SINGAPORE - The Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) will be increasing its annual intake by around 6.7 per cent to 3,200 students by 2023, the university's president Chua Kee Chaing, said on Thursday (Jan 20).
In the opening address at the third Applied Learning Conference 2022 held virtually, Professor Chua said for the academic year 2021, the institution for higher learning received a total of 13,000 applications for about 3,000 places.
On Monday (Jan 17), The Straits Times reported that in 2020, the six universities here took in 17,500 students in total, and last year, this was increased to 17,800.
"We are the first university of applied learning in Singapore and despite being a young university, we are already the third largest by intake," said Prof Chua.
He added that more than 90 per cent of the cohort were able to secure either their first or second choice course of study at the university. SIT has six distributed campuses, with its main one in the Dover area.
Prof Chua also emphasised the importance of SIT's close collaborations with industries that factor heavily into its Integrated Work Study Programme (IWSP), a trademark of an SIT education.
Through the programme, students are attached to a company for between eight and 12 months, giving them a taste of working full-time, Prof Chua said.
"Within the companies, students are assigned meaningful projects, learn from experienced colleagues and bring back lessons to the classroom," he said, adding that identified work challenges can also evolve into final-year projects to be done in their graduating trimesters.
He also noted that from 2018 to 2020, more than half of SIT's graduates received advance offers from the companies they have been attached to as part of IWSP.
The university also announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Siemens to develop a new degree specialisation in robotics systems.
It will equip students with work-relevant skills, such as robotics systems development, systems engineering, artificial intelligence and project management, said Prof Chua.
"Through the partnership with industry, students will alternate between spending a couple of trimesters in SIT and at a company like Siemens."
He added that while in the company, students' projects will be supervised jointly by SIT and company mentors.
"The projects assigned are curated, and will contribute directly towards the attainment of their degree," he said.
SIT and Siemens will work together to bring on other companies to participate in the programme, as well as co-develop the curriculum, recruitment strategies and assessment frameworks this year. The new specialisation will commence in the academic year 2023.
Prof Chua added: "We will also be jointly reaching out to other like-minded firms, to onboard and support this new programme offering,"
Dr Thai-Lai Pham, president and chief executive of Siemens, said: "Siemens believes that providing innovative and future-oriented education and training opportunities is key to the sustainability of our company, so we proactively address skill and qualification requirements, and work with universities around the world on this topic."
