Li Zeyu

How has your SMU scholarship benefitted you so far?

I met some of my closest friends in university through the Global Impact Scholarship program and in fact, we are planning on going for international exchange together in the coming semester. Beyond friendships, my scholarship has provided me with access to seniors from the program, many of whom are already working professionals, through which I have been able to find out more about the industry and roles I am interested in and form a better understanding of my personal goals and aspirations.

With SMU, I have travelled to…

I recently took up a 3-week student exchange programme with Yonsei University facilitated by the Lee Kong Chian School of Business. Through the course of the programme, I had the opportunity to take up a module offered by the partner school, Yonsei, and interact with students from different universities all around the world. Despite the programme moving fully online due to the pandemic, my classmates and I were still able to make the most out of our circumstances and had ample opportunities to connect with each other and learn more about our different cultures.

Please share your internship experience.

Last year, I took a leave of absence from school to take up an internship with a Swiss private equity firm. Taking up a semester-long internship gave me the opportunity to get more exposure and work on more exciting projects as compared to a typical three month-long summer internship. The internship was a particularly meaningful experience for me as it reaffirmed my interest in pursuing a career in finance and gave me a realistic taste of the day-to-day of an investment analyst.

Name your favourite class/mod at SMU.

A core module called Management Communication – it is super interactive and we spend a lot of time each lesson working in groups on mini-presentations and discussing various concepts as a class.

Any advice for prospective students who are thinking of applying to SMU?

Reach out to seniors and ask questions! There’s only so much advice and so many perspectives you can get from desktop research and information sessions.