19 November 2018

A global survey of recruiters has found that National University of Singapore graduates are among the most employable graduates worldwide.

NUS was placed 10th in the latest Global University Employability Ranking compiled annually by French human resource consultancy Emerging.

Nanyang Technological University was placed 73rd.

The Global University Employability Ranking measures how sought after a university’s graduates are in the job market. The annual global survey was conducted with 7,000 recruiters and managing directors of international companies from 22 countries.

The president of NUS, Professor Tan Eng Chye, said: “NUS strives to ensure that our graduates are well prepared for the digital economy, with deep expertise in and across disciplines, core life skills as well as a growth mindset that will position them well for a world of disruption and change.”

17 November 2018

From 2020, the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University will drop the 20 per cent weighting given to O-level results for polytechnic graduate applicants. Instead, polytechnic graduate applicants will be assessed primarily on their polytechnic grade point average.

Second Minister for Education Indranee Rajah, who announced the changes recently, said that this move would enable students with different learning styles to be evaluated more holistically.

NUS, NTU and the Singapore Management University will also offer up to 15 per cent of their yearly undergraduate places through the Discretionary Admission Scheme.

Additionally, Ms Indranee said MOE schools will no longer administer academic ability tests during DSA selection.

St Joseph’s Institution (SJI) principal Adrian Danker said his school has done away with admitting pupils based on academic abilities, even in specific subjects like mathematics or science. That is because the original intention of the DSA is to assess pupils’ other abilities. SJI now takes in pupils who show potential in their chosen fields.

17 November 2018

For Singapore students, grades obtained at the GCE ‘O’ Level examinations still matter in the search for jobs, but employers are now looking at other ways of evaluating candidates.

A spokesman for the Public Service Division said that public service agencies consider past work experience, skills and credentials needed for the job. For fresh graduates, they also take into account participation in co-curricular activities and internships.

Academic grades have are a sore point in the job application process. Even if a candidate has obtained higher qualifications like bachelor’s or master’s degrees, human resource managers still ask for GCE ‘O’ and ‘A’ Level results.

This is not an ideal situation.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) announced recently that from 2020, polytechnic graduates applying to Singapore’s local universities will not need to include their O-level results.

Universities are also beginning to rely less on O-level results, although they do continue to have subject-specific requirements.

For jobs in the civil service, applicants may be required to submit their O-level results along with other academic certifications, but the civil service does not use them in assessing the candidates.

15 November 2018

As part of the Ministry of Education’s annual reshuffle exercise, principals for the four newly merged junior colleges will be appointed this December.

Up to sixty six Singapore schools will be getting new principals this year.

Mr Manogaran Suppiah, who is poised to head Anderson Serangoon JC, said that he is excited about the opportunity of leading a merged college. He said that work on adapting to the new JC already started a few months ago.

Ten of the schools involved in this year’s reshuffle exercise will also have first-time principals.

The MOE said the rotation allows schools to benefit from new perspectives.

“For the 10 newly appointed principals, this is an important career milestone, as they assume bigger responsibilities as leaders in education,” said the MOE in the statement.

15 November 2018

The National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University have gained ground in the latest edition of the US News & World Report’s Best Global Universities Rankings.

In this ranking exercise, NUS was ranked 38th, while NTU was ranked 49th.

This annual ranking exercise takes into account 13 indicators that measure a university’s academic research performance and its global and regional reputation.

NTU president Subra Suresh said his staff were “committed to the goal of elevating NTU as a great global university”.

NUS president Tan Eng Chye also said NUS would “continue to strengthen their position as a hub for high quality and cutting-edge research”.

12 November 2018

The National Library Board (NLB) has undertaken the impressive task of digitally archiving 180,000 Singapore websites ending with the .sg domain, as well as other electronically available content produced by Singaporean publishers.

The move is part of NLB’s effort to expand its repository of digital knowledge. Previously, the NLB concerned itself only with content producers working in print media.

Singapore’s websites will be archived at least once a year, the NLB said.

Director of the National Library Wai Yin Pryke said it is important to preserve the literary and intellectual heritage of Singapore as a maturing nation.

The NLB’s efforts will be a boon to students who are interested in acquiring more general knowledge. Students will benefit from locally produced content completely digitized and at their fingertips.

11 November 2018

There will soon be more opportunities for Institute of Technical Education graduates to pursue diplomas during their working years.

The institution will be offering 10 new Work-Learn Technical Diplomas (WLTD) from April next year, where attendees will be able to work and study at the same time.

There will be places for around 350 trainees, who will be able to choose from course such as port automation technology, microelectronics, and hotel and restaurant management.

Students will also spend 70 per cent of curriculum time training on the job.

ITE first launched four such diplomas courses in April this year to provide a skills-based avenue for its graduates to upgrade themselves.