Visa’s first corporate university outside the US opens in Singapore

Visa has opened the first international campus of Visa University at its Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore - making it the payment technology company's first corporate university outside the US.

The core of the university curriculum lies in digital knowledge and skills, backed by emphasis on leadership skills required for success in Asia. It also features locally-developed content tailored for the Visa team in Asia.

The facility, hosted at Visa's office on Robinson Road, features flexible classroom space, breakout rooms for small-group learning, lounge space for informal networking, and video conferencing technology.

Michael Ross, Visa's EVP global HR, in town for the launch, commented: "It (Visa University) offers a digital-at-the-core curriculum designed and delivered by Visa, to help employees learn and discuss critical industry developments, so they can drive better business results in their respective roles."

At the launch today (1 September), Kelvin Wong, assistant managing director, Singapore Economic Development Board, was the guest of honour, who added: "Visa’s new corporate university here bears testament to Singapore’s talent ecosystem, where companies can work alongside industry partners to develop and harness Asia-Ready talent."

The selection of Singapore for the Visa University campus is the second major Visa centre announced in the country this year.  In April, Visa launched the Singapore Innovation Centre, a 7,000 square foot facility established as a destination for clients, partners and developers across the region to work alongside Visa experts to create commerce applications.

Chris Clark, group executive, Asia Pacific for Visa, noted the campus in Singapore is expected to keep the Visa team's digital and leadership skills up-to-date. "This is particularly important in Asia Pacific, where so many of the digital trends shaping the world emerge," he added.

At the launch, Human Resources caught up with Michael Ross [M], Visa's EVP global HR; and Jennifer Saavedra [J], VP, learning and development.

1. What business need is the Visa University expected to fulfil?

M:  The world is experiencing a digital transformation, with new devices and experiences creating a seismic shift in the way people do everything from staying in touch, to how they work, to how they pay. Just as we invest to evolve our network, products and services, we are investing to equip Visa employees everywhere with the right knowledge and capabilities for us to maintain our leadership in digital commerce.

We are only as good as the people who work at Visa.  We have been so successful because we have attracted the best talent in the business from around the world.  We can only be who we want to be if we continue to attract and retain the best and the brightest.  Ongoing learning opportunities that help our team keep their digital and leadership skills up-to-date and razor sharp is a key element of our commitment to be an employer of choice

2. How will you get employees and their managers to buy-in to the initiative? 

M: Our goal is to foster a learning culture at Visa, where ideas – new and old – are welcomed and tested, and the environment is both inclusive and open.  These values are important to our team – both employees and managers.  We believe that our open and dynamic Singapore campus provides a modern, state-of-the-art learning centre. This combined with our digital-at-the-core curriculum actually meets an existing need to provide a venue and atmosphere for employees to learn and discuss critical industry developments and leadership trends.

L to R: Jennifer Saavedra (VP L&D, Visa), Michael Ross (EVP HR, Visa), Kelvin Wong (assistant MD, Singapore Economic Development Board), Vasant M. Prabhu (CFO, Visa), Andrew Tan (SVP, Visa), Karina Kuhlmann (senior director, Visa University) at the launch.

Photos / Provided