintech, widespread use of analytics across industries, coming of age of technologies such as Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence and Business Intelligence leading to the building of Smart cities and Smart nations are demanding a new breed of employees who can use IT skills to create innovative solutions for business and society. The changes to the B.Sc. (Information Systems) curriculum will produce such industry ready, innovation enabled, solution architects. They will be trained to use emerging technologies for developing end to end solutions required by businesses and society”.
(1) Building core skills
The revised core curriculum in the first two years of study focuses on creating business and social value, by developing IT solutions using innovation methods and emerging technologies. New courses such as Information Systems and Innovations, and Business Process Analysis and Solutioning will prepare SIS graduates to translate consumer, enterprise, government and social requirements into innovative IT enabled solutions.
For example, on completing the Information Systems & Innovation module, a student will be able to describe and explain how information systems can be used to create business value in a wide range of industry sectors, types of organizations and geographical contexts, as well as explain different types of innovations in the context of a business and market.
In another core module, Business Process Analysis and Solutioning, students will learn to model and analyze a business process, and apply a methodological approach to translate business process change requirements into concrete IT solutions.
[Pls refer to Annex A for the list of core modules.]
(2) Deep-diving into career skills
Starting from their third year of study, students will specialize in career tracks in the following two categories based on their aspirations. Each career track comprises several core and elective courses.
Consultant & Business Analyst Tracks:
- Financial Technology
- Business Analytics
- Digital Business Solutioning
Advanced Technical Tracks:
- Cybersecurity
- Application Development
- Cognitive Systems
The above tracks have been designed in consultation with industry representatives, to ensure that students acquire the depth and breadth in expertise to thrive in the sectors which are emerging or growing rapidly.
Building on the skills and knowledge they acquired in the first two years, students will focus on deepening their Consultant & Business Analyst and/or Advanced Technical knowledge during their final two years.
For example, the core modules taken during the first two years will ensure that all students gain knowledge and skills in the fundamentals of security. Students in Cybersecurity track will then drill deep into specific security concepts and technologies related to network, software, data, etc.
Upon graduation, students will be able to pursue diverse career paths. For example, those who took up the Financial Technology track will be able to seek employment in banks and insurance companies; while those who chose the Cybersecurity track will be able to work in the financial sector, government agencies, consulting, software development, as well as jobs related to the Smart Nation initiative.
(3) Greater flexibility and career choices for students
The new curriculum caters for a diverse spectrum of student interests. Students can now choose to acquire either deep technical skills or a healthy balance of technical and business skills depending on their career goals.
Students opting for depth can choose two tracks from within Advance Technical category or from within Consultant & Business Analyst category. Students yearning for breadth can choose one track from either Consultant & Business Analyst or Advance Technical categories, along with a second major from any of the other five schools at SMU.
With this revision, the B.Sc. (Information Systems) programme affords greater flexibility for students to prepare for their career choices. This contrasts with the current curriculum where all students are trained in application development and choose a second major. Moreover, the new curriculum aims to instil in all students the mindset of creating value for business and society, and innovation.
Strong applicants can be admitted directly into integrated BSc-Master programmes, where they will complete Master of IT in Business (Analytics), Master of IT in Business (Financial Technology), or Master of Applied Information Systems in addition to the B.Sc. (Information Systems) in four years.
Schools of Accountancy and Business to train students in Analytics as applied to their chosen fields – Accountancy, Finance, Marketing, Operations
The Infocomm Media 2025 masterplan ranks Big Data as one of the key strategic thrusts for the nation. Responding to the seminal role that analytics will play across a wide range of sectors and anticipating strong demand from employers, SMU is enhancing its undergraduate offerings to include analytics skills, as well as provide opportunities for students specialising in various disciplines to acquire analytics knowledge and insights.
From AY2017 onwards, Lee Kong Chian School of Business (LKCSB) will offer specialisations in Analytics, applied specifically to Finance, Operations Management and Marketing sectors. Together with the School of Accountancy’s new Data Analytics track offered from Academic Year 2016 (starting August 2016), the University is gearing up to prepare its graduates for changes in the marketplace.
Professor Gerard George, Dean of LKCSB and Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, said, “With more businesses seizing the opportunity to use descriptive and predictive analytics to improve decision-making, raise productivity and gain competitive advantage, it is not surprising that we are observing a trend of more companies looking for analytics skills in their new hires. It is therefore timely that we enhance our School’s offering to give students the opportunity to specialise and acquire up-to-date analytics skills and knowledge, which will no doubt give them a competitive edge in their chosen fields. Technology is changing the face of business, and we certainly need more data-literate managers across multiple sectors.”
Professor Cheng Qiang, Dean of School of Accountancy said “Our accounting tracks enable our students to enhance their professional knowledge in specific accounting fields and expand their career opportunities. We were excited to have launched our fourth accounting track in Data Analytics in August 2016. Data analytics is being used extensively in many industries to allow organisations to make better decisions; and this field will continue to grow and make significant impact in the field of accounting. Hence, it is important that we prepare our students to be future-ready.”
(1) Finance Analytics Track (offered under LKCSB Finance Major)
According to the 2011 McKinsey & Company report, Finance is one of the sectors poised to capture significant value from big data. Analytics has wide application in Finance – recent years have seen a rise in financial technology, increased popularity of algorithmic trading, and greater use of analytics in asset management and capital markets.
The new Finance Analytics Track will give students rigorous training in Finance, and hone their data analysis and modelling skills. Students will also take a newly developed module – financial innovation, which will empower them with skills related to new business models, and better prepare them for new challenges arising from future innovations. This track will prepare students for jobs in asset management, such as mutual funds and hedge funds, and banking.
(2) Marketing Analytics Track (offered under LKCSB Marketing Major)
A thorough knowledge of Analytics as applied to Marketing will prepare students to value add in their future careers as data-driven decision-making and fact-based marketing are increasingly becoming critical for marketing functions in a wide gamut of industries. Students will get to apply their skills through collaborative projects with industry.
(3) Operations Analytics (offered under LKCSB Operations Management Major)
Operations Analytics has vast application in various sectors – from services to manufacturing and even government, and has the potential to bring increased revenues, lower cost and improved resource utilisation for companies and nations. The Operations Analytics Track will equip students with the statistical, optimisation and simulation tools and skills-set towards gaining a competitive edge in the marketplace. In addition, the course will take students through the entire cycle of data analysis, and will give students the opportunity to employ the analytics tools using real data.
(4) Data Analytics track by School of Accountancy
Students from the School of Accountancy have been offered the new Data Analytics track since the start of the current academic year in August 2016. The new Data Analytics track supplements the School’s current three accounting tracks: Financial Management track; Risk Management & Assurance track; and Taxation track.
The School of Accountancy recognises the need to equip students with analytics skill sets due to increasing digitalisation. The new Data Analytics track provides students with the analytics knowledge that enhances decision-making and problem-solving skills in the world of accounting.
[Pls refer to Annexes B and C for description of new analytics tracks by Lee Kong Chian School of Business and School of Accountancy’s Data Analytics track. Quotes by industry partners are in Annex D.]
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For more information, please contact
Teo Chang Ching (Mr)
Senior Assistant Director
Corporate Communications
DID: 6828 0451
Email: ccteo [at] smu.edu.sg
