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SINGAPORE, April 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — At the SMU Co-Curricular Symposium – Nurturing Holistic & Career-Ready Scholars, Singapore Management University (SMU) reaffirmed its commitment to equipping students and alumni with the skills and resilience needed for a dynamic workforce. Education Minister Chan Chun Sing was the Guest-of-Honour at the Symposium and delivered the opening speech.
Singapore Education Minister Chan Chun Sing at the SMU Co-Curricular Symposium 2025
As part of its 25th Anniversary celebrations, SMU proudly announced that its graduating class of 2025 will be the first to receive the Co-Curricular Transcript (CCT), a groundbreaking initiative launched in 2023. This milestone reflects SMU’s commitment to nurturing graduates who are not only academically strong but also agile, self-aware, and ready for the demands of the modern workplace. Coupled with access to the newly launched Lifelong Career Support from 1 May 2025, all alumni can confidently navigate career shifts with confidence, at any stage of their professional journey. This is timely, with mid-career job transitions surging in Singapore and the recent instability experienced by the global economy.
Delivering the opening address, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing commended SMU for its leadership in pioneering the CCT, outlining four key qualities that students should cultivate — Curiosity, Connection, Creation, and Contribution — to thrive in today’s rapidly evolving world.
“The Co-Curricular Transcript, in its rightful spirit, is for our people to better understand our strengths and weaknesses, and to know how to use those strengths to make a positive contribution to society. It is about finding yourself, understanding yourself, and using what you have to make a meaningful contribution.
Speaking to an audience of over 200 educators, industry partners, and students, Professor Alan Chan, SMU Provost, said that he is proud that the University is setting the industry standard, and emphasised the University’s mission in preparing future-ready graduates.
“At SMU, we believe that learning extends beyond the classroom. As the first university in Singapore to integrate internships, community service, and global exposure as formal graduation requirements, we have always championed a holistic approach to education.
“The Co-Curricular Transcript builds on this strong foundation by further strengthening our students’ real-world competencies through enhanced co-curricular learning and empowering them to articulate their experiences with greater confidence and clarity. This will give our students a much-needed edge in today’s competitive job market,” he said.
The CCT complements traditional academic transcripts by documenting students’ holistic learning experiences. It categorises students’ participation and growth into three progressive levels — Exposure, Integration, and Transformation — while awarding digital badges for attaining Graduate Learning Outcomes.
As internships, community service and global exposure are formal graduation requirements for SMU students, the information could be effectively captured. This structured record provides employers with deeper insights into graduates’ capabilities beyond academic grades.
SMU’s Integrated Co-Curricular Management System (ICMS) enables the CCT, allowing students to track their learning experiences, submit reflections, and receive educators’ feedback. Early student feedback collected by SMU’s Co-curriculum Development unit from over 200 students in September 2022 found that 81.1% agreed that ICMS features make their co-curricular involvement more purposeful, while 97.5% supported having a formal co-curricular record issued upon graduation.
This initiative is particularly timely as skills-based hiring gains traction globally. According to LinkedIn, 73% of recruiters now prioritise competencies over degrees. In Singapore, 70% of employers place greater value on soft skills like communication and critical thinking than hard credentials. SMU’s CCT bridges this gap by making these essential skills visible to prospective employers.
“Today’s hiring landscape is rapidly shifting towards a skills-first approach. Employers are looking beyond traditional credentials to assess a candidate’s adaptability, leadership, and problem-solving abilities. SMU’s Co-Curricular Transcript is highly effective in giving graduates a tangible way to showcase their competencies and stand out in an increasingly competitive job market,” said Elsie Ng, Head of Singapore, LinkedIn.
Since its inception, SMU has consistently pioneered initiatives that equip students with the skills demanded by employers. With 89.8% of SMU graduates securing employment within six months, the CCT further strengthens their competitiveness in a skills-driven economy.
Employers are encouraged to look at the CCT not just as conversation starters, but also use the entries to learn more about the student’s initiative, mindset and values to inform their shortlisting process. Unlike a report card or checklist, students are also guided to be more intentional about their choices of activities, and to more consciously develop a range and mastery of skills for possible alignment towards their professional goals.
SMU Pioneers Lifelong Career Support as Job Market Shifts
With mid-career job transitions surging in Singapore and 64% of alumni expressing interest in career coaching services, SMU is also breaking new ground by becoming the first Singaporean university to institutionalise lifelong career support. Effective 1 May 2025, fittingly, on Labour Day, all SMU[1] degree holders; undergraduate and postgraduate regardless of their graduation year, will have lifetime access to structured career support, a privilege traditionally reserved for recent graduates.
This bold move aligns with national efforts such as SkillsFuture to strengthen career resilience and lifelong learning in an ever-evolving job market, setting a new standard for higher education institutions in preparing graduates for long-term workforce adaptability.
For Richie Sison, an SMU MBA graduate (2021, Philippines), career coaching was pivotal in transitioning from finance to supply chain and operations. “SMU Career Services has been instrumental in helping me pivot from the finance industry to supply chain and operations. The advice and support from the coach has enabled me to land a role as a Supply Chain Manager at Amazon Singapore, which later opened doors for me to move to Uber Eats in Taiwan as an Operations Manager. The launch of life-long career coaching for alumni will be invaluable as we navigate through new career opportunities throughout our lives.”
“The workforce of tomorrow is being reshaped faster than ever, and universities must take the lead in ensuring graduates are prepared for it,” said Professor Alan Chan, SMU Provost. “SMU is redefining what it means to support graduates, not just at the start of their careers, but for life. We are the first in Singapore to institutionalise and offer lifelong career support, ensuring that no matter how industries shift, our alumni always have a partner to help them adapt, grow, and thrive.”
The Co-Curricular Symposium has attracted significant attention from institutions across Singapore, including junior colleges, polytechnics and other universities — many of which are exploring similar approaches to documenting co-curricular learning. The foundations of the transcript were also developed in partnership with employers ensuring the relevancy of the learning outcomes.
As a leader in transformative education initiatives, SMU is also the first university in Singapore to make community service a graduation requirement for all students since 2000, and we have collectively devoted more than 4.28 million hours in service towards the community.
For more information on SMU’s transformative educational initiatives, visit SMU’s website.
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1. [1] Not applicable to exchange students & non-matriculated participants of SMU-A and ExD programmes, and all other Honorary and Associate alumni.
