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Partners
Gain Access To Entrepreneurial Pre-Screened Talent!
WHY PARTNER WITH US
Access to Diverse Talent
Gain access to a wide pool of students from various disciplines, including Accounting, Business, Computing and Information Systems, Economics, Integrative Studies, Law, and Social Sciences, bringing unique skill sets and perspectives to your organization.
Pre-Screened Entrepreneurial Candidates
We provide pre-screened talent who are ready to excel in dynamic, fast-paced environments, ensuring you work with interns who are motivated and equipped to contribute meaningfully from day one.
Global Perspectives and Cultural Exchange
Our interns bring valuable international exposure and fresh insights into global markets, consumer behavior, and innovative approaches that can help drive your company’s growth and success.
Access to SMU’s ecosystem of industry and alumni networks
By joining the GII programme, employers build long-term relationships with SMU, positioning their organization to recruit future talent and pursue further partnerships.
Brand Recognition and Visibility
Being recognized as a GII partner increases the company’s reputation and attractiveness as an employer in the innovation and entrepreneurship space.
Hear from GII Partners
Xingwen ZHANG
Co-founder &CEO
VoyaWave Optics (Shenzhen, Guangdong, GII 2024)
"It is a great honor to participate in the GII programme. With the help of this international and open platform, we successfully established our subsidiary in Singapore and met many outstanding entrepreneurs and educators. We are very grateful! SMU students are exceptionally talented, possessing a broad international perspective, strong multicultural adaptability, and multilingual abilities. Kudos to them!"
Partner's Page
Laura Lu
Marketing Communication Manager
Bluepha (Beijing, GII 2023)
"Working with the interns from SMU has been a rewarding experience for me. Their fresh perspectives and willingness to take on new challenges have enriched our marketing projects and brought about exiting news!"
Partner's Page
XU Yang (Ocean)
International Cooperation Manager
neoBay (Shanghai, GII 2023)
"NeoBay has been hosting SMU students interns for the past 6 years. We find that SMU GII programme is a wonderful programme not only for the students but also for strengheting our Innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems through internationals collaborations and talent exchange."
Tom Quigley
Vice President, People
Zinier (USA, GII 2019)
:The four interns from SMU we have in our US office this summer are exceptional. All students are motivated, pick up work quickly and engaged with learning."
Partner's Page
Some of our Partners
SOUTHEAST ASIA
CHINA
REST OF THE WORLD
Frequently Asked Questions
What intern roles have been offered and filled by GII partners in years past?
Some of the more common roles in recent years are: Business Operations, Business Development, Data Analytics, Investment Analyst, Marketing (digital, content, growth), Sales, Software Engineer, UX/UI Research/Design, Project Management, Research Analyst.
What kind of roles are GII interns looking for?
Roles in high demand amongst our student interns include business development, data analytics, digital marketing, finance, and software engineering.
What kind of past work experiences do our students have?
We set the bar considerably high for our student intern candidates. We strive to match companies with students who have already had experience working in a professional environment and/or delivered quality results on significant projects.
How much do we have to pay an intern?
We request that our employers pay our student interns the local market rate for internship allowances. If you’d like to find out what the benchmark is, please contact us at iie-gii@smu.edu.sg.
If I have issues with my intern, what can I do about it?
We put interns through a rigorous assessment, followed by preparation that spans 2 - 3 months prior to the internship. This is usually effective in mitigating most issues. However, should any issues arise, rest assured that you will have access to a dedicated and responsive program manager throughout the entire process.
Can I hire the intern for more than 12 weeks?
If you’re asking this question, we appreciate that you see the value in our students. We seek your understanding that the 12- week period is mapped to the duration of the students’ summer break from their academics. That said, please feel free to extend a return offer to the student for the following summer or upon graduation. Or reach out to us at iie-gii@smu.edu.sg to explore other possibilities.
Awards & Grants
These are the various awards and grants that students can tap into for GII. Please bear in mind that some are tied to specific destinations, and quantums are subject to change.
List of Awards & Grants
AmCham Global Innovation Immersion Award
AmCham will annually award 6 AmCham GII Awards of S$4,000 each.
Eligibility for the AmCham GII award is limited to SMU undergraduates who are accepted into the GII programme and successfully secure internships with companies in the USA. No further application or submission is necessary for the AmCham award. All eligible students will be considered and evaluated, then subsequently awardee.
Andy Chua & Family China Innovation Immersion Award
Annually award 8 Andy Chua & Family China Innovation Immersion Awards of S$1500 each.
Eligibility for the award is limited to SMU undergraduates who are accepted into the GII programme and successfully secure internships with companies in China. Students who are bilingual in Chinese and English will be preferred. Students may be required to submit additional application for evaluation and further interviewed by the Donor and/or his representative
Eddie & Lindy Chang Overseas Study Mission Grants
Offered to students embarking on GII.
Annually award 2 Overseas Study Mission Grants of $2,250 each.
Tolaram Global Innovation Immersion Award (TGII Award)
The award is established to provide real world experiential learning opportunities for students to advance their entrepreneurial knowledge, skills and global outlook.
The TGII award is available for all SMU undergraduates participating in GII internships irrespective of destination and the student’s discipline of study. Priority will be given for students who demonstrate substantial financial need in order to embark on overseas internships. Tolaram will award 10 students each year at $10,000 each.
Global Ready Talent Programme (GRTP)
Grant administered by Enterprise Singapore which aims to build a pipeline of global-ready talent.
Offered to students participating in GII Programme who have secured internship placements (Remote and Overseas) in Southeast Asia, China and India. Only Singaporeans and Singapore Permanent Residents are eligible for the grant.
Industry Preparation for Pre-graduate (iPREP) Funding for SCIS Students
iPREP is a talent development initiative funded by Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). Singapore citizens from SCIS with a cumulative GPA of 3.2 are eligible.
Upon completion of internship, students can claim a prorated allowance of up to S$1,200 per month and funding support towards the cost of economy-class return airfare. Support is capped at S$8,500.
SICC International Exchange Scholarship
About the Financial Award
Established in 2005, the Scholarship is available to full-time undergraduate students at the Singapore Management University participating in exchange at any one of the partner universities from the ASEAN region.
Eligibility Criteria
- GII 6-Month track students with an unpaid internship.
- Full-time undergraduates enrolled in any degree programme
- Participating in exchange at any one of the SMU partner universities from the ASEAN region
- Singapore Citizens or Singaporean Permanent Residents
- Good academic results
- Good CCA and/or community service involvement
- Preference for students with financial needs
Benefits of Award
- $5,000 each (subsidising living and travel expenses)
- Tenable for one academic year
Application
Apply via Oasis > Self-service App (Financial Aid Application)
Teresita Sy-Coson Innovation Internship Grant
About the Financial Award
The Teresita Sy-Coson Innovation Internship Grant, established by Ms Teresita Sy-Coson, presents an invaluable opportunity for SMU students to deeply engage with the dynamic landscape of innovation in the Philippines.
Eligibility Criteria
- The student must be a full time undergraduate at SMU
- Accepted into the GII programme
- Embarking on an internship at startups or innovation hubs in the Philippines.
Benefits of Award
- $5,000 to one student per annum, to cover internship-related expenses (including airfare, visa and travel insurance).
Application
Apply via Oasis > Self-service App (Financial Aid Application)
Self-Sourcing of GII Internships
Is there an overseas internship that you chanced upon that you’re keen to join? Or perhaps you’ve come to hear about the various GII partners and past internship opportunities, but you have something different in mind. Then self-sourcing your own internship will be how the GII team recommends for you to embark on your GII journey and still receive the same administrative and financial support offered by the programme.
Application Process
- GII is open to all full-time SMU undergraduates who are returning for at least one semester of study after the programme.
- As GII is a cross-cultural programme and qualifies as an activity for clearance of the global exposure graduation requirement, students are not permitted to intern in the country of their citizenship (e.g. Vietnamese to Vietnam or Chinese to China).
- The internship must be related to innovation and/or entrepreneurship by being employed under these kinds of companies: Startups (preferably venture backed), Venture Capital firms, Innovation hubs, Incubators, and Accelerators.
- Existing GII partners are not eligible for self-sourced opportunities.
- A minimum of 12 weeks of Internship is required, starting from May to August.
- Internships must involve overseas detachment and employers must be located in these priority GII destinations:
- China
- France
- Indonesia
- Malaysia
- The Philippines
- South Korea
- Thailand
- United States of America (New York, San Francisco, Silicon Valley)
- Vietnam
- For USA companies and the necessary J1 visa process to enter the country legally, these are additional criteria that the employer must meet.
Two Pathways for Self-Sourcing:
- Apply to GII
Students who apply to GII and get shortlisted have the benefit of being matched for opportunities sourced by the GII team. At the same time, students can go about self-sourcing their own opportunities. - No Application Necessary
Students need not apply for GII in order to self-source internships that can be recognised and supported by GII. However, this pathway won’t afford the benefit of being matched with opportunities sourced by the GII team. In addition, for students who didn’t get shortlisted for GII, the scrutiny for due diligence of the employers that are self-sourced will be higher to ensure that the internship is a quality offering.
- Scope internship opportunities based on the criteria provided
- AFTER securing an interview for the internship, but BEFORE having the interview, proceed to submit the form linked below so that the GII team can advise you whether it can be supported.
If you happen to self-source more than one role, please note that the form will need to be submitted multiple times, once for each unique opportunity. If you happen to have already secured an internship, meaning that you’ve gone ahead to already accept an offer, you can also go ahead to submit the form linked below.
Deadline to submit the form for GII 2024 internships is 15 March 2024
GII 6-month Track Programme Overview
The Global Innovation Immersion Programme offers a 6-month track, providing an attractive internship engagement combined with credit-bearing coursework at an international partner university. This track allows student participants to enhance their careers while earning academic credits towards their degree fulfilment. During this 6-month track, students can earn up to 5 credit units (CUs).
The 6-month track, previously known as GII-OWSE, currently runs in partnership with established universities in Bangkok, Thailand and Shanghai, China.
Application Process
Be a full-time SMU undergraduate and MUST return to SMU after the GII 6-month track for another term of academic study (GII & GII 6-month Track cannot be engaged as your final term)
Have achieved the following number of CUs prior to being dispatched for the 6-month track:
8 CUs (LKCSB, SOA, SOE, SOSS & YPHSL-JD students)
16 CUs (SCIS & YPHSL-LLB students)
Have attained a GPA of 2.0 and above (3.0 and above for YPHSL students)
Have sufficient resources to support themselves financially for the duration of the program
Have a record of good conduct in SMU with no prior disciplinary incidents
Be willing to be an active ambassador for SMU and Singapore abroad
Possess an interest in innovation and/or entrepreneurship
Possess maturity to live and work independently in a foreign and fast-paced environment
While on exchange, you remain fully enrolled at SMU and your tuition and student fees remain status quo. Conversely, you are not liable to pay tuition fees at your host university. However, you are responsible for the ancillaries to your exchange stint, including air tickets, accommodation, personal insurance and other expenses.
Students will alternate between working with a host company and attending courses at a partner university campus for at least six hours each week, for a period of around 4 months. For the remaining two out of the six months, internship engagement will be full-time.
| 2 CUs | 2 CUs** | 1 CU*** |
|---|---|---|
| Courses with Partner University | Course w/LKCSB | SMU Internship Requirement |
* Internships for SCIS, SOL and SOA will take on a specific scope relevant to the degree of study.
** This online SMU course will only be run subject to minimium class size of 10. In the event that the course does not run due to class size,students can still choose to proceed with GII 6 months track without the SMU course, i.e, only earn the 2 CUs from partner university course and 1 CU from internship.
*** Students who already fulfil their internship requirement prior to participation with GII will not earn an additional credit.
- Upon accepting the offer of work-study elective, students may not drop the elective or renege on the offer. Those who do so will receive a fail grade for the course. Similarly, students who perform a simultaneous work-study elective and internship for mandatory degree fulfilment but were awarded a fail grade for disciplinary reasons, DKHMCC would not recognize the duration already performed towards any internship fulfilment.
- Students are required to pay regular tuition fees during the term that overlaps with the work-study, regardless of the number of courses enrolled in during the term.
- Students who fail the work-study elective, either at the mid-point or conclusion of the work stint, and are using the work-study elective to simultaneously fulfil the mandatory internship requirement, will be evaluated on their performance to determine whether they meet the minimum requirements for successful completion of the internship. For avoidance of doubt, failing the work-study elective does not necessarily mean that students will automatically fail the internship. Also, being rated as 'unsatisfactory' by the company supervisor for the internship does not necessarily mean that students will automatically fail the work-study elective, or the internship.
- Student participants may be requested by the faculty advisor to share their final report with subsequent cohorts unless they are prohibited from doing so for confidentiality reasons.
- Students who take on a self-proposed six-month internship (or one that is accepted via OnTRAC) while on leave of absence cannot appeal for it to be accepted towards the 2-CU work-study elective, even though the internship may still count towards the mandatory internship requirement.
Partner Universities
Vietnam National University
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI (VNU) is one of two leading multidisciplinary and multi-sectoral national universities, tasked with producing highly qualified human resources for the development of the country. VNU is a pioneer in innovation and is considered the symbol of intellectual life and education in Vietnam. The VNU new management model ensures the principles of interdisciplinarity and multi-disciplinarity are promoted through the VNU members cooperating as a unified entity. At the same time, each member unit has its own unique strengths, which they employ to the advantage of Vietnam National University, Hanoi.
Chulalongkorn School of Integrated Innovation
Chulalongkorn University’s School of Integrated Innovation (CSII) offers a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Integrated Innovation Program (BAScii)—the first of its kind in Asia. Upholding itself as the ‘Global Academy for the Future’, the school plans to, within four years, prepare students for industries of the future and the career launch at the international level. Throughout the program, students will gain soft skills required by the 21st century, obtain knowledge in both the business and technology cores, before honing in on specializations through mentored project-based learning. The school offers four specializations, including Health and Wellbeing, Inclusive Community and Smart City, Sustainable Development, and Applied Digital Intelligence.
Towards the end of the BAScii Program, all students are expected to become competitive entrepreneurs and life-long learners, potentially with own businesses or startups already on the way.
Shanghai University of Finance & Economics
With a rich history dating back to 1917, The Shanghai University of Finance and Economics is a multi-disciplinary key university that focuses on finance and economics and maintains coordinated development in economics, management, law, arts and science. The university covers an area of about 136 acres and consists of three campuses, with the main campus at No. 777 Guoding Road. The university makes every effort to progress and cultivate tens of thousands of talents in financial management and related professions for the economic and social development of China. Shanghai University of Finance and Economics is striving to become an internationally renowned research university specializing in finance and economics.
Faculty Advisor
Professor David Gomulya
Full-time Faculty
Associate Professor of Strategic Management; Academic Director, Master of Science in Innovation; Lee Kong Chian Fellow
As a participant in the GII 6-month track, you will have the opportunity to work with Professor David Gomulya, who serves as the faculty advisor for the MGMT350 Overseas Entrepreneurship Work-Study Elective. In addition to completing internship reports, you will also be required to submit a final overseas Work-Study report, which will be graded on a pass-fail basis by the Faculty Advisor. Your performance appraisal from your internship supervisor will also be taken into consideration.
Completing this course will allow you to clear three attributes, worth a total of 2CUs, which include Strategic Management, Entrepreneurship Management, and Asia Studies.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Do I have to pay any school fees?
- Students are to pay the regular term fees while enrolled in the GII 6-month Track, plus the two CUs permissible during the term. [two modules (2CUs) + 1 GII 6-month Track module (2 CUs) + internship (1 CU).
- IMPORTANT: Students on tuition fees grant/subsidy should plan their study plan carefully so as not to exceed the normal candidature period.
- Are there any consequences for withdrawing from the GII 6-month Track?
- Withdrawals are permissible after submission of one’s application and prior to accepting an offer with an internship. Withdrawal after accepting an offer or during the internship is highly discouraged.
- If at any point during the six months, the company/organization is not satisfied with the student’s attendance, work discipline, or work performance, and wishes to terminate the student’s attachment, the faculty advisor and the IIE programme manager shall meet with the company supervisor and the student for immediate mediation. The Associate Dean (Education) will be notified.
- I am an international student. Can I participate in the GII 6-month Track?
Yes, International Students who are NOT on Exchange will be eligible to apply for the 6-month Track.
- Will I be able to choose the company in which I want to do my internship as part of GII 6-month Track?
Yes, there will be a few companies for you to choose from to apply to.
- Will I receive remuneration for the internship?
Yes, students will receive internship remuneration according to the company's HR policies.
Register Your Interest
Gabriel was an educator with MOE before leaving the service to develop educational technology products. His entrepreneurial journey continued when he founded an educational business consultancy which guides founders by journeying alongside startups as they progress from 0 to 1. Gabriel is a graduate of the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, holding both a degree and diploma in Education. Outside of work, his interests include frequent-flier miles collection, scuba diving and doom-scrolling Reddit.
Nazreen is a dedicated advocate for community building and social impact.
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