SINGAPORE - Starting this year, Nanyang Technological University will revamp its part-time engineering degree programmes by reducing the number of years needed to graduate from five to four years.

Part-time engineering students will graduate faster as they will have greater flexibility in choosing their modules and will also be able to enrol in more modules per semester.

Part-time engineering students will not only be conferred NTU's Bachelors in Engineering degree in the same number of years as with the full-time programme, but will sit for the same examinations as well.

The part-time degrees will also be re-designed to adopt a 'flipped classroom' approach to learning, by doing away with traditional lectures. All lectures and course materials will be made available online and will be streamlined into smaller-sized topics for enhanced tutorial discussions, led by senior faculty members.

"The flipped classroom concept encourages deeper learning and more substantive discussions to take place during face-to-face sessions," said Professor Kam Chan Hin, Senior Associate Provost for Undergraduate education.

"This will not only allow students to participate in active learning time more remotely, but is also more accommodating of their busy career schedule by reducing the time needed to be on campus."

In addition to the revamped part-time programmes in Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Mechanical Engineering, NTU will also be introducing a new part-time degree programme in Computer Science, as well as two new modular certificate programmes for working professionals to update their knowledge on specific topics such as energy, oil and gas, and offshore engineering.

The new Computing Science and part-time engineering degree programmes will be coordinated under the new Office of Professional Education, led by Professor Stephen Lee Siang Guan.

NTU's revamped part-time engineering degrees offered by the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and School of Computer Engineering, will start in August 2015 and 2016.

Course applications will remain open till the end of this month.