A page out of our Global Director of Academic Affairs

Hi, my name is Jarrod Howe.  I am the Global Director of Academic Affairs at Hyper Island, and my job is to ensure that the MA in Digital Management Programme at Hyper Island runs smoothly.  I am actively involved in Student Affairs and Administration, as well as in Assessment, Progression and Graduation of our students.

I have been working in the Education Industry for over 20 years. With teaching and administrative management experience in universities and colleges in the US, China, UK and Singapore.  I have also been involved in University Partnership management in Sweden, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam amongst others.

My passions outside of work have been in competitive sports. I started out as a competitive school, club and national age group swimmer, I also dabbled in a bit of club and national age group waterpolo. But my lifelong passion has been in Rugby.  I started playing rugby in secondary school in Singapore and I haven't looked back since, aside from four years of collegiate American Football during my undergraduate university years in the US.

My wife often grudgingly admits that Rugby is my one true love in this world, followed by my daughter, and then my wife.  I have played schoolboy rugby, club rugby and national rugby in Singapore for the last 27 years.  I now coach the boys at my alma mater at Raffles Institution when I have time, with an aim to help the boys experience the joys that the game of rugby have brought to me.

I hold on dearly to the values that rugby has imbued me with, the principles of teamwork, accountability, hardwork and integrity in all I do have guided me in my personal and professional life and kept me on the righteous path throughout my life. 

 In my daily life and my collaborations with my colleagues at Hyper Island, i adhere to the principles of the following simple truths that were inculcated in me through rugby

• Master the basics, set the foundation right and you are on the road to success
• There is no “I” in team
• You are only as strong as the teammate beside, in front and behind you
• Personal accolades mean nothing if the team does not win
• No matter how successful you become, remember your roots, pay tribute to the people that helped get you there
• You don’t own the jersey, people have won it with pride and success before you, honour and cherish it whilst you have it, leave it in better shape for those that come after you.

As I approach 50 years in this world this year, I fully appreciate that I can no longer contribute meaningfully on the rugby field.  I am grateful that I have the Hyper Island team to call my own.  The Hyper Island team in Singapore is my family, and the Hyper Island students are my extended family.  This is my  Hyper Island “Rugby” family, we work hard for each other to make the MA Digital Management programme a practical, realistic, and real world ready programme.  We work hard to create a hard hitting, relevant, and enriching learning experience for our students; one that makes them strong, independent individuals that understand how to harness the strengths of their teams and lead change  and transformation in turbulent times.  Hyper Island and the MA Digital Management programme are my passions as I look forward to the next 50 years of my life.