New NTU students must work as interns

Students can complete them locally or overseas, and their work performance will be assessed.
Students can complete them locally or overseas, and their work performance will be assessed. PHOTO: ST FILE

Internships will be made compulsory from August for all new students at Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

They will need to complete work stints from their second year that will count towards their graduation requirement. Students can complete them locally or overseas, and their work performance will be assessed.

Internships will also be an option for graduate students.

Currently, only some schools in NTU have such mandatory internships. These are the six engineering schools, the School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Business School, the School of Art, Design and Media, and Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information.

NTU said that about three in 10 of such stints - which vary from 10 to 20 weeks or longer - were converted into full-time job offers.

Four more schools will require internships from August: Asian School of the Environment, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, School of Social Sciences and School of Humanities.

Other institutions, such as Singapore Management University and Singapore University of Technology and Design, have already made internships compulsory for all students.

Internships are also a requirement for some National University of Singapore students, including those from engineering and computing.

NTU president Subra Suresh said the university is exploring ways to open up industry connections that it already has to students.

This could come, for instance, through research internships at NTU's corporate laboratories that are jointly set up on campus with industry partners such as HP, Rolls-Royce, Singtel and ST Engineering.

There are 10 such labs, which generate new products and services through developing new technologies.

Continuing education is another area that NTU is developing, as it expands courses for fresh graduates and adult learners to help them keep pace with work demands.

It has 39 MiniMasters certificates - which are micro-credentials - in areas like early childhood education, business analytics and construction management.

The course credits earned from this programme may count towards a full master's degree, which can be pursued later.

NTU is also looking to strengthen teaching and learning practices across the university. It is setting up an Institute for Pedagogical Innovation, Research and Excellence that will focus on a number of areas, including innovations like online learning and continuing education.

Other initiatives under its NTU 2025 plan unveiled yesterday are a new university well-being office that will, from April, provide support for employees and students. With mental health as a priority, the office aims to ensure timely intervention and improve counselling services, among other things.

Amelia Teng

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on January 26, 2021, with the headline New NTU students must work as interns. Subscribe