Singapore Polytechnic to train Indonesian universities in engineering framework

Singapore Polytechnic (SP) has sealed agreements with two Indonesian varsities to train 70 faculty in an educational framework to make the study of engineering more hands-on and less theoretical.

SP inked the memorandum of understanding with University of Muhammadiyah Surakarta and University of Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta on Tuesday morning.

The method, called conceive-design-implement-operate (CDIO), was originally conceived by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the late 1990s.

The training, consisting of a two-year series of workshops which started in February this year, will be funded mainly by a $453,780 grant from the Temasek Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Temasek Holdings, and another $146,250 from the two Indonesian universities.

The polytechnic also launched a new multi-disciplinary programme in March this year for its students to put what they have learnt about CDIO into practice. In the inaugural run of the programme, called the Learning Express, 23 students from various disciplines spent a total of 10 days in Indonesia, visiting three villages in the city Yogjakarta.

The students worked together with their peers from other countries like Indonesia, Japan and Vietnam to come up with solutions to meet challenges like food production and enterprise issues faced by the villagers.

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