FOR THE first time, students of a private institution will be able to enjoy residential and recreational facilities comparable to those in the three universities here.

SIM's new 4.5 hectares campus at Ulu Pandan Road, which provides housing for 428 local and international students, was officially opened by Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Thursday.

Students will also be able to use facilities like tennis and futsal courts, gym, a dance studio, barbeque pits and a cafeteria.

The institution will also offer 35 scholarships worth $500,000 a year to students with exemplary academic results or achievements in sports and arts and for those who want to short-term overseas programmes.

SIM Chief Executive Officer Lee Kwok Cheong said the opening of the new campus is timely as the rapid growth of student population has 'burst the seams' of the institution's two other campuses at Clementi Road and Namly Avenue

In the last five years, its student population has grown by 60 per cent. The number of international students has risen five times during the same period.