20 January 2022

Temasek Polytechnic has launched the Integrative Built Environment Centre (IBEC).

This is a new facility housed in TP’s campus in Tampines. It puts together various systems and machinery common in buildings here to give students a hands-on look at operating buildings sustainably. These include a chiller system, lift and escalator set-ups, security processes which use artificial intelligence and an electric vehicle laboratory.

The centre was launched by Second Minister for Education Maliki Osman earlier this month.

The centre will be used by around 1,000 full-time and about 1,000 continuing education students in various fields such as sustainable facility management and fire safety.

20 January 2022

In 2021, fresh polytechnic graduates had better job prospects and salaries compared to the year 2020.

According to the latest graduate employment survey conducted by the five polytechnics in Singapore, 92.2 per cent of their graduates found permanent, freelance or part-time jobs within six months of graduation in 2021.

The median gross monthly salary among graduates in full-time permanent jobs grew from $2,400 in 2020 to $2,500 last year as well.

Singapore’s polytechnics – SP, Temasek, Ngee Ann, Nanyang and Republic – said they have continued to support their graduates throughout the ongoing pandemic, by providing career guidance such as job matching and personalised coaching.

10 January 2022

Temasek Polytechnic in 2019 started to offer its undergraduates casual and confidential meetings with counsellors, in an effort to help the students deal with problems and take care of their own mental and emotional well-being.

Temasek Polytechnic can book 20-minute sessions to chat with counsellors in rooms on campus without providing much personal information.

The service, known as e-chat, is one of the suite of initiatives the polytechnic has to support its students’ well-being. Others include peer support, creating more avenues for students to reach out, and developing support guides in pastoral care and student crisis for its educators.

For its work, TP received the Silver Ribbon Mental Health Award for Schools in December 2021.

10 January 2022

Nanyang Technological University students recently won the Digital Marketing Competition, which is open to university students around the world. In this competition, students have to create and pitch a marketing strategy for a real client – United States-based weight loss company Wondr Health.

NTU students demonstrated their good data analysis skills, and they were awarded US$1,000 (S$1,360). They also claimed the Data Driven award for the best use and collection of data in their pitch.

The winning team tapped research they did on the US market and proposed the use of micro-influencers on social media to promote weight loss programmes created by the company.

22 December 2021

The mental well-being of teachers is an issue that has gained an increasing amount of attention.

More than 80 per cent of teachers surveyed in a nationwide poll released in September said they were negatively affected by long hours and excessive workloads.

In the past two years, teachers have had to deal with changes, from home-based learning and managing co-curricular activities online.

Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said that principals should be mindful of teachers’ wellbeing, and that school programmes could be reprioritised. He also announced an initiative to appoint two teachers in each school as wellness ambassadors.