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WHEN the Institute of Technical Education's (ITE) second mega-campus comes up in the west by 2010, visitors will probably do a double take in its reception area and take it for a hotel.
It will, indeed, look like the lobby of a five-star hotel, complete with soft lighting and plush carpeting.
More than that, this 9.54ha ITE College West campus in Chua Chu Kang will also house 22 functioning hotel rooms, restaurants, shops, a convention centre and even a tourist information centre - all open to the public, so students will have hands-on training for future careers in the tourism sector.
'The new college is purpose-built to support the growth of the hospitality and tourism sector,' said principal Yew Tiek Ming at the unveiling of its features yesterday.
This second mega-campus, coming after ITE College East opened its doors in Simei in 2005, is the first educational institution to be built under a public-private partnership.
Under a $323.7 million contract awarded to the Gammon Capital consortium, it will build and run the campus, leaving the ITE free to focus on academic areas.
A third mega-campus, ITE College Central, is slated to open in Ang Mo Kio by 2012.
The Government plans to replace the ITE's 10 existing campuses with world-class regional campuses.
The new college 'reaffirms the Government's strong commitment in providing international quality and standards for technical education and training', said Minister of State for Education Gan Kim Yong.
The ITE has come away from being an institution of last resort for low-achieving students to one whose graduates are becoming more employable: A survey last year found that 93 per cent of its graduates landed jobs in six months, 4 percentage points higher than in the previous year.
Its posters in public areas show its students getting hands-on training in cutting-edge trades like game design, and its winning of the IBM Innovations In Transforming Government Award from Harvard University last year put it in the global spotlight.
The ITE also aims to upgrade its 'software', by planning partnerships with a French culinary school and a Swiss school known for hospitality management to offer courses. Details will be released later.
Visitors to the campus will be able to peer through a glass facade into the college's restaurants and shops as the students get their training in running these facilities, said Mr Tai Lee Siang, a director of DP Architects, which is a member of the Gammon consortium.
Besides having a functioning 'business town', the college will also have a sports village with swimming pool, gymnasium and a running track; and a centre for music and the arts with DJ room, broadcasting and dance studios.
Building will start next month and be done in time for the semester beginning in July 2010.
ITE director and chief executive officer Bruce Poh noted that the well-appointed ITE College East has already boosted its students motivation to study.
He noted that ITE College East, which homes in on life sciences and nursing, has a graduation rate of 87 per cent, compared to 83 per cent in all ITE centres.
Business information technology student Siti Haryati Salani, 21, who graduates this year from ITE College West's Clementi campus, said she wished she had a chance to study at the new College West mega-campus.
She said: 'The new campus is so cool.'
hoaili@sph.com.sg
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