Oh shucks, another NUS scandal?
Who would have thought?
The Allegations
Chen Chunhua, a visiting professor at the National University of Singapore (NUS) is under scrutiny for purportedly fabricating links with Huawei and for holding a fake degree from an unrecognised university in Ireland.
Peking University has more work cut out for them though, because Ms Chen is the Dean of their BiMBA Business School and a National School of Development professor.
Ms Chen has also allegedly claimed to be a military adviser for Huawei, but this was quickly refuted by the tech company itself.
After these allegations came to light, NUS Business School has removed her profile from their website.
Therefore, it’s likely that these are facts rather than rumours.
Credentials from an Unrecognised University in Ireland
Since there are private investigators lurking in every corner of the internet, the Chinese netizens have taken it upon themselves to find out her academic achievements after she gained the wrong attention due to her falsifying links with Huawei.
Although the information has since been removed, public information listed on Newhuadu Business School’s website shows that her educational history are as follows:
- Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering from the Department of Radio of South China University of Technology – 1986
- Master’s Degree in Business Administration from NUS School of Business Administration – 2000
- Doctorate in Business Administration from the European University of Ireland – 2001
- Post-Doctorate in Corporate Management from Nanjing University Business School – 2005
The European University of Ireland isn’t considered a legitimate university by the Higher Education Authority of Ireland.
According to a 2011 by the Irish Times, it has no official campus or office, despite stating that its address is in Dublin city centre, and it was once a subject of investigation by Irish authorities.
The rest of her credentials may not be fake, but NUS might want to start using something like Turnitin to vet resumes like how it checks essays for plagiarism.
Proclamations as Huawei’s Military Advisor Refuted
The real burn to Ms Chen’s credibility is the loud and firm statement made by Huawei.
The Chinese tech company wrote, “Huawei has nothing to do with Professor Chen Chunhua, Huawei does not know her, and it is impossible for her to know Huawei.”
The last bit is quite the kicker, especially since Ms Chen has reportedly written numerous articles about Huawei, with one of them stating that she had met Ren Zhengfei—the founder and CEO—in 2017.
In her own words, he had apparently insisted on personally driving her.
However, Ms Chen denies writing those articles.
Profile Removed from NUS Website
In a move that’s commonly seen on Instagram when friends have feuds, Ms Chen’s profile has been removed from the NUS website.
She used to be listed as a NUS Executive MBA alumnus, and an adjunct professor at NUS Business School, which means that she was hired on a contractual or part-time basis.
Upon receiving inquiries from the media, an NUS Business School spokesperson stated that the university holds their faculty “to the highest standards”. As such, they’re conducting a review of the adjunct faculty member’s credentials.
Ms Chen has been pulled out from teaching any modules while the review is ongoing.
Yeah, she can probably kiss her academic job goodbye.
Regardless of whether the allegations prove to be true or not, the open stain on her record won’t be tolerated so easily, to say nothing of broken trust.
It will prove to be a huge detriment to any students who have her as a supervisor for their dissertation… Let’s just hope that there won’t be any far-reaching consequences for the faculty.
We don’t need a repeat of what happened to the Department of Communications and New Media, thanks.
Featured Image: South China Morning Post & Google Maps