Graduates wanting to join the communications industry after completing university ought to look beyond their academic qualifications.

According to industry advisers, maintaining high ethical standards and being able to think critically are valued traits that fresh graduates should possess.

This was one of several recommendations made by the Industry Advisory Council Forum 2008 held on Jan. 25 in NUS.

Currently in its third year, the forum is organised by the communications and new media programme. Industry practitioners are invited to provide suggestions on ways to revise the curriculum so that courses offered in the CNM programme are updated and relevant to the needs of the industry.

Stephen Forshaw, Singapore Airlines vice president of public affairs, emphasised the need to teach theories of ethics to students because crucial decision-making based on principles is the responsibility of communications practitioners.

Forshaw said, “I think this topic (of ethics) is very important, and I would like to see more students take it.”

He said individuals grounded in ethical values can be expected to have positive effects on the communications industry as a whole.

“What is good for the industry in the long run is for individuals to do the correct thing. You do not hide or cover things up when something goes wrong,” added Forshaw, who has been an IAC member for the past three years.

The issues of ethics and critical thinking are not entirely separated.

Forshaw said, “You can’t form an ethical judgement without being critical.”

Responding to IAC feedback from the previous year, possible changes to the CNM curriculum are in the works to match the demand for graduates that are analytical.

One such change is for all CNM majors to take a compulsory introductory course to media writing.

Announcing this change, Linda Perry, a visiting fellow of the CNM programme, said exposure to various styles of media writing would develop the critical thinking skills of students.

Explaining this decision, she said, “It takes excellent critical thinking to be a good writer.”

Besides theoretical learning, students are advised to make the most out of their university life by obtaining practical skills, such as honing their entrepreneurial spirit.

Philip Wu, an IAC member from Singapore Telecommunications and Neo Studios, said, “There is a lot of capital and resources available, with the government encouraging entrepreneurs. It is a lack of good projects but not good ideas.”

Wu, a former major in sociology and social work in NUS, is currently in a joint venture with Singaporean actor-director Jack Neo to develop media projects in China.

Statistics about the CNM programme was also presented at the forum.

It revealed that the CNM programme has offered a mix of about 30 theoretical and assignment-based courses since it was started more than three years ago.

In the 2007/ 08 academic year, a total of 557 students declared CNM as a single major, compared to 232 students in the 2004/ 05 period, when CNM was first offered.

CNM overtook Sociology to be become the third most popular major in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

Economics and Psychology are the two most popular majors in FASS.