The Farmleigh Fellowship February Update.


We would like to give you an update on the Farmleigh Fellowship and the MBS Asian Business.


Launch of the MBS Asian Business Studies 2012 in January.

The 2012 MBS Asian Business Studies commenced on the 3rd of January at UCC in Cork. This year’s programme will follow the same timetable as the 2011 programme with three months in Ireland and nine months in Asia and we would like to extend a warm welcome to the 2012 Fellows. Also, we would like to thank our sponsors and stakeholders for their continued support and we look forward to having another outstanding year in 2012.


Completion of the Inaugural MBS Asian Business Studies 2011

All twenty three of the participants completed their final work placement on the 2nd of December and have returned to Ireland to complete their final wrap-up at UCC on the 15th and 16th of December. This has completed the inaugural MBS Asian Business Studies 2011. We are delighted that the programme has gone so well with feedback being enormously positive from all quarters. The success of the first year is a testament to the power of networks and to what can be achieved through harnessing the enormous goodwill and talent of the Irish Diaspora. On behalf of the Board, I would like to express our sincere thanks to all our Sponsors, UCC, NTU, the Government of Ireland, the IDA, Enterprise Ireland, Ireland House in Singapore, the Mentors, the Irish Chambers of Commerce in Singapore and elsewhere, and finally the Fellows themselves for making our first year into such an outstanding success.


Farewell Party for the Fellows

To celebrate the completion of the Asian segment of the MBS, a farewell party for the Fellows was held on the evening of the 9th of December at the Irish Ambassador’s Residence here in Singapore. We are extremely grateful to the Ambassador and his team for providing the use of the Residence.


Farmleigh Fellows in Asia

Over ninety percent of the 2011 Farmleigh Fellows have indicated to us that they will be returning to AsiaPac in the New Year to continue their careers. Many have already confirmed work positions all across Asia. We wish them the very best of luck and look forward to following their paths to success in the future. The 2011 Fellows now become the alumni to support the 2012 Farmleigh Fellows.


Thank You Farmleigh Mentors

The Mentorship programme has added enormous value to the MBS and many of the Fellows have indicated to us that this has been one of the programme highlights of their time in Asia. Many of the mentors have been extraordinarily generous with their time. We would like to extend a special note of thanks to them and we look forward to their involvement in 2012. If anyone else would like to get involved in the mentorship programme, please contact myself or any of the Board Members.


Recruitment of Sponsoring Companies for the MBS Asian Business Studies 2012

We are pleased to announce that Abbott, ESBI, Blue Acre Technology, Invensys Rail and the Singapore Polytechnic Technology Transfer Centre have joined our list of companies as sponsors for 2012. The company recruitment process has gone well and the fact that many of the sponsors also participated in the Fellowship in 2011 is a positive endorsement of the programme.


Changes in the Farmleigh Fellowship

The Board of the Farmleigh Fellowship has been strengthened by the appointment of Noel Moore, the Chief Executive Officer at HistoIndex, as a new director Noel has significant experience working in Asia He also mentors young high-tech start-up companies through Singapore Polytechnic, helping to guide them through fundraising, commercialization and revenue generation. We are delighted to welcome him aboard.


Marketing the Farmleigh Fellowship

There has been greater profiling of the Farmleigh Fellowship back in Ireland with an excellent article appearing in The Sunday Times on the 13th November. In addition, two Board Directors were interviewed on The Business by George Lee on RTE Television in early December.


Board Objectives 2012

In 2011 the main objective was to demonstrate proof of concept through the MBS pilot program. For 2012 the Board of Directors has committed to the following:

· Strengthen the resources of the Farmleigh Fellowship

· Strengthen the profile of the Farmleigh Fellowship

· Deliver another MBS Asian Business Studies program

· Launch an Asian internship program under the Farmleigh Fellowship umbrella brand

· Initiate an educational program back from Asia into Ireland

· Build a more sustainable model in terms of financing


We will keep you updated on our progress throughout 2012