Inspired by students to give back

​NBS faculty from the Leadership, Management and Organisation Division have made a collective donation to support NBS students in financial need.

In these uncertain and unprecedented times, a group of dedicated NBS faculty have gone beyond investing their time and talent to NBS and our students every day. Faculty from the School’s Leadership, Management and Organisation (LMO) Division have come together to give back to NBS in support of students experiencing financial hardship.

"During these past few months, the LMO Division met regularly as a community of practice (CoP),” shares Professor Soon Ang, Distinguished University Professor and Head of the LMO Division. “Faculty members have been working closely and helping each other to innovate for online and hybrid forms of learning and delivering.” 

“At the same time, we were particularly concerned for our key stakeholders – our students,” she says. “We are aware of the extent the Covid-19 pandemic has affected our students’ financial welfare and livelihood of their families. So we spearheaded an initiative to pool funds together to alleviate the worry and hardship of affected students. I am very grateful for the generosity and compassion the LMO faculty showed to our students. They are a wonderful group of educators!”

A collective donation of $23,750 from the faculty members has kick-started the NBS Student Aid Fund, which provides direct financial support to NBS students experiencing hardship. The new Fund will help ‘plug the gap’ and provide more holistic support to complement other existing forms of traditional financial assistance, such as bursaries and study loans.

Faculty from the NBS Leadership, Management and Organisation Division at a meeting in September 2019.

The Pastoral Care team at NBS has already identified many students in need of this support. Some students coming forward hail from low-income families where the sole breadwinner has experienced retrenchment or significant reduction in work; others need to work multiple part-time jobs to help support the basic needs of their family. More than ever, these students are confronted with difficult decisions due to their financial circumstances, such as whether they can continue staying in Hall residences on campus, or how they can afford to replace a broken laptop. 

The new NBS Student Aid Fund will help students like these alleviate some of their financial concerns, and allow them to focus on their own education and well-being. Beyond the immediate impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the availability of this new Fund will continue to benefit needy NBS students for generations to come.

“I am heartened by this generous initiative, and would like to extend my gratitude to the LMO faculty for the compassion and care that they represent as the academic community at NBS,” says NBS Dean, Professor Christina Soh. “In addition to all that they do every day, it is truly commendable that they have come together as a group to support our students in this way.”

“The new NBS Student Aid Fund will allow us to make a timely, tangible and meaningful impact on the lives of students and families in need,” Dean Soh explains. “As the new academic year begins, I encourage our NBS community of faculty, staff and alumni to join in contributing and growing the Fund so that more students can access this much-needed support.”

Make a gift to the NBS Student Aid Fund today to help support more students in need.