12 October 2019

A new resource website for arts freelancers, artsresourcehub.sg, was recently launched by Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Transport and Culture, Community and Youth Baey Yam Keng. The website consolidates resources and information in areas such as financial planning, career development and legal knowledge.

These are part of the nation’s push to develop the arts scene in Singapore, according to Mr Baey, who also mentioned that by January next year, there will be two dedicated spaces at the Goodman Arts Centre and Stamford Arts Centre for arts freelancers to hot-desk and network with each other.

Mr Baey had spoken in Parliament earlier this year during the Committee of Supply debates about enhancing professional support for independent artists, and helping them grow meaningful careers.

The National Arts Council’s director for education and development, Ms Grace Ng, said that the resource website is “the first time that such resources have been specially curated and organised with the arts community’s needs specifically in mind, and we hope the website becomes a first-stop platform for them”.

Mr Baey also cited initiatives that further improve the employability of arts freelancers. An example is how the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and its key arts and heritage agencies have adopted the Ministry of Manpower’s Tripartite Standard for Contracting Self-Employed persons. This aims to encourage businesses to have proper written contracts, and addresses the problem of late or non-payments, and fosters fair employment conditions for freelancers.

08 October 2019

In today’s economy, there is an increasing demand for graduates with soft skills, such as those taught in psychology programmes, for the job market.

Such university programmes increasingly getting the attention of international organisations that are placing greater emphasis in hiring individuals with high emotional intelligence.

A report titled Workforce of the Future by PWC, an international consulting firm, states that in the increasingly automated job market, businesses still place great emphasis on soft skills such as creativity, leadership and empathy.

According to Hays Asia Salary Guide 2019, a report that tracks salary and recruiting trends in Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Japan and Malaysia, shows that soft skills such as problem-solving, team-working and verbal communications are the most in-demand.

Dr Patrick Lin, a senior lecturer of psychology at James Cook University, whose research includes the study of interpersonal attraction, says: “At JCU, most of the lecturers are from different cultural backgrounds. We bring in our own life experience when we teach. Because we’re a research-focused university, lecturers also provide real-life examples such as up to date data, for them to work with so they can foresee what will happen when they graduate.”

06 October 2019

Two-thirds of the undergraduates studying medicine and dentistry at Singapore’s local universities come from households earning more than $9,000 a month.

This was revealed by the Ministry of Education recently, confirming worldwide trends that students from higher socio-economic groups dominate medical schools.

MOE has previously announced that bursaries for medicine and dentistry courses would be significantly increased to ensure they remain open to students from all backgrounds.

These courses are the most expensive university programmes because of the higher costs involved, including include laboratories and other facilities.

Overall, about a fifth of Singaporeans enrolled in these two courses across NUS and NTU have received financial aid over the past three years, said the MOE.

04 October 2019

The National University of Singapore was placed 25th globally in the Times Higher Education rankings.

Furthermore, NUS’ position as Asia’s No. 1 university was lost to Tsinghua University of China in this year’s ranking exercise.

On the other hand, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) improved its standing by climbing three places to 48th globally.

Times Higher Education’s chief knowledge officer Phil Baty said that “NUS has not in any way diminished” in its performance. He said: “It is simply the case that China’s top two universities continue to make extraordinary gains, fuelled by decades of reform and investment, huge increases in research productivity, but more recently also in research quality and some important international collaborations.

An NUS spokesman said: “As Singapore’s flagship university, we remain focused on our mission of educating, inspiring and transforming in the areas of teaching, research and entrepreneurship, as we strive to make positive contributions to Singapore and the global community.”

NTU said it improved its scores in teaching and research. Said NTU’s president Subra Suresh: “While the NTU community is pleased with its rapidly growing reputation around the globe by very different metrics and assessments, we are primarily driven by our passionate pursuit of impactful work in education, research and innovation.”

02 October 2019

The Build On Singapore 2019 Hackathon was organised recently by Amazon Web Services, the National University of Singapore, and the Government Technology Agency (Govtech). The competition attracted participants from the Institute of Technical Education, junior colleges, polytechnics, and well as Singapore’s universities.

During the competition, students tapped their own real-life issues as inspiration to create novel technological solutions.

The themes of the competition were based on issues drawn from everyday life, such as helping drivers find the best routes and cheapest places to park, or creating ways to improve school campuses.

Singapore Polytechnic’s team was inspired by one of their members, a foreign student holding multiple jobs to pay her tuition fees. Nexus, the team’s creation, requires users to carry out various quests to improve their skill sets, for which they are matched with potential employers for paid part-time jobs.

One NUS team put together NoSqueeze, a mobile app that integrates a student’s schedule with the bus schedule, creating a customised timetable to help the user avoid crowded buses or being late for school.