Age is not an issue
Youthful-looking Ganasekar s/o Sinnakannu is NUS’ oldest graduate from a full-time engineering programme this year — the 42-year-old Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) Naval Warfare System Expert (Navigations Systems) graduated on 12 July with a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering with Honours (Merit). Ganasekar was also presented with the Alcatel-Lucent Technologies Prize, awarded to the Electrical Engineering student with the best Communications Engineering final year project.
Some 10 years ago, RSN offered Ganasekar a scholarship to undertake an Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering (Avionics) course at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. He aced the course, scoring a near-perfect Grade Point Average and achieving a Gold Medal for his outstanding performance.
Ganasekar’s quest for learning did not stop there. “One key reason for me to pursue a university education was to reassess my potential with a formal certification,” he said. “Having served in the Navy as a navigation systems and warfare expert for two decades, I had a strong belief that a degree qualification in the electrical and electronics field would allow me to develop deeper expertise to carry out my job better.”
Prior to his studies at NUS, Ganasekar knew that he would be older than his cohort. However, that did not deter him from forming firm friendships and good working relationships with his course mates. “They treated me as one of them and made me feel at home,” he shared, adding that he had no problems looking for classmates to collaborate on projects and participate in discussions.
The course was not all smooth-sailing for Ganasekar who found the physics and mathematics modules to be “very intense”. Thanks to professors who went the extra mile to coach him further, he was able to cope. In fact, Ganasekar went on to gain a place on the Dean’s list in his final semester, and also clinched the first prize at the Department’s final year project poster presentation.
Having completed his degree with a sense of achievement, Ganasekar is looking forward to continue his educational journey, perhaps by pursuing a Master’s degree. First on the cards, though, is a return to the Navy so that he can contribute and share what he has learnt the past four years.
Ganasekar is grateful to his family for being very supportive throughout his NUS journey
Asked if he has any advice for working adults who wish to pursue studies, Ganasekar said that the first move was very important. “Once we move forward,” he said, “then the motion itself will keep us going forward rather than looking back. But if we don’t make that first move, we may not even make any move at all.”
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