countries - Singapore Polytechnic

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INSIDE
THE NEW PAPER | 6 MAY 2013
“Looking
back, I now
know that
it was too
immature and
presumptuous
of me to
assume
that a poly
education was
not the route I
wanted.”
She followed her heart, and
pursued her passion for
perfumery. Now she is a top
graduate from SP.
PAGE 3
– Mr Steven Ong Kia Kian (left)
TNP PICTURE: BENJAMIN SEETOR
Former ITE student gets into
serious traffic accident, but
overcomes odds to become a
scholar in SP.
PAGE 6
Poly education works for him
More than half of those who take top two spots in Singapore Polytechnic courses
are from neighbourhood schools
REPORT: MAUREEN KOH
[email protected]
T
SP students win infocomm,
Home Team and Public Service
Commission scholarships, and
many more…
PAGE 29,32, 33
Articles reproduced with permission
from Singapore Press Holdings.
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500 Dover Road Singapore 139651
Tel: 6772-1400 | Fax: 6772-1978
HE last thing he expected to
do was to go to a polytechnic.
Mr Steven Ong Kia Kian told
The New Paper: “I must admit I
thought that a polytechnic (education) was inferior to that of a junior
college previously.”
The 21-year-old, who was from
Hai Sing Catholic Secondary
School, reckoned that “because my
friends and I came from the best
class in the level, we were expected
to go to a JC”.
He did well enough in his O
levels to make it to a local junior
college. But six months into his
first year there, things started to go
downhill. He found himself failing
his favourite subject, biology.
Fast forward four years – Mr
Ong will now graduate with a Diploma with Merit in Biotechnology
from Singapore Polytechnic.
And he made it to the top 5 per
cent of his cohort in the course.
As it turned out, 63 per cent of
those who made it to the top two
spots from each graduating course
this year came from neighbourhood schools.
Students from neighbourhood
schools have performed well overall at Singapore Polytechnic, said a
spokesman.
This percentage has remained
consistent for the past three years.
But while others may have been
certain of the route they wanted,
Mr Ong took a longer path.
He said: “Biology was a subject
that I had so much passion for, after I
was introduced to it in Secondary 1.”
But when he was in junior college, he found the pace too competitive.
“It was extremely pressurising,
where you have to do well,” said
Mr Ong.
He realised he was in trouble
when he found himself failing his
tests. The last exams he took before
he dropped out of JC one were the
mid-year ones.
He said: “I can remember only
that I did very badly for biology
and chemistry. I had even given up
studying chemistry to focus on biology.
“I’d have been comfortable if I
could have scored a B, but it really
crushed me when I couldn’t pass.
“And I couldn’t sleep well, when
there was work to complete, I’d find
myself waking up like at 2-3am to
just try and complete it quickly.
That of course disrupted my sleep
cycles.”
Pressure
Mr Ong now recognises that he
gave himself the pressure.
“As the environment was very competitive, I found myself wanting to be
better than the others,” he said.
“I didn’t hang out with friends.
The only activity I got involved in
was the debate club, which was also
academic related.”
Mr Ong finally decided to drop
out. “I didn’t even discuss it with my
parents, but they had seen how hard
I studied. Still, they were not entirely
supportive of my decision.”
He recalled how his parents told him
to return to his studies.
His father, Mr Samuel Ong, 48,
runs his own ship repair business
while mum,
Madam Serene Tan, 47, is a
housewife.
Madam Tan said she had a more
traditional mindset at first.
“In my time, the polytechnic was
only an alternative route if we could
not go on to do our A levels.
Mr Ong’s father felt that his son
had worked very hard to be successful.
“I’m glad that he’s passionate
about what he’s doing. I now feel that
Steven has made the right decision to
switch track,” he said.
Mr Ong’s sister, 20, also a student
in Singapore Polytechnic, will be
graduating from the same course.
Mr Ong attributes his success to
the flexibility of the poly environment, where “you could plan your
own study route”.
He added: “Another factor is experiential learning. We get to put
whatever we have learnt into experiments, so you can verify the theories
(in textbooks).
“Our teachers also had experience in the industry, so they could
tell me how exactly theories could be
applied in the real world.”
Internships during his course allowed him to engage in real-life investigative R&D projects alongside
scientists and their teams.
After this, he hopes to study in a
university, then go into research.
Said Mr Ong: “Looking back, I
now know that it was too immature
and presumptuous of me to assume
that a poly education was not the
route I wanted.
“We are cut out for various environments, mine was just not one that
was too academically inclined. So,
polytechnic worked for me.”
Steven Ong’s SP journey
included a 12-week
internship at Harvard
Medical School in
Boston, USA, where
he studied molecular
biology techniques and
performed tests to identify
successfully cloned cells.
02
With SP, it’s So Possible
THE NEW PAPER | 13 MARCH 2013
MY PAPER | 10 MAY 2013
卓欣霓获颁“杜进才金牌”。(新加坡理工学院提供)
孝顺女发奋拿到
大学奖学金
叶伟强
孝顺女体会家人经济情况不乐观，奋力向上，短短半年内，数
学成绩从不及格进步到特优，现在还成为理工学院的状元，并
拿到奖学金进大学。20岁的卓欣霓说，母亲以前在家帮忙人
照顾宝宝，月入不到700元，还需要养她和她的2个姐姐，家
庭经济非常拮据。
“我的2个姐姐为了不加重妈妈的负担，结果从理工学院毕
业后，都放弃上大学，直接找工作了。”
中二那年，卓欣霓各科成绩都普通，数学更是差劲，曾在
学期刚开始的考试，只拿到了总分的40％。
体会到母亲和姐姐的牺牲后，她勤奋地做功课、试卷、考
卷，到了“O”水准，数学成绩考到A1，也顺利进入新加坡
理工学院修读会计系。
卓欣霓最后以4 . 0的完美平均成绩（GPA）毕业，加上她
在数个社区组织都有参与义工活动，在经校方推举后，成功赢
得校方颁发的“杜进才金牌”。颁奖及毕业典礼将在本月举
行。
卓欣霓也已经获得南洋理工大学的奖学金，8月将继续深造
会计系课程。
“ 成绩好，真的没有什么秘诀，就是努力、上课要专心。
我当时深刻体会到家人的辛苦，下定决心后，现在算是有一些
成绩可以报答家人了。”
>>[email protected]
Summary of Chinese article
Hardworking Filial Girl Gets
Scholarship
SP top graduate and institutional medallist Toh
Xin Ni from the Diploma in Accountancy (DAC)
worked hard to excel in studies and alleviate the
financial burden on her family. She eventually got
a scholarship to pursue a degree in accounting in
Nanyang Technological University.
03
THE STRAITS TIMES | 17 MAY 2013
THE NEW PAPER | 20 MAY 2013
New perfumery course at S’pore Poly
Smelling success
REPORTS: KERRI HENG
[email protected]
S
UNSCREENS, hair gels and soaps.
These were some of the things
she concocted during her time at
Singapore Polytechnic, while pursuing her
diploma in perfumery.
It was a course her parents weren’t keen
on her doing, as they had wanted her to be
a doctor.
But after getting a stint at the University of Oxford, and topping her course here,
they are glad she had chosen her own path
to success, and not try to be what they had
wanted her to be.
Miss Alethea Joy Han Hui En, 20, is
among the pioneer batch of students who
will graduate this Wednesday from the
poly’s diploma in perfumery and cosmetic
science course.
She got interested in scents when she
was four and put rose petals into water in
an attempt to make perfume.
It didn’t work out.
Now, she can become a perfumer for
real, but she has had to overcome several
obstacles along the way.
One of them was the perception her
parents had about polytechnics.
Her father, Mr Han Kian Kwang, 55,
the chief executive officer of Gurusoft, a
supply chain management software company said he and his wife were initially not
supportive of their daughter’s decision to
go to a polytechnic.
He said: “What we knew about polytechnic was based on impressions from
long ago.
“(But) I learnt to listen to my daughter
and find out where her passion lay.”
Miss Han, a former Methodist Girls’
School student, said: “I was excited about
school and I looked forward to learning
things I liked.”
Miss Han, who scored a perfect
GPA of 4.0, did intense chemistry and
mathematics modules throughout her
course.
She created many products like sunscreens, hair gels and soaps during
practical lessons.
For two design thinking projects,
where students made products based on
users’ needs, she created a rose fragrance
and an anti-ageing moisturiser.
For her final year project, she and her
teammates came up with a series of four
scents inspired by the freesia, a flowering
plant from Africa used in hand creams
and shampoos .
They made four scents called Freesia
Juice, Freesia Tea, Freesia Cordial and
Freesia Milk. Each scent was made for use
during a different part of the day.
TNP PICTURE: LATASHNI GOBI NATHAN
“If you love what you study, then
studying wouldn’t be a chore.”
– Miss Alethea Joy Han Hui En (above)
Oxford internship
One of Miss Han’s highest points came
when she and another course mate were
selected to go to Oxford for an internship
in September 2011.
She was there for 1½ months, working on an organic synthesis project at the
university’s chemistry research laboratory.
She said: “I was excited and happy that
we had the chance to go to Oxford. I had a
lot of fun exploring the place and meeting
new people.”
She also clinched several awards,
including the Chua Chor Teck Gold Medal
and Procter & Gamble Singapore Award.
Miss Han will be going to the University of Edinburgh in Scotland for three
years to pursue a degree in chemistry this
September.
A lab to delight the senses
THIS laboratory is no ordinary room.
There are dazzling blue lights and huge
glass display walls filled with world-famous
perfumes.
Singapore Polytechnic’s perfumery and
cosmetic science centre, which opened this
year, wows both visitors and students.
The centre is divided into three spaces
– conceptualisation, crystallisation and
communication – providing an ideal
environment for students to brainstorm,
formulate products and showcase them.
It is also a facility specially for students from
the diploma in perfumery and cosmetic science.
The course, which sees its first batch of
graduates this year, is the only full-time diploma
in Singapore that offers training in chemistry,
perfumery and cosmetic science.
Some of them have already found jobs in
fragrance-related industries.
Prominent companies with a foothold in
Singapore’s perfumery industry include Procter
& Gamble, Johnson and Johnson, Lubrizol,
Croda and Unilever.
Course manager Jessie Tong said the diploma
will enable students to serve the chemical,
beauty, flavour and fragrance industries.
She said: “The demand for talent is high. (We
are) the only local institute of higher learning
that trains students in perfumery and cosmetic
science (and) our graduates are highly sought
after.”
04
BERITA HARIAN | 30 MAY 2013
Summary of Malay article
Parents Are
Supportive
SP graduate Nur Faatihah
Mohd bte Amin’s supportive
parents played a part in her
studies, helping her achieve
an impressive GPA of 3.98
out of 4.00. She is the gold
medallist for the Diploma
in Engineering with
Business (DEB).
KUNCI JAYA:
Faatihah (depan) bersama kedua ibu bapanya,
Cik Rosidah Pagi dan Encik Mohd Amin Ahmat,
yang tidak pernah lelah dan jemu memberinya
sokongan. Bersama mereka ialah adik-beradik
Faatihah, (dari kiri) Nur Faiqah, Nur Fatinahdora
dan Nur Fadilah. – Foto KHALID BABA
Faatihah during
her graduation
ceremony this year.
Poly Student Going To
Medical School
Diploma In Biomedical Science (DBS) gold
medallist, Meetrra Seyher has the honour of being
one of the latest DBS students to be accepted
into the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the
National University of Singapore.
TAMIL MURASU | 23 MAY 2013
Summary of Tamil article
THE NEW PAPER | 17 DECEMBER 2013
05
LIANHE ZAOBAO | 17 MAY 2013
Top-notch facilities
a big draw
Former AngloChinese School
(Independent)
student Raphael Ng
Shea did very well for
his O levels.
He qualified for his dream junior college ( JC), Anglo-Chinese JC, but the
19-year-old decided to take a different
path from most of his peers by picking the polytechnic route.
He is now a Biomedical Science
student at Singapore Polytechnic (SP).
“Biology was my favourite subject
and I felt that polytechnic was a better
option because I could just concentrate on it without taking other subjects like I would have to in JC,” said
Raphael, who picked SP because he
was impressed by its top-notch facilities during its open house.
“We have to work in groups and
my classmates are helpful and willing
to share their knowledge.”
His decision paid off.
He thrived in the learning environment, where projects make up a
huge part of their grades, and earned
a near-perfect GPA.
At SP, he also manages to pursue
his other passion, music.
I look forward to the
club activities all the
time. Music is my
real passion.
The avid guitarist is a committee
member with the SP Guitarist Club
and has performed at many gigs in
and outside school. In September, he
performed at events organised by the
Yellow Ribbon Project and the Children’s Cancer Foundation.
“I look forward to the club activities all the time. Music is my real
passion,” said Raphael, who also uploads videos on his YouTube channel
Sheamisen and formed a band named
The Warrants with a fellow SP student.
After graduation, Raphael hopes to
pursue a degree in dentistry.
He said: “There is science involved
and I enjoy the interaction with people. On top of that, I will still have
time to explore music.”
Besides exploring their passion in a
diploma course of their choice, SP
students can also discover and grow
their own hidden talents in the poly’s
CCA clubs! With more than 120 clubs for
sports, art, music, community service and
other special pursuits (e.g. beatboxing,
debating, wushu), our students get every
chance to develop themselves physically,
mentally and emotionally.
Poly Student Works Towards His
Hollywood Dreams
SP institutional medallist James Ng, from the Diploma in
Visual Effects and Motion Graphics (DVEMG), went to
Hollywood, USA for six months for the prestigious NDU-MDA
Hollywood Attachment Programme, where he learned about
the latest technologies used in the film industry.
06
LIANHE ZAOBAO | 17 MAY 2013
Poly Student Obtains Two
Certifications; Is Awarded
Lee Kuan Yew Prize
Diploma in Integrated Events
and Project Management (DEPM)
graduate Walter Tan had a rough start
academically. His PSLE score was
183 and he went into to the Normal
(Academic) stream. This did not
discourage him, however. He worked
hard for his ‘O’ levels and got a L1R4
of 12 and was admitted into SP.
Now, in 2013, the top graduate and
institutional medallist has finished his
course with a near-perfect GPA of
3.99, and has also been awarded the
Lee Kuan Yew prize. Walter has helped
to organise events for major brands
such as Nike and Citibank, and has
travelled as far as USA and China for
exchange programmes.
T H E N E W P A P E R | 4 J U LY 2 0 1 3
E
REPORT: LOK JIAN WEN
[email protected]
VERY painful step he takes reminds him
to be the best he can be – a lesson etched in
his mind after an accident that left doctors
wondering if he would walk again.
Just two years ago, Mr Arshad Supa’at was
riding his motorcycle home after his shift as a
food delivery man, when a lorry knocked him
down.
His left thigh was pinned underneath the
lorry’s wheels, before he was extricated. The
accident left him in a coma for two days.
The Jalan Kayu accident forced him to miss his
business studies course at ITE College Bishan for
six months as he underwent physiotherapy and
multiple skin grafts.
His four-member family took a financial hit
since he was the main breadwinner. His dad was
recovering from a heart attack while his mum was
working as a parking attendant then.
He has a younger sister, now 21.
Yesterday evening, Mr Arshad, 25, was awarded the prestigious, bond-free SP-ITE Scholarship
by Singapore Polytechnic. He was shortlisted for
his outstanding academic results and co-curricular activities.
This included being the best speaker at the
Inter-College ValidITE Business Debate last year.
He is also the recipient of the prestigious Lee
Kuan Yew Gold Medal award this year.
But Mr Arshad is not free from the complications of the accident.
He said: “I feel pain in my knee even if it’s just
taking a step. I will be taking painkillers for a long
time, but I have accepted it as part and parcel of
my life.”
After returning to school last year and
missing the bulk of his first year, Mr Arshad faced
the sizeable task of graduating with his peers.
But with the help of his teachers and classmates, he crammed two years of work into one
and earned a near-perfect 3.9 grade point average.
He even earned straight distinctions in all his
first-year subjects.
On the financial front, Ms Joyce See, 47,
Arshad’s then form teacher, rallied her
colleagues and students to raise nearly $3,000 for his
expenses.
The money came through various efforts,
including cookie-selling sessions.
Mr Arshad said Ms See was an inspiration to
him and she motivated him to push himself harder, even getting him to join the debating team.
No surprise
His results were no surprise to Ms See.
She said: “He is a bright boy and always had the
potential to excel. For Arshad, it was about setting
the stage for him.”
Mr Arshad’s mother, Madam Enah Harun, 54,
was pleasantly surprised by The New Paper.
Madam Enah, who was not aware of her son’s
scholarship award when TNP spoke to her yesterday, said: “Maybe he wanted to surprise me. Now
that I’ve found out, I feel so proud.”
Mr Arshad is quick to attribute his success to
his peers, teachers and family.
He said: “After doing some soul-searching
while I was bedridden, I was more determined
than before the accident.
“Seeing how my family and friends in school
supported me gave me more reason to recover
quickly. After the accident, I was more focused on
what I wanted to achieve.
“I knew what I wanted to do and worked extra
hard to catch up.”
After all the help from people around him, he
just wants to inspire others.
07
THE STRAITS TIMES | 7 JUNE 2013
Mukkesh Kumar
will be studying for a degree
in Chemical Engineering in
Newcastle University through
the Singapore Institute of
Technology.
Photo insertion:
Singapore Polytechnic
BERITA HARIAN | 9 MARCH 2013
Pelajar aeroangkasa
mahu jadi
juruterbang
Antara 30 penerima Anugerah Pelajar Contoh Poly Singapura
Oleh NURUL ’AIN RAZALI
[email protected]
INSPIRASI IBU: Cik Tri Handajani Amron Sukarto merupakan sumber inspirasi
Encik Rifat Hidayat Ja’afarino apabila dugaan hidup tampak semakin sukar. Mereka
berdua ditemui dalam majlis penyampaian Anugerah Kecemerlangan Politeknik
Singapura 2013 di Gardens by the Bay petang semalam. – Foto JOHARI RAHMAT
SEJAK kecil, Encik Rifat Hidayat Ja’afarino didedahkan kepada
dunia penerbangan.
Ibunya, Cik Tri Handajani Amron Sukarto, 51 tahun, merupakan
jurutera reka bentuk bahagian ganti pesawat manakala ramai mak
cik serta pak ciknya bekerja di Lapangan Terbang Changi.
Kini, pelajar bidang kejuruteraan aeroangkasa Politeknik
Singapura (SP) itu berharap dapat mengongsi minat mereka dalam
bidang tersebut dengan bercita-cita menjadi juruterbang apabila dewasa kelak.
“Orang semua tanya kenapa tak nak jadi jurutera atau pekerjaan
lain. Saya tanya balik, anda tidak ada impiankah?
“Saya kuat bersaing dan enggan kalah. Lantas, jika peluang
disediakan untuk saya, saya akan memanfaatkannya sebaik mungkin,” ujar Encik Rifat, 20 tahun.
Semangat kentalnya membuahkan hasil apabila beliau meraih
agregat enam mata untuk layak belajar di SP.
Bahkan semasa di politeknik itu beliau berjaya meraih gred
purata mata (GPA) 4.0 bersih bagi tujuh penggal berturut-turut.
Berkat kegigihannya itu, Encik Rifat diberi Anugerah Pelajar
Contoh dalam majlis penyampaian Anugerah Kecemerlangan SP
2013 di Gardens by the Bay, semalam.
Encik Rifat merupakan penerima Anugerah Pelajar Contoh SP
Melayu tunggal antara 30 penerima lain tahun ini.
Untuk menerima anugerah tersebut, seseorang pelajar harus
cemerlang dalam pembelajaran di samping menyumbang kepada
salah satu bidang berikut: kesenian, kemasyarakatan, sukan dan
kepimpinan.
“Saya tidak melihat pelajaran atau ulang kaji itu menyusahkan.
Saya punya impian untuk dicapai dari mula lagi. Saya tahu apa yang
saya lakukan sekarang akan menjejas impian saya.
“Apabila saya hampir putus asa, atau ketika penat sampai rumah,
saya lihat ibu saya. Walaupun beliau bekerja sehari suntuk dan terpaksa buat kerja rumah, beliau juga sedang mengejar ijazahnya.
Kalau saya putus asa, apa alasan saya?” ujar anak bongsu dalam
keluarga dua beradik itu. Dalam majlis itu semalam, seramai 125
pelajar menerima anugerah di bawah empat kategori.
Tiga kategori lain ialah Anugerah Pemimpin Kelas Cemerlang,
Anugerah Sukan, Anugerah Sumbangan Individu Cemerlang dan
Anugerah Sumbangan Berkumpulan Cemerlang.
Menerusi ucapannya, pengetua SP, Encik Tan Choon Shian, mengucapkan tahniah kepada semua pemenang, sambil berkata bahawa
majlis tersebut merupakan “penghargaan terhadap usaha, pengorbanan dan sumbangan” pelajar kepada suasana pembelajaran di SP.
Aerospace Student Wants To Be A Pilot
Aspiring pilot Rifat Hidayat bin Ja’afarino was surprised and happy when he heard he could qualify for SP’s Diploma in
Aeronautical Engineering (DARE) with his L1R4 of 6 points. Throughout his three years in DARE, Rifat stayed consistently
motivated, scoring a perfect GPA of 4.0 for seven consecutive terms. He also received the Model Student Award given to excellent
students who also contribute in areas such as arts, sports or community service. One driving force behind his success is his
inspiring mother, who is an aircraft engineer. He said: “I do not see education as troublesome, as I know what I do now will affect
my dreams later in life. When I come close to despair or when I’m tired, I look at my mother. Though she worked a full day job
and had to do chores at home, she still pursued a degree. If I give up, what excuse do I have?” Now, Rifat has been accepted into
Nanyang Technological University to study mechanical engineering.
08
Authentic Learning: Global Exposure
THE STRAITS TIMES | 11 MARCH 2011
Besides Harvard,
Stanford and Yale,
students from the
School of Chemical
and Life Sciences
(CLS) are also
attached to other
top universities
and institutions
like Cornell,
Massachusetts
Institute of
Technology, Imperial
College London,
the Max-Planck
Institute and the
Wyss Institute.
Locally, they have
opportunities
for prestigious
internships in
places such as the
Agency for Science,
Technology and
Research (A*STAR)
and Tan Tock Seng
Hospital’s medical
laboratories.
Scan QR code for details on
School of Chemical & Life
Sciences diploma courses.
09
ITE graduate aims for
gold at ‘Skills Olympics’
Mr Brendan Tan, 20, (right) has been preparing for the WorldSkills International
contest under ITE lecturer Raymond Yeo,
45. ST PHOTO: SEAH KWANG PENG
Contest aims to bring out the best in those
studying vocational courses
By PEARL LEE
DAY and night, Mr Brendan Tan has been
training to win an “Olympic” gold.
The 20-year-old has spent the past two years
hitting the gym, going for runs and even camping
overnight in school when his coaching sessions
lasted more than 15 hours.
Yet his event is neither track nor field, but
something a little more cerebral – electrical
installation.
He is among 22 students from the Institute of
Technical Education (ITE) and polytechnics who
will be representing Singapore at the “Olympics
of Skills”.
The contest – held this year in Leipzig,
Germany – is designed to bring out the best in
youngsters studying vocational courses ranging
from beauty therapy to robotics.
Mr Tan was selected to compete in Germany
after he emerged tops in an ITE competition last
year that lasted a gruelling 28 hours, spread over
three days, while he was still a student in ITE.
On two of those days, he had to work from
8am to 7pm – which explains his need to hit the
gym to build up his stamina.
“It was a very intensive competition, that is
why you must be physically fit too,” said Mr Tan,
who studied electrical technology in ITE and
is currently enrolled in Singapore Polytechnic
learning about clean energy.
During his previous competition, he had to
create lighting systems.
This involved setting up the wiring for the
lights and installing a circuit before finally
programming the system on a computer.
ITE lecturer Raymond Yeo, who has been
coaching Mr Tan since 2011, said: “Brendan is
very willing to pick up new skills, and has the
drive. He told me that his reason for joining this
competition is simply because he wants to win.”
Hundreds of young people from more than 60
countries will compete at the 42nd WorldSkills
International Competition, which is a biennial
event. In the last contest in London, Singapore
won four golds: in IT (information technology)
Network Systems Administration, Beauty Therapy,
Caring, and IT Software Solutions for Business.
This year, the Singaporean representatives will
compete in 20 out of the 46 categories – the most
since the Republic started taking part in the event
in 1995. For the first time, they include electrical
installation – in which Mr Tan is competing –
and aircraft maintenance.
“
AIMING FOR THE TOP
Brendan is very willing to pick up new
skills, and he has the drive. He told me that
his reason for joining this competition is
simply because he wants to win.
– ITE lecturer Raymond Yeo, who has been coaching
Mr Tan since 2011
”
Representing Singapore in this second
category is fellow ITE graduate Chow Wei Li.
The 22-year-old, now studying at Nanyang
Polytechnic (NYP), was the winner in this field
last year at WorldSkills Singapore – the local
version of the competition.
For that contest, he had to complete seven tasks
in four days, including removing components
from an aircraft and checking for defects in its
engine. Some were conducted on a real aircraft,
while others were carried out using a simulator.
“It was really four days of high stress, very
tiring,” said Mr Chow. “You must be very clear
and focused on the tasks.”
Mr Desmond Tan, the course manager for
aeronautical and aerospace technology at NYP,
has been preparing Mr Chow for the upcoming
competition, which takes place from July 2 to 7.
“Everyone can perform tasks, but how you
handle your tools... that will show how passionate
you are,” he said.
[email protected]
Showing Off Skills in Germany
Healthcare Scholarship Winners
A bumper crop of 13 School of Chemical and Life Sciences (CLS) recent
graduates received scholarships from Ministry of Health Holdings this
year, which will finance their healthcare-related degree studies in places
such as the National University of Singapore, the University of Missouri
(Columbia), and the University of Queensland (Australia).
Five SP students represented Singapore at WorldSkills
2013, an annual international competition that invites
talented youths from around the world to compete in skills
ranging from healthcare-giving to robotics, mechatronics
and even cooking! The School of Electrical and
Electronic Engineering (EEE) and School of
Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering
(MAE) flew to Leipzig, Germany to compete in various
engineering-related fields.
10
THE NEW PAPER | 27 JUNE 2013
Eugene Lim is the 2013 top graduate
and course medallist for the Diploma in
Maritime Business (DMB).
Around
the
World
Diploma in Nautical Studies
REPORT: ANDRE JOSEPH THENG
[email protected]
I
N A sea of men, female student Baby Tan aims to make
her mark. Miss Tan, 19, loves sailing and is one of very
few women in this line.
In her diploma in nautical studies course at Singapore
Polytechnic, where she is in her final year of the three-year
programme, there are only five female students in the cohort
of 60.
She chose the course partly because she was inspired by her
cousin, who took the same course years ago and regaled her
with tales of her experiences at sea.
It was also partly a pragmatic decision.
She said: “As Singapore is a maritime hub, I knew there
would be plenty of opportunities for me to pursue a career in
this field after my studies.”
Little did she know that she would come to enjoy the course
so much. As part of the course, she has learnt skills such as
navigation, passage planning and how to react to various situations which may occur on board ships.
The highlight of the course was two six-month internships
which she spent on board a 260m-long container vessel with
some 30 crew members.
The first internship saw her visit ports in Myanmar and
Malaysia. The second took her halfway round the world to
South America, where she visited countries like Argentina,
Brazil and Uruguay.
Both times, she was away from home for months, with
hardly any access to a phone or the Internet.
The male-centric nature of the industry was even more evident during her time at sea. On the first ship, she was the only
female crew member and on the second, she had one female
course mate.
But aside from minor inconveniences, such as having to
return to her own room to change, being in the minority was
no problem for Miss Tan.
She said: “While there will still be some crew members who
have second thoughts about having women on board, I am
confident that women can be trained to be as equally competent as their male counterparts.”
Miss Tan lives with her father, who is a school bus driver,
and two siblings in a four-room flat in Ang Mo Kio.
While her father was initially reluctant to allow her to pursue the course due to the long periods spent at sea, he is now
supportive after seeing Miss Tan enjoy what she is doing.
(DNS) student Ahmad Sufyan
is travelling the world while on
his one-year internship aboard
a cruise vessel. So far, he has
been to places such as Istanbul,
Barcelona, Venice, Italy and Rome.
Cyclones
Spending much time at sea has given Miss Tan the opportunity to realise that there are many things here that she is
grateful for.
Citing one example, she said: “We sometimes encounter
bad weather such as cyclones while at sea, and I’m glad that
we don’t have such natural phenomenon here.”
Recounting how some uniquely Singapore traits are evident
even while at sea, she said: “Singaporean crew members have
a habit of wearing flip-flops, though they should be wearing
safety boots while on board the ship!”
Her enthusiasm for sailing has rubbed off on her sister,
who is now taking the same course at Singapore Polytechnic.
She said: “I’m proud that she decided to take up the course.
She knows that our cousin and I are here to guide her.”
Opportunities for Singapore Maritime Academy (SMA) students grow more bountiful with each passing
year. Besides the fact that junior officers in the Diploma in Nautical Studies (DNS) can draw a starting monthly
salary of around $3,000, students from all SMA courses get chances
to receive the SMA-MaritimeONE scholarship which finances degree
courses at places such as Nanyang Technological University, ChungAng University (South Korea) and Maritime Institute Willem Barentsz
(The Netherlands). New collaborations with partners such as Dalian
Maritime University (China), the premier maritime institute in Asia,
give students even more opportunities to take part in internships,
exchange programmes and/or degree studies all over the world.
Scan QR code for more details on
Singapore Maritime Academy
diploma courses.
Authentic Learning
11
LIANHE ZAOBAO | 18 DECEMBER 2013
Digital animation
exchange between
SP and Japan
SP’s School of Digital Media
and Infocomm Technology had
a recent exchange programme
with the Nihon Manga Geiyutsu
Gakuin (a manga and voiceacting school) from Japan. The
exchange allowed the students
to share and learn about digital
animation from their Japanese
counterparts.
12
Authentic Learning
THE STRAITS TIMES | 1 NOVEMBER 2013
Summary of
Chinese article
SP Design School conceptualises *Scape Christmas campaign
SP Design School students conceptualised a Christmas campaign for *SCAPE, which consists of a TV advertorial, an animated
clip and *Scape’s Christmas decorations.
Authentic Learning
13
THE STRAITS TIMES | 11 OCTOBER 2013
Singapore Polytechnic students and staff prepping their SunSpec 3 solar car after camping for the night in the Australian outback. The
team expects to finish the 3,000km race today or tomorrow.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF SINGAPORE POLYTECHNIC
Students head for finish line beyond
Aussie outback
By JONATHAN PEARLMAN
FOR THE STRAITS TIMES IN SYDNEY
The winning car by Dutch team Nuon on
display yesterday in Adelaide at the finish
line of this year’s World Solar Challenge.
PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCEPRESSE
FIVE days and 2,185km into his
3,000km sunpowered odyssey
across the Australian outback, Mr
Jayson Ang did not seem bothered
by the lack of sleep or a daily diet of
cereal and instant noodles.
Nor did he mind sleeping by the
roadside or fending off a stray donkey attacking his camp.
Instead his main concern, along
with his 23 fellow students and
teachers from Singapore Polytechnic (SP), has been to follow the
movement of the sun – and to frantically squeeze as much energy out
of it as he and his teammates can.
“Everything is about the sun,”
Mr Ang told The Straits Times. “We
have to catch every single bit of it.”
Since Sunday, Mr Ang and his
teammates have been making their
way from the top of Australia to the
bottom to support a space-age looking one-person car, named SunSpec
3, that runs on nothing but solar
power.
Two students and two staff are
registered to drive the car, while the
rest of the team helps with navigation, maintenance and logistics.
The team expects to finish the race,
called the World Solar Challenge, in
Adelaide today or tomorrow.
They are at least a day behind the
winner, the Dutch team Nuon, from
the Delft University of Technology,
which won the race yesterday. A
total of 40 cars from 22 countries
competed.
Speaking by phone from Coober
Pedy, a small opal-mining town,
Mr Ang said poor weather kept the
car at about 65kmh instead of the
hoped-for 85kmh.
The 200kg car is fitted with 516
pieces of solar cells which can absorb 23 per cent of the sun’s rays. On
Wednesday, the car briefly hit 95kmh
and overtook a few competitors.
“As time goes by, I believe people
will build solar cars for commercial
purposes,” said Mr Ang. “We can
travel so far without using a single
bit of fuel. It can help to save the
earth.”
The race is held every two years
and aims to push the quest for designs that can one day be put to
widespread use. The cars race between 8am and up to 5.17pm and
do all they can to capture and store
solar energy.
This time, cars were required to
have four wheels rather than three,
which added wind resistance and
weight.
The winning Dutch car had an
average speed of 90.71kmh and took
33 hours to finish.
“We predict every second of the
race,” a Nuon spokesman told reporters after the race. That includes
calculating weather, energy use and
top speed to arrive at the finish line
at the precise moment when the battery is empty.
The Singaporean team did not
seem to mind the prospect of finishing near the back of the pack.
“So far, so good,” Mr Ang said.
“It was pretty exciting camping in
the middle of nowhere. It is very
hot in the day and cold at night and
the roads can be straight and neverending.”
Mr Steven Chew, a staff member from SP’s School of Electrical
and Electronic Engineering, said
the students had not merely learnt
about engineering but also about
coping with pressure and life in the
outback.
“You can see a lot of the students
really growing up,” he told The
Straits Times.
[email protected]
For the full story, log on to www.stasiareport.com
Convenience in a cup
Entrepreneurs: Mr Leon Thor, 20 and Mr Lee Zhen Yang, 19, both pursuing a Diploma in Business Information Technology.
Mr Alwin Citroen, 19, and Mr Joel Chiam, 21, both pursuing a Diploma in Business Administration.
Business name: Empro Ideas LLP
Nature of business: Suckies brand of bean curd pudding in a cup
Start date: June 2012
Start-up cost: $2,000
Number of employees: Eight part-time salesgirls
Turnover: Five-figure sales
THESE four Singapore Polytechnic (SP) students
who aspire to be businessmen, took up a yearlong entrepreneurship programme and are now
seeing their dreams turn into reality.
Third-year students Mr Leon Thor, 20, Mr Lee
Zhen Yang, 19, Mr Alwin Citroen, 19, and Mr Joel
Chiam, 21, who had to pitch a business idea for
their Entrepreneurship option project, came up
with the idea of serving bean curd in a cup to beconsumed through a straw.
Said Mr Lee: “We realised that a lot of stalls
were selling bean curd pudding and we wanted to
explore different ways of consuming it.
“Having it in a cup and using a straw to consume it is convenient and suits the busy lifestyle
of Singaporeans.”
The team put the concepts and skills they learnt
in class, such as financial and marketing knowledge, to use in setting up their business in June,
and officially launched their bean-curd-in-a-cup
called Suckies on July 16, at one of the food courts
on campus.
And Suckies has become the drink of choice
among SP students. The novel way of eating (or
drinking) the bean curd, coupled with delectable
flavours, such as caramel and vanilla, have proven
to be a success.
The team hopes to offer their product to the
public next. They plan to rent a shop and sell
Suckies at a shopping mall.
Said Mr Lee: “As a school project, we are happy that it has exceeded the requirements that we
needed for our final-year project.
“(But) at the business level, there are still a lot
of things we have to learn – like building up our
brand name and getting the public to like our
product.”
– Writers Masagoes Agoes Masayoe Nabilah and Amal Lina Abdul Rahim are second-year students
pursuing a Diploma in Media and Communication at Singapore Polytechnic
14
Authentic Learning
THE STRAITS TIMES | 18 JANUARY 2013
Robodog adds
bite to
elders’
therapy
Robot breaks monotony of exercise,
frees up nurses for other tasks
By JANICE TAI
AT LING Kwang Home for Senior Citizens, residents are now more eager to do
exercises because the routines are led by
a robotic dog called Eric.
Believed to be Singapore’s first
robotic dog designed for the elderly, it
has visual sensors that also enable it to
react to movements made by the elderly,
injecting an element of fun.
The battery-operated Eric, short for
Elderly Rehabilitative Interactive Companion, is aimed at making repetitive
therapy exercises less of a monotony for
the elderly and providing them companionship.
With the health-care sector facing a
manpower crunch, the robotic dog will
also free up nurses’ time to do other
tasks.
The Singapore Polytechnic team
behind Eric has laboured over the
project since 2010. After fine-tuning
the prototype, the second version was
piloted at Ling Kwang Home in
February last year.
Ms Sandra Chan, nurse manager at
the home, said it is a great help because
the attention of up to half its residents
can flounder during therapy sessions.
“Day in, day out, they have to exercise
and some stop halfway when the nurses’
backs are turned,” she said.
When The Straits Times sat in at a
recent exercise class, it observed that the
residents were visibly excited by Eric’s
presence.
When the 30-minute session ended,
cries of “Is the class over already?” and
“When can I have a dog?” were heard.
“I am more motivated to do the
exercises now because it is such a marvel to see something inanimate react to
us,” said Mr Lim Kok Leong, 92, who
has lived in the home for more than two
decades.
To gauge Eric’s effectiveness, the
team compared the facial temperature
and heart rates of the elderly during
exercises with and without the robotic
dog.
They found that the seniors were
more engaged when Eric was around.
Aware of the benefits of pet therapy, a
handful of nursing homes and hospices
have also let volunteers bring dogs and
rabbits to mingle with residents.
Ling Kwang Home prefers the robotic version as some residents are allergic
to fur or afraid of animals. The home
in Serangoon Garden Way hopes to tap
robotic dogs in future to take the place
of its therapists on weekends as they
work a five-day week.
It estimates that 85 per cent of its 350
residents will be able to benefit from the
workouts led by Eric. The rest of its residents are bedridden.
The team behind Eric has set its
sights further to incorporate voice commands and behaviour such as responding when it is stroked.
“Beyond helping them exercise, we
also want it to be a companion to alleviate loneliness as some have few visitors
and can’t get along with the therapists,”
said Mr Lee Xun’An, 20, a student from
the team which comprises six other
students.
They had taken on the project from
their seniors who started it three years
ago.
Their supervisor, Mr Jaichandar K. S,
a senior lecturer at the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, said
they intend to add finishing touches to
the robotic dog in two months and patent it by the end of the year.
They hope to commercialise it and
roll it out to other elder-care and healthcare institutions.
“There is a lot of potential in this and
the long wait for such pets here is finally
over,” said the 40-year-old, who has presented two papers on it at international
conferences.
Similar robotic dogs are also in use in
places such as Japan but are mainly for
entertainment.
[email protected]
THE STRAITS TIMES IN
| 2 3 J U LY 2 0 1 3
Sending a scary message
In order to emphasise the harmful effects of drugs, some
students turn to scare tactics. Tan Xing Qi reports
I
f there were auditions for the position of Scary Dot,
one group of Singapore Polytechnic (SP) students
would win hands down.
These students drew gasps from shoppers along Orchard Road last month, as they walked down the popular shopping street wearing ghostly make-up and tops
that were half tattered and ripped on one side. The other
side, however, looked perfectly normal.
They were simply showing the ill effects of drugs on
the human body as part of this year’s Anti-Drug Abuse
Campaign launched on June 21.
Organised by the National Council Against Drug
Abuse and Central Narcotics Bureau, this two-monthlong campaign aims to educate the public, especially
young people, about the dangers of drug abuse.
This year’s theme is: “Life does not rewind, say no to
drugs”.
Five SP students, from the Diploma in Integrated
Events and Project Management programme, created
the campaign. They are Mr Jenson Seah, 26; Ms Fenney
Aw, 21; Mr Joseph Lee, 20; Ms Claudia Nicole Loo, 18;
and Mr Lo Jia Wei, 18.
Besides their walkabout along Orchard Road, they
also created a scary maze, re-telling the story of a drug
abuser, at the launch of the campaign at Bugis+ shopping mall.
Called Sam’s Journey, the maze was inspired by the
true story of a former drug abuser, Mr Johnny Chin,
whose life was almost destroyed by drugs.
Visitors experienced withdrawal-like symptoms such
as blurred vision and mild epilepsy, which was simulated by strobe lights. The students also built a mock
prison cell to simulate the grim conditions behind bars.
The entire campaign was intended to shock and it
worked.
Mr Seah, the leader of the group, told Little Red Dot
that many strangers wanted to take pictures with them.
Some were even afraid because they looked like real
drug addicts.
He added: “It really opened the team’s eyes to the
dangers of drug abuse. Abusing drugs doesn’t just affect
one’s health, it also destroys relationships.”
From now till the end of the month, schools can create their own Anti-Drug Corner. The top three schools
selected will win attractive cash prizes.
Visit www.cnb.gov.sg/ and click on events/activities
to look for information on the Anti-Drug Abuse Corner Competition for primary schools.
Authentic Learning: The Design Thinking Experience
15
THE STRAITS TIMES | 4 APRIL 2013
Fun way to
learn food
science
LIANHE ZAOBAO | 4 APRIL 2013
By SUE-ANN TAN
WHY are some meringues rubbery while others are hard
and brittle? Why are some jams harder to spread on bread
than others?
These are among questions answered in a new food
science and technology educational booklet designed to
teach these concepts to secondary school children in a “fun
and engaging manner”.
Created by four Singapore Polytechnic students, it
explains how protein structures are important in making
meringue and how degrees of acidity used in fruit juice
will affect the consistency of jam.
Miss Oh Hui Qi, 21, helped to create the booklet – the
first of its kind in Singapore. She is now studying to be
a teacher and said: “I realised that so often, teachers are
unable to show their students the relevance of theories
they teach.
“So much more can be done in the classroom rather
than letting students blindly learn theories without real
understanding.”
The package has been licensed by Amdon Consulting
Group, an international company that provides teaching
resources to educators.
Amdon helped to bring the booklet to more than 100
students in pilot programmes in Beatty Secondary, Shu
Qun Secondary and Bukit Panjang Government High.
During four three-hour sessions, students spent time in
labs applying the concepts to food making.
Beatty student Eunice Tan, 14, said: “I enjoy this
programme and I would do better in class if they were all
hands-on like this.”
Amdon founder Eric Lam said: “We don’t want students
to see the application of concepts 10 years later. This course
helps them see the relevance of what they learn instantly,
in cooking and eating food.”
[email protected]
SP students design hands-on food science learning kit
SP students and staff from the Diploma in Food Science and Technology (DFST) developed
a food science learning kit for secondary students. The package, developed together with Amdon
Consulting Pte Ltd, teaches students about scientific principles and molecular processes through
the cooking or baking of foods like pastries and confectionaries, as well as other practical food
science experiments.
16
THE NEW PAPER | 3 JANAUARY 2013
THE STRAITS TIMES |
6 DECEMBER 2012
Poly creates
healthy
food options
S’pore Poly comes up with healthier
pre-mixes for baked goods, sausages
By DAVID EE
REPORT: ESTHER NG
[email protected]
“There are medical devices in the market that target the wrist or the
elbow, but there are few devices that can do all three – extension and
flexion of the wrist and elbow, and supination and pronation of the arm.”
– Mechanical engineering student Jo-Ern Yeoh
A
NEW robotic arm can help stroke patients do these
things: Lift their elbows and wrists up and down, and
turn their forearms – movements necessary to pick up a
cup, use a fork or spoon, or comb their hair.
Singapore Polytechnic’s (SP) third-year engineering students,
who came up with the arm, said this is the difference between
their invention and those in the market.
“There are medical devices in the market that target the wrist
or the elbow, but there are few devices that can do all three –
extension and flexion of the wrist and elbow, and supination and
pronation of the arm,” mechanical engineering student Joern
Yeoh, 21, told The New Paper.
The final-year project is a collaboration involving six electrical
and electronic engineering students and five of their mechanical
engineering colleagues.
The idea to develop a better robotic brace came from one of
the team members whose relative had suffered a stroke eight
years ago.
Student Ho Qian Ci, 20, said: “When my aunt’s husband got a
stroke, she was forced to take three cleaning jobs to support my
three cousins. The family was stressed financially and mentally,”
he said.
Such a device would help a stroke patient recover faster,
student Chia Wen Feng, 19, said.
“It’s 2kg, made from carbon fibre – light enough to be carriedhome or from ward to ward,” he said.
The students spent about nine months from March to
December last year developing the prototype, working with
three therapists from St Andrew’s Community Hospital (SAHC),
where they observed the movements of stroke patients and took
measurements of their arms.
One of the challenges was to come up with a prototype that
was ergonomic and modelled after the human arm.
SAHC’s inpatient therapy services manager, Ms Anna Lee,
said the therapists highlighted to the students the potential
problems patients may have when using the brace and how they
could fine tune its movement, and any safety issues that needed
to be considered.
Between April and October last year, the students made six
prototype changes before settling on their final product.
Their efforts seem to have paid off.
Said SAHC’s Ms Lee: “This lightweight arm brace definitely
can help to restore a weakened arm due to stroke injury.
Its ability to provide passive range can facilitate a weakened arm to experience normal if not a functional range of
movement.”
The next stage is to apply for grants, refine the design, embark on clinical trials and approach companies to produce the
brace, said Dr Lee Kim Kheng, senior lecturer of SP’s School of
Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering.
He said: “We hope it will be used in community hospitals with
the option for patients to rent the device.”
The students estimate that the robotic arm can be sold for
less than $2,000 and that some patients might want to buy it for
home use.
Mr Gibson Chan, senior rehabilitation manager of St Luke’s
Hospital, said the invention would be an “extra help” and cut
down the time taken for such devices to become available in
Singapore.
He said: “Some products have been on the market for 10 years,
but only arrived here two or three years ago. They are usually
available in the US first, then Europe, and then, after sometime,
in China and Asia.
“This has usually to do with intellectual property rights. The
students’ invention can help bridge this gap, and more people
can benefit from using the device.”
Mr Ken Koh, 28, the managing director of Talentpreneur
Hub, an entrepreneurship consultancy, said that SP could link up
with existing players in the market.
“There are established distribution channels in place,
competitors with vested interest,” he said.
“The students should leverage on this, work with them, find
out what else influences purchasing decisions by clinics or
hospitals, instead of going against company A or B, because
what (the students) have done is to have improved on an existing
device.”
The robotic arm brace is one of the 87 engineering projects on
display at SP’s Engineering Show.
The show, which ends next Tuesday, is open to the public on
Saturday.
SP is a pioneer in Singapore engineering
education and the first-ever poly to offer
engineering courses. Together, the School of
Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) and
the School of Mechanical and Aeronautical
Engineering (MAE) offer a total of 10 diploma
programmes and one Common Engineering
Programme that delve into exciting fields such
as energy system technology, aeronautical
engineering and bioengineering.
SP alumnus Yue Chao
The SP engineering experience prepares our graduates well for later life. Recently, Diploma
in Electronics and Communication Engineering alumnus Yue Chao graduated top of his batch
in the Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at Singapore
Institute of Technology-Technical University of Munich. Another alumnus, Edwin Tan, received
a first class honours degree in Electrical & Electronic Engineering at Nanyang Technological
University. See page 31 for more details.
Scan QR code for more
details on
School of Electrical
and Electronic
Engineering and
School of Mechanical
and Aeronautical
Engineering courses.
THEY are hardly the standard options for weight-conscious
foodies.
But gourmet sausages, brownies and cupcakes could
soon find their way onto dieters’ menus after students in
Singapore came up with healthier versions.
The Singapore Polytechnic (SP) team has created
pre-mixes for baked goods with a low glycemic index –
meaning sugar is released into the body more slowly.
This makes the cakes more suitable for those with
diabetes.
The team’s gourmet sausages – which include popular
varieties such as chipolatas and bratwurst – contain a quarter less saturated fat on average than regular ones.
They will be available in supermarkets from early next
year. The pre-mixes went on sale yesterday at baking
specialist Phoon Huat.
Dr Jasmine Leong, a senior lecturer in food science and
technology at SP, said the aim was to develop “more healthy
food options for Singaporeans”. In 2010, more than one in
10 people in the Republic was obese or had diabetes.
Ms Teo Kiok Seng of Alivia Foods, which is producing
the pre-mixes, said it was targeting not only diabetics, but
also those who were generally health-conscious. “It will
make you feel full for longer and have fewer cravings,” she
said. “It’s good for weight management.”
Suppliers are confident that the flavours will please
Singaporeans’ notoriously fussy taste buds.
Ms Claris Koh, executive manager at Wang Foong
Foodstuffs Suppliers, said retailers had given her positive
feedback on the sausages. “One said that the taste was quite
comparable.”
Dr Leong said customers would be more likely to accept
the changes if they were introduced in stages. “As we reduce
the fat, salt or sugar content, we have to reduce it gradually
so that consumers may come to accept it.”
The global market for foods with additional health
properties is forecast to be worth $38 billion by 2014. Forty
per cent of the demand will be from Asia-Pacific.
[email protected]
17
THE STRAITS TIMES | 19 DECEMBER 2013
Train in cyber warfare at S’pore Poly
School launches academy to offer courses from Jan
By AMELIA TENG
INFORMATION technology professionals who want to be
trained in cybersecurity can soon do so at Singapore Polytechnic – the first local institute of higher learning that will
offer such courses.
The move comes in the wake of a recent spate of attacks on
Singapore websites since mid-October.
The school yesterday launched the Cyber
Security Academy, which will conduct courses
starting in January next year.
The academy will initially provide two cybersecurity courses taught by trainers from
IT firm Ixia, which specialises in security. The
polytechnic lecturers will also teach courses in
future.
Cost details are being finalised.
The courses will be held in the school’s Cyber Wargame Centre, a facility launched earlier this year which can simulate cyberattacks.
This is the first time the centre, which is used
by the school’s infocomm security diploma
students, is open to working adults.
The centre is equipped to handle large-scale
simultaneous cyberattacks involving up to 7.5
million users. At the facility, organisations
of various sizes can test how resilient their IT systems are
against such attacks.
The need to train more experts in cybersecurity has assumed greater urgency, following recent cyberattacks on a
number of websites including those of the Istana and the
Prime Minister’s Office.
“Recent events in Singapore and the world have heightened awareness of cybersecurity threats and prompted many
organisations to revisit their attitudes towards cybersecurity,” said Ms Jacqueline Poh, managing director of
Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore,
who was the guest of honour at the launch.
The setting up of the academy is in line with
the National Cyber Security Masterplan launched
in July, she said. There are also plans to offer infocomm security courses and degree programmes
and more scholarships to encourage students to
specialise in cybersecurity, she added.
Mr Naveen Bhat, vice-president of Ixia in
Asia-Pacific said organisations that arm their
networks with firewalls and other defence systems fulfil only “a rudimentary network security
checklist”.
This approach overlooks the more important role played by humans and this is where the
academy can play a key part in training professionals in network security, he added.
The polytechnic will also partner info security provider e-Cop and ST Electronics to roll out more
courses next year.
[email protected]
SP’s engineering innovations are showcased every year at
the SP Engineering Show during the school’s Open House
in January. There, students display creative technologies
they’ve worked on such as portable solar energy
generators, robots with voice-recognition and speech
capabilities, advanced water purifying filters (article below)
and various assistive tools that help to rehabilitate the
injured or the elderly. This exhibition allows members of
the public and industry professionals to learn more about
the skills and portfolios of our engineering students.
The new Cyber Security Academy will arm future batches of infocomm
specialists against increasingly sophisticated cyber-attacks.
Turn to page 36 to read more about SP’s Cyber Wargame Centre, a
facility designed for conducting cyber security training.
Photo insertion: Singapore Polytechnic
18
THE SUNDAY TIMES | 27 OCTOBER 2013
Project aims to let seniors practise in a safe environment amid a rise in traffic
accidents involving them
JANICE TAI
An elderly person walks along a zebra crossing, just as
a car screeches to a halt to avert an accident.
Such a scenario plays out every day at busy traffic
junctions, resulting in potential danger to the elderly.
But some seniors can soon learn how to safely cross
roads, among other scenarios, at St Andrew’s Community Hospital.
Singapore Polytechnic has partnered the Agency
of Integrated Care and Temasek Cares to come up
with a floor projection system at the hospital that
trains the elderly on road safety.
The project comes amid a worrying trend of rising
road casualties involving the elderly. In the first six
months of this year, 102 elderly pedestrians died or
were injured, police told The Sunday Times. Last year,
the number of casualties who were elderly rose 13 per
cent to 226, from 200 in 2011.
The statistic on elderly pedestrian fatalities is just
as grim. Of the 44 pedestrian fatalities reported last
year, more than half were above 60 years old.
A police spokesman said some of the top causes of
accidents involving the elderly are jaywalking, failure
to obey traffic signals and failure to use pedestrian
crossings.
Mr Heng Chee How, Senior Minister of State in
the Prime Minister’s Office, said earlier this year that
senior citizens are more vulnerable on the roads due
to their age and slower reflexes.
Hence, the project seeks to help the aged improve
their gait, strengthen their limbs and regain their
sense of balance.
For example, the pilot scheme at St Andrew’s will
have an image of a traffic crossing projected onto a
floor for an elConfidence boost
derly person to
“With such real-life prac- manoeuvre and
tice, the elderly will be less practise with
dependent on their chil- a therapist. It
dren and dare to leave their targets mainly
homes to run daily errands” elderly persons
who are at high
THERAPIST CHARITY CHU of St Andrew’s
risk of suffering from falls or
Community Hospital, on the new system
who have a history of stroke and arthritis, which impairs their balance or lower limbs.
Sensors attached to an ankle, a knee and a hip of
an elderly person will enable the therapist to note the
time he takes to get on his feet after sitting, his reaction time as he starts to cross the road at a traffic junction or zebra crossing, and the time he takes to make
his way across.
They also allow the therapist to discern if the
amount of weight the person is placing on each leg
is appropriate. With the information, limb or other
types of exercises are then designed for the elderly, if
necessary.
Therapist Charity Chu from St Andrew’s said
many of her elderly patients lack the confidence to
venture outdoors.
“They are stressed out by the blinking traffic lights
which remind them that they need to walk faster, by
MRT doors which close quickly or hawker centres
where they have to jostle with the crowd,” she said.
To help boost their confidence, she takes them out
to use public transport or cross roads for practice.
With the new system, which will begin its pilot
run early next year, her patients can practise and exercise in a safe indoor environment before heading
out. Temasek Cares will fund the project to the tune
of $182,000 over three years, and an evaluation will be
done after one year.
If successful, it may be rolled out in other hospitals, nursing homes or day rehabilitation centres.
“With such real-life practice, the elderly will be
less dependent on their children and dare to leave
their homes to run daily errands,” said Ms Chu.
[email protected]
Diploma in
Architecture
(DARCH) and Diploma
in Landscape
Architecture (DLA)
students and graduates
collaborated with key
government bodies such
as the National Library
Board and the National
Environment Agency to
design interior spaces and
structures for projects
such as Singapore’s
hawker centres and a
public library.
The School of Architecture
and the Built Environment
(ABE) incorporates design,
technology and media
to allow you to turn
imagination into reality.
ABE provides exciting
opportunities for students
to hone their skills and
see their work making an
impact in the real world.
Scan QR code
for more details
on School of
Architecture
and the Built
Environment
courses.
THE STRAITS TIMES | 28 AUGUST 2013
19
20
Go Serve with a Heart
Poly students
make life easier
for villagers
SP team designs machine to save time and
effort for women making tapioca crackers
By AMELIA TENG
YOGJAKARTA (Indonesia) – Squeezing water from
strips of tapioca is harder than it sounds, but a group
of Singapore Polytechnic (SP) students have made life
easier for some Indonesian village women by cracking
the problem.
It took them less than 10 days to design a machine
that does the job in half the time and with less effort.
Usually, it takes two people up to three hours to
squeeze out water manually from the strips when making tapioca crackers, a popular snack which a group of
30 women from Polengan village in the southern Indonesia district of Magelang sell for side income.
Now all they need to do is put the strip in the machine, and turn its handles.
For SP student Muhd Shazly, 23, the experience was
a break from typical school projects.
“I’ve learnt theory in school, but I’ve never seen
what’s next – and this was it, the application part,” said
the second-year digital media and infocomm technology student.
He is one of 23 students on the polytechnic’s Learning Express – a new programme in which students put
what they learn into practice.
It is part of the conceive-design-implement- operate (CDIO) framework which was conceived by
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the late
1990s, and implemented by SP in 2004.
The Learning Express’ inaugural run this month
was held in Yogyakarta, where the polytechnic also
signed a memorandum of understanding yesterday
with the University of Muhammadiyah Surakarta and
University of Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta to train 70
faculty in the CDIO method.
The training, led by about six academic staff from
SP, consists of a two-year series of workshops which
started last month.
Of the 70 staff, 12 will also be trained to teach the
system to another 100 participants from other institutions.
The training programme is funded by a $453,780
grant from the Temasek Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Temasek Holdings, and another $146,250
from the two Indonesian universities.
SP’s Learning Express projects served as a demonstration to the Indonesian faculty there of the CDIO
method in action.
In groups of about seven, they spent 10 days in
three villages in Yogyakarta, getting to know the locals
and their needs. They worked together with their peers
from countries like Indonesia, Japan and Vietnam to
come up with solutions to meet challenges that villagers face.
In the village of Gatak, in the Kasihan district, for
example, students helped villagers develop an ecotourism business model.
Said second-year information technology student
Haseena Banu, 20: “The programme is not about earning more points, or grades. It’s about using our skills to
help others.”
[email protected]
Singapore Poly students
design floating toilet
SP Diploma in Chemical Engineering
(DCHE) students designed a floating toilet
system that can help villagers in floodprone regions to maintain hygiene and
sanitation when floods submerge their
normal, ground-level toilets.
Go Serve with a Heart
21
Govt to fund volunteer
youth corps
By AMELIA TENG
A VOLUNTEER youth corps will be set up to help
spur the young to make a bigger difference to Singapore and to the world.
It is for those keen on community service and will
be established and funded by the Government.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, in announcing
the move yesterday, urged young people to step up:
“You are our future. You are idealistic, full of energy
and passion. Go forth, change Singapore, change the
world, for the better.”
The new body will expand opportunities for community service in Singapore for young people, especially students from the Institute of Technical Education, polytechnics and universities. They may receive
funding to start projects and, if necessary, be given
time off from school to work full-time on community
projects.
Grants will also be available for those who continue to be involved in the projects after graduation.
Young Singaporeans will receive guidance from
mentors and be matched to areas where the community’s needs are especially critical.
SP students preparing a concrete mixture for building a classroom.
Young people who want to serve abroad can seek
aid from the Youth Expedition Project, which will
now be part of the new corps. The project, started in
2000, has supported more than 26,000 young people
on 1,300 expeditions around Asia.
Among them is Ms Amanda Teng from Singapore
Polytechnic, who went with fellow students to Nepal
to build a classroom and a water system using rainwater.
“At first, the children looked at us funny because of
the way we dressed and how we seemed to be from a
different world. But when I was leaving, a 10-year-old
boy, Galchen, cried,” said the 19-year-old, who was in
Nepal for two weeks.
“What I learnt was: the kids there don’t have the
best things but were very contented. Singaporeans
should learn to appreciate better what we have.”
[email protected]
SP students and staff involved in Project Nepal (from left): Lu
Ci’en (Diploma in Applied Chemistry with Pharmaceutical Science),
Kelvin Tan You Kai (Diploma in Chemical Engineering), Oh Ai Ye
(lecturer, Diploma in Chemical Engineering), Ng Su Ling (Lecturer,
Diploma in Applied Chemistry with Pharmaceutical Science),
Muhammad Zahin Bin Saini (Diploma in Applied Chemistry with
Pharmaceutical Science).
LIANHE ZAOBAO | 19 AUGUST 2013
出国当义工更激发青年
贡献本地社区
先到国外做志工，更能激发青年回国为本地
社区贡献的决心。
昨晚被总理点名赞扬的新加坡理工学院青年
义工团“无尽热情与爱心”(Project NEPAL)计
划于2012年3月推出，至今已四次远赴尼泊尔
做志愿服务，为当地学生开办科学实验课、体
育及美术课，也为当地学校修建教室。这项计
划参与人数多达110人。
在新加坡理工学院修读化学工程的陈友凯
(21岁)也将他在课堂上所学到的知识学以致
用，为当地学校设计首个集雨系统，收集1000
公升雨水。
“他们可以把收集下来的雨水用来做清洗
工作，这样就无需浪费稀缺的饮用水。”
总理昨晚宣布，将推出新加坡青年志愿者计
划，鼓励青年在本地社区进行志愿工作。工院
讲师黄诗琳(29岁)指出，出国当义工的经历，
和在本地是很不一样的。
“在新加坡当义工，大多是单日活动。相反
的，在国外乡下地方和当地人一起生活，抛开
科技工具，返朴归真，真诚地与人沟通互动，
这会让学生更珍惜目前所拥有的。有了这样的
启示，他们将更有决心做好志愿工作。所以，
我更认为出国当义工应是青年志愿工作者的第
一步。”
吕慈恩(20岁)则表示，工院带队到尼泊尔做
义工前，已在本地一家儿童院服务。“出国前
先在新加坡培养正确的社区服务精神，其实也
是很重要的。”
她认为，一些青年的心态不对，把到国
外“当义工”当成是出国玩乐的机会，这样会
适得其反。
“做义工应是发自内心的，而且要秉持虚
心向学的态度，这样才能惠及他人，也充实
自己。”
Overseas community service trip spurs teens to help others
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong praised Singapore Polytechnic youths
who were part of Project NEPAL (Never Ending Passion And Love).
Since 2012, SP students have travelled there to help conduct sports,
art and science classes for children. They’ve also constructed a
classroom for a school there and used their knowledge learned in SP to
design a rain catchment system for the locals.
22
Spirited Performance
T H E S T R A I T S T I M E S | 9 J U LY 2 0 1 3
Never too busy to go back to school
Stories of encouragement from among 10,000 graduating from NUS this year
FOR the first three years in law school, Mr
Darren Tan kept to himself. Now he wishes
he hadn’t.
The 35-year-old, one of over 10,000 to
graduate from the National University of
Singapore this year, was afraid that he would
not be accepted because of the more than
10 years he spent in jail for drug and gangrelated offences.
But last July, he told his story to the media. “After I went public, I received messages
of support from my classmates,” said Mr Tan,
who will receive his law degree on Thursday.
He has secured a practice training contract with TSMP Law Corporation, but
hopes to continue helping lawyers with pro
bono work.
Fellow graduand Chua Koon Ting, the
first polytechnic student to enter the Faculty
of Dentistry, also said that he was not treated
differently by fellow students.
“What I learnt is that in university, no
one cares where you came from, it’s in the
past,” said the former Singapore Polytechnic
student, 27, who is now practising at the National Healthcare Group Polyclinics.
This year, 10,282 will be graduating from
NUS. They will include the first graduates
from five programmes, including the master
of Social Work and Public Health doctorate.
President Tony Tan Keng Yam presided
over the main commencement ceremony
yesterday, in which 160 students from the
University Scholars Programme received
their scrolls.
One of them was valedictorian Ow Yeong
Wai Kit, 25, who received first class honours
in English literature.
He will be heading to University College
London to do a masters in literature on a
Ministry of Education scholarship.
“It’s not so much about whether one has
a degree. What’s more important is that we
have certain intangible skills that can be
used regardless of one’s vocation, such as a
sense of curiosity,” he told reporters.
The ceremony was also attended by Education Minister Heng Swee Keat. During his
address yesterday, NUS President Tan Chorh
Chuan spoke about former Prime Minister
Lee Kuan Yew, who last month received an
honorary Doctor of Laws from NUS.
Said Prof Tan: “The qualities and values he
exemplifies, and in particular, his deep sense
of purpose, these serve as a powerful beacon
not just for all of us in NUS, but for the broader community in Singapore and beyond.”
[email protected]
[email protected]
Future doctors-to-be (from left): Desmond Thiam,
Meetrra Seyher, Koh Shi Min, Charlene Mok and Joey
Seah. Not in photo: Russell John Chuah and Darren Goh.
Learning to
Save Lives
Alex Chua Koon Ting from SP’s Diploma in Biomedical
Science was the first-ever poly student to enter the
Faculty of Dentistry in NUS.
Seven SP graduates have been accepted into
Singapore medical schools thus far. Among
these alumni from the Diploma in Biomedical
Science (DBS) are Koh Shi Min, SP’s first-ever
female graduate accepted into Yong Loo Lin
School of Medicine at the National University of
Singapore, and Russell John Chuah, the firstever polytechnic graduate to be admitted into the
new medical school jointly set up by Nanyang
Technological University and Imperial College.
TAMIL MURASU | 5 SEPTEMBER 2013
Summary of Tamil article
From Failure
to Success
Diploma in Business
Information Technology
(DBIT) graduate Vaishnavi
Naidu shared about the
challenges she faced in
her academic pursuits. The
former JC student attempted
two tries in the GCE ‘A’ level
exam, only to be rejected
for admission into university.
She subsequently enrolled
herself into SP where she
did well in her studies and
actively took part in CCAs.
She is currently pursuing
her degree in Business
Management in Singapore
Management University.
University Opportunities
23
THE NEW PAPER | 27 FEBRUARY 2012
Bright sparks flock to engineering course
They opt for NTU course that combines engineering with business, liberal arts
By SANDRA DAVIE
SENIOR EDUCATION CORRESPONDENT
IT has long been one of the least appealing career choices for the country’s brightest sparks.
But engineering could now be growing in popularity, with an overwhelming number of top-notch candidates applying for a course at Nanyang Technological University (NTU).
The elite programme, which combines the study of engineering with
business and the liberal arts, offers 50 places. But more than 400 people
have applied each year since it started in 2011.
This year, one in three applicants is an A-level student with three As,
which means they fall into the top 15 per cent in their age group. As a result, NTU is ready to boost the number of places to 70.
Part of the attraction of the residential Renaissance Engineering Programme is that students will get to graduate with two degrees – a Bachelor
of Engineering Science and a Master of Science in Technology Management. They also get to spend a year at the University of California, Berkeley
and take up internship opportunities in Silicon Valley.
The cost over the full 4 1/2 years is $125,000, but students pay only about
half in fees, thanks to tuition fee subsidies from the Government.
Professor Teoh Swee Hin, who heads the programme, said some of the
best professors from NTU’s engineering and business schools are co-opted
to teach. Class sizes are kept to about 10.
He said he hopes the course will nurture a new generation of wellrounded “renaissance engineers” – modelled after Leonardo da Vinci,
who was also a painter and sculptor. They could then go on to become
chief executives and chief technology officers. This approach is important
as “many of the complex problems facing the world today need an interdisciplinary solution”, said Prof Teoh.
Prof Kam Chan Hin, associate provost in charge of undergraduate education at NTU, said he was pleased to see the programme attracting top
students to engineering – a subject which has not been popular over the
last few years. “In the past, engineering used to pull in the best students,”
he said.
First-year student Mi Muxin, who scored 4As for her A levels, was offered a place in chemical engineering at the National University of Singapore. But she picked the NTU course as she will get to learn about different
fields in engineering before going on to choose her specialisation in her
third year.
The 22-year-old said she originally considered specialising in chemical
engineering but is now leaning towards electrical and electronic engineering. “I am still keeping my options open. Learning about the different aspects of engineering has opened my eyes to the many choices available to
engineers.”
Another straight-A student, 23-year-old Alex Chen, chose the programme over NTU’s business and accountancy course. He said his internship at a bank made him realise an engineer’s training can be applied to
many other fields. “Why choose business alone when I can combine it with
engineering? To me, it’s combining the best of two degrees.”
Prof Teoh said an engineering career can be a stepping stone to bigger
things, adding that many chief executives in Singapore are trained in the
discipline.
“There is a need to make young people realise the central role that engineers play. Just about every issue in the modern world, ranging from
climate change to the treatment of diseases, needs an engineer’s input.”
[email protected]
Edwin together with Mrs Lee Mei Lai.
First-class
student and
teacher
Diploma in Electrical and
Electronic Engineering (DEEE)
alumnus Edwin Tan not only obtained
a Bachelor of Engineering degree
with first class honours from Nanyang
Technological University, but also the
Koh Boon Hwee Scholars Award, which
recognises the influence of inspirational
teaching and the bonds forged between
teacher and student. For his success,
Edwin acknowledged SP lecturer Mrs
Lee Mei Lai.
24
Our Alumni Our Pride
T H E N E W P A P E R | 9 J U LY 2 0 1 3
Photo by Olivia Sari-Goerlach.
Of his music education in the Diploma in
Music and Audio Technology (DMAT),
Shun Ng said: “The time I had in SP was
some of the best years of my life. I had great
lecturers and met my closest friends. To have
that opportunity to be around fellow passionate
musicians at just 17-years-old was amazing.
I grew with them in SP, and I found myself
as a musician, artist and human being.”
Besides music, the School of Digital Media and
Infocomm Technology (DMIT) nurtures talents
in all fields of digital possibilities, including
information technology, digital animation and
visual effects and motion graphics.
details on School
of Digital Media and
Infocomm Technology
courses.
25
SUCCESS: Local rapper
Shigga Shay, whose real
name is Pek Jin Shen,
released the three-minute
track LimPeh on Tueday.
ShiGGa’s (real name Pek Jin
Shen) passion for rap music
was supported by skills he
learnt during his time in
SP’s Diploma in Media
and Communication
(DMC). He said: “I definitely
learnt a lot. My lecturer
Mr Loh Aik Khoon taught
me how to direct, edit and
produce my own videos.
Without him, I wouldn’t be
where I am today. So my
three years in SP were really
well spent.”
$250,000 scholarship from Ian Batey for DMC students
Ian Batey, the creative honcho behind Singapore brands like Singapore Airlines and Raffles Hotel has started a $250,000
scholarship fund for SP students, with a matching grant from the Ministry of Education. Called the Batey Scholar Award, it will be
awarded to deserving students from the Diploma in Media and Communication (DMC), the future branding and marketing
experts. Said Mr Batey, “We – that’s all the old Batey team – are delighted to make this contribution. It’s an expression of our deep
appreciation for the extraordinary opportunities given to us over three decades by Singapore Inc. And we have a dream that sees
Singapore as the most exciting creative centre in Asia-Pacific for creating and developing global power brands, and for creating
outstanding global advertising campaigns. We hope the Batey Scholar Award programme will help attract more talented young
people to a career in marketing communication, and that Batey Scholars, together with their colleagues, will grow our dream into a
dazzling long-term reality.”
Ian Batey, founder of Batey
Ads, helped develop Singapore
Airlines, Raffles Hotel and Tiger
Beer into global brands.
DMC offers the most broad-based and comprehensive education in communication amongst the
polytechnics. SP students learn how the various media platforms and the different communication
disciplines work together to effectively and consistently deliver the right messages to the right people.
They design campaigns for real clients in an authentic learning space at The Agency, a living laboratory
which functions as a real integrated marketing communication agency. The Batey Scholar Award will
cover three years of tuition fees as well as participation in overseas internship and study programmes.
DMC is one of the courses offered by the School of Communication, Arts and Social Sciences (CASS).
details on School of
Communication, Arts &
Social Sciences courses.
26
Grandma inspired his
passion for medicine
First S’pore
Poly grad to get
into NUS med
school
T
HE path less travelled has led him to medical school.
Desmond Thiam, 20, is the first Singapore
Polytechnic (SP) graduate to be admitted
into the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the
National University of Singapore (NUS).
He is among a rare few who have taken this
route. In 2007, The New Paper reported that two
Ngee Ann Polytechnic graduates were the first
poly graduates to make it to medical school.
Desmond obtained a diploma in biomedical
science earlier this month.
He said that his ambition to be a doctor
stemmed from watching his grandmother struggle to bring him up while she was saddled with
many health problems.
He is the only child in a single-parent family.
His parents separated when he was in primary
school.
His mother, who works in IT, was the sole breadwinner, leaving his grandmother to take care of him
since he was two.
REPORT: LIM WEI LI
[email protected]
Sacrifices
Tough interviews
He said: “For the past 18 years, my grandmother’s sacrifices and endeavours were a source of motivation and strength
for me to strive on in the face of continuous hurdles.
“Watching her suffer from multiple health problems, including depression and arthritis, helped me empathise with
the elderly and made me want to do more for them.”
Desmond’s compassion for the elderly extended to
school activities.
He was the organising chairman of “Health Mapping
Exercise”, an on going community service project that the
polytechnic organised with the Singapore Heart Foundation.
Between 2007 and early this year, he went from door to
door at HDB blocks with one- and two-room flats all over
Singapore, screening residents’ heart rate, and blood glucose
and cholesterol levels to check for health problems.
He found that many of the elderly residents suffered
from very high blood pressure.
He termed them “walking time bombs” because their
condition was so severe they could suffer heart attacks or
strokes any time.
He said: “Many of these patients reminded me of my
grandmother and what it was like for her. They were a group
of neglected people. Several residents were aware of their
condition, but they had no money to pay for medicine.
“We gathered data and presented it to the grassroots
leader, who referred them to the relevant organisations to
follow up.”
Desmond graduated with an L1R5 score of 5 from Commonwealth Secondary School, which would have qualified
him easily for the science stream of top junior colleges here.
But he chose to study biomedical science at SP as he
wanted to focus on his area of interest.
His mother supported his decision because she felt that
such a course would be more practical, given his interests.
Desmond thinks his honesty and compassion were
probably the qualities that impressed his interviewers
at NUS.
He was one of three students shortlisted by the poly to go
for interviews at NUS’s medical faculty.
He said that the interviews were tough as he was asked
technical questions that he could not answer.
He said: “I told them honestly that I did not know the
answers to the technical questions.
“They also asked me many other questions... on topics
like euthanasia and why I wanted to be a doctor. I think the
important part was how I took a stand on the issues.”
He hopes to become a doctor in an emergency department as he prefers frontline work.
He said: “My experiences have taught me that warmth,
compassion and understanding are crucial aspects of
being a doctor, more so than the surgeon’s knife or chemist’s
drug.”
Madam Mah Mon Moey, the course manager of the diploma of biomedical science at SP and one of Desmond’s
lecturers, said that he was a highly motivated student.
She said: “He is a team player and an inspirational leader,
who has impressed his lecturers with his ability to juggle numerous co-curricular activities while maintaining an excellent academic performance.”
Desmond’s grandmother died in February this year and
didn’t live to see his achievement. She was 70.
He said of the two women who brought him up: “Without them, I would not be who I am today.”
In total, seven SP graduates
have been accepted into medical
schools in Nanyang Technological
University and the National
University of Singapore thus far.
THE STRAITS TIMES |
16 MAY 2012
27
THE STRAITS TIMES | 6 NOVEMBER 2012
L I A N H E Z A O B A O | 1 7 J U LY 2 0 1 3
Summary of
Chinese article
Daily life +
scientific
knowledge
= making
science fun
Diploma in Biotechnology
(DBT) graduate Dr Jonathan
Loh continues to support his
alma mater readily. He has
worked with SP to create
internship opportunities
for students in institutions
such as Yale, Harvard and
the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology. In addition,
he also lectures at SP,
supervises the projects
of graduating students,
and assists students from
broken families by counselling them. Dr Loh strongly
believes that by integrating
science into daily living,
young students will become
more motivated to discover
the complexities and beauties of the subject.
28
THE STRAITS TIMES | 28 SEPTEMBER 2013
Double success as other twin wins Golden Bayonet too
By ROYSTON SIM
YEO Jin Rui and his identical twin, Jin Run,
have marched to the same beat since birth.
They went to the same school, joined the
same co-curricular activity and yesterday
completed another double, this time in the
army.
When newly minted Third Sergeant Jin
Rui graduated from the Specialist Cadet
School (SCS) with a Golden Bayonet, he
matched his brother’s effort six months earlier. The Golden Bayonet is awarded to the
top cadets from each branch of the army.
The older twin by two minutes, 3SG Jin
Rui, 21, said of his brother’s achievement: “I
wanted to be like him. That gave me extra
motivation.”
Both brothers also graduated from the
SCS as signals specialists.
In all, 995 specialist cadets received their
new ranks at yesterday’s graduation parade
at Pasir Laba camp, with 18 of them receiv-
ing the Golden Bayonet from Minister of
State for Trade and Industry Teo Ser Luck.
The Yeo brothers attended East Spring
Primary together. Then Pasir Ris Crest
Secondary, where both signed up for the
National Cadet Corps, and then Singapore
Polytechnic, where they took diplomas in
business and information technology and
served in the student union.
After enlisting for national service in
November 2011 and serving their basic
training, neither was selected for command
school. Said 3SG Jin Rui: “This did not deter our commitment to serving, and we decided to do our very best in our vocations.”
They trained together at weekends to
improve their physical fitness, and their efforts paid off.
The younger brother, Jin Run, who was
posted to the Singapore Guards, was later
selected to attend the SCS and is now un-
THE NEW PAPER | 17 NOVEMBER 2013
dergoing the Officer Cadet Course.
3SG Jin Rui also expressed his interest
in being a commander while serving as a
signals operator in the 23rd Battalion, Singapore Artillery. His outstanding performance led his superiors to recommend him
for the SCS.
OCT Jin Run was thrilled when he found
out his twin had also won the Golden Bayonet. He said: “He put in a lot of effort, and
I’m jubilant that it has been recognised.”
Both brothers extended their national
service after attending command school,
and have not ruled out signing on with
the Army. They said their father, general
manager Clement Yeo, 51, had always told
them to do their best during NS, which he
believes is an important rite of passage.
[email protected]
29
Summary of
Chinese article
Entrepreneurs
with a heart
Seven years ago, SP alumna Ereen Toh (Diploma in Business Administration - DBA) started Stirring
Hearts, a business selling handmade environmentally-sustainable gift and greeting cards. Last year, she
collaborated with the Muscular Dystrophy Association Singapore and the Movement for the Intellectually
Disabled of Singapore to conduct lessons for special needs children in making these cards.
University scholarships for SP graduates
Over the years, many SP graduates have been awarded prestigious bond-free scholarships from the local universities to pursue degree programmes. This is
in addition to the scholarships awarded by ministries, companies, and organisations that you read about in this issue of SP News. Here are some of them:
Andrew Ong
Awarded the Global
Merit Scholarship by
National University of
Singapore.
Photo courtesy of NUS
Steven Jude Peeris
Awarded the
National University
of Singapore
Undergraduate
Scholarship.
Selene Bay
Awarded the Lee Kong Chian
Scholarship by Singapore
Management University.
Nicole Loh
Awarded the
Nanyang Scholarship
by Nanyang
Technological
University.
M Sabareesh Nair
Awarded the
Singapore
University of
Technology and
Design Scholarship.
Lim Hui Yin
Awarded
the College
Scholarship
by Nanyang
Technological
University.
Nurzahidah Bte
Mohd Yusoff
Awarded the
Singapore Institute
of Technology
Scholarship.
30
Wider
perspective
the aim at
Yale-NUS
Plato and Aristotle can wait, classes
start with Chinese philosophers
By AMELIA TENG
MOST liberal arts students are schooled in the works of Western
thinkers like Plato and Aristotle, but at Yale-NUS College, students
will grapple first with ancient Chinese philosophy.
Classes at Singapore’s first liberal arts college have begun and last
Tuesday, a class of 16 found themselves comparing the teachings of
Chinese philosophers Confucius and Mozi.
In later weeks, they will learn about the Roman Cicero, Hindu
scripts like The Bhagavad Gita, and Buddhist texts like The Questions of King Milinda.
In their literature classes, they will read Homer’s epic poem The
Odyssey, alongside ancient Indian texts like the Mahabharata and
the Ramayana.
They will also study how Asian cultures in Japanese Noh drama,
Chinese opera and South-east Asian puppet theatre have influenced
modern theatre.
Yale-NUS, a tie-up between Yale and the National University of
Singapore, has promised a broad-based education merging East and
West.
This “broader training” is a “good challenge” to students to widen
their perspectives, said the university’s president, Professor Pericles
Lewis.
Yale-NUS professors have been working on the curriculum since
July last year.
Unlike in the United States, where there is no prescribed course of
study, students at the NUS University Town campus will take common courses in the first two years and focus on a major in the third.
They can choose from 14, like urban studies, life sciences and economics.
Aspiring journalist Dennis Chiang, 23, said he chose Yale-NUS
over the Nanyang Technological University as he wanted “something different”.
“To be a good writer, I need to have a perspective on a lot of
things,” said the Singapore Polytechnic graduate, whose father is a
taxi driver and mother a housing and insurance agent.
Into his second week of school, he is excited by the environment.
“In secondary school and polytechnic, teachers needed to prompt
classroom discussions, but here they can’t get students to shut up.
Instead they step back and listen to us.”
Some 62 per cent of the university’s first students are Singaporean. The rest are from countries like the US, India, China, Malaysia
and Canada. More than half, 55 per cent, are girls.
Students pay an annual tuition fee of $15,000, almost double what
their peers pay for general degrees in NUS.
The university took in 155 students this year, and will raise the
number next year to 170. It has the capacity for 1,000 students. The
college received 11,400 applications for its first intake.
The school has more than 50 full-time teaching faculty, five of
whom are Singaporean. The college will have a total of 100 faculty
members in time.
Prof Lewis said a committee is looking into different modes of assessment. Currently students have no final exam in the first semester
but will be evaluated on projects and assignments, as well as oral and
written presentations.
To ease them into school life, each will have an academic adviser,
who is also a faculty member, and a mentor on things out of the
classroom, like careers, internships, programmes abroad and leadership training.
Like other liberal arts colleges, Yale-NUS aims to teach skills that
are relevant across disciplines and professions.
“We’re trying to prepare students for jobs of the future that we
don’t even know exist yet,” said dean of international and professional experience Anastasia Vrachnos.
Executive vice-president of academic affairs, Professor Lai Choy
Heng from NUS, said that the school’s mission is towards the “more
idealistic end of education” in an increasingly sophisticated Singapore.
Students at Yale-NUS can also draw on existing overseas partnerships of both parent institutions. These include Yale’s programmes in
European locations and NUS’ programmes in over 80 countries.
[email protected]
SP Diploma in Media and Communication graduate Dennis
Chiang is currently studying in Yale-NUS college.
Excellence Despite
Daily Shuttle To Johor
SP alumni Mr Abdul Halim
is one of the recipients
of the Muhammadiyah
Scholarship. He graduated
from the Diploma
in Aeronautical
Engineering (DARE)
course in 2012, and is
now studying aeronautical
engineering at Imperial
College London.
BERITA HARIAN | 25 DECEMBER 2012
Cemerlang walau ulang-alik
Johor setiap hari
NUR’ADILAH MAHBOB
[email protected]
KESESAKAN di Koswe sejak beberapa hari ini mungkin
melemahkan semangat sesetengah warga Singapura untuk ke
seberang tambak.
Tetapi bagi sesetengah warga Singapura seperti Encik Abdul Halim Ali Akbar, perjalanan ulang-alik Singapura dan Johor Bahru itu adalah sebahagian daripada kehidupan seharian
mereka, meskipun tidak hari-hari sesak seperti itu.
Bagi Encik Halim, 22 tahun, beliau merentasi Koswe dengan
menaiki bas atau kereta ke sekolah di sini, sejak dari sekolah
rendah hinggalah ke peringkat politeknik.
Namun, bekas pelajar Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah dan
Politeknik Singapura (SP) itu langsung tidak menjadikannya
sebagai alasan baginya kurang memberi perhatian kepada pelajarannya.
Malah, beliau berjaya meraih keputusan cemerlang dan kini
menceburi bidang kejuruteraan penerbangan di Imperial College London.
Encik Halim, mahasiswa tahun pertama di universiti itu, merupakan antara enam penerima Biasiswa Muhammadiyah tahun ini.
Beliau menerima Anugerah Ibnu Sina yang bernilai $4,000.
“Bagi saya yang kerap ulang- alik Singapura dan Johor Bahru, pengurusan masa penting sekali untuk mengatur masa belajar,” ujar Encik Halim, semasa ditemui Berita Harian di majlis
penyampaian anugerah itu baru-baru ini.
Beliau berjaya meraih Diploma dalam bidang kejuruteraan
penerbangan dari SP dengan Mata Gred Purata (GPA) 3.9 daripada mata penuh 4.
Keputusan cemerlang itu sekali gus melayakkan beliau ke
kolej ulung di London itu.
Namun, beliau bukan satu-satunya bekas pelajar madrasah
yang berjaya meraih keputusan cemerlang dan kini menguakkan sayap di universiti luar negara.
Seorang lagi penerima Anugerah Ibnu Sina ialah Cik Nafisah Mohd Rafiq, 20 tahun, yang meneruskan pengajian di Imperial College London juga tetapi dalam bidang Sains Bahan
dan Kejuruteraan pula.
Bekas pelajar Madrasah Wak Tanjong dan Politeknik Nanyang itu merupakan adik Cik Nisha Mohd Rafiq, yang meraih
ijazah sarjana muda kelas pertama dalam bidang sains hayat
dari Universiti Nasional Singapura (NUS) awal tahun ini.
Seperti kakaknya, Cik Nafisah juga lulus dengan cemerlang
dari politeknik dengan GPA 3.9.
“Saya rasa tiada resipi rahsia bagi kejayaan. Kalau ada apaapa yang saya tidak faham, saya akan minta penjelasan sertamerta. Usah tunggu hampir peperiksaan baru nak tanya,” ujar
Cik Nafisah.
Diperkenalkan pada 2010, Biasiswa Muhammadiyah bertujuan menghasilkan tenaga profesional di kalangan masyarakat
Melayu/Islam yang mampu menguasai kededua bidang agama
dan saintifik.
Work Ready
31
THE NEW PAPER | 10 JANUARY 2013
Polytechnic graduates are earning more, a new survey shows.
ESTHER NG and AUDREY TAN report
This poly grad earned
$12,000
He has been at his job for only two years.
Yet his monthly earnings, including commission, hit $12,000 in June and July last year.
Mr Tan Xi Liang, 25, graduated from
Singapore Polytechnic with a Diploma in
Banking and Finance in 2009.
He joined Prudential Singapore as a
financial consultant in 2011 after completing
his national service.
Like him, polytechnic graduates are earning more these days.
According to the Graduate Employment
Survey jointly conducted by the five polytechnics last year, the median gross monthly
salary among fresh poly graduates was $1,950
compared to $1,850 in 2011.
The figure for those who completed
national service was $2,253 compared to
$2,100 in 2011.
Commission
Mr Tan gets a basic monthly salary of
$1,500, but with commission, he earns about
$60,000 yearly.
He said that being a polytechnic graduate
is an important factor in his success.
“Polytechnics help students to present well
because of the many presentations we do.
This is good preparation for working life,” he
said.
Mr Tan, who supervises two others, said
the reason employers are willing to pay more
now may be due to the hands-on training
polytechnic students receive.
He said: “I’m looking for people who can
perform. Gone are the days when certificates
were the only thing you looked out for.
“At work, you have to communicate
effectively with your co-workers, subordinates and bosses, and this doesn’t always
require higher qualifications.”
Founder and managing director of
recruitment firm AYP Associates, Ms Annie Yap, attributed the increase in starting
salaries of polytechnic graduates to the
demand in the workforce.
She said: “Some companies have a demand
for positions which don’t require degrees, and
because there is a demand, the pay increases.
“But it depends on the type of company
the poly graduate is in. In some companies,
there’s a pay ceiling, so they employ poly
graduates.
“For jobs that do not pay commission, you
might need higher academic qualifications.”
Mr Josh Goh, The GMP Group’s assistant
director of corporate services, said the increase in poly graduates’ salaries is due to the
tight labour market.
He said: “Diploma graduates are getting
more because degree holders are also getting
more, so wages have moved in tandem.
“The whole labour market is tight, and
when you have limited manpower, wages will
increase.”
Opportunities
Job opportunities are also bright for polytechnic graduates. Slightly more than three in
five fresh graduates and four in five graduates
wh had completed national service found
full-time jobs last year.
Overall, the employment rate (which
includes those with part-time and temporary
jobs) remained high for poly graduates – 91
per cent for fresh graduates and 93.1 per cent
for those with who had finished their national service.
However, when compared with 2011
figures, the employment rate dropped
marginally by about one percentage point.
This could be because hiring activity last
year slowed, said Mr Goh.
“The banking sector started tightening
hiring in late 2010 because of the Eurozone
sovereign debt crisis, and the rest of the
sectors followed.
“So last year, recruitment was for
replacement rather than firms expanding and
needing to hire more staff,” he said.
The survey was conducted between
October and November last year and involved 14,329 respondents.
The SP Business School (SB)
diploma is highly valued by
employers and widely accredited
by reputable universities worldwide
for admission to accelerated
degree programmes. Its diploma
courses train students in a full
spectrum of key business functions
including accountancy, business
administration and financial
informatics. New students will also
get to enjoy the brand new Business
School building (complete with
state-of-the-art learning labs and
studios) due to be finished in 2015.
Scan QR code for more details on
SP Business School courses.
32
Scholarship Partner
SP wins lion’s share of
infocomm scholarships
SP students clinched a whopping 24 out of 40
Integrated Infocomm Scholarships (IIS) offered by
the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore to
polytechnic students this year. Under the scholarship,
these 24 students from the School of Digital Media
and Infocomm Technology (DMIT), SP Business
School (SB) and SP Design School (SD) will pursue
a polytechnic to university path, paving the way for
themselves to pursue a career in digital media or
infocomm-related industries. Four recent graduates
also clinched the National Infocomm Scholarship.
Diploma in Information Technology student Russell Loh receiving
the award from Minister for Communications and Information Dr
Yaacob Ibrahim.
Guide to Scholarships
The Integrated Infocomm Scholarship brings Ms Tan Shi Hui closer to her career goals in
information technology
by mike lee
MS TAN Shi Hui used the computer at home just once a month while
in primary school. At that time, she was still using a dial-up connection, and used the computer only for project work.
When she joined Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary), she was
still not all that interested in information technology (IT). Nevertheless, she picked the Media Club as her co-curricular activity (CCA)
and this kindled her passion for IT. She picked up web design skills
and built and maintained CCA websites. She also explored digital art
and designed banners and pamphlets.
Competitions like the British Council Digital Art Competition were good experiences, and
being a top 10 finalist at the N.E.mation! digital
animation contest organised by NEXUS (National
Education Singapore) was a confidence booster.
She also learnt Flash, Dreamweaver and Photoshop, picking up skills through books and asking
senior students about the things she did not understand.
After her O levels, Ms Tan chose the Business
Information Technology diploma programme at
Singapore Polytechnic’s School of Digital Media
and Infocomm Technology as she “liked its balance between information technology and business, and also for future prospects”.
She liked what she saw in the prospectus, with
modules covering areas like project management, report writing and
presentation skills.
It was when she was invited to the Integrated Infocomm Scholarship (IIS) Day that she came to know about this scholarship option
for outstanding O-level students to pursue infocomm-related diploma and degree courses from polytechnic to university.
The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) administers the IIS. Attachment opportunities with major organisations
both locally and overseas are part of the programme. At the polytechnic level, full tuition fees at a local institution as well as computer and
annual allowances are part of the scholarship package.
Ms Tan, who was sure about pursuing IT till university level and
as a career, applied for and secured the scholarship. She also saw it as
a way to become more self-reliant.
In school, she has picked up programming languages such as Java
and PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor, a coding language for web development; she has also created mobile apps for the Android platform.
On the business side, she has learned topics like accounting, marketing, digital marketing and business analytics.
She has been able to work with real clients, such as on a group
project for an events management company, and a project to manage
a children’s activities camp for a charity.
Last year, she embarked on a six-week attachment at University
College London’s (UCL) Department of Management Science and Innovation as a researcher. She
researched on trends on various information technology topics such as business analytics, business
process, and security, and assessed them to evaluate
their stage of maturity and demand in the industry.
The findings were presented to a panel of professors,
to propose ideas on incorporating those topics into
UCL’s current programmes.
She was able to attend lessons alongside UCL undergraduates too, and join various student events.
It was her first time to London, as well as her first
trip outside Asia. In her free time, she explored the
city and and got a glimpse into the culture and people.
Ms Tan enjoyed the experience and she will be applying for the National Infocomm Scholarship (NIS), also administered by the IDA, for sponsorship to an overseas university. She currently has an offer from UCL to study computer science.
Ms Tan, 19, is currently in her final school term at Singapore Polytechnic. For her final-year project, she is working with SAS Singapore
(Statistical Analysis System Singapore).
She and her elder brother, who is currently a national serviceman,
will be studying for infocomm-related degrees in the second half of
this year.
Ms Tan has this advice to those considering the IIS: “You have to
be really interested in infocomm technology, as you will have to pursue the course until university level.
“When you enjoy what you learn, you will tend to do better. Always do your best.”
Ms Tan became interested in IT while in secondary school and
now sees it as an interesting career.
PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
Scholarship Partner
33
Summary of
Chinese article
等高科技技术，改善建筑业的工作环境，吸引更多本地
人才加入建筑行业，包括引进更多女性生力军。
赖彥志　报道
[email protected]
外籍劳工政策收紧，原本就人手短缺的本地建筑公
司速美建筑集团（Soilbuild Construction Group）不
只前线的建筑员工人手吃紧，连管理层与工程师等专业
人员也人才难求，前去应征者每十人只有三个是本地
人。　为了吸引更多本地人才加入建设行业，创办了37年
的速美建筑今年首次与建设局合作，为10名大专学生
提供奖学金，希望为公司栽培人才，也为建筑业注入新
血。　速美特别企划部门主管徐耀琮受访时说：“建筑业
得忍受日晒雨淋，向来就人手吃紧，如今各行各业都在
竞争人手，即使员工经验不足也没有办法，只能骑驴找
马，让他们边工作边培训，我们得花多一点时间监督和
栽培。”　今年共有166名大专学生从1000多名申请者中脱颖
而出，获颁建设局与业界联合颁发的建筑业奖学金，是
自1993年该奖学金设立以来人数最多的，赞助奖学金
未毕业就得到工作保障，建设局与业界联合颁发的的建筑业者则有45家。　建筑业奖学金得主叶思慧（左）与陈春元希望学成国家发展部长许文远昨天发博文表示，希望透过采
用更多预制技术、资讯科技、3D立体设计与模拟工具
能在建筑业有一番作为。（唐家鸿摄）
他说，过去四年，获颁奖学金的女性明显增加了，
在2010年每四个奖学金得主，只有一个是女生，今年
则有将近半数是女性。　新加坡理工学院土木工程与管理系二年级学生叶思
慧（18岁）是其中一人。　她不讳言刚报读这个科系时还“懵懵懂懂”，不确
定自己是否要加入这个行业。　后来她受到师长的启发，加上自己喜爱数学，励志
在学成后成为一位结构工程师。　她说：“申请奖学金不但让我在毕业后马上就有工
作保障，也能帮助减轻学费与生活费的负担。”
南洋理工大学机械工程系三年级学生陈春元（22
岁）则是受到哥哥影响，决定投身建筑业。他的二哥两
年前也获得建设局奖学金，两兄弟时常在家中讨论与建
筑业相关的课题，让他对这个行业越来越感兴趣。　他获颁的是澳大利亚联盛（Lend Lease）公司和
建设局颁发的奖学金，毕业后将到这家公司履行两年合
约，“希望在毕业前有机会到联盛实习，参与项目管理
方面的工作，吸取更多经验。”
Construction
companies work
with BCA to groom
construction talent
Diploma in Civil Engineering
with Business (DCEB)
student Hazel Yap is one of the
recipients of the Building and
Construction Authority (BCA)
- Industry Built Environment
Diploma Scholarships, which
are given out to attract more
talent to Singapore’s building
and construction industry.
Recipients will receive financing
of their tuition fees and annual
or monthly allowances, and be
bonded to the company that
sponsors their scholarship.
L I A N H E Z A O B A O | 2 4 J U LY 2 0 1 3
张赞成：本地大学可媲美外国优秀学府
随着我国高等学府的知名度提升、学生越来越国
际化，公共服务委员会主席张赞成认为，本地大学
已可媲美外国优秀学府，所提供的求学体验不亚于
到外国留学。　在今年92名PSC奖学金得主中，只有15人选择
在本地大学求学。张赞成在致词中指出，许多学生
在申请奖学金的面试中，表明希望到外国留学，开
拓视野并与不同国籍的学生交流。　他说：“这些原因都有道理，但我们的学生或许
没有发现到本地的高等教育景观已经改变，而他们
希望到外国寻找的东西，其实本地也有。”　张赞成认为，本地大学如今在国际排名中被列为
顶尖学府，吸引了更多外国学生前来，氛围也更环
球化，再加上本地大学与一些海外学府联办新学院
和课程，这些都“有助于加强本地教育的吸引力与
独特性”。　比如新科大作为美国麻省理工学院
(MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology）和中国
浙江大学的结合体，就吸引了新加坡政府奖学金得
主梁熙勤(20岁)。
毕业自新加坡理工学院工程系的他说：“我很欣赏
新科大将工程与设计结合的新颖概念，所以一开始
就锁定要进入这所大学，甚至在假期时申请到新科
大实习，进行研究工作。”他相信：“工程学所教
导的解决问题技能，未来在公共服务部门工作时能
派上用场。”　Summary of Chinese article
Local universities are
comparable to overseas unis
Leong Hei Kern (photo below) from the Diploma in Mechanical
Engineering (DME) won the prestigious Public Service Commission (PSC)
Open Scholarship and has accepted a place to read engineering at the
Singapore University of Technology and Design.
Pursuing
National
Development
Sheryl Lee receiving her MND scholarship
from Minister of National Development Mr
Khaw Boon Wan.
A second group of students from the Diploma in
Business Innovation and Design (DBID) was awarded
the Ministry of National Development (MND) EDGE Business
Innovation and Design Scholarship (last year, another
batch of five students was given the scholarship). Only SP
students enrolled into the DBID course can apply for this
prestigious scholarship, which covers their tuition fees
and the cost of an overseas immersion boot camp. The
scholarship also provides an annual book allowance and
opportunities to intern with agencies within the MND family
such as the National Parks Board and the Housing and
Development Board.
Leong Hei Kern, top graduate from SP’s Diploma in Mechanical Engineering, not only received the Public Service Commission Scholarship but
also a string of other prestigious awards such as the Lee Hsien Loong Outstanding All-Round Achievement Award, the LTA Engineering Award
and the A*STAR Science Award (Polytechnic).
34
Taking the Lead
LIANHE ZAOBAO | 18 JUNE 2013
T H E S T R A I T S T I M E S | 3 J U LY 2 0 1 3
Two agencies to research on rapid diagnostic kit
Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) and SP will be working together to research on a rapid
dengue diagnostic kit, which will allow medical professionals to diagnose suspected
cases within 30 minutes. The two organisations will also work together on researching
genome sequencing and HIV viral quantitation.
Students from SP will also benefit from the collaboration. Diploma in Biomedical
Science (DBS) students will have the opportunity to go for a seven-month internship at
TTSH to do hands-on research work (as opposed to a standard three-month internship).
In Demand
35
THE STRAITS TIMES | 23 SEPTEMBER 2013
School’s idea spurs students to work harder
and aim higher
By AMELIA TENG
IT WAS Aqil Luqman B. Zamberi’s first time
in a polytechnic.
What he saw from the campus at Singapore Polytechnic made the 15-year-old determined to study there in the future.
He was taking part in a programme run
by his school Zhenghua Secondary, which
will receive the Lee Hsien Loong Award for
Innovations in the Normal Course this year.
It has been praised for thinking creatively
to help academically weaker students.
Aqil was one of his school’s Secondary
3 Normal (Academic) students who spent
five days at Singapore Polytechnic this year
learning about tourism and hospitality.
There, he experienced fine dining at the
polytechnic’s Graduates’ Guild and observed
how a restaurant was run. He said: “The
place was big, the school environment was
very nice and the teachers were friendly.”
On one of the days, he even went to Bugis
and spent a few hours with his schoolmates
speaking to tourists, finding out why they
chose Singapore as a holiday destination.
“This helped me to gain knowledge about
how it feels like to be a polytechnic student,”
added Aqil.
Zhenghua Secondary principal Fiona Yeo
said the programme aimed to let students
“experience life in higher education”.
“We want to encourage them to set goals,
work hard, put in effort so that they can progress to the polytechnics.”
The Lee Hsien Loong Award for Innovations in the Normal Course honours schools
that look for ways to motivate students. It
will also be given to Temasek Secondary.
Each winning school gets $3,000 to fund
its programmes.
It is one of the prizes handed out by the
Ministry of Education each year to recognise
best practices.
This year, a total of 293 schools have won
awards, and 23 will receive theirs from Education Minister Heng Swee Keat on Wednesday at the ministry’s workplan seminar.
Madam Yeo said her school runs programmes like sports activities to build leadership and character. It also has vocational
training and career guidance workshops for
Normal stream students.
For instance, Sec 3 Normal (Technical)
students get to learn various skills like creating smartphone applications, hair-styling,
cooking, producing video games and being a
DJ.
“We are preparing them for the world
beyond school,” said Madam Yeo. “We hope
values like resilience and responsibility,
which they learn, will be transferred to their
studies.”
Temasek Secondary also runs leadership
programmes, which give students a chance
to plan and carry out community projects.
For instance, Sec 4 Normal (Technical)
student Lim Jing Heng learnt how to plan
a clean-up at East Coast Park in August last
year.
“I thought cleaning the beach would be
easy, but it was challenging. It involved planning logistics, transport and deciding which
materials to use,” said the 16-year-old.
Jing Heng, who is a student leader and
also the vice-captain of his school’s canoeing
team, said: “School has helped me build my
confidence, learn leadership skills and values
like teamwork and compassion.”
[email protected]
Polytechnics give engineering a new face
Marrying subject with others has attracted more top students
By AMELIA TENG
WHAT does a kangaroo have to do with
aeroplanes? Enough to inspire Singapore Polytechnic student Bryan Lim into
making a “bendable” landing system to
help aircraft land more smoothly.
“Kangaroos’ muscles compress as they
jump, reducing the landing impact,” said
the 17-year-old, after being taught during his engineering systems classes how
to apply animal movement in product
design.
He is one of 40 pioneer students taking the new diploma programme, which
merges social science and management
with engineering. This is just one of the
latest “hybrid” courses introduced by
Singapore’s polytechnics to change the
face of engineering, long seen as “boring”.
These multi-disciplinary programmes,
which marry engineering with business
studies or the life sciences, are also altering the make-up of engineering students.
While engineering courses used to
draw those with poorer O-level scores
of 18 points and more, students with aggregate scores as low as nine points are
flocking to these new courses.
Said Bryan, who scored 11 points for
five subjects in his O levels: “I chose the
course because of its multi-disciplinary
nature and we also get to learn how we
affect society with products.”
Dr Thian Boon Meng, who oversees
the new Singapore Poly (SP) course, said:
“Students prefer to study engineering
alongside other areas. That’s why more
hybrid courses are sprouting.”
[email protected]
36
Space for Excellence
New poly course in
engineering systems
By ROYSTON SIM
SINGAPORE Polytechnic (SP) has launched a new diploma in engineering systems, which teaches students
engineering disciplines along with social science and
management skills.
The course is touted as the first of its kind in Singapore and will begin with a pioneer batch of 40 students
in April.
It will include modules and materials jointly developed with technology giant IBM and transport operator SMRT.
Both companies have partnered SP to launch this
programme.
At a signing ceremony yesterday, SP principal Tan
Choon Shian noted that the course is a departure from
regular engineering courses.
He said: “It is designed to specially nurture a new
breed of engineering students who will be equipped
with the knowledge and skills of interdisciplinary
engineering, engineering management and social sciences.”
Students will receive hands-on training to conceptualise, design and integrate engineering processes in
systems related to sectors such as telecommunication,
transportation and health care.
They will be taught in a studio environment, with
lectures, tutorials and lab work all taking place in one
classroom.
In their third year, students can choose to specialise
in urban transportation systems or intelligent systems.
They will then embark on an 18-week internship
with SMRT or IBM.
IBM chief technology officer Foong Sew Bun said
the course would produce engineers with deep problem- solving skills who can also communicate effectively.
SMRT has found it difficult to get the right people to
join the industry, said its executive vice-president for
trains Khoo Hean Siang.
SP’s new diploma will equip students with relevant
knowledge and better prepare them for a career in
transportation, he said, adding that it will also give
them an advantage in terms of career progression.
[email protected]
Rising Defence Engineers
Four young SP engineering alumni have clinched
the DSTA Undergraduate Scholarship that will see
them pursuing studies of their choice in science and
engineering at renowned universities worldwide.
These Diploma in Mechanical Engineering (DME)
and Diploma in Aerospace Electronics (DASE)
graduates will embark on careers in organisations
such as the Defence Science and Technology Agency
(DSTA) and DSO National Laboratories.
Lee Jian Wei receiving his
scholarship from Minister of
Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen.

countries - Singapore Polytechnic

Transcription

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