Presenting our top students who spoke no English when they first arrived in Singapore – and today, all first class honours recipients from the prestigious University of Wales.

Yu Dian, 23 is from China.
Pham Thi Nga, 20, is from Vietnam.
Darma Gunawan, 22, is from Indonesia.
Roophabhavani, 21, is a Singaporean permanent resident from India.

This unlikely group of youngsters who converse fluently in English to each other, were happily teasing and joking with each other before we sat down for the interview.

To the uninitiated, they seem like the oldest of friends, but upon further probing, I realised how much hardship they have been through to seal this strong friendship.

Yu Dian, Nga and Darma arrived at our shores 4 years ago with absolutely no knowledge of the English language. Through sheer hard work, they progressed through Informatics’ English language course, completed their Diploma and Advanced Diploma in Computer Studies and finally, entered the final year of the University of Wales (UK) Bachelor of Science in Business, Computing and Information Technology (Honours) programme hosted by Informatics.

The 4 of them formed a team to motivate each other with Roopha taking the unofficial position of English tutor. Their daily routine included attending classes and spending time to revise the chapters taught that day. After that, they dedicate some time to leisure activities like shopping, going to the movies and organising class outings. As Darma fondly puts it “We are not just geeks, we play hard too!”

As the only 4 out of their entire cohort to be awarded the first class honours status from such a prestigious university, it is no wonder they are already hot on employers’ to-hire lists.

Yu Dian, who has already received several job offers, is choosing to pursue her career with Informatics instead. “The best way to say ‘Thank You’ to my alma mater is to contribute to her my knowledge gained from her.”

Nga hopes to travel and work around the world while Roopha is already accepted into the MBA course at the National University of Singapore. Darma will be taking on the role of Web designer with a local firm to pursue his passion.

On having such success, all 4 of them agreed unanimously that their lecturer in charge, Dr. Teo Kim Heng had a large part to play. He was always approachable and was especially encouraging when morale is down. He was an instant hit with the students and many were motivated enough to want to excel in the course.





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