Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information Part 1 – Why is the school named after Wee Kim Wee?

If you read my “About Alvin” page, you will know I am a graduate from the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information (WKWSCI), Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

In a short four part blog series, I hope to give a brief introduction to my alma mater and share with you some insights about the school as well as my experience there.

I know the name of the school is a real mouthful. When I first entered the school as a freshman in 2001, it was still known as the School of Communication (CS).  In the same year, the name was changed to School of Communication and Information (SCI) to better reflect the full spectrum of the courses offered.

Dr. Wee Kim Wee (黄金辉)‘s name was added to the school’s name in 2005. Here is a short introduction to Dr. Wee Kim Wee and the reason for the name change:

Born in Singapore on 4 November 1915, the late Dr. Wee Kim Wee was President of the Republic of Singapore between 1985 and 1993. Before that, he was High Commissioner to Malaysia, and Ambassador to Japan and the Republic of Korea.

Dr. Wee worked in the news media for many years. He started his career humbly when he joined The Straits Times (one of the publications under the Singapore Press Holdings media group where I am working now) as a clerk in the circulation department. In 1966, he was the first Singapore journalist to enter Jakarta and interview the then new Indonesian leader Suharto and Foreign Minister Adam Malik. This resulted in the world learning for the first time that Indonesia was keen to end their confrontation with Singapore and Malaysia. Through his work, he became a bridge for the countries.

Dr. Wee also covered the civil war in the Belgian Congo (now Zaire) and paved the way for future journalists to bring home news of disaster/ war-stricken countries.

His expertise extended beyond the press as he was also Chairman of the then Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (the predecessor to Mediacorp). In many ways, he was critical in shaping today’s media scene.

Dr. Wee passed away on 2 May 2005.

In naming the School of Communication and Information after him, NTU believes it is an opportunity for its students to be inspired by his noble values and ideals.

If you are interested to find out more about WKWSCI, my alma mater, do visit the WKWSCI official facebook page. There is an open house on 9 March and you can stand to win a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 LTE. 🙂

Details on the Open House:

• Venue: Nanyang Auditorium, Level 3, Nanyang Avenue, Nanyang Technological University
• Date: 9^th March (this Saturday)
• Time: 9.30am to 6.30pm

If you are a prospective student considering studying at WKWSCI and would like to hear from an alumni, feel free to drop me an email. I promise to give as candid a reply as I can. Your questions will be kept confidential – I will not publish them here without your permission.