Coreen Low, Senior Nurse Manager at the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Singapore and a board Member of the Singapore Nurses Association Nurses Learning Hub has received a La Trobe University Distinguished Alumni Award.
The Awards are among the highest honours bestowed by La Trobe University and are selected annually from a community of more than 250,000 graduates.
Coreen was presented with her award by La Trobe’s Chancellor, the Hon. John Brumby AO at a graduation ceremony in Singapore on 14 November 2024. The event also celebrated graduates from La Trobe’s partnership with PSB Academy & Singapore Nurses Association (SNA).
For the last 27 years, La Trobe’s School of Nursing and Midwifery has delivered a Bachelor of Nursing in Singapore, in collaboration with Singapore Nurses Association. It is the longest-running degree conversion program in Singapore – enabling registered nurses with a diploma qualification to upgrade to a bachelor’s degree. Since 2022, PSB Academy has joined as a third partner, continuing to ensure high quality learning experiences for nursing students.
Thousands of nurses have graduated from this program, and many have taken on senior and influential roles as a direct result of their studies. Coreen Low is one of those nurses.
Coreen Low is a Senior Nurse Manager at the KK Women's and Children's Hospital in Singapore. She has dedicated her 40-year career to patient care, community service programs, and advocacy for best-practice training and management. She sits on several senior boards and committees, including as Chairperson of SingHealth Nurses Wound Management Council and as a regional council member of Smile Asia – a charity providing free surgical care to children with facial deformities. As a board member of the Singapore Nurses Association’s Nurses Learning Hub, she has worked in partnership with La Trobe on the Bachelor of Nursing program in Singapore.
Coreen completed a Bachelor Health Science (Nursing) (2002) and a Master of Nursing (2014) at La Trobe University Singapore.
The La Trobe partnership with SNA and PSB Academy proves the benefits of a transnational education model – which enables Singaporean nurses to work in-country to upgrade their qualification to an international standard. Having La Trobe academics fly into Singapore to teach this program promotes cross-cultural awareness and academic collaboration, ensuring that courses are fit-for-purpose and of the highest standards.
All of this would not have been possible without the collaborative efforts of this partnership, and the work of strident advocates like Coreen.
We congratulate the 300 students who graduated from La Trobe’s Bachelor of Nursing from SNA and PSB Academy (62 in absentia) and commend Coreen on her Distinguished Alumni Award.
