Teaching with heart

Much like a scene out of the 2001 biographical movie A Beautiful Mind, Associate Professor John Sequeira distinctly recalls watching an econometrics professor writing out mathematical proofs on the blackboard when he was an undergraduate at university, “without any notes, just going by his memory”, he says. “That really left an indelible impression on me and made me want to emulate him.”

It wasn’t long before Associate Professor Sequeira was able to do so himself, having devoted hours to the study of econometrics — the statistical application of economic theory. “I was so captivated and inspired by the subject. I love the way you are able to look at confront economic theory with empirical evidence.”

Despite this deep interest, his first job upon graduating was in the Singapore Armed Forces, where he commanded a company of 80 men as a young Army Officer. “I was enthused by military service, and I enjoyed that for a while.” Subsequently, he became a corporate training consultant, before moving onto postgraduate studies.

Furthering his studies in econometrics had always been a part of his long-term plans, and he first completed a master's degree at the National University of Singapore before doing his PhD at the University of Western Australia. But during the final year of his PhD programme, “I started to get cold feet”, he shares candidly. “I was still a bit sceptical about life as an academic, and unsure about whether I could see myself doing this day in and day out.”

But that all changed when he started teaching. “The moment I started teaching finance, all my fears disappeared. I knew this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. The remaining pieces of the puzzle fell neatly into place.”

By 2000, he had moved back to Singapore to be closer to his family and started a new job at the National University of Singapore Business School as an Assistant Professor of Finance. In 2007, he joined the University of New South Wales Asia, which was the first foreign university in Singapore but shortly shuttered its doors after the first semester.

“I had to make a decision whether to continue with academia or try other sectors.” He decided on the latter, first joining the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation as a senior manager and curriculum specialist, then a consulting firm. In 2009, he gained experience of a different kind by joining the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) as an economist.

“I learned a lot from each of these roles,” says Assoc Prof Sequeira. “In the private sector, I witnessed first-hand the needs of the industry and learned how a consulting firm operates in relation to its clients. At MAS, I could see how the economy worked from a bird’s eye view. I led a modelling division that was responsible for producing inputs for monetary policy decisions.”

While these experiences proved invaluable, he eventually yielded to the draw of equations, the blackboard, and academia. “I love the life of research and interaction with students,” he explains. In 2016, he became an Associate Professor of Finance (Practice) at Singapore Management University’s Lee Kong Chian School of Business. He is also currently the Academic Director for the school’s Asian Financial Leaders Programme, and the Director for the Master of Science in Applied Finance (MAF) part-time programme and the Master of Finance Dual Degree Programme.

“I wanted to conduct more research about the relationship between the stock market and the central bank in Singapore,” he explains of his area of interest and decision to join SMU. “There is a lot of scope for research in this area, and filling this gap can help investors make decisions, and inform regulators about how firms respond to policies.”

Beyond research, Assoc Prof Sequeira also relished returning to the classroom. And the move proved to be the right one for this teacher at heart: He has since notched up a long list of teaching accolades, including, most recently, a nomination for SMU Excellent Teacher Award for 2020 and a spot on the Dean’s Teaching Honour List for Academic Year 2019/20.

“There is no secret,” he demurs modestly when asked about his recipe for success as an educator. “I learned over time.”

For starters, he had honed the ability to captivate students early in his career, when he had to address lecture halls filled with 300 students.

“Before each session, I would ask myself how I could get the students to listen to me, get interested in finance, and be able to say to themselves that those two hours were well-spent because they learned something. I set myself the personal challenge of making them as enthusiastic about the subject as I was.” It took a few tries before the perfectionist was happy with the way he formulated his lecture notes and teaching plans.

He also improved as a teacher by observing students’ reactions as he taught, to better gauge their level of engagement. This still applies to his classes at SMU, although the smaller class sizes in SMU presented a different challenge.

“There is a lot more focus on student participation and two-way interaction, so I have to change the way I teach. I want to make students feel comfortable enough to ask questions and engage in discussion. The more they engage in this way, the more they learn and the more interested they become in the subject,” he believes.

With COVID-19 spurring a hybrid mode comprising in-person classes and online lectures at SMU this year, he has been preparing to evolve his teaching methods once again.

“We’ll have to do things we have never done before, like wearing a face shield while we teach. It will be interesting to see how we can be nimbler and more innovative when it comes to responding to these new challenges,” he reflects. “I am confident we will be able to adapt. The most important thing is to have heart, and to love what you do as a teacher and a researcher. If that is what is motivating you, then your students will grow with you.”