MAKE money while studying. Nothing unusual about that. Except that Mr Jonathan Dawson is doing both in the same place.

He runs a travel agency on campus at SIM (UniSIM is a different branch) where he's studying for a management diploma.

Just as unusual - he runs his business from a pushcart.

Mr Dawson, 22, took over Hebron Travels and Tours at Orchard Road from his grandmother earlier this year.

Then he hit on the idea of renting a pushcart - for $100 a month - to open a 'branch' to cater to the international students on campus.

He told The New Paper: 'There are a lot of international students who travel home at least once in two months. Singaporean students also like to travel a lot.'

Since he opened the pushcart business during lunch hour about a month ago, he said he has received many more enquiries there than he does at his main office.

BETTER THAN EXPECTED

'I've received more bookings than I expected,' he said, adding that he had made some $20,000 in sales.

The pushcart business is one of many activities that SIM offers its students. It began in 2003 with two pushcarts, and today all five have been taken up.

The others are selling handphone accessories, refillable ink cartridges, T-shirts, women's accessories and bags. Gone are the days when classes in private schools were conducted in boring, grey centres.

Today these schools are upping their appeal factor to attract new students and engage their present ones.

The bigger ones like SIM, MDIS and PSB Academy are boasting vibrant campus life, active student bodies and sports clubs, self-improvement programmes and out-of-the-box activities.

Ms Jesline Wong, assistant director of MDIS' membership department, said the school has tennis courts, basketball courts, a football pitch, a dance studio and a gym at its Stirling Road campus near Queenstown.

It also conducts enrichment workshops and organises student group tours to Malacca and Kuala Lumpur, she said.

Students can attend overnight camps, barbecues, networking sessions and visit old folks' and children's homes, said its manager of student care, Ms Deepam Gnanes.

More recently, some students got together to form its first student council, comprising 15 exco members from countries like the Philippines, Nigeria and Thailand.

MORE INTEREST GROUPS

Council president Arfin Saliman, 23, a second-year mass communications Singaporean student, said: 'We felt there had to be more to school life than just going to class. We want to have more interest groups.'

MDIS' first student council's exco members. Photo/ KAREN WONG

Vice-president (internal affairs) Clarence Danmarc Reniza, 21, from the Philippines, said: 'The school has been supportive, helping us along.'

Over at PSB Academy, things are equally abuzz. It organised a Science and Engineering Challenge last week , involving teams from eight secondary schools, to solve novel engineering challenges.

PSB Academy, which has been bought by a German group, boasts of basketball courts and a field at its Tiong Bahru campus.

It also has cricket, basketball and football clubs, said Ms Yeo May-Fung, vice-president of student affairs.

She added that they also encourage performing arts and allow student bands to 'jam' during lunchtime on Fridays.

'It's an opportunity for students to showcase their talent,' said Ms Yeo.

At the SIM campus along Clementi Road, there are personal development, enrichment and wellness programmes, as well as career talks and recruitment fairs for its students.

It also has a vast range of sports clubs, including floorball, windsurfing, wakeboarding, dragonboating and volleyball.

Some of its students represented Singapore in the Asean University Games and the World University Games, the spokesman said. There's also a dance club, a film and performing arts society which puts up a production every year.

PROM NIGHTS, SPORTS DAYS

At Informatics, near the Science Centre in Jurong, a student council organises activities such as prom nights, sports days, movie screenings, friendly matches and cultural nights.

A spokesman said: 'One Informatics student council member, Ayesha Erasmus, was elected president of the Overseas Student Association this year, amid stiff competition from the foreign student community across the island, including those from NUS and NTU.

'I think this says something about how we cultivate the community spirit on campus.'

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