18 November 2020

A webinar session was organized recently for about 800 young Singaporeans as part of the Asia-Ready Exposure Programme. The session touched on the importance of data protection amid digitalisation, and was the second of seven sessions.

The Asia-Ready webinar series was launched last month by the National Youth Council (NYC), in partnership with the Singapore Institute of International Affairs and Asean Business Youth Association.

The programme aims to equip young Singaporeans with cross-cultural skills. It will run till March next year, and give the youth insights into some issues and opportunities in Asia, enhance their appreciation for the region and equip them with relevant knowledge in the evolving socioeconomic climate.

Under the Asia-Ready programme, participants will also take on e-learning modules to learn more about the language and culture of Asean, China and India. They will have to work on a local project curated by the organisers to broaden their exposure to Asia’s growing economies, as well as attend facilitated debrief sessions to reflect and share their experience.

13 November 2020

The five polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education have earmarked every first Friday of November each year as the Polytechnic-ITE Appreciation Day.

The day is meant for students to express their gratitude to the academic and non-academic staff of their respective institutions.

Dr Maliki, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, thanked the employees at the institutes for their hard work and dedication in a Facebook posting.

“You have nurtured generations to gain real-world skills that can help them embark on their careers,” he noted.

13 November 2020

Singapore Institute of Management has set up a new Centre for Systems Leadership in Bukit Timah.

Professionals, managers and executives will be able to learn how to deal with volatility, uncertainty and ambiguity in a post-Covid world at this new establishment.

The centre was launched Manpower Minister Josephine Teo. It will offer programmes on systems thinking to youth leaders and its final-year student leaders doing their undergraduate studies.

Programmes will start from February next year, and will range from 30 hours to 18 days long. Organisations and businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises, can also have programmes customised to their needs.

SIM is planning to set aside $1 million to fund up to 90 per cent of the programme fees for the social sector, said president and chief executive officer Seah Chin Siong during the launch.

06 November 2020

The Singapore education system is moving towards greater recognition of different aptitudes and talents in our students.

In their admission systems, schools and institutions now have more flexibility in selecting and admitting students based on their strengths and interests, through the Direct School Admissions (DSA) and Early Admissions Exercises (EAE). The Autonomous Universities (AUs) also practise aptitude-based admissions, by assessing applicants holistically, taking into account a range of factors including their talents and aptitudes.

The SkillsFuture Work-Study Programmes offer a practice-oriented learning approach, which intersperse classroom learning with on-the-job-training, allowing students to benefit from learning in the classroom, and enabling them to apply the skills and knowledge acquired therein directly to the workplace.

With these schemes in place, Singapore students will have access to different opportunities at every level of education. As the economy and jobs landscape continues to evolve, Singapore’s education system will continue to adapt and support the younger generation and enable them to meet the demands of the future.

05 November 2020

The education sector in Singapore must continue to keep pace in the global market, said Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing.

Mr Chan said there are tremendous opportunities in relooking how training and education is conducted in the education industry both within and beyond Singapore.

Mr Chan said that learning cannot be limited to the initial 15 to 20 years of a person’s life, and that Singapore has to find new ways of educating adult learners.

Also, a significant portion of learning has to be conducted online now, and thus there is a need for educators to adapt and adjust to these new requirements.

Schools and companies must continue to work together closely, as learning should not happen only in the confines of schools and institutes of higher learning, but also during internships, temporary jobs, and within the context of a person’s career development.

Singapore has the “necessary ingredients” to continue making its mark in education, Mr Chan concluded.

31 October 2020

Gambling-like elements, commonly called loot boxes, in many video games are a concern as impressionable students may not be willing to understand or manage the risks involved.

The Ministry of Education said that students will be taught about the dangers of loot boxes from next year, as part of its cyber wellness education resources for students.

Research shows that spending players are often a very small subset of the total gamer population, yet they also spend disproportionately more. Loot boxes are particularly attractive because players get a chance of obtaining valuable items which enhance character abilities or provide cosmetic enhancements, among others.

Teenagers may thus not fully understand the consequences of purchasing hundreds of loot boxes, such as the costs involved. In designing effective cyber wellness education materials, simply telling students about the dangers of loot boxes may not be sufficient. We need to help them apply this knowledge to themselves and appreciate the implications of their own purchases.

MOE’s decision to try and educate students about the ills of loot boxes, even though it is optional for teachers to include in lessons, is thus a significant step. Considering the potential dangers, the authorities can go further and make such education compulsory, though it could be seen as overreaching in some quarters.