RAFFLES EDUCATION GROUP GRADUATION CEREMONY 2007
1,000 GRADUANDS AWARDED

It was a joyous celebration for over 1,000 graduands of Olympia College, Raffles Education Group as they had a royal presence, Her Royal Highness Tuanku Bainun Raja Permaisuri Perak Darul Ridzuan to bestow them their awards including Bachelors and Masters awards in various disciplines at the Palace of the Golden Horses Hotel on 2 December 2007.

Ten students of various disciplines also received their prestigious awards named in honour of Malaysia’s founding fathers and distinguished political figures for their accomplishments in their studies.

Excerpts from the message to the graduands from Her Royal Highness Tuanku Bainun Raja Permaisuri Perak Darul Ridzuan :

“It gives me great pleasure in conveying my personal greetings and best wishes to all graduands on the occasion of the 12th Graduation Ceremony of Raffles Education Group comprising Olympia College Malaysia, Raffles Academy Singapore and World Education Council.”

“Graduation marks the conferment of awards for those having met the prescribed standards and benchmarks for a programme or course of study. It is characterized by determination, hard work and sacrifices made by the learners and often with both moral and financial support of family members or sponsors.  It is a time of rejoicing and celebration of one’s academic achievements and should be savoured and shared with our loved ones.”

“As you leave your institution to enter the world of work, I am sure that the education and training which you all have received will equip you to compete and contribute to the nation and beyond the shores of our beloved Malaysia.”

Y. Bhg. Dato’ Mahadev Shankar, the Co-Chairman of Raffles Education Group said in his speech “The mission of the Raffles Education Group, inspired by our founder, Winston Pereira, has always been to provide world-class education especially to those who could not find places in the local Universities or afford to go abroad. Our goal was to establish professional careers across the entire spectrum of business, commerce and information technology.”

Y. Bhg. Dato’ Mahadev Shankar continued “We teamed up with Nottingham Trent University, with the Institute of Administrative Management in the UK, with the American Management Association through Imperial Consulting and recently also concluded a Memoradum of Understanding (MOU) with Liverpool John Moore University, UK.”

“To all our graduands here today, I would emphasise that we here in Raffles have sought to impress upon you the paramount importance of good health. Secondly we aimed to ensure your imagination was ignited by getting your active participation and not stunted by mindless regimentation.  Thirdly we aimed to induce into all of you an overpowering motivation to strive for perfection. And lastly we had to instill into each of you a sense of compassion and justice for the less fortunate. We do this because we believe this is what a good education means.” Y. Bhg. Dato’ Mahadev Shankar emphasized.

Y. Bhg. Dato’ Mahadev Shankar also advised the graduands that in order to succeed they have to be a team player and to maintain a high level of curiosity about everything as  life is one long continual learning process.    

In conclusion, “Y. Bhg. Dato’ Mahadev Shankar said “This is another reason why today is such a special day for us. Your Royal Highness’s presence here is symbolical of our past history, our present identity, our emblem of cohesion and continuity as Malaysians and our profound gratitude to Your Royal Highness for gracing this Graduation Day with Your Royal Presence”.

Year 2007 recipient of The Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj’s Award for Overall Best Student (Undergraduate) is Mr Jayakodige Camillus Chamira Fernando, from Raffles Academy, Singapore.

Mr Jayakodige who pursued Diploma and Advanced Diploma in Management Information Systems. also received the The Tun Dr Mohamed Suffian bin Hashim Award from the School of Computing and Information Science said “I feel very happy and honored to be bestowed the awards as it motivates me  to study further and work towards achieving my goals. I would like to sincerely thank Raffles Academy.” 

He added “It was a wonderful experience with Raffles Academy. The lecturers, the management and the Student Service Department were really good and willing to help the students at anytime.”
On his ambition and future plans, Jaya kodige said “To become an IT Project Manager. Well, I am looking forward to start working in the Software Development Industry.”