Testimonials
An inspiring Entrepreneur, a great teacher and now a great personal mentor. Prof Pamela Lim has done more than her job at SMU by going extra miles to help her students in both their studies and career.
I first attended her class back in 2007 as a second year student for the course, Technology and World Change. What surprised me back then as compared to most of the courses that I took was that the course itself has a unique and enriching structure. Prof Pamela has put in a lot of effort in making the class interesting and informative. She is also a strong believer in teaching and equipping her students with life skills to take on the world.
Her teaching does not just end off in class as the course came to an end. We still keep in touch where she continued to give me life advices and shared her working experiences with me. What she has given me are really good helping advices which equipped me with the relevant knowledge and experiences required to make a good decision for my company, Tocco Studios Pte Ltd.
Today, Tocco Studios Pte Ltd is a home grown Singapore Company operating in Singapore and Middle East. Through her help, Tocco Studios has grew as a company with sustainable income and revenue. The Company remains highly competitive in the interactive media space in Singapore and Middle East.
I strongly believe that Prof Pamela Lim will be a valuable faculty member of Singapore Management University where students will greatly benefit well from her innovative style of teaching. The school is well known for the creative teaching pedagogy approach and it is for these reasons that I would like to have her in the school to continue uphold the good brand of Singapore Management University. Her Drive and abilities will truly be an asset.
Graduate Class of 2010
Director of Tocco Studios Pte Ltd
Soh Han Chong Andy
Professor Pamela Lim is more than a professor to many of us at SMU. She is truly inspiring to me and she certainly helped many students to ‘see the real business world’. I am lucky enough to meet her at SMU and benefited from her real life experienece and teachings. In many of her classes, she never fail to capture my attention and she is not only teaching the useful syllabus, she went beyond that to bring every of the students to reach up to their ‘next higher level’ in life.
To many of us, she is a caring mentor that not only will spend extra time in class with students. She is a role model that we should look up to. Outside the class, she is a friend whom many of us can talk about life, that is where the real learnings take place and because The World Is Our Campus, her sharings during and after the class about ‘Life 101’ become very real to us.
I truly believe that Professor Pamela Lim will be a great source of inspiration and support to our existing and future SMU students. She is definitely one of the professors that student should come into contact with during the 4-year studies in SMU.
Today, i am a business owner mainly operating in Singapore and Middle East. Tocco Studios is funded by MDA Singapore and Professor Pamela Lim’s advice to me during the initial phase was very useful and practical. She continue to advise me and the life journey for has just begun. I am glad that she has made a big impact in my life and equipped me well to take on the world.
Graduate Class of 2010
Co-Founder of Tocco Studios Pte Ltd
Vincent Lai
Prof Pamela has been a major influence in my decision to go into business. Through her guidance in and outside of the classroom, i was able to gain a sound foundation on business planning and strategy. This foundation has seen my startup, Soyato Pte. Ltd. go on to become the Champions of NUS’s 12th Startup@SG, 1st Runner-up of NTU’s Ideas Inc. Business Challenge 2010, recipient of SPRING’s YES!Startup fund and also Heartware Network’s Youth Business Scheme loan.
Upon the launch of the business in the market, Prof Pamela remained a key influence in shaping the growth of my company which have now been featured in the media (including Straits Times, Business Times, Lian He Zao Bao, Sunday Times, Cleo Magazine, Epicure, Food & Travel, Men’s Health amongst many others) and have also attracted several franchising and exporting interest locally and also internationally.
As the company go from strength to strength, our challenges change but Prof Pamela has always been a great advisor for us, foreseeing and anticipating many events which eventually unfolded in the business. She has personally helped guide us through consistently and we will forever be grateful for her help.
– End –
Alan Phua, Founder of Soyato and Founder of Alchemy Food Tech
Professor Pamelas course can be considered a turning point in my 4 years of SMU Education. I have always thought nothing much of entrepreneurship courses in SMU as feedback from my fellow classmates has always been less than flattering. Undaunted, I decided to try for a course anyway since I had to clear a module.
Much to my surprise, I came out of the class learning more than I ever thought I would. Professor Pamelas way of education does not involve tons of materials, standard answers nor notes. Instead, it was experiential learning true to the phrase. It was refreshing and exciting. Every lesson, she is like a friend sharing her own experiences, guiding us through entrepreneurship which she is so passionate about. This excitement and passion really opened me up to a part of myself I felt was always there.
Since young I always had tons of business ideas or dreams that never take root, perhaps daunted by the risk, uncertainty and inaction. Bound for graduation into the accounting profession, I felt lost despite having a direction. Finally, one day I sat down and had a talk with professor, as a friend. She lay out my choices and told me candidly what she felt. I was really inspired to finally take a gamble.
Now, 3 months into helping my dad’s business and starting my own, I feel that everyday lies in the uncertainty, but I wake up no longer lost and always anticipating new challenges and new knowledge that greets me.
Kennth Goh
Dear Sir/Madam,
When I first joined SMU in 2006, I knew that I wanted to become an entrepreneur at the end of my university journey but did not know exactly how it would happen.
SMU’s unique pedagogy and holistic approach to education equipped me with the knowledge and skills necessary to carve out an edge in entrepreneurship. There were also numerous professors that made a positive impact on my education but one Professor essentially opened up the exciting world of entrepreneurship to me – Professor Pamela Lim.
I got to know Prof. Pamela through the course Technology & Entrepreneurship. Although the course was a short 15 weeks, I learnt everything from preparing a proper business plan to raising funds from angel investors and venture capitalists. What made a difference were the opportunities she created for us to actually pitch our business ideas to successful entrepreneurs and experienced CEOs. This was not something that you would get to experience in other courses unless the lecturer had utmost confidence that she had prepared us for the harshest of critics.
Something that differentiates her from other Professors is her ability to bridge the academic world and the business world with her experience as a successful entrepreneur and CEO of a listed company. Prof. Pamela generously shares her experience on how she navigates the complex business world with the class, a refreshing difference as compared to the other Professors.
Inspired by Prof. Pamelas passion and equipped with the skills and knowledge from her course, I am today running a technology startup – Galaktikos – that enables retailers to leverage on mobile technologies and strategies to grow their businesses.
It is my sincere belief that Prof Pamela is an excellent educator, mentor and role model to the students of SMU, and it is a privilege to have been educated and inspired by her. I am sure the future students of SMU will benefit from having her as their Professor and role model.
Yours Sincerely,
Kent Hoie Yin Kuan
SMU Alumni
BBM, Graduating Class of 2011
This entire document will never be able to express what kind of impact and influence Professor Pamela has made in my life.
I am Yvonne Lim, recent graduate from Lee Kong Chian, School of Business with majors in Marketing and Management.
After quitting NTU and coming into SMU, I remember feeling anxious in one of my first year first semester classes. That class was Professor Pamelas Technology and World Change class. All I cared about then was to find brilliant project groupmates and score an A+. Little did I know that not only would I learn about technology and world change, but I would also experience changes in my own life in that class.
Professor Pamela is one of most influential person in my life. I regard her as someone who is not just my professor, but also a mentor, friend, role model and inspiration. After the TWC class, I moved on to Professor Pamela’s Technological Entrepreneurship: Opportunity and Identification and also become one of her teaching assistant.
In Professor Pamela’s classes, I learned not only from the textbooks, but also from her person, her experience and also hands-on knowledge about business building. Professor Pamela helped us explore and play with entrepreneurship, made us discover for ourselves if this was a path that we wanted to take, and if we did, Professor Pamela helped push us in the right direction with her words and advise. She encouraged all of us to step out of our own comfort zone and dared us to pursue dreams that we never thought could become possible. She would always make herself available outside of class if we need her, and gave us a hand whenever we needed real world connections to aid us in our learning.
It was because of her that I started most of the things I did. Professor Pamela helped create an entrepreneurial-snowballing effect in my life. Fast forward four years since that fateful first class in TWC, I am now the Co-Founder and Advisor of SMU Real Business, to Singapores first peer-to-peer mentoring entrepreneurship club, Founder of Hatched Inc, a co-working space to house indie entrepreneurs, Co-Founder of Project Gazaab, a micro social venture capital fund to invest in growth of rural entrepreneurs and also started my own e-commerce startup Basement2.com.
These are but four of my bigger achievements in the last four years. Professor Pamelas teachings and encouragement proliferated and influenced many of the other smaller achievements I had in the four years. (Champion of a regional business competition in 2010, Dean of Student award 2010, Singapore representative to Education Without Borders 2011 in Dubai just to name a few.)
Professor Pamela’s unconventional way of teaching is the most practical and useful way of teaching. Instead of just making prints on paper, she make lasting imprints in her students’ lives and that of others also because of the influence she had in her students’ lives. She teaches not just real, useful technical skills, but also important skills in life like integrity, humility, respect and gratefulness. In my opinion, the best professors in the world teach with their heart, and not just their mind. And Professor Pamela is one of them.
She will always be my inspiration and a person I respect.
Thank you, Professor!
Yvonne Lim
Class of 2011, SMU
“Professor Pamela gives a fresh, realistic, no-holds barred take on entrepreneurship, drawing from her vast background as a VC, CFO, Angel investor and most importantly, an entrepreneur herself. As a founder of an online music business, I’ve had the chance to hear from many individuals from the business community. A lot has been said, and there is as much trash as there are gems. I’ve found Prof Pamela’s perspective and lessons to fall in the latter. Her willingness to share the hard truths of entrepreneurship are priceless. She has the canny ability to simplify what others tend to complicate and sure-footed enough to cope with flexibility. Most importantly, entrepreneurship is best learnt when practiced, not told. Her emphasis on hands-on learning is extremely beneficial for aspiring student entrepreneurs. She practiced what she preached, and for that I respect her as an entrepreneurship professor and thank her for those lessons which have enabled me to grow and come this far. She will be extremely valuable for a Business School which wants to produce more entrepreneurs.”
Clarence Chan
Founder, Bandwagon
http://www.bandwagon.sg
Prof Pamela is one of the most remarkable professors i’ve been taught by in SMU. During my final year, i took the module Technological Entrepreneurship under Prof Pamela and conceptualized the business idea Cereasley. It later went on to win a top ten finalist spot at Martell VSOP’s The Ultimate Start-up Space business plan competition, and i attribute this to her inspiration to take the road less travelled, and to do so with the confidence that following my heart can make incredible things happen. Thank you Prof Pamela for all the encouragement, and for being a role model I truly look up to.
Tina Tan, Founder of Cereasley
Prof pam’s class is one of the classes that makes you feel like time flies there.
Really like the times that we get a task every week and work on groups together.
Gets you started thinking about how you could really start a business and be inspired.
Today, i did started a business online and i must say part of it was because it started in that class room.
Sharon Yeo
Aprivateroom.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/aprivateroom
Throughout my entire life, I dare say that I have grown the most while studying in SMU. I believe I have successfully accomplished the goal that I have set out for myself. 1) To learn all I need to know about starting a business 2) To change my mindset 3) To meet the people of strong caliber. It has definitely been a fruitful 4 years for me. One of the strong contributing factors I have is to be able to work and learn from Prof Pamela.
Personally, I was lucky enough to be able to work closely with Prof Pamela. She left a very strong impression on me and taught me many lessons along the way. Everything from the mindset I have towards business, to important guides in life, to attitude towards everything are strongly influenced by Prof Pamela. She is willing to spend time for her students inside and outside of the classroom. In class, her lessons are always engaging and interesting. She has a different way of teaching which sets her apart from other professors. Out of class, she is willing to provide us with tips for anything that we might need. We are extremely fortunate to be able to learn from a successful entrepreneur and a caring professor that is always more than willing to provide us with advise from her experience.
Prof Pamela definitely made a big difference to my life and I greatly appreciate it. Thank you.
Elvin Ong
To whom it may concern,
Dear SIR/ Madam,
I have known Professor Pamela Lim via a course known as technological entrepreneurship in my second year 1st semester. In short, I would like to highlight that she was hardworking, inspiring and most importantly, able to impart many non-academic life skills crucial for success in the future.
Unlike school, the actual working world is less structured and demands a lot initiative; both which she emphasizes heavily over the course. Via projects and mini presentations she inculcates these skills into students who otherwise treat the entire entrepreneurship lesson as just another normal lesson in SMU.
While not exactly a Capstone course, she challenges us to include many different skills sets and knowledge from different course into both the presentation and report, greatly enhancing the knowledge linkage between different subjects.
Thus I would give my full recommendation for Professor Lim on account on her dedication and excellence in teaching.
Toh Yi Fan
I could still remembered my very first day in Singapore Management University(SMU), I had a class under Prof Pamela and it was called Technology World Change. We know each other since my polytechnic days which I took stats101 class under her.
Coming from Republic Polytechnic, I do not know what to expect from a university. I was really worried about it but Prof Pamela has been very encouraging and she installed belief in me. This belief has kept me going and eventually lead me into embarking my own entrepreneurship journey.
Her unique way of teaching has made our learning much more enjoyable. Her willingness to share her knowledge and experiences has influences everyone of us in a different way.
As an aspiring young entrepreneur, she is somebody who you should look up to and I strongly believe she can make an positive impact to your life. Her never too old to learn and everything can be learnt mentality is one of the reasons why she is so successful. This is something we should all learn from her. Her positive attitude is contagious, one of the things that influences my life.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Prof Pamela for her positive impact in my life. I hope her positive attitude will remains contagious.
Bryanmaguire Chia
The TWC class that I took in year 1 really sparked a passion for entrepreneurship. Starting your own business idea and taking control of it these are things I’m experimenting with now. TWC taught me some practical knowledge that I found very useful, contrary to to many other modules in SMU.
Regards,
Aloysius Ang
A typical Monday morning class would see me struggling to stay awake during lessons, with only my will preventing me from sleeping into oblivion. My initial reaction upon realising that I have a Technology & World Change lesson scheduled for that taboo timing was Oh Drats!
The first lesson marked a radical change to my experience of lessons conducted in SMU. Previous modules did not spur me to ask why?. Professor Lim helped facilitate the learning process by guiding us through a critical reflection of the learning materials and allocating a group presentation under time constraints after a summary of the materials presented during lessons.
Furthermore, the use of journals enhances the reflection process, tying what I was learning from the textbook and lecture to what was happening in the broader community and world. Reflection challenges me to do something that I’m not used to doing. Therefore, I’m able to see things in a different way, analyze and obtain something out of the learning process which I normally would not have.
The course has updated my views on technology in the context of wider issues and their complex relationships. More importantly, I was given a sneak preview of the world of technopreneurship by Professor Lim, with her invaluable snippets of advice that stems from her experience as a technopreneur, such as her recommended sources of funding, personal views on intellectual property & patents, as well as importance of writing and speaking well to impress potential business partners and investors.
~ Joel Ng, a student during AY2007-8 when TWC was a pre-assigned module and I’m really fortunate to be pre-assigned to Professor Lim’s Monday morning class
