SINGAPORE - The Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) will move to Punggol in phases, with students starting classes at its new 91,000 sq m campus in September 2024.
Comprising two plots – known as “SIT Campus Heart” and “SIT Campus Court” – within JTC’s Punggol Digital District (PDD), the campus is about two-thirds completed and expected to be operational by the second half of 2024, the university said in an update on Monday.
Speaking at a topping-out ceremony at the Punggol site, SIT president Chua Kee Chaing said: “We are very excited about this impending move not just because this will be a beautiful new campus, but also because the whole of SIT will be together in one location for the first time.”
The university currently has about 9,000 students, who are, along with staff, distributed across six campuses in Dover Drive and the polytechnics.
The new campus, which will be able to accommodate 12,000 students, is located near the upcoming Punggol Coast MRT station, also slated to open in 2024.
It will house 10 buildings, with key features like smaller-scale modular study halls designed to support a mix of online and face-to-face learning, and to encourage discussion.
A 10-storey building called The Hatchery will support the exchange of ideas between academia and industry, and a naturally ventilated link bridge lined with study benches will connect two academic blocks.
Occupying a central spot on campus is the Administration Block, which will house about 2,200 administrative staff and faculty.
The Ho Bee Auditorium will host events such as student performances, industry talks and career fairs, while multi-purpose halls can be used for sports, along with facilities such as gyms, dance studios and music rooms.
Professor Chua said the campus’ location in the PDD presents more opportunities to work with companies, as SIT makes a name for itself as Singapore’s university for industry.
“Our academic staff and students will be able to spend more time with PDD companies to understand the latest technology trends and how these companies are preparing to ride these trends, thereby enabling us to truly understand their talent and technology needs, and be able to position our education and research to meet those needs.”
This means its campus can be a “living lab” for students and industry to work on applied research, he said, adding that such initiatives in areas like energy and transport are already in the works.
Prof Chua said SIT has forged new partnerships with Oracle and Salesforce, leading companies in the digital technology space.
An SIT-Oracle Living Lab will feature a digital “sandbox” for students, researchers and industry partners to collaborate on business solutions and innovation. Under a partnership with Salesforce, up to 50 SIT students per academic year will be trained to develop applications and prototypes for the social service sector.
Prof Chua said SIT is looking at how it can add value to the Punggol and neighbouring Sengkang towns.
“As the resident university in this region, opportunities abound for us to contribute to the local community… For example, we could share the use of our facilities, promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and sustainability education to the local kids and students, be the knowledge hub of the community and so on,” he said.
