UNSW: The Aftermath

On May 24 this year, UNSWAsia shocked the academic world by announcing that is was leaving the Singapore education scene, barely three months after the first lessons had started. It was expected to have 15,000 students by 2020, but its first enrolment was only 148. It was a huge blow to Singapore’s ambitions of becoming a world-class education hub with UNSW the most prolific of the foreign institutions here. Clearly, it was a change of leadership which incited the closure, with someone with a nose for bottom line at is helm.

UNSWAsia’s spokesman argued that the school was unsustainable. Ironically, James Cook University and Insead started out with only 50 students and have tided through the early storm. From this, we know that behind every successful business is a plan of calculated risk. As the old adage goes, ”Nothing venture, nothing gained”.

This can be applied to our daily life. Firstly, if you want to be an entrepreneur, one must surely take calculated risks. We should not give up and close our business after three months in the red, but rather focus on one’s strengths and seek ways to improve equity. Secondly, in whatever we do, we should take the road least traveled by, for the grass may be greener there. Suppose you are a handphone manufacturer. Would you venture into Africa or Japan? Instincts say Japan but the opportunist will know that Africa has a larger market as Japan’s mobile penetration rate is too high.

It is reasonable that UNSWAsia should not close down so early. Success does not come by easily. Insead, a thriving business school bears testament to this. I write this as a student, and I can easily get into the shoes of the affected students-how they feel, etc. However, it might be noteworthy that in our fluctuating business world, the first sign of failure is probably the best time to exit, as seen by the 1997 Asian financial crisis, SARS and WTC.

However, the vice-chancellor of UNSW has had experience in the business and financial world, as a former CEO of John Fairfax Holdings, Australia’s media giant. I have neither but can understand the predicament UNSWAsia is in. With tens of millions of dollars in reserve, the whole UNSW will go down under (pun unintended) a huge pile of loans if UNSWAsia fails. I see it as a move to preserve the Sydney campus, to save UNSW. I am inclined to also believe that they are trying to preserve the prestige and legacy of UNSW, just like nothing beats studying Oxford/Cambridge in London.
Truly, I am quite annoyed that UNSWAsia should close down after just 3 months. Fortunately, it did not leave students in the lurch, unlike Froebel Academy, and arranged for scholarships for affected students. However, an academic institution is not-for-profit and lack of sustainability does not justify its closure. As much as I want to comment more, I am not an economist and will probably not see things as clearly from the economic perspective. Therefore, I might misunderstand their true intentions.
Hopefully, this incident will not affect Singapore’s status and dream to be the education hub of Asia.