REPORT OF THE 35 TH NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE STUDENTS UNION (NUSSU) COUNCIL ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Transcription

1 REPORT OF THE 35 TH NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE STUDENTS UNION (NUSSU) COUNCIL ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 27 OCTOBER

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS S/N Content Page 1 Presidential Report 3 By Soh Yi Da 2 Policy And Relations Cell Report By Shermon Ong 3 Presidential Cell Report By John Paul Chua 4 Secretariat Cell Report By Lim Kok Seng 5 Financial Cell Report By Geoffrey Lee 6 Financial Statement of Accounts By Geoffrey Lee 7 Communications Cell Report By Shermon Ong 8 Welfare Cell Report By Soh Yi Da

3 35th NUS Students Union Presidential Report by Mr Soh Yi Da 1. The 35th NUSSU Executive Committee ( EXCO ) CONSTITUTIONAL POSITIONS President Vice President General Secretary Assistant Secretary Financial Secretary Acting Communications Secretary Acting Student Welfare Secretary Soh Yi Da Ong Kah Han Shermon John Paul Chua Lim Kok Seng Geoffrey Lee Ong Kah Han Shermon Soh Yi Da POLICY & RELATIONS CELL Deputy Vice President Deputy Vice President Director of Relations Director of Volunteer Management Willie Wee Ye Chiang Timothy Sean Fang Eric Khong Mun Kit Low Hong Wei PRESIDENTIAL CELL Director of Projects Director of Projects Director of Projects Director of International Relations Chang Siong Wei Chu Ting Feng Alvin Arvind Raj Akhilesh Mohan SECRETARIAT CELL Director of Logistics Director of Services Andy Goh Jun Gang Terence Wong FINANCIAL CELL Deputy Financial Secretary Deputy Financial Secretary Deputy Financial Secretary Director of Marketing Director of Enterprise Ong Soo Chin Alvin Poh Leong Ann Alvin Tan Kian Wei Dexter Shen Yanwen Xander Khoo Yong Liang 3

4 COMMUNICATIONS CELL Deputy Commuications Secretary Creative Director Creative Director Creative Director Director of Social Media Chief Editor (NUSSU The Ridge) Kellie Chong Wu Yi Nina Chang Alvin Juano Emmeliene Ong Su Min Teresa Widodo WELFARE CELL Deputy Welfare Secretary Deputy Welfare Secretary Deputy Welfare Secretary Deputy Welfare Secretary Deputy Welfare Secretary Liu Ziming Koh Zhi Xun Tan Zi Tong Duke Tan Wee Liang Wayne Lai Kean Chung 2. NUSSU Committees Business Committee (Bizcom) Committee for Information Technology Global Relations Unit (GRU) International Relations Committee Volunteer Action Committee Public Relations Unit (PRU) Students Fund Video & Photographic Committee (VPC) Welfare Committee Dexter Shen Yanwen Irene Ooi Geoffrey Lee Akhilesh Mohan Lee Ming Yong Lum Yi Shang Teo Rui Ting Clement Ng Zhi An 3. Introduction The Presidential Report outlines the strategic direction set forth by the NUSSU President for the 35th NUSSU Council and Executive Committee EXCO. The report will go on to highlight the new initiatives undertaken by the NUSSU EXCO for the Academic Year 2013/ Directions for the 35th NUSSU Council and EXCO At the start of the term of the 35th NUSSU Council and EXCO, I had charted out the eight core strategic goals for the Union. The goals are guided by the EXCO s principle of Creating Opportunities, Opening Possibilities for students. These eight goals are: 4

5 a) Closer & Inspiring Union - Forging Strong Ties with Students b) Caring & Inclusive Union - Enhancing Welfare for Students c) Creative & Innovative Union - Pioneering New Initiatives for Students d) The Union as People Developer e) Honoring our Union s Heritage f) Forging Global Relations & Enlarging Our International Footprint g) Growing & Expanding The Union h) Amplifying the Voices of Students 5. Closer & Inspiring Union The idea of a Closer and Inspiring Union necessitated the rethink of the Union s traditional engagement model as we sought to and gain respect for the Union as an institution. The old paradigm of organizing town halls and forums anticipating students to attend no longer works anymore. This new direction was premised on two key principles a) Engaging our core - reaching out first to our core NUSSU volunteers; b) Proactively reaching out to the students instead of waiting for students to come to us. 5.1 Union Tea Sessions The Union Tea sessions were focused primarily on NUSSU volunteers from the NUSSU EXCO, Constituent Clubs, Associate Bodies and NUSSU Committees. The Union Teas aimed to address the donut effect where in the past NUSSU always tried to engage the student masses but always neglected our own volunteers. The four Union Tea Sessions organized throughout the term had helped to achieve the following outcomes: a) Addressed information asymmetry as everyone were being updated on the Union s latest developments; b) Forged stronger relations across volunteers from the NUSSU EXCO, Constituent Clubs, Associate Bodies and NUSSU Committees from reiterative interactions; c) By equipping our NUSSU Volunteers with the knowledge, the Union Tea Sessions enabled them to be active ambassadors of the Union to share with their peers on the latest upcoming initiatives by the EXCO, Constituent Clubs, Associate Bodies and Committees. This allowed them to rally their peers to also participate in the Union s initiatives. 5.2 Lunchtime Walkabouts The NUSSU EXCO pioneered a series of four lunchtime walkabouts during the term - visiting all the dining locations across the NUS campus. Walking in teams of two to four, the NUSSU EXCO went around the various canteens to interact with students. The engagement served two goals - soliciting feedback from students on areas for improvement on campus as well as share our upcoming initiatives. This helped to build up the student body s positive emotional resonance with NUSSU as a caring and engaging institution as our volunteers physically walk the ground and feel the pulse of student populace. The lunchtime walkabouts were a huge success with warm reception by the students. They felt that it was refreshing that NUSSU had taken a step forward to proactively reach out to students through this method instead of the traditional town halls. It is hence recommended that subsequent NUSSU EXCO continue to engage the students through such walkabouts. 5

6 6. Caring & Inclusive Union 6.1 ChangeNUS With the intent to change the paradigm that students are passive individuals who merely give feedback, ChangeNUS was launched to galvanize students to be proactive change makers to be the change they want to see in the university. In essence, ChangeNUS was a case competition where students formed teams of up to 4 students to propose solutions. Our first run of the ChangeNUS saw a total of 11 participating entries addressing food and beverage services on campus, internal shuttle bus services, Next Bus Arrival Information Systems and Bus Stop, Mobility around Campus and Traffic Safety on Campus. A successful example is the Walk NUS initiative proposed by the winning team to promote walking as a mode of healthy transport mode across the NUS campus. This proposal had been successfully translated from idea into action with generous support from the Office of Campus Amenities. 6.2 Donation to set up NUSSU Bursary The 35th NUSSU EXCO had made a $25,000 donation from our NUSSU Reserves in the AY2013/2014 to set up the NUSSU Bursary. The NUSSU Bursary would be managed by NUS Office of Financial Aid and it would complement NUSSU s suite of financial support provided by the NUSSU Students Fund as part of our commitment to support financially needy students. In addition, the EXCO had also committed to $25,000 annual donation for the two subsequent years to ensure sustainability of the NUSSU Bursary. 6.3 NUSSU Forum with NUS Provost on Undergraduate Academic Matters In view of latest announcements pertaining to academic changes in the university, NUSSU EXCO Welfare Cell had mooted and organized the NUSSU Forum with NUS Provost on Undergraduate Academic Matters was held on 12 March 2014 from 6pm to 8pm at University Hall. The Forum was attended by about 40 Council Members as well as Academic and Welfare Secretaries of Constituent Clubs. During the Forum, the student representatives deliberated with Provost Prof Tan Eng Chye over matters such as the gradeless first semester and changes to honours classification to be implemented in the upcoming academic year. The Forum provided NUSSU with an effective platform to highlight our concerns to Provost as he took note on pointers raised in the implementation of the gradeless first semester. 6.4 Increased Welfare Pack Responding to greater demand for welfare packs, NUSSU continues to commit to providing tangible welfare for our members. We had increased the number of welfare packs given out per semester from 10,000 in AY2012/2013 to 10,500 in AY2013/ Creative & Innovative Union 7.1 Redefining Rag and Flag A significant addition to Rag and Flag was the introduction of a Carnival at this year s Rag and Flag themed the Carnival of Dreams. For the first-time ever, Rag Day featured a fun fair themed Carnival of Dreams, where 21 booths were split into three zones The Land of Terrors, Youth Town and Enchanted Lane. The Carnival provided our participating bodies an additional platform to raise funds. 6

7 The Guest of Honour for the event was Emeritus Senior Minister Mr Goh Chok Tong. The occasion also tied in to commemorate the 50th year since ESM Goh graduated from the then University of Singapore. 7.2 Student Life Fair As the matriculation process for freshmen became automated, the matriculation fair of the past had become irrelevant. This development provided an opportunity for us to reinvent the matriculation fair as the new Student Life Fair. The inaugural Student Life Fair was held from 14 to 16 August 2014 at University Town. Featuring 84 booths across three days, students were exposed to an array of campus activities. In the past, only freshmen were able to participate in the Matriculation Fair and sign up to join student groups. However, the new Student Life Fair enabled non-freshmen to also have the opportunity to sign up in their second, third or fourth year. This subsequently contributed to the increased level of student participation in campus activities. 7.3 Thanks!NUS Thanks!NUS was an appreciation picnic organized by NUSSU EXCO on 8 November 2013 at the University Town Green to thank the unsung heroes of NUS who had silently been contributing to the university. The picnic was graced by NUS Provost Prof Tan Eng Chye and included performances put up by NUSSU EXCO and the Cultural Activities Club. The event was positively received and received media coverage on Straits Times and Zaobao. 7.4 RideNUS RideNUS was a car pooling initiative mooted by NUSSU EXCO to offload the strain on the campus transportation system. RideNUS was officially launched on 21 January 2014 (Tuesday) with a convoy touring around campus to promote the new initiative. Members of the NUS community could flag down cars with RideNUS car decal and get a free lift to their desired location 7.5 Project Cupid Project Cupid was a NUSSU EXCO-driven initiative to allow students to make new friends on Valentine s Day. Held at University Town Green, Project Cupid saw a total of 80 participants engaging in a series of games and enjoyable activities. The project was also funded and supported by the Social Development Network. 8. The Union As People Developer NUSSU volunteers are the Union s greatest and most valuable assets. Hence it is the Union s imperative to invest in nurturing our volunteers to ensure the long term organizational growth and development. 8.1 NUSSU Academy The NUSSU Academy was set up on 1st January 2014 as a humble ground-up initiative that aims to sow the seeds for the future of the Union. The NUSSU Academy was founded on the principles of gotong royong (communal self-help) and our commitment in investing in the future. By bringing volunteers from different backgrounds and constituent bodies together through the NUSSU Academy s activities, we also hoped to forge a closer Union. 7

8 We hoped that NUSSU Academy would progressively gain traction and benefit more volunteers with the growth of training opportunities. In the long run, we hope that more volunteers would be keen to step up to conduct courses to support the personal growth of their peers NUSSU Academy Masterclass The NUSSU Academy had organized a Masterclass on effective presentation skills by Mr Viswa Sadasivan, CEO of Strategic Moves at NUSSU Secretariat Meeting Room. The session provided had given our volunteers valuable insights and useful tips for making successful and effective presentations NUSSU EXCO Mid-Retreat Since then the NUSSU Academy had organized a retreat at Batam where members of the NUSSU EXCO had a mid-term stock-take of the Union s progress. In addition, NUSSU also came up with the Students Union Excellence Model where performance indicators were defined and set for benchmarking. After the benchmarking was done, areas of improvement were identified for the EXCO to work on. It is recommended that NUSSU EXCO continue to grow the Academy and continue to invest in our volunteers by equipping them with skills and knowledge that would empower them to contribute more effectively to NUSSU. We hope to prepare a steady pipeline of capable volunteers who would step up to the Union leadership in the future. This would ensure the Union s continued dynamism for successive generations to come. 8.2 Changing Paradigm from Single Project Director to Co-Chairpersons To create more opportunities for NUSSU volunteers to lead and spearhead initiatives, I had introduced the two Co-Chairpersons scheme to in place of the tradition of having a single project director. By having dual Co-Chairpersons scheme, our volunteers also get to learn how to co-manage projects with an equal partner and improve their people management skills. 9. Honoring Our Union s Heritage During our term, we celebrated the 65th Anniversary of the Students Union as we traced our roots back to 1949 when the University of Malaya Students Union first started. 9.1 NUSSU 65th Anniversary Celebrations The NUSSU 65th Anniversary Celebratory Dinner was organized by the 35th NUSSU EXCO and held on 21 May 2014 (Wednesday) at the NUSS Kent Ridge Guild House. The Celebratory Dinner was graced by Minister for Environment and Water Resources Dr Vivian Balakrishnan (2nd and 3rd NUSSU Council President). The event saw a gathering of almost 250 past and present Union volunteers from the different eras of the University of Malaya Students Union, University of Singapore Students Union and National University of Singapore Students Union as they caught up, network and continue to be plugged into the future of NUS and NUSSU. 9.2 Alumni Contact List In the preparation of the 65th Anniversary Celebrations, the NUSSU EXCO had embarked on an extensive contact-tracing exercise by pouring through NUSSU archives and establishing contact with our old NUSSU volunteers. As a result, we had come up with an Alumni Contact List that would be useful for maintaining alumni relations for the years to come. This Alumni Contact List would pave a good foundation for greater and more effective NUSSU alumni engagement in the years to come. 8

9 9.3 Union Heritage Project Building on the foundation laid by the 34th NUSSU EXCO, the 35th NUSSU EXCO continued by working on an extensive research on the Union s history. A compilation of key milestones in the Union s history had been completed. The key milestones would be presented in a historical timeline with photographs to be exhibited in the Student Lounge. This timeline would enable our Union volunteers to better appreciate our Union s historical roots and its development over the years. 9.4 Alumni Engagement: Roundtables with Distinguished NUSSU Alumni Members of the NUSSU EXCO and NUSSU Council held two roundtables with Minister for Environment and Water Resources Dr Vivian Balakrishnan (2nd and 3rd NUSSU President) on 26 December 2014 at the Ministry for Environment and Water Resources and Member of Parliament Mr Lim Biow Chuan (Former NUSSU Council Chairman) on 22 January During the roundtables, members of the NUSSU EXCO and Council gained useful insights from Minister Vivian and MP Mr Lim s interesting sharing of their time in NUSSU. 10. Forging Global Relations & Enlarging Our Union s International Footprint 10.1 NUSSU Council Trip NUSSU Council embarked on a NUSSU Council Trip from 6 January 2014 to 11 January During the trip, NUSSU Council forged ties and reaffirmed our strong relationship with the University of Hong Kong, Open University of Hong Kong and University of Macau. During the visit, we shared our best practices and exchanged ideas on how to improve the running of our student organisations. Takeaways from our NUSSU Council Trip include launching the NUSSU Affiliates Scheme and Yusof Ishak House Revamp. Beyond our engagement with student leaders, our trip also saw the delegation meeting up with Mr Jacky Foo, our Singapore Consul General in Hong Kong, as well as business leaders such as Mr Robin Hu, Chief Executive of South China Morning Post and business tycoon Mr Liu Chee Ming U21 Student Leaders Network Together with Vice President Shermon Ong, we represented NUS Students Union in the inaugural Universitas 21 Student Leaders Network Meeting held in Lund University, Sweden. We had been successfully elected as President of the U21 Student Leaders Network. The U21 Student Leaders Network AGM would be hosted by NUSSU and held in Singapore in February Strengthening University Relations with Malaysian Universities We had strengthened our relations with key universities in Malaysia over the past one year. We had made visits to our sister university with historical roots - University of Malaya (KL) as well as Taylor s University (KL) and Southern University College (Johor). 11. Growing and Expanding the Union To be a progressive Union, the key was to ensure that the institution had a firm solid foundation in terms of hardware and software. The NUSSU EXCO continues to strengthen our institutional knowledge with the Knowledge Management Taskforce, invest in our long-term infrastructure by upgrading the Yusof Ishak House Student Lounge and growing the Union s pie by forging strategic partnership with the People s Association Youth Movement (PAYM). 9

10 11.1 Knowledge Management Taskforce (KMT) Knowledge management is the key to a progressive Union so that successive batches of office holders can continue to stand on the shoulders of giants. I set up the Knowledge Management Taskforce (KMT) and appointed Mr Lim Kok Seng as Chief Knowledge Officer and Mr Geoffrey Lee as Deputy Chief Knowledge Officer. Comprising representatives of each EXCO Cell, the KMT was tasked to systematically archive NUSSU EXCO s documentation on NUSwiki. The KMT had made significant progress and headway archiving the Union s activities digitally. It is recommended that subsequent NUSSU EXCO continues to focus on knowledge management, expand the effort to the NUSSU Committees, Constituent Clubs as well as Associate Bodies, and build up the institutional knowledge of the Union Revamp of Yusof Ishak House The Yusof Ishak House facilities had not been upgraded for many years. With the growing student activities on campus, the present facilities such as the meeting rooms in NUSSU Secretariat were also insufficient to support the demand, especially by larger student groups. In addition, the state of facilities is a key indicator reflective of the Union s professionalism and mark our visitors first impression. To meet the students demand of the facilities and improve the Union s professional image, I had tasked the Secretariat Cell to embark on an overhaul of the Student Lounge with specific focus on a larger Conference Room with good AV capabilities that can be used to host large meetings. The funding for this long-term investment would come from the NUSSU Reserves. The design work and necessary paperwork had been completed. With the foundation laid, the incoming 36th NUSSU EXCO would follow up to see through the renovation works. Subsequent batches of NUSSU EXCO and student groups would get to enjoy the benefits of the renovated facilities People s Association Youth Movement as Our Union s Official Youth Partner The Union had made significant headways in expanding the pie and boosting our sponsorship by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the People s Association Youth Movement (PAYM). As part of the MOU, the Union agreed to have PAYM as our Union s Official Youth Partner and in exchange PAYM had provided the Union with $30,000 of sponsorship that was went towards supporting the NUSSU EXCO, Constituent Clubs and Associate Bodies initiatives. 12. Amplifying the Voices of Students As part of the Union s constitutional mission to promote and safeguard the interests of full-time NUS undergraduates, a key duty is for the Union to amplify the voices of the students. This is done through multiple platforms such as the Education Minister s Dialogue with University Student Leaders, the Union Forum and closed door meeting with DPM Tharman rd Education Minister s Dialogue with University Student Leaders The 3rd Education Minister s Dialogue with University Student Leaders was hosted and organised by NUSSU on 20th February 2014 at NUS Yusof Ishak House Student Lounge. The Dialogue with Education Minister Heng Swee Keat was attended by student leaders from National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Management University, Singapore University of Technology and Design as well as the Singapore Institute of Technology. 10

11 Themed "Students' Unions and Nation-building in Singapore", the dialogue sought to inspire student leaders to think beyond the confines of their respective universities to focus on how we could collectively contribute to the larger Singapore society. Participants first ideated and brainstormed in small groups on how students' unions could play a part in the nation-building before convening to present their recommendations before engaging in a dialogue session with Minister Heng Swee Keat nd Union Forum: The Idea of the University The 2nd Union Forum is a sequel from the first Union Forum mooted by former NUSSU President Ang Yu Qian and I when I was the Political Association President that was held in The 1st Union Forum had dealt with the Idea of the Students Union. The 2nd Union Forum was held on 9 April 2014 (Wednesday) at University Auditorium 2. Themed The Idea of the University, the Union Forum sought to position NUSSU as a thoughtleader and active participant in the higher education landscape. Featuring Senior Minister of State for Law and Education Ms Indranee Rajah, NUS Deputy President and Provost Prof Tan Eng Chye and Straits times Editor-at-Large Mr Han Fook Kwang, the 2nd Union Forum provided a great platform for participants to deliberate over the following: a) What ought to be the ideal outcomes of the university? b) What should be the primary goals of the modern Singapore university in light of a maturing postmaterialist society, game-changing technology and tectonic shifts in the global higher education landscape? The 2nd Union Forum also saw the Union bringing in supporting partners such as the NUS Office of Alumni Relations, NUS Office of the Provost as well as REACH and the Ee Hoe Hean Club to organise the event Closed Door Meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Tharman The NUSSU EXCO held a closed-door meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam on 17 April I mooted the Meeting for NUSSU EXCO to share with DPM issues of concerned to the university undergraduate population. The discussion was wideranging but salient themes include employment opportunities post-graduation, financial situation of undergraduates etc. 13. Conclusion Creating opportunities and opening possibilities have been an ongoing process throughout the term of the 35th NUSSU Council. The above initiatives have certainly strengthened the Union, paving the way for the Union to continue to venture into unchartered waters and break new grounds. We have demonstrated that the Union is not a mediocre institution but one capable of being a forerunner, pioneer and leader in the realms of student organisations. I hope that the 36th NUSSU Council would continue to build on the strong foundation we have laid and continue to take NUSSU to greater heights. Looking back at my experiences in NUSSU EXCO over the past two years, NUSSU Council over the past three years, and the Political Association over the past four years, I must acknowledge that it is truly a privilege to serve alongside countless dedicated and passionate Union volunteers. The friendships forged and memories made are the things I would cherish for the rest of my life. 11

12 14. Acknowledgements I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude and sincerest appreciation to the following groups and individuals who had assisted me for the past four years in NUSSU. NUS Senior Management Prof Tan Chorh Chuan Prof Tan Eng Chye Mr Joseph Mullinix Prof Tan Tai Yong NUS Office of the President Mr Bernard Toh NUS Office of the Provost Ms Kelly Lau Ms Tan Wen Mei Mr Cavin Teo NUS Office of Student Affairs A/P Tan Teck Koon Dr Lee Kooi Ching Mr Seetow Cheng Faye Mr Sean Tan Ms Felicia Lum Ms Lyana Wang Ms Grace Chan Mr Eric Au Yong Ms Norimah binte Sapari NUS Office of Alumni Relations A/P Victor Savage Ms Florence Neo Mr Lo Tuck Leong Mr Wong Peng Meng Mr Chua Sin Chew NUS Office of Corporate Relations Ms Ovidia Lim-Rajaram Mr Lawrence Chai Ms Fun Yip NUS Office of Campus Amenities Mr Foo Tung Mooi Mr Goh Boon Beng NUS Board of Trustees Secretariat Mr Bobby Tan 12

13 Ms Regina Lim NUS Development Office Ms Constance Koh Mr Edi Fung Mdm Noor Shilla for her meticulous administrative support 35th NUSSU Council for the meaningful deliberation over matters affecting student life in NUS All our volunteers in our NUSSU Committees for supporting the Union s diverse and important functions with passion and dedication 35th NUSSU EXCO Constitutional Positions for sticking by me through thick and thin. 35th NUSSU EXCO for the friendships forged and memories made. And to all individuals who supported and contributed to our Union. Thank you. Prepared by: Soh Yi Da (Mr.) President Executive Committee 35th NUSSU Council 13

14 35th NUS Students Union Policy And Relations Cell Report by Shermon Ong 1. The Policy And Relations (PAR) Cell POLICY & RELATIONS CELL Vice President Deputy Vice President Deputy Vice President Director of Relations Director of Volunteer Management Shermon Ong Willie Wee Ye Chiang Timothy Sean Fang Eric Khong Mun Kit Low Hong Wei 2. Introduction Before evaluating the progress over this term, it is apposite to refer back to the initial workplan for PAR Cell at the start of the term. In the workplan, three main areas of focus were identified Volunteer Management, Internal Relations and Policy. The mission for PAR Cell was three-fold: To continuously engage and foster good relationships with the different University stakeholders, including University administrators To layout possible future strategic directions for the Union To provide different platforms for communication and collaboration In this vein, this report will be split into three main sections according to the different areas of focus Volunteer Management, Internal Relations and Policy. 3. Volunteer Management The first area of focus is volunteer management. It came under the purview of the Director of Volunteers, Mr Low Hong Wei. In this area, we came up with certain targets to work towards over the entire term. These targets included: Engagement and management of Union volunteers Continuous volunteer appreciation model Creation of C-NET Union volunteers forming the core group for Monthly Union Tea Sessions Creation of a NUSSU Internal Mailer Draft up and promulgate a Union Manpower Policy 3.1 Centralised Union volunteer database The first step towards engagement and management of Union volunteers entails knowing who our Union volunteers. As such, we sought to create a centralised Union volunteer database so that we are able to know, and possibly track, who our Union volunteers are. 14

15 However, this ran into a few obstacles. First, as the entire NUSSU EXCO only firmed up our plans rather late (end of Recess Week) due to a contested election beforehand, this meant that we only embarked on this in the last third of Semester 1. As that was a period where everyone were busy with examinations, tests and assignments, it meant that there was very little will, energy and time to keep the focus on this front. Second, the Committees Chairpersons were hesitant to give their respective lists of volunteers because they were unsure of their own volunteer pool as well as a fear that once they hand over their lists, they will lost control of their respective volunteers. As such, it is sufficient to state that despite this centralised database being an initiative that was left undone since the 33 rd NUSSU EXCO, it was still not accomplished at the end of the 35 th NUSSU EXCO. However, we have been notified that the 36 th NUSSU EXCO is looking seriously into this area and we have initiated the process of collecting the volunteers information before Recess Week. Hence, we have confidence that the 36 th NUSSU EXCO will finally be able to create the long sought-after volunteer database. 3.2 Engagement and Management of Union volunteers Next up, in any engagement and management of Union volunteers, we must be mindful to engage before managing. This is because we need to first communicate with the volunteers, as well as their respective Management Committees, before we can even broach the topic of the possibly centralising the management of volunteers under the NUSSU EXCO. We went ahead with this approach over the course of the term. At the end of our term, we have not progressed into a stage where we can even sufficiently claim to have engaged our volunteers, much less manage them. On reflection, there was no lack of intention to engage from the NUSSU EXCO s side. It is fair to say that the lack of engagement boils down to two main reasons lack of a common purpose for Union volunteers to be engaged and the lack of a desire by the Union volunteers to be engaged. On the point of a lack of a common purpose, it is important to note that Union volunteers, more often than not, join the respective NUSSU Committees or FOCC Committees because they identify with the purpose(s) of that particular Committee, not because they really identify with the larger overarching Union identity. As such, when we went about our engagement attempts, we were met with rather unenthusiastic responses as there is no Union identity that they can identify with. On the lack of a desire, it stems from the previous point. The volunteers are unable to identify with a larger Union identity and thus they are less likely and willing to be engaged. Also, it is important to note that many Union volunteers join, or even leave, the Union because of their friends/social circle. They do not have a compelling reason to interact out of their respective Committees as their social needs are mainly met by just engaging with people from the same Committee. Looking back in reflection, perhaps we were overly ambitious in thinking that Union volunteers are able to identify with a larger Union identity and that they are willing to engage with people outside of their respective Committees. This is a mistake that a significant number of incoming NUSSU EX- COs make because the NUSSU EXCO can identify, and have an interest to do so, in a larger Union identity. 15

16 However, this is not true for Union volunteers in general. It is therefore important for future NUSSU EXCOs to understand the main reason(s) why Union volunteers join the Union, their respective social interactions and why they choose to stay or leave the Union. These will better aid the NUSSU EXCO in formulating future engagement plans with Union volunteers. For this year, new Union volunteers had to sit through a combined information panel where they will be briefed about the Union in general. Hopefully that will engender a great identification with the Union identity and mitigate the issues that have been enumerated above. 3.3 Continuous volunteer appreciation model On the NUSSU EXCO s side, we took a leaf out of the Students Community Service Club s book by trying to replicate their continuous volunteer appreciation model. Under this model, volunteer appreciation not only comes in a few major appreciation initiatives but also through many small appreciation initiatives. Examples include giving away handmade bookmarks or memorabilia to volunteers after they finish their respective events. However, implementation proved to be much more difficult. Although budget was not an issue, manpower and time were. The NUSSU EXCO does not have sufficient people (or time) to help turn the small appreciation initiatives into fruition. An alternative to outsource them to the respective Committees ran into difficulties when the Committees took some time to buy into the idea, but it was already middle of Semester 2 and most initiatives were already over, thereby rendering the idea all but an empty shell. Another aspect of continuous volunteer appreciation entailed having The Ridge assist in profiling our volunteers. We felt that by sharing the personal stories of Union volunteers, their friends and social circles will better understand what the Union engages in as well as make the profiled Union volunteers feel appreciated and recognised. We did a total of four volunteer profiles that were put up on the NUSSU Facebook page and The Ridge s Studentry portal. If time and bandwidth were more abundant, it is worthy to consider enlarging the scale of this initiative. As such, moving forward, we hope that subsequent NUSSU EXCOs will avoid our missteps and start very early on this idea. It does not need to cost much (after all the appreciation memorabilia are meant to be *small*) but it just requires dedication, time and effort to turn them into fruition. We believe that Union volunteers will feel much more appreciated if this becomes a regular occurrence in the future. 3.4 Creation of C-NET One idea broached during elections to the NUSSU EXCO was the idea of a C-NET where, like the C- Cube (Central Council Committee) where all Constituent Club Presidents sit, the C-NET will comprise of all the Committee Chairpersons. The C-NET will be a platform for Committee Chairpersons to better know each other, communicate with each other and hopefully come up with cross-committee initiatives. To that end, an internal Whatsapp (a mass text-messaging platform) group was created with all the constitutional positions and the Committee Chairpersons in it. It allowed the Committee Chairpersons to know each other better (at least on a personal basis) and communicate with each other (such as informing other Committees about their own initiatives/events). 16

17 There were no cross-committee initiatives that arose from the C-NET but that would have been a bonus. We feel that the main role for the C-NET (i.e. a communication platform) has been achieved and cross-committee initiatives will only arise when the conditions and context are right. 3.5 Having Union volunteers forming the core of Monthly Union Tea Sessions The concept of Monthly Union Tea Sessions (MUTS) entailed having a get-together session for volunteers from the NUSSU EXCO, NUSSU Committees and the Constituent Clubs. Short programmes will be planned to get everyone to know each other better and food was catered to sustain the energy of the programmes during MUTS. We had hoped that the Union volunteers would form the core of the MUTS attendees as they are, after all, from our own Committees and thus more likely to support a Union event. However, with the reasons enumerated above, especially not being able to identify with a larger Union identity, the Union volunteer core at MUTS did not materialise. We feel that it was a pity but hopefully with the new initiatives by the incoming NUSSU EXCO to engage Union volunteers, the situation will improve. 3.6 Creation of a NUSSU Internal Mailer We contemplated creating a NUSSU Internal Mailer so that we can inform all Union volunteers of the different NUSSU initiatives as well as possibly disseminate Union volunteer profiles. We though this will improve our outreach to Union volunteers since we hitherto been mainly interacting with the Committees main Management Committee, not the non-mc volunteers. However, we ran into difficulties that forced us to shelve this idea. First, as mentioned above, we were unable to create a centralised Union volunteer database in time. Second, the new Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) regulations meant that the sending of such s could possibly contravene PDPA provisions. Third, many Union volunteers help out on a transient basis for one Committee and thus may be unreceptive to be spammed with information about other Committees and volunteers. Hence, weighing the pros and cons of having a NUSSU Internal Mailer, we decided not to proceed ahead with it. That said, if subsequent NUSSU EXCOs are able to overcome the reasons stated above, chiefly that of PDPA rules, this is something that can be seriously considered over the long run as a way to reach out to Union volunteers. 3.7 Drafting of a Union Manpower Policy The last limb in our volunteer management area of focus is coming up with a vision for the long term. This vision was to be encapsulated in a Union Manpower Policy (UMP). The UMP was to address issues relating to talent management, development and retention. During our elections, we identified the strategic problems that besieged volunteer management namely volunteer retention, talent management and development. Firstly, we need to know how to retain volunteers in the Union, especially given the high turnover rate. Secondly, when the turnover rate is lower, the Union can then have a more certain environment to craft volunteer management policies. Thirdly, with a better volunteer management framework, the Union can then be more confident in investing resources to development Union volunteers who are in for the long haul. 17

18 Also, Hong Wei, at the start of our term, introduced a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test for the NUSSU EXCO. Basically, the personality of each NUSSU EXCO was profiled so as to let him/her, as well as his/her colleagues, to better know his/her own personality, thus leading to better productivity and cooperation in operations. The MBTI profiling was very useful for NUSSU EXCO members and all felt that it was a useful exercise to get to know everyone, and oneself, better. Hong Wei then expanded this profiling exercise to the NUSSU Committees. However, that was where he ran into problems scaling up the exercise. At the NUSSU EXCO level, Hong Wei was able to personally administer the profiling. For NUSSU Committees, he had to train a representative from each Committee before they could administer. Given that not all Committees are well-staffed and that the natural inclination to grapple with such profiling are not equal among volunteers, we could not roll out such profiling exercises across all Union volunteers. It is an issue of scaling and we hope future NUSSU EXCOs can look into this and see how they can scale up better. MBTI can be included as part of talent management and even development. Going back to the MUP, ultimately we did not embark much on it for three primary reasons. Firstly, the other volunteer management initiatives already consumed much of the available bandwidth we had. Secondly, there was a mooted idea to engage Conjunct Consulting to see how they could recommend improvements to the Union volunteer management system, but this idea fell through in the end when we did not engage them. Thirdly, and most importantly, the NUSSU Academy was set up to address issues of talent management and development. Hence, the MUP was no longer needed for the issues it was supposed to address would come under the long-term vision and goals of the NUSSU Academy. 4. Relations The second area of focus is that of internal relations. It came under the purview of the Deputy President (UTown), Mr Willie Wee, and the Director of Relations, Mr Eric Khong. The targets for this area included: Monthly Union Tea Sessions (MUTS) Constant engagement with Constituent Clubs and JCRCs Continuously engage the Combined Halls of Residence (CHR) Starbucks@YIH Facilitate the setting up of the College Student Life Committee (CSLC) Before we address each of these in turn, it will be good if future NUSSU EXCOs will take note of a few general points. Firstly, the NUSSU EXCO is, in the eyes of others, just like any other student group. They do not normally give the NUSSU EXCO high regard. As such, whenever we suggest something, they will tend to be resistant to the suggestion as they regard it to be NUSSU EXCO-driven. In order for something concrete to come out, buy-in from other student groups is of the utmost importance. It will even be better of the suggestion is organically-driven by other student groups instead from the NUSSU EXCO. Secondly, we have to understand that there is little need for other student groups, such as Clubs, Halls or CSCs, to interact with the NUSSU EXCO because they have their own initiatives, they do not 18

19 share the same identity with the NUSSU EXCO and a bit of old-fashioned territoriality. To put it bluntly, these student groups can pretty much live a separate existence from the NUSSU EXCO on a day-to-day basis. Now, why do some of these student groups still interact with the NUSSU EXCO? It is because the NUSSU EXCO has resources to share with them. It is not uncommon to see other student groups maintaining an arms-length relationship with us, only for them to start engaging us because they want some resource from us. These resources may not only be confined to logistical ones. They can also be social or personal in nature, such as leveraging on networks, bargaining power vis-à-vis the University administration or even building friendships to a certain end. With these in mind, allow us to address the following under internal relations: 4.1 Monthly Union Tea Sessions (MUTS) (with contribution by Eric) MUTS was a new initiative that aimed to bring our stakeholders to the NUSSU EXCO instead of going to them. MUTS were aimed to be a platform for Union consultation, networking and informal means of idea consolidation. The fluidity of interaction during MUTS also enabled ideas and thoughts to be generated and shared amongst the participants. Throughout this term, the 35th NUSSU EXCO has successfully organised four MUTS throughout the term of office. Although all MUTS were held successfully, the number of attendees actually declined over time and this serves as an indication of lack of interest among the Constituent Clubs and NUSSU Committees. Therefore, MUTS were unable to function as an effective communication platform due to the lack of reception from all stakeholders. Our future recommendations for this initiative include decreasing the frequency of holding MUTS and to have more funds channelled to make each MUTS session more exciting. 4.2 Constant engagement with Constituent Clubs and JCRCs (with contribution by Eric) During this term, Eric has engaged in meetings with constituent clubs. These meets were meant to directly engage our Constituent Clubs through private meetings which aimed to listen to their thoughts and feedbacks. Such arrangement of meetings also served as a platform of communication and exploration of collaboration with NUSSU EXCO and its constituents. Throughout the term, Eric has only managed to meet up privately with 2 Constituent Clubs and 2 Hall JCRCs. While there was no heavy focus on this initiative this term, the objective of consistent engagement with respective stakeholders was done through MUTS which were organized consistently throughout the term. One particular issue that undermined the chances to meet other stakeholder was the fact that it s very difficult to coordinate the timing of the entire Management Committee of the Constituent Club or the Hall JCRC. Our future recommendation includes meeting only key positions from relevant stakeholders so as to decrease the need to coordinate timing with the whole Club Management Committee/Hall JCRC. 19

20 4.3 Continuously engage the Combined Halls of Residence (CHR) In addition to the above, there was also an attempt to engage the Halls through the CHR and exploring how the NUSSU EXCO and the Halls can foster closer working relationships and better relations. Ultimately, referring to the general points stated above, we have to keep in mind that such moves are merely exploratory and any concrete result is a bonus, not a given. On this end, there was the CRUX one-day meeting, facilitated by the Office of Student Affairs, at the Chevrons in January where all 6 Halls JCRCs and the NUSSU EXCO came together to network, discuss issues and have friendly bowling matches. One pertinent observation is that the Hall JCRCs were able to identify issues that are also long-standing concerns of the NUSSU EXCO (and even Constituent Clubs). However, info asymmetry between the Hall JCRCs and the NUSSU EXCO remains significant. It is proposed that bridging this info asymmetry requires a concerted effort by both sides to share pertinent information that they possess and also possess the will and interest to find out more information about other sides. Lastly, the relations with Halls will never be complete without addressing the elephant in the room Rag and Flag issues. For the planning and participation issues regarding Rag and Flag, we find it more apposite to let the Presidential Cell address. On our relations aspect, no doubt Rag and Flag remains a keystone in the NUSSU EXCO Halls relations equation. However, we believe that the relations is not just about Rag and Flag but so much more. Whether this belief will translate into concrete results we are not very optimistic (again, do refer to the general points above) but we continue to hope that a positive breakthrough will occur one day. 4.4 Starbucks@YIH This is a continuation from the effort of the 34th NUSSU EXCO s Director of Internal Relations to constantly engage manager and staff of the store. Besides engagement, Eric also managed the stage booking for enthusiastic performers among NUS students. Performances at Starbucks@YIH are highly varied and the stage usage has been well received by sub-clubs under Cultural Activities Club (CAC), one of our Constituent Clubs. As a result, rapport and relations with Starbucks@YIH were strengthened and we are also happy to announce that it led to an extension of the lease contract with Starbucks for another three years. 4.5 Facilitate the setting up of the College Student Life Committee (CSLC) With regard to student groups in University Town, Willie was primarily in charge of maintaining relations with the different College Student Committees (CSCs). Before the start of the term, Willie proposed the idea of a CSLC to help facilitate NUSSU EXCO s relations with the RCs CSCs. However, that idea did not take off and was subsequently shelved. The reasons have been elaborated well by Willie in the CSLC Report in Annex PAR-2. We do not wish to repeat what has been said in the CSLC Report, save for two points. First, the general point (stated above) about the lack of leverage the NUSSU EXCO has vis-à-vis other student groups was well-demonstrated on this aspect. Second, it is hoped that one day, the Halls and RCs will be able to work together qua campus residences and work with the NUSSU EXCO to bring about positive changes to the lives of all campus residents. 20

21 5. Policy Policy was arguably the biggest area of focus for PAR Cell. It was biggest not in terms of concrete results but rather in terms of the number of policy proposals. This area of focus was handled by the Vice President, Mr Shermon Ong, with great assistance from the Deputy Vice President (Policy), Mr Timothy Fang. For the key targets, the biggest elephant in the room was definitely a continued attempt to push through the electoral reform passed by the 34 th NUSSU Council. However, our workplan neither stated nor foresaw several other smaller but no less important policy proposals. It is apposite here to go through them one by one. 5.1 Electoral Reform The 34 th NUSSU Council passed a resolution approving a proposal to change the current NUSSU EXCO elections format from a two-tier external-internal model to a direct one-tier model. Under the approved proposal, the student body will be able to direct vote for the President, Vice President, General Secretary and Financial Secretary of the NUSSU EXCO. These four positions will run, and be elected, together as a team. Although it was passed in time for the elections to the 35 th NUSSU EXCO, the 34 th NUSSU President, Mr Goh Renkai, decided to defer implementation of the idea because of feedback from the Office of Student Affairs that there may not have been thorough consultation with the relevant stakeholders, chiefly that of the students. Hence, one objective of PAR Cell was to follow up on this hitherto missing consultation process. Hence, to garner feedback from students directly, the esurvey platform was used to survey the students on various questions on the changes they would like to see in the electoral system, their knowledge of the current electoral system as well as their views on the proposed changes. Disappointingly, only 65 responses were collected. The results are compiled in Annex PAR-3. Following the end of the survey, it was discussed in a NUSSU EXCO Meeting whether to still propose the electoral system changes in front of the NUSSU Council. The slides for explaining the entire electoral reform to the NUSSU EXCO are compiled in Annex PAR-4. Subsequently, the NUSSU EXCO voted by an overwhelming majority not to present it in front of the NUSSU Council. The electoral reform agenda stalled as a result. However, that was not the last word on this issue. During the last meeting of the 35 th NUSSU Council, there was a Motion to overturn the 34 th NUSSU Council s approval of the proposed electoral reform on the basis that it was better to overturn a proposal which had little support or chance of being approved instead of leaving it moribund. Nevertheless, the 35 th NUSSU Council voted not to overturn the 34 th NUSSU Council s decision. The end result is a rather bizarre one. Even though there is a standing Motion of the NUSSU Council that the NUSSU EXCO s electoral system should be reformed to the direct one-tier model, there is little will to actually garner the political will to give legal effect to the reform in terms of laws and regulations. It is proposed that future NUSSU EXCOs look into this issue and either implement the 34 th NUSSU Council s will fully or just overturn it if it has little chance of garnering the necessary political support for implementation. 21

22 5.2 The Election Legislation Engagement and Consultation Team (ELECT) In addition to NUSSU EXCO elections, there was also an attempt to reform election regulations governing Constituent Clubs Management Committee elections. To this end, the ELECT team was formed with NUSSU EXCO members, NUSSU Council representatives as well as general students from the Union membership body. The terms of reference for the ELECT team was, among others, review the current framework and come up with recommendations to improve the [Management Committee Elections Regulations] with regard to principles, framework and implementation in their final report. To that end, the ELECT team came up with a final report recommending several changes to the election regulations. We will not go through the recommendations in detail here as they are set out fully in the Report. When the report was presented in front of the 35 th NUSSU Council, none of the recommendations were adopted by the NUSSU Council. No doubt, the ELECT team members were disappointed, but we were heartened that they showed it was possible for a group of students, both Union student representatives and general students, to come together, examine Union policies and come up with recommendations to improve. We hope that ELECT can serve as a model for future NUSSU EXCOs whenever a policy review committee is needed. 5.3 Proposed reforms to the Adjudication Committee The Union Adjudication Committee is constitutionally provided as the judicial arm of the Union. However, its composition is not fully independent from the NUSSU EXCO or the NUSSU Council. As such, there was a proposal to reform the Adjudication Committee to make it truly independent in its composition. Ultimately, the proposal did not go through due to the fear that an independent Adjudication Committee is allowed to decisions on matters which Constituent Clubs feel should solely be made by that Club and also the inability to enforce any judgement of the Adjudication Committee. Moving forward, given the non-independent composition of the Adjudication Committee, it is suggested that future NUSSU EXCOs look at either abolishing the entire Adjudication Committee outright, not putting people on the Adjudication Committee for the term or reform it to be truly independent in composition. Having a non-independent one may diminish the legitimacy of any judgements it renders due to perceived political bias. 5.4 Student Constituent Assemblies There was an idea mooted to create mini-legislatures in each of the Constituent Body of the Union (i.e. having a mini-council overseeing each Club s Management Committee). The idea was born after looking at the results of the Union Perception Survey. This idea was brought up in a NUSSU Council meeting but not approved. Nevertheless, it may be worth exploring for future NUSSU EXCOs and/or future NUSSU Councils. 5.5 Other legislative changes Other legislative changes proposed and enacted during the term of the 35 th NUSSU Council include: 22

23 Adopting provisions to allow for future NUSSU Council decisions to be made through online polling. However, the provision in question, section 21A of the Meetings Regulations, is not in force until further decision from the NUSSU Council; Amending provisions in the Finance Regulations to mandate NUSSU Council scrutiny of the NUSSU EXCO as well as all Constituent Clubs budgets during the second NUSSU Council meeting of an incoming NUSSU Council. This was to codify the effect of the first Adjudication Committee judgement in Constitutional Reference Case No. 1 [2014] NUSSU AC 1 Adopting provisions that allow the NUSSU EXCO, under certain conditions, to amend provisions of the Union Constitution and/or NUSSU Regulations during a NUSSU EXCO meeting. However, the NUSSU Council has the ability to reverse these changes within a certain period of time Other miscellaneous provisions to tidy up the existing Union Regulations 5.6 Adjudication Committee judgements During this term, the Adjudication Committee was convened for two cases Constitutional Reference Case No. 1 and Re Yale-NUS College Students. Both judgements are attached as Annex PAR- 10A and Annex PAR-10B respectively. 6. Acknowledgements It has been three years since I first entered the NUSSU EXCO and my journey would really not have been possible without the assistance of some people as well as the lessons taught to me by some people. I will attempt to list all of them down here in no particular order of merit to the best of my abilities at 4.20am now. Firstly, a big thank you to all members of PAR Cell Eric, Hong Wei, Timothy and Willie! It was an all-guys cell and I understand I may not have been the most emotionally-connecting cell head but I really hope for that long overdue cell outing when we all have the time (ok we will definitely make the time). Also, it seems like our cell has always been seconded to other initiatives such as Union Heritage Project, 65 th Anniversary Dinner etc. Timothy, we first met in Singapore Model Parliament in 2012 and knew you as Liberal Fang. My evaluation of your ideological standing still stands after all these years. I am really glad that you are around to remind me, at some of the most ideologically-challenging times, what the 34 th NUSSU EXCO and some members of the 34 th NUSSU Council stood for. My apologies that you were not able to contribute to the best of your potential. Whatever you do in the future, all the best and I am sure that you will be able to reach greater heights! Willie, although I can still remember you running against me for Vice President in the 35 th Council Elections, I think we both stay true to our words when we say we bear no grudges against each other. After all, in the 33 rd Council Elections, I was the Year 2 who ran (and lost) for a constitutional position. I must admit I did not really buy into your CSLC idea in the beginning but your enthusiasm for it persuaded me otherwise. Perhaps, we are just not at the correct time and place to achieve this. Hopefully someone will build upon the foundations you laid and complete the job. All the best in the future, be it for career (i.e. at sea) or for family (e.g. your girlfriend)! Eric, we first met in Union Camp 2013 when you were a UC committee member and I was that kindof-laojiao OGL. I must say that our debate over the relevance of IR was quite heated but I was glad 23

24 I gave you the chance to let the IR people prove themselves. Although there was no concrete outcome, I saw the value of at least having communication channels open. To that end, I will gladly admit that I was myopic in the beginning and glad to have been talked out of it by you. All the best to you for your new position in the 36 th NUSSU EXCO! Hong Wei, we first met after Yi Da and Zhe Wen recommended you to me. To be honest, I always thought you were meant for bigger things than the EXCO. I am seriously amazed at how you were trained in MBTI as well as being able to point out issues concerning frameworks and rules (staying true to your PSC roots eh :D). It is a pity that there was not much scope for volunteer management this term but I hope that you have gotten something out of your time here. All the best for your exchange and your public service! To Yi Da, thanks for accommodating me and my idiosyncrasies over this term. I believe it has not been easy for both of us and I am glad to have you on this journey that started with a contested election. To my fellow 35 th EXCO cell heads, thanks for all your patience and tolerance over the past term. To my fellow 35 th NUSSU EXCO members, especially Comm Cell people, thank you for being kind and patient to me, especially when I am juggling the duties of both PAR and Comm Cell! To Ziming, I knew you when I entered NUSSU Bizcom as a freshie and I am glad to have stepped down together with you from the 35 th NUSSU EXCO. I must say I have the utmost admiration for your ability to execute initiatives and reserve my strongest respect for your unwavering beliefs. To Yu Qian, the 33 rd NUSSU EXCO President, thanks for accommodating me in the 33 rd and gave me a new sense of direction. Without your grace and kindness, my Union journey could have turned out, or even ended, very differently. To Wei Liang, the 33 rd NUSSU EXCO Honorary General Secretary, thanks for putting me in charge of your constitutional reform initiative. That was what I set out to do at the start of my EXCO journey and hopefully after 3 years, I have left a good enough constitutional framework for future batches to operate on. To Ren Kai, the 34 th NUSSU EXCO President, thanks for allowing me to stay on the EXCO despite being on exchange for the first semester. I can only say you have my respect for pushing through the elections regulations despite having already burnt a huge part of your political capital on Rag and Flag reforms. You didn t have to, but you did because you thought it was right. Thanks! To Marcus, you started my journey in NUSSU. Allow me to thank you at the end of it. Let me wish you to gain the ability to eat more without growing fatter. I think we don t need to say anything else here haha. To my parents, thank you for supporting me financially all these while so that I can do my Union work without worry. To my girlfriend, thank you for being by my side during my journey in the 35 th NUSSU EXCO and having to listen to my grumbles from Union-related work. 24

25 To my friends in Law and from SMP, thanks for being there whenever I needed the listening ear. I treasure your friendship and now I finally cannot have the excuse of being busy with NUSSU stuff. To my Union Camp OGs (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014), I know I have never convinced you guys to join NUSSU because I don t want to hard sell the Union to you guys. The desire to join should be something that arises organically. I am glad to see so many of you serve, or have served, in various capacities on campus student groups. Let s go for more outings! To Ming Yong, the NVAC Chairperson, I promised that I won t force NVAC to change its direction drastically because I personally believe in the value of community service and a bonded group of people doing community service together. However, it is sad that our institutional goals diverged and NVAC has to go independent. Compared to the alternative of having to change NVAC s direction, I hope going independent is better for NVAC over the long run. All the best for your future stuff and also all the best to NVAC! To Denise, thank you for your support during the elections. I understand that I have been a bit overbearing at times but I hope that it did not affect you too much. I wish you a speedy recovery and all the best in the future. To Jia Xin and Varun, thanks for your support and lending a listening ear whenever I needed one haha. To Zhe Wen, thanks for your support throughout most of the term. No doubt we ended our term on a less-than-pleasant note but I believe that there is no permanent enemy. Hopefully when our paths cross in the future, we will laugh this off as another instance of youthful-exuberance. To Sean, Kristabelle and Desmond, well we have said things over drinks. Despite whatever happened during the 7 th Council Meeting, nothing I said over drinks has changed. All the best in the future! To Dean Prof Tan Teck Koon, thanks for your support all these years. It has certainly been a pleasure working with you and let s have tea some time in the future. To Vice Dean Dr Lee Kooi Cheng, thanks for your support too! To Sean, Felicia, Lyana, Grace, Eric and Therese, thanks for your help in settling the administrative matters! To Mr Foo, Mr Sulaiman and Ms Jeslin Pang from OCA, thank you for your support all these years from when I was a Year 2 to me having graduated now! Let s have tea some time in the future too! To Jeanette, I am glad to see that my successor is someone who shares certain similar inclinations. May your journey be a smoother one and if you need any advice, just drop me a text! To everyone else whom I have omitted to name, thanks for everything! It has certainly been eventful and my only wish is that the Union will one day be truly labelled as Auspicium Melioris Aevi the hope of a better age. 25

26 Prepared by: Ong Kah Han Shermon (Mr.) Vice President Executive Committee 35th NUSSU Council 26

27 35th NUS Students Union Presidential Cell Report By Mr. John Paul Chua 1. The Presidential Cell PRESIDENTIAL CELL General Secretary Director of Projects Director of Projects Director of Projects Director of International Relations John Paul Chua Chang Siong Wei Chu Ting Feng Alvin Arvind Raj Akhilesh Mohan 2. General Information The Presidential Cell of the NUSSU Executive Committee mainly focuses in overseeing and ensuing smooth operations of the freshmen orientation projects in NUS. The Presidential Cell also works closely NUSSU International Relations Committee (IRC), a key committee that seeks to engage and promote the welfare of international students in NUS. The main duties of the Presidential Cell include: - Ensuring smooth operations and alignment of the NUSSU Committees under Presidential Cell - De-conflicting in Constituent Clubs Camp dates and Orientation Week - Overseeing the projects under Freshmen Orientation Central Committee (FOCC) - New and ad-hoc initiatives that are under the purview of the NUSSU Executive Committee 3. Highlights in AY2013/ Alternative Fund Raising Methods for NUSSU Flag Following the redefinition of Rag & Flag by the 34th NUSSU EXCO, the 35th NUSSU EXCO expanded the scope of consultation to ensure that these events remain relevant to the student population. One of the main feedback that was received from the focus group studies was that Tin Can Flagging was gradually losing its relevance amongst the student population as students could not see why they were doing it, who they were doing it for and what they would be able to achieve from doing it. The NUSSU EXCO decided to incorporate a carnival element into the annual Rag & Flag Day in hopes that this initiative will bridge the chasm between the beneficiaries and the larger student body who has never gotten a chance to work closely with the recipients of the proceeds. Various beneficiaries were invited to UTown to enjoy the carnival with the students to humanize the beneficiaries as part of the Beneficiary Engagement Programme. In previous years, beneficiaries were invited to be part of the performance thus students were unable to interact with them. The new platform will then allow all participants to form that initial connection to their adopted beneficiary as this will likely be their first opportunity for meeting. Each of the Participating Bodies (PBs) is allocated a beneficiary for them to engage with. 27

28 By bringing the less-privileged to a secured and barrier-free place like UTown, more students can look forward to connecting with the different beneficiaries and may feel even more compelled to help them. NUSSU also hopes this will encourage greater involvement from the senior students as their participation are deeply appreciated where they will get to spend in the good name of charity, heightening the community spirit simultaneously. The typical flag collections was made optional for the various faculties to decide for themselves whether to continue going out to the public as a faculty to raise funds as some faculties have highlighted feelings of apathy from students over the years. While students have expressed their concerns over the significance of Flag Day, it is imperative to remember that the collection of money from the public is beyond that of a heritage and culture, but a demonstration of the strong solidarity and concern for the community at large by students of NUS. 3.2 Thanks!NUS Giving thanks, building relations Thanks!NUS is a sequel of the Love NUS Campaign that concluded in the previous term by NUSSU and its constituent club. This time, it was to prompt students who are too busy with their own lives in school to stop and give thanks to the unsung heroes around them especially the back-end support staff who run the daily operations in school behind the scenes. Spearheaded by the NUSSU EXCO, Constituent Clubs and Associate Bodies the campaign sought to encourage students into using their own methods and means to give thanks. They should have a sense of ownership in how they want to express gratitude to the people around them. The campaign took place from the 31st of October to the 8th of November with a myriad of activities that encouraged students to give thanks to the unsung heroes around the campus. The following are the members of the Thanks!NUS Working Committee and also the supporting partners: Thanks!NUS Working Committee John Paul Chua Lim Kok Seng Willie Wee Kellie Chong Chu Ting Feng Duke Praevidus Tan Wee Liang Chang Siong Wei Khoo Yong Liang Koh Zhi Xun Lai Kean Chung Liu Ziming Ong Soo Chin Shen Yanwen Wu Yi Emmeline Ong Terence Wong Soh Yi Da Nina Chang 35 th NUSSU EXCO 35 th NUSSU EXCO 35 th NUSSU EXCO 35 th NUSSU EXCO 35 th NUSSU EXCO 35 th NUSSU EXCO 35 th NUSSU EXCO 35 th NUSSU EXCO 35 th NUSSU EXCO 35 th NUSSU EXCO 35 th NUSSU EXCO 35 th NUSSU EXCO 35 th NUSSU EXCO 35 th NUSSU EXCO 35 th NUSSU EXCO 35 th NUSSU EXCO 35 th NUSSU EXCO 35 th NUSSU EXCO 28

29 Alvin Arvind Akehlish Mohan Low Hong Wei Supporting Partners Raffles Hall Sheares Hall Bizad Club Arts Club Computing Club De Club USC 35 th NUSSU EXCO 35 th NUSSU EXCO 35 th NUSSU EXCO Associate Body Associate Body Constituent Club Constituent Club Constituent Club Constituent Club Constituent Club Campaign Direction Similar to the Love NUS Campaign 2013, the principal campaign direction was guided by the following: a) Maximum Visibility b) Viral Dissemination c) Effective Engagement d) Optimal Mindshare Campaign Highlights a) Thank you Postcards To maximise visibility around the campus, the organising committee took to producing postcards with visuals that encouraged students to give thanks to those around them and to spread the spirit of thanks giving around the campus. These postcards were distributed through the faculty clubs and booths in UTown, YIH and PGPR. The postcards were so well received that more than 3000 post cards were immediately snapped up by students on the first 3 days of the event. b) Thanks!fessions Thanks!fessions was a sub-campaign used by the organising committee to galvanise the student population into giving thanks to the unsung heroes in NUS. 3 video interviews were conducted to introduce the student population to people that have been working behind the scenes to ensure that NUS continues to have a conducive learning environment. The campaign also involved the use of social media to encourage students to upload photos that they have taken with people around the campus in which they felt have touched their lives. Students could also anonymously send thank you messages to people they wanted to thank and this in turn was publicised on the NUSSU Facebook page. c) Thank you Picnic NUSSU EXCO hosted 50 cleaners, bus drivers and canteen vendors to a picnic at town green to show appreciation to these people who have helped made the school a better place. NUSSU CAC Voices provided a night of entertainment for those who were usually taken for granted by the general student population. The EXCO also prepared and distributed picnic baskets full of food and thank you messages that were collected to these unsung heroes. The night ended with the NUSSU EXCO singing along with the participants of the event/ 29

30 3.2.2 Conclusion The success of such a large scale union wide event underscores the dedication of union members from the EXCO, different constituent clubs and associate bodies towards meaningful causes that enriched student life in NUS. Further collaboration between the NUSSU EXCO, constituent clubs and the associate bodies should be explored. 3.3 Council Trip The 35 th NUSSU Council embarked on a learning trip to Hong Kong. In this trip we visited 3 very diverse students unions namely Hong Kong University Students Union, Open University of Hong Kong Students Union & City University of Hong Kong s Student Union. Apart from visiting the 3 universities, NUSSU also visited South China Morning Post and the Singapore Consulate General. NUSSU is glad to enjoy the continuous support from the Office of Student Affairs and the Office of Alumni Relations. The past terms of NUSSU Council members have been to Taiwan, Australia and United States of America. The NUSSU Contingent consists of the following participants: 35 th NUSSU Council Trip Participants Soh Yi Da John Paul Chua Alvin Arvind Jaya Raj Alvin Poh Leong Ann Chang Siong Wei Chu Ting Feng Duke Praevidus Tan Wee Liang Kellie Chong Khoo Yong Liang Koh Zhi Xun Lai Kean Chung Liu Ziming Ong Soo Chin Shen Yanwen Wu Yi Foo Jia Xin Jovene Khoo Grace Chan 35 th NUSSU EXCO President 35 th NUSSU EXCO General Secretary 35 th NUSSU EXCO Director of Special Projects 35 th NUSSU EXCO Deputy Financial Secretary 35 th NUSSU EXCO Director of Projects 35 th NUSSU EXCO Director of Projects 35 th NUSSU EXCO Deputy Welfare Secretary 35 th NUSSU EXCO Deputy Communications Secretary 35 th NUSSU EXCO Director of Enterprise 35 th NUSSU EXCO Deputy Welfare Secretary 35 th NUSSU EXCO Deputy Welfare Secretary 35 th NUSSU EXCO Deputy Welfare Secretary 35 th NUSSU EXCO Deputy Financial Secretary 35 th NUSSU EXCO Director of Marketing 35 th NUSSU EXCO Creative Director Art Club President CAC Club Vice President Office of Student Affairs Staff Advisor The trip was especially fulfilling due to the differences amongst the Hong Kong Universities. On one hand there were unions that were much more established and on the other hand, there were unions that were relatively young and still trying to find their footing amongst the student population. Once again, I would echo the words of my seniors in pushing for the continuation of NUSSU Council Trips so as to not only be able to bring home the best practices that could improve student life in NUS but also to enable NUSSU to share its best practices with other universities in the world. This bilateral relationships with overseas unions will strengthen NUSSU s capabilities in the long run NUSSU Affiliates One of the main takeaways of previous council trips was on methods to engage the wider student population. Peculiar to Universities of Singapore, many student societies are independent of the 30

31 union and are managed separately by the NUS Office of Student Affairs unlike in Universities overseas where all student interest groups and societies fall under the purview of the students union. There are benefits to incorporating student interest groups and societies such as more diverse interests being represented. However, realistically there may be a problem of resource allocation given the limited resources that NUSSU has and there may also be no one size fits all scheme that suits all the different groups. With such limitations in mind, NUSSU created an affiliate scheme that is both optional and mutually beneficial. In hopes, that having such an arrangement would create a more cohesive and harmonious relationship between the different student organizations. The NUSSU EXCO is glad that despite the challenges faced in embarking on such an endeavor, we have over 100 interest groups and societies participating in such a scheme. 3.5 Student Life Fair The Student Life Fair is a new initiative that was introduced by the NUSSU EXCO due to changes in the orientation calendar. Previously, Matriculation Fair provided student clubs and societies the opportunity to show case and recruit new members. However, from 2014, students were no longer matriculated in school. Matriculation is now done online with matriculation cards mailed out to the freshmen. Without the matriculation fair, many student groups would not have avenues to recruit new members. There were fears that there would be poor showing as freshmen were no longer compelled to attend such an event but such fears were largely unfounded and there was a record breaking number of people attending. 4. Challenges Ahead 4.1. Knowledge, experience and what we signed up for Although this problem pervades throughout the union, I believe that it is important to address it here under the Presidential Cell as the Gen Sect is tasked with the duty of keeping institutional knowledge. There continues to be a high turnover rate amongst Union volunteers. An information gap ensues between the different batches. The idea behind the NUSSU Academy is to help preserve some institutional knowledge. However, incoming leadership must also put in the effort to understand the decisions made by the previous leaders before frivolously making any changes. There should be a high level of mindshare amongst the different batches for the institution to thrive Role of Presidential Cell in NUSSU EXCO I would echo the words of my predecessor to say that it is never easy to commit oneself for an entire year s worth of work, let alone the supervision and management of so many events and operations. It is indeed with this understanding and the seasonal timeline of the workload of the Presidential Cell that we may find ourselves distant and irrelevant especially from the day to day operations that other members in the executive committee have to face. However, I must applaud the fellow cell members for their relentless effort in engage, participating and contributing in various discussions and projects. This good practice should continue to persist not only within the Presidential Cell but also through the whole union. To go beyond one s duty and 31

32 Moving on, future Presidential Cell members should continue to look deeper into other possible engagements with the rest of the EXCO members, be it formal or informal. Once again, it is important for cell heads to create opportunities for collaboration and to foster cross cell cohesiveness after all, NUSSU is an organization that requires its volunteers to work in concert with one another and not run in silos University Hosting Despite taking on my predecessor s suggestion of having Presidential Cell lead in university hosting, with the Director of Special Projects leading such an endeavor, the union continues to be lacking in terms of its hosting capabilities. Despite having developed a fixed set of hosting procedures, slides, materials and souvenirs, the pertinent issue of the lack of manpower continues to impede our basic hosting operations. EXCO members continue to shun such activities despite countless calls to action. Instead of having it under one cell, it is important to make it a cross cell franchise so that more ownership of such hosting can be felt by the various groups of people. Only through a strong sense of ownership can we establish a tradition of hospitality that is befitting of a world class Students Union. 5. Acknowledgments I would like to take the opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to the following people: Mr Chu Ting Feng for being one of the most awesome DOPs a Presidential cell head can ask for, for tirelessly managing all the events under your charge and going beyond the call of duty to lead and guide the PDs and committee members for the various union events throughout the year. Thank you for your tireless effort in ensuring that all events official or otherwise are memorable and exciting for those who participate. All the best for your FYP and GRU, I will be there for you whenever you need me. Ms Chang Siong Wei for being one of the most dedicated DOPs a Presidential cell head can ask for. Thank you for managing union camp so appropriately, I am sure that your efforts on and off the scene have touched the lives of many of the freshmen. Mr Alvin Arvind for taking such good care of Student Life Fair Committee, although it s a brand new initiative, it has been an overwhelming success due to your tireless efforts behind the scenes in planning, executing and even mentoring the young committee. Also for putting in the effort to set up NUSSU Affiliates despite the many road blocks that you have faced in terms of executing and administrating such a large number of clubs and societies under this umbrella. Mr Akhelish Mohan for the efficient running of NUSSU IRC. Under your leadership, NUSSU IRC has thrived to become an organization that effectively looks after the interest of students of more than 5 different continents and for that I am proud of you. Thank you for also participating actively in all the various Presidential Cell meetings even though what was discussed were usually operational and did not concerned you. Mr Soh Yi Da, Mr Shermon Ong, Mr Lim Kok Seng and Mr Geoffrey Lee, my comrades in Constitutional Posts. Thanks for being good working partners and good friends throughout this whole journey since the start of the elections. I have enjoyed working with you guys, tackling the many challenges 32

33 My comrades in the Thanks!NUS organizing party: Kok Seng, Ting Feng, Zhi Xun, Willie Wee, Emmeline, Zi Tong, Kellie, Ziming, Duke, the 3 Alvins, SIong Wei, Akhilesh and Hong Wei. My comrades in the Freshman Inauguration Ceremony organizing committee: Ting Feng, Zhi Xun, Wuyi, Soo Chin, Andy, Terence and Eric Khong. Dean of Students, Tan Teck Khoon, Mr Sean Tan, Ms Grace Chan, Ms Norimah Sapari, Ms Felica Lum and other staffs of the Office of Student Affairs. Mr Chua Sin Chew who continues to support NUSSU in so many ways since I first met him many years ago My SDE friends and project mates who had to schedule project meetings around my tight schedule. Seniors and fellow colleagues in the 33 rd NUSSU EXCO who has provided me with much guidance and help NUS Office of Alumni Relations NUS Office of Corporate Relations NUS Enterprise NUS Office of Campus Amenities NUS Office of Facilities Management NUS Office of Campus Security NUS Office of Estate and Development And friends who have helped in one way or another. Prepared by: John Paul Chua (Mr.) General Secretary Executive Committee 35th NUSSU Council 33

34 35 th NUS Students Union Secretariat Cell Report By Mr. Lim Kok Seng 1. The Secretariat Cell SECRETARIAT CELL Assistant Secretary Director of Logistics Director of Services Clerical Officer Lim Kok Seng Andy Goh Jun Gang Terence Wong Mdm Noor Shilla Bte Nahar 2. General Information The Secretariat Cell of the NUSSU Executive Committee (NUSSU EXCO) is the team behind the scenes running the Operations of the Union. Broadly, this encompasses managing loans, storage, maintenance and replacement of its facilities and resources. The Secretariat Cell has seen a transformation of management principles from Service Excellence (led by Mr. Tan Wei Jian, Honorary Assistant Secretary of the 33 rd NUSSU EXCO), to Strengthening Systems and Maintenance Operations (led by Mr. Ang Wei Xiang, Honorary Assistant Secretary of the 34 th NUSSU EXCO) to the 35 th term of Integrating Resources for Higher Value. The Secretariat Cell sought to provide the best service possible to its customers, which comprise the general undergraduate population, and internally, our NUSSU committee members, volunteers and even fellow colleagues within the NUSSU EXCO. Our term s vision of Integrating Resources for Higher Value specifically looks into the integral part of NUSSU s assets primarily focusing on resource sharing with NUSSU Constituent Clubs, Committees and NUS Student Groups. Guiding the term s vision is Continuous Improvement, which effectively looks into operational gaps between the coordinating team and its users. This year, the Secretariat Cell continued to streamline existing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for proper accountability and feasibility, allowing the Union s initiatives and goals to be pushed forward with less hindrance in the long run. Maintenance of existing infrastructure, assets and resources remains as our core business. The team conducts regular upkeep of the offices, storage spaces, logistics and van to continue create a more conducive environment and better quality of service for our volunteers and users. With capable and dedicated team members, the Secretariat Cell has successfully conceive important and relevant systems which will continue to benefit many subsequent batches of NUSSU volunteers. 34

35 3. Administrative Offices NUSSU Secretariat is the main venue where Operations of the Union are performed. This office is put under the charge of our Clerical Officer. To improve the overall atmosphere of the organization, functional and future-proof furniture were installed. This includes a multi-purpose cabinet, custombuilt cupboards with dedicated document drop-off for operation personnel, as well as new heavyduty multi-purpose printer. The Secretariat also administered the sale of our NUSSU T-shirts and made moderate level of sales in the past year. Logistics were removed from Meeting Room 2 to improve its utility. A total of 397 Bookings for our meeting facilities, comprising of Meeting Rooms 1 and 2 as well as Conference Room, was made during our term. Two cleanups were conducted during the start and midterm of the 35 th NUSSU EXCO to encourage ownership and sustainable usage of the spaces at the EXCO Office, Secretariat and Storage Bay. For the first time in Secretariat Cell s history, NUSSU Committees were also engaged in an overhaul clean-up of the Committees Office, disposing irrelevant materials which have clogged up for the past years. Security of our premises remained as our primary concern, and this year, ST Electronics has been engaged to set-up security card access system for clubrooms of Political Association and Community Service Club. NUSSU CommIT Printing Room at Yusof Ishak House (YIH) Level 3 has also been armed with the card access system to minimize inconvenience of operational staff shuffling from the Computer Room to the Printing Room and facilitate better control of staff access. 4. Student Lounge Since the 35 th NUSSU EXCO, the lounge entered its fifth year of operations as a place for students to relax, hold discussions and mingle with food and drinks allowed for consumption in the lounge so as to encourage patrons of our vendors at YIH. Students continue to use the lounge for selfstudying and group discussions, while there is an increasing and notable number of student groups utilizing the lounge for their club meetings, workshops and networking sessions. In line with envisioning YIH as a central hub for student-organized events, we are pleased to announce that a total of 454 bookings were made for the 5 distinctive areas in NUSSU Student Lounge. The bookings were mainly made for events, AGMs, briefings, rehearsals and bonding sessions, highlighting the lounge s value being run by the Union for our students. On the other hand, Union-related activities are consistently held in the lounge. Such significant events includes the annual NUSSU Chinese New Year Dinner, the inaugural NUSSU Union Tea, third Education Minister s Dialogue with University Leaders, NUSSU Welcome Tea cum Committees Recruitment Drive and various hosting of overseas students unions. With reference to the previous refurbishment project conducted in 2012 with focus on painted walls and addition of new furniture, it is to note that the tables and floor panels procured previously were of inferior quality and not suitable for the usage in the student lounge. The lack of a centralized sound system as well as console games (Xbox and Wii) in the lounge highlighted the need to improve on the overall ambiance of the lounge, relying less on its functional feel and look and more towards a comfortable and cozy outlook. Coupled with increasing feedback over the lack of seating capacity 35

36 for Conference Room, located at the NUSSU Student Lounge, the 35 th NUSSU EXCO sets off to design a student-centric hub in addressing the above-mentioned issues. Upon presenting the ideas to the relevant stakeholders and working with key officers at Office of Student Affairs (OSA) as well as Office of Facilities Management (OFM) for close to three months, the renovation works for NUSSU Student Lounge had been approved and expected to be completed by mid-november A taskforce has also been set up to increase student vibrancy for YIH, including engagements with NUS student groups and external vendors to improve on the programming at YIH. Continuing the good works of the 34 th NUSSU EXCO s Secretariat Cell, the pool of Student Assistants was further enlarged for maintenance and enforcement of the rules at the lounge on a daily basis. In periods when the Student Assistants Scheme ran, the lounge remained well-maintained; in periods when it did not run, the lounge deteriorated rapidly in its state. The next NUSSU EXCO is encouraged to continue this scheme and work on other ways the lounge can be managed. We are also pleased to highlight that after a two-year endeavor, the Union Heritage Project encapsulating the illustrious history of NUSSU for the course of 65 years had been successfully completed and would be placed at the Blue Zone upon completion of the lounge renovation works in mid- November With upgraded facilities and a greater emphasis on the overall aesthetics of the lounge, it is of hope that the incoming batches of NUSSU EXCO will continue ensure proper upkeep of the facilities at the Student Lounge as it is never easy to manage a dynamic hub which caters to a variety of functions and services. 4. Assets and Storage Bay A number of key assets had been purchased in the term of 35 th NUSSU EXCO, which includes 21 portable storage boxes, a new set of PA system with microphones, 2 light-weight trolleys, a sofa bed as well as a display cabinet placed at NUSSU Secretariat. The Storage Bay also went through a revamp, where shelves were completely shifted and debris was thoroughly cleaned. A fresh coat of paint was also given with metal sheets enforced onto the walls to prevent rat infestation. However, enforcement over storage of items was not timely done to ensure accountability of items stored by the respective Committees. There were certain times that stockpile of items were seen in the Storage Bay without proper tags, resulting in an untidy environment. In order to better improve the overall upkeep and maintenance of the Storage Bay, the incoming batches of NUSSU EXCO should consider a logbook recording the specific logistical items deposited and withdrawn from the Storage Bay. This will strengthen the accountability of items stored by the respective Committees over the years, as incoming batches would usually be kept uninformed about items stored till the need for such items arises. 36

37 5. NUSSU Van The NUSSU Van was highly utilized this term, having been booked 80% of the time. The NUSSU Van SOP was amended with the inclusion of compulsory Vehicle Commanders to ensure better accountability of the NUSSU Authorized Drivers as well as enhancing the overall safety aspect of maneuvering the Van through challenging situations. A total of 58 new drivers underwent the van orientation program and were authorized to operate the vehicle. While the previous NUSSU EXCO chose to limit authorization to a low number of drivers per organization in order to increase each individual driver s usage and confidence in handling the van, it was found that these drivers were mostly unable to return to help subsequent committees with their operations. Furthermore, authorized representatives from Constituent Club management committees were usually not involved in ad-hoc committees of projects under the Constituent Club or sub-club activities. Another highlight for the term is where the team held a de-conflict session of van usage for all Constituent Clubs during the Freshman Orientation Period from May to August The incoming batches of NUSSU EXCO is strongly encouraged to continue such de-conflict sessions to maximize the utilization rate of the van during peak periods so as to enhance operational hand/takeovers and greater transparency over logistical booking issues across all constituents. There were no major accidents involving either the NUSSU Van or its users, with only minor damages to the van exterior sustained. On the other hand, strong enforcement of the Van SOP was ensured, especially when users haphazardly created scratches due to improper handling of the van in normal driving circumstances. Refresher courses was conducted on demand to ensure authorized drivers are confident and competent. 6. Union Archives Borne from the works by a team of graduate students, the Knowledge Management Taskforce was created to enhance the digital archival process of documents and presentations in NUSSU. In the 35 th NUSSU EXCO, this was spearheaded by the Assistant Secretary, helming the role of the Chief Knowledge Officer together with the Financial Secretary, with representatives from all of the EXCO operational cells. Through the Taskforce, a strong foundation over how the documents should be archived were built and the incoming batches of the NUSSU EXCO are encouraged to continue working on the process with the eventual goal of extending such archival capabilities to our Committees and Constituent Clubs. 7. Contract Staff Renewal Mdm Noor Shilla Binte Nahar was hired by the 32 nd EXCO and has served as the Clerical Officer for the Secretariat Cell for 3 years. Her presence and strong work ethics were vital for the smooth running of our daily operations while her rich administrative experience helped to build up proper structure within the Union s office. A review was conducted towards the end of the contract and the employment was determined to be beneficial and the contract was renewed for 2 years instead of the previous yearly intent. Formal and informal appraisals were conducted during both mid and end of term to enhance working relationship and create a better and conducive working environment. 37

38 The incoming batches of NUSSU EXCO is urged to continue holding high regards for our Clerical Officer as she will continue to offer a strong sense of continuity and relevance towards how NUSSU can continue to enhance outreach in both logistical and non-logistical issues. Mdm Noor Shilla Binte Nahar would continue to serve the Union as the Clerical Officer within the Secretariat Cell. 8. Concluding Statements The 35 th NUSSU EXCO Secretariat Cell has successfully implemented a number of short and longterm initiatives that will bear its fruits in the upcoming future. Housekeeping could be deemed as a trivial role in any organization, but handling requests from the varsity of student groups in NUS meant that there is a continuous need to be relatable and service-oriented. The challenge, hence, for the incoming EXCO is to be able to understand the rationale of serving the Union Umbrella and our students, and thereafter, craft a set of solutions and improvements building on the predecessors works. 9. Acknowledgements I would like to take the opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to the following people Mr Andy Goh Jun Gang for accepting my invitation to be part of Secretariat Cell as the Director of Logistics and being the youngest EXCO member stepping up. Thank you for the many times of coming out of Hall and attending to the students requests during weekends and after-office hours. Thank you for trusting me in being your comrade to lead this whole team. All the best to your stint at Temasek Hall as the sports-committee head. I will be there for you whenever you need me to. Mr Terence Wong for all your contributions to our Student Lounge, and spending time to coordinate the time scheduling of all Student Assistants. Thank you for having such great faith in me even when we did not know much of each other (as well as Andy) at the beginning of this whole journey. The 36 th NUSSU EXCO will be even greater because of you. Mdm Noor Shilla Binte Nahar for her invaluable advices. Thank you for all the respect you have given me as the supervisor, when in fact, I came from inexperienced shoes of the Union. Thank you for showing me the ropes, even until today. Mr Soh Yi Da, Mr Shermon Ong, Mr John Paul Chua and Mr Geoffrey Lee, you guys are the best partners I would want to be with in the Constitutional Positions. Thank you for believing in me and guiding me the way through many things, be it from Constitution to managing Committees and tackling offices. Thank you for listening to me out even at times of seniority. Mr Alvin Poh, for managing Secretariat Cell finances and handling queries when Mdm Shilla is away from duty. Mr Alvin Arvind, Mr Eric Khong, Mr Tan Zitong, Ms Chang Siong Wei, Ms Kellie Chong and Mr Liu Ziming for standing in for Mdm Shilla while she is away for holidays. Thank you for always offering your help first when we needed the most. Mr Duke Tan, Mr Alvin Tan, Mr Chu Ting Feng, Ms Kellie Chong, Mr Terence Wong, Mr Low Hong Wei and Mr Geoffrey Lee for all the support and training at the Knowledge Management Taskforce. We would have nothing if not for all your inputs and filters for the documents. Mr Eric Khong, Mr Willie Wee, Mr Alvin Juano, Mr Timothy Fang and Mr Tan Zitong for all the sourcing in information for our Union Heritage Project. You guys did an amazing task. 38

39 Everyone in the 35 th NUSSU EXCO, you have shaped my life about student leadership and I will always remember to stay open to greater ideas. Ms Irene Ooi for your passionate leadership in commit. Thank you for welcoming me in the commit family. NUS Office of Student Affairs Dean, Mr Seetow, Mr Koh Yong Chea, Mr Sean Tan and Mr Daniel Chua for all the support in NUSSU Student Lounge revamp and all administrative matters. NUS Office of Facilities Management Mr Seow Hock Lye and Ms Joy Xue Li for your support in NUSSU Student Lounge revamp and advisory matters. NUS Office of Campus Security Mr Shariff for your assistance in all supporting matters. NUS Office of Estate and Development for their maintenance efficiency. Prepared by: Lim Kok Seng (Mr.) Assistant Secretary Executive Committee 35th NUSSU Council 39

40 35 th NUS Students Union Financial Cell Report By Mr. Geoffrey Lee 1. The Financial Cell FINANCIAL CELL Financial Secretary Deputy Financial Secretary Deputy Financial Secretary Deputy Financial Secretary Director of Marketing Director of Enterprise Geoffrey Lee Ong Soo Chin Alvin Poh Leong Ann Alvin Tan Kian Wei Dexter Shen Yanwen Xander Khoo Yong Liang 2. General Information The Financial Cell of the NUSSU Executive Committee is responsible for all financial transactions and approval of all financial expenditures of the standing committees and project committees. Budgets for the standing committees are presented to the Financial Secretary (Fin Sec) and their respective Cell heads in charge for discussion and approval. The expenditure required for the daily functioning of the Secretariat and its equipments are prepared by the Hon Fin Sec. The consolidated Union Budget is then presented to the Office of Student Affairs (OSA) and the Office of Financial Services (OFS) for discussion, with final approval from the Deputy President. 2.1 Duties The duties of the Financial Cell are as follows: a. To ensure efficient and equitable use of Union Funds. b. To ensure that all revenue, expenses and other financial transactions are properly accounted for. c. To minimize unnecessary expenditure so as to prevent wastage of the Union s financial resources. d. To ensure compliance with financial procedures as mandated by Office of Finance. e. To supervise all the marketing teams of the NUSSU committees and their project committees. f. To assist and supervise in the establishment of the Enterprise arm of the union. g. To support and assist in the initiatives of the Council Finance Standing Committee. 2.2 Council Finance Standing Committee In accordance with ARTICLE IX (2)(1) for the NUSSU Constitution, three other non-exco members were elected from the Union Council to be members of the Council Finance Standing Committee. The Finance Standing Committee was elected into office at the second NUSSU Council meeting. 40

41 The structure of the Council Finance Standing Committee is hence as follows: Designation Name Chairperson Geoffrey Lee Zheng Hwang Ex-officio Soh Yi Da Members Varun Soni (USC) Kang Wee Jing (CSC) Ng Zhi Liang Dennis (CAC) As stated in ARTICLE IX (2)(2), the duties of the Finance Committee are as follows: a. To prepare the budget for the periods from 1 October 2013 to 31 March 2014 and from 1 April 2014 to 30 September 2014 of the ensuing year for presentation to the incoming Union Council; such budget to be subjected to final approval by the University Council. b. To submit to the Union Council a report on the financial state of the Union at the end of the term. 3. Highlights 3.1 NUSSU Council Funding Conceptualised by the 30 th NUSSU EXCO, the NUSSU Fund was institutionalised by the 31 st NUSSU Council. The NUSSU Finance Standing Committee manages the fund. The fund is derived from the NUSSU Executive Committee s budget. The purpose of the NUSSU Council Fund is to raise overall status and visibility of the various constitutional clubs under NUSSU. It is open to all students who have ideas or initiatives to start projects that could bring about benefits, no matter tangible or intangible, to the general student population in NUS or farther. This funding scheme is not acting as a safety net for projects but an indication of support from the NUSSU Council and a form of encouragement for other NUS students to be involved in student-led activities. We hope that by this means, a more vibrant campus life could be created and promote events for students, by students. 3.2 Donation to NUS Bursary It was also decided by the 34th NUSSU Council to have a one-off donation of $500,000 to NUS Bursary, to increase the pool of funds available to be disbursed to needy NUS students (For more details, please refer to 34th Council Minutes). However, the 35 th NUSSU EXCO decided to make a 3-year pledge of donating $75,000 in total (or S$25,000 annually) to NUS Bursary. The preferred number of awards annually and award value will be determined by Office of Financial Aid. 3.3 Financial Review Every undergraduate pays a compulsory fee of $24 per annum that goes towards the individual s home faculty club ($8), the non-faculty clubs ($8), and the EXCO ($8). The Union has not adjusted this fee since 1976, and it is used to fund the various operations, projects and events that the Union and its constituent clubs organize every year. 41

42 As such, the Financial Standing Committee had reviewed the on a few financial key issues during the council meeting. After reviewing the pro and cons for changing the subscription fees, the majority (75.7%) of the council members voted to remain status quo, which is $24 per student every year. Hence, the subscription fee will remained status quo as it is since Besides that, the council also voted on the issue of the distribution of Union Subscription Fees. The outcome was status quo, meaning $8 will credit to the NUSSU EXCO, $8 will credit to the Faculty Clubs and $8 will credit to the Non-Faculty Clubs. Lastly, NUSSU Council agreed to improve the transparency and accountability of NUSSU Finances by publicizing their respective AGM reports and budgets of each clubs on the NUSSU website once it is approved by the admin. 3.4 Re-contract for NUSSU premises The rental fees collected from NUSSU premises has always been one of the main source of income for NUSSU to ensure financial sustainability. In the AY 13/14, NUSSU has renewed all the contracts and continued to provide services for all the NUSSU members Network Printing Service in YIH and Central Library This is an outstanding issue from the 34 th Financial Cell. The 2 year network printing service contract for Computer-Based Learning Center (CBLC) at YIH and Central Library is successfully signed and complete in this term. We are glad to have Campus Supplies as our vendor for another 2 years Photocopy Service in YIH The 2 year photocopy service contract by Seng City ended on Jan We had called for ITQ to source for new vendor to provide photocopy service to NUS community at Yusof Ishak House. Campus Supplies has become our new vendor and has provided additional Network Printing Service. With this, students have extra printing stations when it is crowded at CBLC Starbucks in YIH NUSSU EXCO has maintained very good working relationship with Starbucks for the past three years. With the advice of OSA, NUSSU EXCO and Starbucks has mutually agreed to exercise the option to extend the contract for another three years. Hence, Starbucks will continue to provide their services at YIH. 3.5 Investment of NUSSU Reserves From the 31 st NUSSU Council, OFS and NUS Investment Office (IVO) has approached NUSSU to bring across the idea of investment of the NUSSU Reserves which were parked in various Fixed Deposit accounts in different financial institutions earning declining interests rates over the years Non-endowed Funds After several discussion and information sessions with OFS and IVO, a better picture of the proposed investment scheme was provided to us. The idea of the proposed investment scheme was to safeguard the NUSSU reserves from inflation pressures as interest rates earned have been consistently lower than inflation rates over the recent years. Furthermore, OFS has observed that NUSSU and its Constituent Clubs as a whole do not typically drawn down significantly on their reserves due to prudent financial planning. 42

43 Two investment schemes were proposed for NUSSU and its Constituent Clubs to adopt, namely, Short and Long term investment plans, details as attached in Annex A. With the information in mind, NUSSU and its Constituent Clubs went back to their constituencies and advisors to propose their own investment ratios and scheme to invest under via blasts and feedback sessions. In the 32 nd Council s term of office, NUSSU EXCO also held a dialogue session with interested students who wanted to find out more about the investment scheme. All clubs made the unanimous decision of going only in short term investment portfolio which is capital guaranteed, with a shorter withdrawal notification period but lower interest rates pegged to 3 month Singapore dollar fixed deposit rates with possible additional premium declared at the end of every financial year for accountability to our constituencies. OFS will advise the President and the Financial Secretary of NUSSU in writing of the interests and premium earned for the previous financial year by 30th April of the next financial year. This shift would mean higher returns on our accumulated reserves, which we feel is a significant advantage that warrants greater consideration; for one, these higher returns would enable NUSSU to safeguard our reserves against the recent rising inflation rates which affects NUSSU s financial security. As of 1 December 2013, NUSSU EXCO has committed a total of $2,924, in Short Term Investible Funds Endowment Funds As of 1st January 2011, the NUSSU Students Fund which is endowed is subjected to the University endowment fund spending rule where a fixed budget calculated by a certain formula is allocated for usage. Throughout the term of the 34th NUSSU EXCO, NUSSU Students Fund has funded about $30,000 to $40,000 worth of Bursary Awards and Book Grants for needy students who did not qualify for the NUS Bursary. The amount allocated by the spending rule is more than sufficient to fund the Bursary Awards and Book Grants given out twice per year. 4 Managing Finances of NUSSU EXCO and its Committees 4.1 Working Relationships of EXCO and Committees The 35 th NUSSU EXCO Financial Cell had continuously monitored the expenditures of NUSSU EXCO and its committees. Adopting the previous management system where the various committees are parked under the different NUSSU EXCO Cells based on the nature of their operations, the Cell Heads also play an important role in monitoring the budgets of their respective cell and committees. Since the projects and initiatives of the Cell and their respective committees often overlap, Cell Heads and Committee Chairpersons are reminded to re-evaluate the allocation of funds and to account for the expenditure they have undertaken. In the 35 th NUSSU EXCO, a larger portion of the budget was allocated to the committees instead of the cells so that the Committee Members will have a greater stake and responsibility in deciding which activities or events to emphasize on. This is also part of the effort to re-align the committees to ensure that they remain functional and relevant to the EXCO and the Union. All in all, the EXCO and its committees are one entity and should be aligned in terms of objective and purpose. 43

44 For the Financial Cell to better understand the nature and expenditure needs of all the committees, the cell s involvement with committees projects has increased by having the Deputy Financial Secretaries liaise with the committees for budget planning, procurement and reimbursement matters. However, the issue of coordination has not been resolved as there were still many occasions whereby requests were put forth with extremely short notice, consequently, Financial Cell has insufficient time to respond to the matter. The incoming Financial Cell is advised to improve on the communication plans between the EXCO and its committees. Furthermore, the committees are also expected to periodically update the EXCO on the status of the projects for better coordination. 4.2 Archival As the 35 th NUSSU EXCO looked into maintaining a proper archival system this year, a greater emphasis was placed on the collection of post event and operations Statement of Accounts (SOA) for every committee and project. This will serve as a reference for the Financial Cell to monitor all forms of expenditure incurred, allowing us to formulate patterns and trends for financial planning of NUSSU EXCO and its Committees. With this, we will be able to make better decisions in terms of the investment made to various activities organised on the EXCO level. Furthermore, the archived statements will also help to smoothen the budgeting process for future batches. The main problem faced was that some SOAs were incomplete or not submitted despite the strict submission deadline as most project treasurers often stepped down from their duties when we tried to collate the SOAs at the end of each financial term. Hence, it is advised for the incoming Financial Cell to monitor the project committees closely, ensuring that they adhere to the SOPs and submit SOAs promptly after their events. Last but not least, in the 35 th EXCO, the Knowledge Management Task (KMT) Force has moved the financial documents from our database into NUS Wiki for better archival system. 4.3 Emphasis on the Role of Treasurers With the Deputy Financial Secretaries extensive involvement, the Financial Cell put in greater effort to educate committee and project treasurers about their job scope and the importance of their roles in the various management committees. This was a continued focus brought forth from the 32 nd NUSSU EXCO Financial Cell. All treasurers and chairpersons were required to attend a compulsory financial briefing which highlighted all the necessary financial procedures that NUSSU Committees have to adhere to. It was also emphasized that all the committee s finances will have to go through the main committee treasurer and that he or she is responsible for ensuring that the committee is spending responsibly within the allocated budget. In addition, committee treasurers are to keep a copy of every income or expenditure that has been incurred, such that they would be more aware of the committee s finances and highlight discrepancies and/or request for payment status to the Financial Cell. Therefore, the role of the treasurers is important since they are not only tasked with monitoring and managing their committees finances, but also to provide directions for their committees from a financial perspective in order for the committee to progress. In terms of operations, they play a crucial role in facilitating the administrative processes between the Financial Cell and their committees such that reimbursements and payment to vendors can be carried out effectively and efficiently. Hence, in this aspect, communication is very important amongst Chairpersons/Directors, Treasurers, Deputy Financial Secretaries and the Financial Secretary in order to achieve mutual understanding when handling financial issues. 44

45 5 Marketing 5.1 NUStyle Student & Staff Discount Scheme The NUStyle scheme holds much potential to reach out to each student, and promises to elevate the status and awareness of the Union. It is essentially the embodiment of the Union s unwavering quest to benefit students. This year, NUSSU Bizcom had organized NUStyle Foodhunt to engage students and partners as to raise the awareness of NUStyle of the Union. Furthermore, NUSSU Bizcom has successfully consolidated all the discounts and deals into a booklet and distributed among the NUS population. Subsequently, do look forward to more upcoming initiatives between NUSSU and the partners for the students. 5.2 People s Association Youth Movement (PAYM) as NUSSU Official Youth Partner With the effort and engagement of 35 th NUSSU President and Director of Marketing with PAYM, NUSSU EXCO and constituent clubs has managed to secured $30,000 of sponsorship. With this, PAYM is now the NUSSU Official Youth Partner. 5.2 Union Strategic Partners The Union Strategic Partners are key companies chosen by the Financial Cell due to their student centricity, and their commitment to support and enhance Union projects. The official union sponsors for academic year 2013/2014 are: Standard Chartered Bank (Official Credit Card Partner) DBS Bank (Official Debit Card Partner) The EXCO will still look forward to work with more companies on ad-hoc events if the opportunity arises. 5.3 Freshmen Orientation Central Committee (FOCC) Marketing and Restructuring of Bizcom Marketing Team By adopting the same system as the previous EXCO, the marketing directors for all FOCC projects were appointed members from NUSSU Bizcom. This allows Bizcom to continuously support the EXCO as the main source of all marketing efforts for various FOCC events. Looking ahead, with the new structure of marketing team, Bizcom will also focus on sourcing sponsorship for other NUSSU committee. This would better support the Union financial sustainability as the marketing wing of Union. 6 Enterprise 6.1 Starbucks NUSSU collaborated with Starbucks to bring to students an outlet that is unique in NUS. It is the only Starbucks outlet in Singapore with a performance stage for students to hold events or mini concerts. In addition, several student elements such as the community wall for students and staff to leave messages are created as well. NUSSU EXCO has also collaborated with Starbucks to create a photo collage for students who will like to have their Polaroid pictures taken and hung on the wall in the interior of the outlet. With this, the upcoming EXCO is highly encouraged to liaise closely with Starbucks. 45

46 6.2 NUSSU Merchandise The idea of NUSSU Merchandise is not just a mere product to be consumed by the students. It is an identity that fills different roles and brings different meanings to the student population and the organization as a whole. To continue promote NUSSU Merchandise, NUSSU collaborated with Starbucks to have a promotion of one NUSSU Candy Bar and one cup of Starbucks coffee. Looking forward, we hope to continuously produce and distribute quality NUSSU related merchandise both through online and offline platforms for the NUS population. Apart from T-shirts, the plans for the production of other NUSSU items are in progress. Students may feel free to provide feedback on the items they wish to see on sale. 7 Looking Ahead 7.1 Income Statement tracking system To promote greater financial transparency, the 35 th Financial Cell has made the effort to keep track of our finances and devise an income statement in our capacity. As of now the income statement only included the detailed breakdown of the operating and project income and expenditure of each NUSSU committees as well as the various cells in the NUSSU EXCO, updated on a quarterly basis. However, it is regrettable that the income statement could not be published for now as the figures are not audited and that there should be only one official financial statement as produced by OFS, since NUSSU follows OFS regulations and thus also its bookkeeping system. Nevertheless the income statement is still useful for internal financial control as it serves as an indicator of the Union s financial standing. All in all, it enables us to make informed decisions to provide more insight into the potential financial opportunities and risks. 7.2 Union Marketing Though it is important to establish good working relationships with the Union Strategic Partners and constantly engage them, it is not sustainable for the Union to fully rely on such collaborations in long run. The objectives of both parties may differ year after year and re-contracture cannot be taken for granted. The Union should be moving towards the direction of finding partners who are interested in Corporate Social Responsibility and are keen to support the Union s causes. This will hence create situations where both parties will be able to benefit and achieve our objectives. 7.3 Strategic and Financial Planning As NUSSU grows and takes on an increasing number of activities, it runs the risk of focusing on day to day operation issues and losing sight of long range objectives. Strategic planning is the mechanism to help clarify NUSSU s mission and objectives as well as prioritise the actions needed to accomplish them. Return of Investment (ROI) cannot always simply be defined as the cost associated with your event compared to the amount of revenue it generated as a result. There are different ways to calculate the ROI of your event depending on the goals and objectives you defined at the start. For instance, an event like RAG may define its ROI as the amount of awareness it brings towards a certain cause. However, since it operates at the purely conceptual level, strategic planning has a weakness: it does not adequately take into account the resources an organization has available to implement the chosen strategies, or its capacity to obtain new resources. It is therefore important for the next financial 46

47 cell to engage in a parallel financial planning process that makes it possible to convert the actions described in the strategic plan into figures. 8 Acknowledgements I would like to take this opportunity to convey my sincere gratitude to the following people: Ms. May Kwan, Ms. Alice Lim and Ms Malliha, Management Assistant Officer (OFS) for their assistance and support in processing the Union s accounts and payment requests. Mr. Jude Ang, Deputy Director (OFS), Ms. Poon Sock Ngee, Assistant Manager (OFS) and Ms Lee Ling Hui Dorothea Executive Officer (OFS) for their assistance in the re-alignment of Financial SOPs and investment issues. A/ Prof Tan Teck Koon, Dean of Students (OSA) for his advice, and unwavering support for the Union. Mr. Seetow Cheng-Fave, Senior Associate Director, for his support in the Union s projects and development. Mr. Sean Tan, Manager (OSA), Ms Felicia Lum Jia Yan, Assit. Manager (OSA), Ms Grace Chan Jie Li Executive, Miss for his advice and timely reminders for the things that I overlooked. Ms. Norimah Binte Sapari, Management Assistant Officer (OSA) for her assistance in the many financial procedures we are to learn halfway through the term, as well as helping us get documents settled. It has been great working with you and I believe we have achieved some form of mutual respect and understanding along the way up till now. Wish you all the best in everything that you do! Mr. Alvin Tan Kian Wei, Mr. Alvin Poh Leong Ann and Ms. Ong Soo Chin for their services and assistance as Deputy Financial Secretaries. Without your support, financial claims from the NUSSU Committees would not have gone smoothly and I will not have the time for meals. Big thank you to both of you who took the leap with me! Mr. Soh Yi Da, Mr. Ong Kah Han Shermon, Mr John Paul Chua, and Mr Lim Kok Seng for their assistance. Last but not least, I will like to express my utmost thanks to Ms. Shilla, Clerical Officer for her services and assistance in running trips to OFS and OSA as well as photocopying and setting up the tracking system for the financial documents for NUSSU Committees. Thank you very much! 9 Conclusion The role of Financial Secretary is extremely time-consuming and there are probably no tangible benefits out of it. The never-ending paperwork and meetings that I have in a week are probably more than the lectures that I have to attend in any particular week. From approving quotations, drafting letters and agreements, to determining if a project is viable and sustainable, throughout my term of office, I have often questioned myself as to why did I even stepped up to this role. Nevertheless, I am extremely glad and fortunate to have individuals who were willing to share this journey and have ended my term in office with the knowledge that I have done everything possible to live up the position that so many accomplished individuals have held before. I can only hope that others will see the significance in our efforts and continue building on them. 47

48 This learning journey, though tiring, turned out to be very fulfilling. Different people will have different takeaway even if they step up into the same role. The amount of lessons I gained from NUSSU and from the people I meet here are numerous to note down. One thing is for certain, these events and experiences have changed my perspectives and beliefs. Last but not least, I am glad to report that the Union is in good financial health. Please refer to the enclosed Statement (which includes the Balance Sheet and Statement of Income and Expenditure) for a detailed report of the financial condition of the NUS Students Union. Prepared by: Geoffrey Lee Zheng Hwang (Mr.) Financial Secretary Executive Committee 35th NUSSU Council 48

49 35th NUS Students Union Statement of Accounts By Mr. Geoffrey Lee NUSSU INCOME AND EXPENDITURE FOR FINANCIAL YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH Ent & Re-Exam Fees 32, Fees-Stud Activities 37, Donation 21, Sponsorship 145, Rent Inc-Or Uni Prem 108, Membership Fee-Oth 115, Advert Income Supply of Manpower Services 2, Performances/Conc Misc Income 460, Rev-Interdept 13, Fund Transfer 50, Operating Income 990, Int-Fixed Deposit Investment Income Total Income [A] 990, Expenditure on Manpower 22, Stat & Office Supp 15, Photo Albums & Films T-Shirts (Halls&Stu) 22, Consumables Souvenirs & Plaques 4, Sports Materials Music Scores Mats Costumes, shoes,etc 1, Outp Charges Meals/Refr-Conf/Cour Meals/Refr (Hall&St) 56, Other Supp 165, Airf/Tpt-Others 49

50 Rental-Motor Veh 3, Rental-Shuttle 6, License Fees Copyright Fee Oth Insurance Audit Fees 2, Cert Audit Fee Other Consult Fee Stf Consult Fee 2, Oth Professional Fee 8, Memb'ship Fee Survey Fees Cours/Reg Fee-Oth 2, Other Fees 36, Other Services 56, Periodicals Binding Comp Supp IT Consultancy Web Page Design Postage & Telecom 1, Constr Cost 6, Rental Of Premises 13, Redecor & Renov Cleaning/Housek Utilities 18, Utilities-Electr 44, Bldgs-Prop Tax 18, Rental-Equip 13, Rental-Music Instmt Maint-Equip Maint-Music Instmt Maint-Vehicles 2, Meal/Ref-Univ Events Hospitality-Students 88, Advert-Local Rep/Publications 14, Publicity Materials 17, Stu-Oth Trav-Loc 1, Stu-Oth Tr-Accom Stu-Oth Tr-Airf/Tpt 1, Award Medals Book Prize Cash Prize Prizes-Others 1, Donation 388,

51 Prior Yrs Over-Prov (30,033.08) Input GST Recovered (15,585.09) Expenditur-Interdept 23, Other operating expenditure 1,000, Equipment 4, Comp Hw-Pur(Exp Off) 5, Furni-Pur(Exp Off) 4, Equip-Pur (Exp Off) 4, Equipment/Fixed Assets 17, Total Expenditure 1,040, SURPLUS/(DEFICIT) FOR THE YEAR [A-B] (50,600.68) NUS STUDENTS' FUND Capital-Donations Endowment Capital Sum Interest Income - Fixed Deposit Inv Inc Fr FM(EF)-Al 147, Investment Income 147, Total Income [C] 148, Bursary 66, Other operating expenditure [D] 66, SURPLUS FOR THE YEAR [C-D] 81, Less: Transfer to Entrance Fee Reserve (8.00) Transfer to NUS Students' Fund (552.33) NET SURPLUS FOR THE YEAR 30, Prepared by: Geoffrey Lee Zheng Hwang (Mr.) Financial Secretary Executive Committee 35th NUSSU Council 51

52 35 th NUS Students Union Communication Cell Report By Mr. Shermon Ong 1.The Communications Cell COMMUNICATIONS CELL Communications Secretary Acting Communications Secretary Deputy Communications Secretary Creative Director Creative Director Creative Director Director of Social Media Chief Editor (NUSSU The Ridge) Denise Ee Shu Fen Ong Kah Han Shermon Kellie Chong Wu Yi Nina Chang Alvin Juano Emmeliene Ong Su Min Teresa Widodo 2. Introduction For Communications Cell, this term is more of a trimming of sails rather than a dramatic course correction. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, it must be acknowledged that the 34 th NUSSU Executive Committee, especially the Communications Cell, has made significant and substantial additions and improvements to the initiatives, work processes and job scope of the Communications Cell. Our role, as their successors, is to consolidate their achievements and, where necessary, make evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, improvements. Secondly, Denise was unable to carry out her duties for the full term because of personal medical issues. As such, the plans for Communications Cell were not fixed until quite late into the term, or to be more exact, during December holidays. As a result, Shermon had to cover Denise s duties with the assistance of Kellie in helping to ensure that the operational side of things remain functional. That said, it is with much relief, with a few doses of happiness, that Communications Cell managed to pull through the term without much problems. As Denise did not respond when we asked if she wanted to write the report for Communications Cell, presumably because she is still recuperating, this report will be written by both Shermon and Kellie. All errors and omissions are solely ours. 3. Communication Platforms In general, we did not implement any radical changes to our communication platforms. Instead, we adopted an evolutionary approach in handling our current communication platforms. Our general policy is that our communication platforms should serve the needs of the Union, especially the communication needs of the Union EXCO, and that their respective relevancies are not in doubt. We will run through the different platforms briefly. 52

53 3.1 Electronic Direct Mailers Electronic Direct Mailers (EDMs), also known as blasts, are probably the most-used communications platform by the Union. Although anecdotal surveys have found that Union members found EDMs irritating spam, it is perhaps still the only Union communication platform that is guaranteed to reach every single Union member out there. With its wide reach, it is of little wonder that the demand for it by student groups is persistently high, especially during the peak publicity periods at the start of each semester. On our side, we are aware that the supply of EDM slots are limited because we do not wish to send out EDMs too frequently such that people regard it as spam and reject them outright without giving a look into its contents. With those considerations in mind, we operated the EDMs according to a few principles: Firstly, we have a regular weekly EDM dissemination on every Monday, with an additional Wednesday one if there is a huge backlog of EDM requests to clear. Secondly, we sorted EDM requests from student groups in the following descending order of priority: NUSSU EXCO, NUSSU Committees, Constituent Clubs, Associate Bodies (i.e. Halls/RCs) before any other student group. Thirdly, we will only include the EDM requests of sub-clubs only if that activity/event is recognised and endorsed by the parent Constituent Club as the parent Constituent Club s activity/event. Fourthly, we set a threshold requirement with regard to the content of the EDM requests. The EDM request must not contain content that is substantially commercial and the content must be in the general interests of students. This threshold requirement helped filter out many EDM requests that, in our view, are unmeritorious and nothing more than barely-disguised attempts to use the Union communication platform to garner better outreach for sponsors in return for higher sponsorship returns for that student group only. Fifth, we standardised the requirements for valid EDM requests by restricting the number of words in the caption as well as stipulating standard dimensions for any pictures in the EDM requests. Also, it must be noted that even among Constituent Clubs, there are different levels of requests. As Faculty Constituent Clubs have their respective EDM channels (courtesy of their respective Deaneries), we often find that they do not seek to utilise the Union EDM channel as often as their Non- Faculty counterparts. Although there were proposals during our term for the Office of Student Affairs to grant Non-Faculty Constituent Clubs their own EDM channels, the proposal did not move forward as the various stakeholders felt that it was still better to just go through the Union EDM channel. All in all, EDMs continue to be a communication platform that many student groups hope to leverage on. Moving forward, we feel that EDM should continue to be a mainstay of the Union communication platform and future Communication Cells should do well to take note of conflicting demands on the communication channel and manage them accordingly. 53

54 3.2 Noticeboards Another oft-used Union communication platform is that of our noticeboards. More specifically, the noticeboards under the NUSSU EXCO s ownership and they can be found around the campus with a big brown label saying General Noticeboard. The 34 th NUSSU EXCO last updated the database of noticeboards in mid As we are unable to parcel out the time needed to update the database, we hope that the 36 th NUSSU EXCO will look at updating the noticeboard database with considerable urgency. For noticeboards, we developed some rules with regard to approving posters for putting up on our noticeboards: Only posters by NUS offices or student groups are able to be put up on these noticeboards. We encountered some requests by NUHS laboratory tie-ups with private medical companies. We allowed those only after these laboratory tie-ups were able to furnish endorsements by their NUHS liaisons and approval by the necessary ethical boards. The maximum approving period is 2 months. If someone wishes to put posters up for more than 2 months, fresh approval has to be sought after the end of 2 months. Our approval is with respect to placing on our noticeboards, not with respect to the content of the posters. The approval with respect to content falls under the respective NUS office/student group s publicity approval authority. Only posters with the NUSSU Approved stamps will be allowed on our noticeboards. Those with Centre for the Arts or Sports & Recreation Centre/Sports Club stamps will have to seek additional approval from us. For posters to be placed in Bukit Timah Campus, we refer them to Law Club because our NUSSU Approved stamps does not extend to the Bukit Timah Campus Moving forward, due to the tedious and routine nature of having to handle poster approval requests, especially during peak periods at the start of each semester, we recommend that future NUSSU EXCOs look into the possibility of computerising the poster approval process so that it will reduce the workload on the relevant person in Communications Cell handling poster approvals. 3.3 Social Media On the social media side, the mainstay is that of the NUSSU Facebook page ( The NUSSU Facebook page, unlike the EDM channel, tends to be utilised more often by the NUSSU EXCO to disseminate Union-wide related news and developments. From time to time, there would be requests to publicise certain events on the NUSSU Facebook page. We employed a similar filter process as EDM requests and this helps to streamline NUSSU Facebook publicity requests to manageable levels. We also have another Facebook page dedicated to the Freshmen Orientation Central Committee (FOCC) publicity ( The reason for separating the FOCC Facebook page from the main NUSSU Facebook page is because we want to have the flexibility to put up sponsors publicity materials on the FOCC Facebook page so as to garner better sponsorship revenue for FOCC events. Combining both Facebook pages will result in the NUSSU Facebook page being rather clogged up, especially during orientation periods. With regard to the outreach levels, we are proud to announce that the NUSSU Facebook page, which started off with less than 7000 likes at the start of our term, has steadily increased to more than 54

55 8000 as of mid-september We hope that this trend will continue and broaden the outreach of the NUSSU Facebook page. With regard to the administration of Facebook pages, we faced some difficulty with regard to the FOCC Facebook page initially. This was because control of the page was handed to one person only and the person was unable to be contacted subsequently. We initially created a new page from scratch and requested Facebook to remove the existing FOCC page. Luckily, Eric, our fellow NUSSU EXCO member, was an administrator of FOCC page and he was able to grant us administrative control upon realising our predicament. Moving forward, we recommend that during the handover/takeover period, administrative control should be handed over to at least two persons so that in case one goes uncontactable, there is still another person to turn to. For other social media platforms, we created a Twitter account (@nussu_sg). Usage of the Twitter is more limited due to the character-limit on content as well as the small NUS Twitter community. That said, it is still valuable to have a Union communications toehold on Twitter for it grants us a platform to enlarge our presence there whenever needed. Our YouTube account, regrettably, remained rather inactive over our term because we felt that there was insufficient consistency on video content generation. A similar reason, except with regard to pictures, was behind our reluctance to create a NUSSU Instagram account. That said, we remain open to expand into these social media platforms when the conditions are right. 3.4 Website On the website front, due to the lack of a full-time website administrator, the approach has been more to maintain the status quo and troubleshoot whenever and wherever necessary. In other words, our approach is more reactive than proactive. Also, a cursory survey through the NUSSU EXCO for web administration skills revealed that only Shermon was able to do so, a task which he handled till the end of the term. In terms of the platform used, the 33 rd and 34 th NUSSU EXCO utilised the Joomla Content Management System (CMS) as the backbone of the website. We continued on the use of Joomla, primarily because we have learnt the basics of administrating the Joomla framework. Although the 34 th purchased another CMS framework, Wordpress, we hesitated in migrating our content over to that CMS framework because we could ill-afford the time and energy needed to relearn administrating the Wordpress framework. That said, due to security concerns (as we will elaborate below), we hope that future NUSSU EXCOs will consider utilising the Wordpress framework instead (and which we have paid for anyway). Security was, is and will always be a bugbear for the NUSSU website. From the last few weeks of the 34 th NUSSU EXCO s term, we realised that the NUSSU website will be redirected to unsavoury websites when opened on mobile devices. The reason was subsequently realised to be code injection by hackers into the Joomla framework due to a previously-unknown loophole. In January 2014, we found a clean copy of our Joomla framework without the code injection. As such, our website is now accessible on mobile devices without unsavoury redirects. As a precaution, we also changed all passwords on our server to strong passwords at least 10 characters long. 55

56 One point that we wish to tell future NUSSU EXCOs is that our web hosting plan is a basic Virtual Private Server (VPS) plan. It is undoubted that the VPS plan gives us much flexibility in administration. However, we feel that our website functionalities will not be affected at all if we move to a basic Business Hosting plan instead. Such a move, in our approximate calculations, would reduce our web hosting costs by at least 20%. Another incident we wish to note is that we contracted with a student from the School of Computing to do a resource/facility booking system. When he asked for our server system specifications, we gave him an information page generated by our PHP/MySQL framework. However, he delivered the product which was based on the Ruby-on-Rails framework instead. The incompatibility between the product s framework and the server, coupled with our lack of expertise in the Ruby-on-Rails framework, meant that the product was effectively wasted as we were unable to deploy it. It is hope that future NUSSU EXCOs will be much more specific in stating the desired requirements and specifications of the product before outsourcing them to external vendors. 3.5 esurvey The last communication platform we are going to talk about is the esurvey platform. The esurvey platform allows us to design, conduct and analyse surveys. It is an extremely useful tool to capture a snapshot of student sentiments with regard to various issues. An added advantage is that we can, working together with Computer Centre, include a NUSNET authentication gateway at the start of some surveys. This allows us to verify the authenticity and uniqueness of each survey result, adding credibility to our statistical data. It must also be noted that the esurvey platform itself has a very powerful and customisable data analysis and presentation module. We hope that future NUSSU EXCOs will take note of this and maximise the use of the esurvey platform whenever and wherever appropriate and necessary, especially when it comes to data collection with Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) concerns. 3.6 Branding Guidelines As the Branding Guidelines were only updated very recently by the 34 th NUSSU EXCO, we did not see any point in radically overhauling them. Indeed, we were of the view that the current Branding Guidelines were sound and we intensified our efforts to disseminate the Branding Guidelines and ensure compliance, especially by the NUSSU Committees. On our end, we started the Branding Guidelines briefing rather late into Semester 1 around October/November 2013 for NUSSU Committees and for Constituent Clubs in early Semester 2. Moving forward, it is hoped that future NUSSU EXCOs start the briefing as early as possible so as to correct information asymmetry and ensure better compliance. It is also heartening to see that the 36 th NUSSU EXCO has already conducted the briefing for NUSSU Committees in July 2014, which is a much earlier and better start. One problem, albeit a non-major one, we faced was the fact that our Branding Guidelines were all in Portable Document Format (PDF) versions. PDF documents are non-editable while our efforts to search for the editable Word versions were initially stymied. That said, towards the end of our term, Kellie manage to obtain the Word versions of the Branding Guidelines, which provide a sound platform for future updates. We recommend that for future handovers/takeovers, two versions of the Branding Guidelines should be handed down one editable and one non-editable. 56

57 3.7 FOCC Branding and Publicity With increasing awareness over the past few years of the FOCC Branding, NEXUS, the Communications Cell continued on with the theme of NEXUS for the Freshmen Orientation Projects 2014, with a different approach of manpower usage this year. This year, Kellie, Nina and Alvin chaired the Central Publicity Cell (CPC) for FOCC, which steered the direction of the FOCC Branding. The CPC was made up of 3 students recruited from the general NUS Student Population, as well as 1 member from the NUSSU Public Relations Unit with the aim to expose these students to the workings within the Union and to also promote talent retention for future NUSSU Committees or EXCO batches. The CPC focuses mainly on designing collaterals to promote the FOCC branding and events, keeping in mind the big picture of introducing the Union to freshmen. The CPC designed a new NEXUS logo for the Freshmen Orientation Projects 2014, with the focus on the entire word itself to promote the branding of NEXUS as a whole, instead of differentiating NUS and EX, which was done in previous years. The CPC understood that while it is important to bring out the meaning behind the word NEXUS, it is more important to first promote a strong branding and awareness of NEXUS, before moving on to the next step. Following the previous year, all FOCC organising committees were required to use the NEXUS banner at the end of their signatures. This promotes not only outreach and publicity of NEXUS, but the committees credibility when approaching external stakeholders. The recommendation from the previous NUSSU EXCO Communications Cell to keep the project taglines so as to promote values and meanings of the different taglines to each event was kept and maintained to: EXordia Union Camp EXquisitus International Freshmen Orientation EXplore NUS Student Life Fair EX Novo Freshmen Inauguration Ceremony EXtending Love, EXperience NUS NUSSU Rag & Flag 57

58 3.8 NEXUS Facebook Page The NEXUS Facebook Page was not only utilised to fulfil sponsorship agreements but it also served as a platform for students to learn more about the different Freshmen Orientation Projects offered by the Union. Some FOCC organising committees had even held competitions to engage the students and pique their interests in the Freshmen Orientation Projects. Continuing the effective groundwork set by the 34 th NUSSU EXCO Communications Cell, the CPC this year was able to effectively manage the NEXUS Facebook Page alongside with the various FOCC organising committees publicity executives. 3.9 COINS (Centralised Orientation Information & Notification System) In an effort to centralise publicity and information regarding the various orientation programmes for incoming freshmen, we created the Centralised Orientation Information & Notification System, otherwise affectionately known as COINS. COINS was a one-stop portal for all incoming freshmen to know more about the sign-up avenues for orientation programmes of the NUSSU FOCC projects, Constituent Clubs, Halls of Residences and the Residential College. In fact, even the Centre for the Arts student groups sought to publicise their orientation programmes on the COINS portal. The COINS portal was also given extra relevance as the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) meant that the esurvey platform was the only approved method to collect personal data from incoming freshmen. As the NUSSU EXCO was the only one possessing esurvey accounts then, we assisted the Constituent Clubs, Halls of Residences and Residential College to have a centralised signup for notification on their various orientation programmes. Evaluating COINS on hindsight, it was a moderate success. As a one-stop information portal, it was able to provide different Clubs, Halls and RCs a common platform to publicise their events to incoming freshmen. It was also a good avenue to ensure compliance with the NUS personal data protection regime. One drawback was the rather rushed implementation of the platform as the idea was only conceived in early February 2014 with the COINS portal set up by early April Moving forward, it is hoped that future NUSSU EXCOs start publicising this idea to Clubs, Halls and RCs very early on in the term so as to allow better buy-in and participation into the COINS portal, which is ultimately a platform that has no downside and a huge upside for all student groups FOCC Publicity Materials In an effort to increase awareness of Freshmen Orientation Projects, an FOCC postcard was designed to display information regarding the different camps and activities offered by Union entities just for freshmen, publicizing the COINS platform at the same time for students to visit and register for activities. Another card the size of a name card was also produced to introduce the structure of 58