William Goh

At 26, William Goh started his own business in Singapore – Genetic, Information Technology (IT) education and training and courseware development. Seventeen years later, the business operates through a mixture of franchises and partnerships in over 34 countries with 65 offices and over 120 staff.

Much of the confidence and knowledge required to develop a global business William accredits back to his study in New Zealand. "During my early years of my business, I started travelling to Malaysia, Pakistan, Myanmar, Bangkok, Bangladesh and Oman to study their IT markets. With my IT training and experience at Victoria University of Wellington, I had no problems looking for the information that I wanted. Additionally, unlike many IT qualifications in Singapore, my Bachelor of Science degree in Computing Science was a well-rounded qualification that encouraged me to study topics outside of the core IT papers."

William talks even more of the New Zealand lifestyle – as "an eye opener to stay in a gracious foreign land that you could never experience back home.”

"Like all overseas students, I learned to be independent. Meeting so many new people meant that I became very comfortable establishing and developing relationships...New Zealand gives a different wave of environmental experiences compared to Asian countries. I stayed in a hostel during my first year, flatted with three New Zealanders in a rental house during my second year and stayed with a Kiwi family during my third year. I chose these options because I really wanted to take advantage of all aspects of the New Zealand way of life."

Recently returning to New Zealand, William was back at Victoria to deliver the Commerce & Administration Graduation Address. In his speech, he encouraged graduates to make the most of their education and to strive to reach their goals. “The secret to success is the same as that which has brought you to this graduation, and that is ‘simply to do what it takes’.”