It’s not commonly known – unless you’re a student or you’ve done your research – but the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) was founded as far back as 1964, in a bid to educate and train first-class managers to boost the industrialization of Singapore. Since then, the tertiary institute has spawned a total of three other SIM branches: SIM Professional Development, Global SIM, and UniSIM.
Just today, UniSIM has effectively shed its name, changing it to Singapore University of Social Science (SUSS). To many students, the abbreviation will probably sound plain ridiculous. Sussssss.
As of now, SUSS’s website remains largely unchanged — save for the logo replacement — with its URL still utilizing the name of UniSIM. But the new name brought about a change in its management, as the university is no longer operating under SIM, but the Ministry of Education.
In a report by Channel News Asia, Minister for Higher Education and Skills Ong Ye Kung stated that the new name reflects the university’s mission of “driving lifelong learning anchored in disciplines with a strong social focus.”
This new university will have two key focus points of specialization: lifelong education and – you guessed it – social sciences.
Supplementing Mr Ong’s statement, President for SUSS Professor Cheong Hee Kiat said that the university will “continue to cater to a wide range of learners – students, employees looking to upgrade their skills, and passionate learners keen on gaining new knowledge, while providing flexibility for their learning.”
