They could work for a few years first or start a business, says PM Lee
By Robin Chan And Stacey Chia, The Straits Times, 4 May 2013
POLYTECHNIC students have many good options after graduating and need not just aim for a university degree, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday.
They can work for a few years or start a business, which Mr Lee points out are paths that can prove beneficial later in life.
"You will gain experience and understand yourself better, and then be better able to decide what the next step will be. These life lessons will complement your polytechnic education and help you to go further in life," he told about 480 faculty members, students and alumni of Ngee Ann Polytechnic at their 50th anniversary dinner.
Calling the polytechnics a jewel in the Singapore education system, he highlighted the success stories produced by Ngee Ann.
One of them is Mr Darran Nathan, its top student in 2000. He was given the opportunity to study at any university in the world but chose to start his own business.
His company, Progeniq, which he co-founded in 2005, helps digital animators speed up the production of visual effects in movies.
Mr Nathan, now 33, has no plans on pursuing a degree in the immediate future. "You learn a lot through experience... the process itself is an education," he told The Straits Times.
Polytechnic lecturers contacted agreed with Mr Lee. Professor Wang Jianguo, director of the engineering school at Republic Polytechnic, said many graduates choose to work, even when offered a place at universities, because they land good jobs with their diplomas.
Each year, about 40 per cent of a student cohort attend a polytechnic. Of those who get their diplomas, 15 per cent go to a local university each year, according to official figures.
To meet demand, 3,000 additional university places will be made available each year by 2020.
But PM Lee expressed the hope that those who go on to university do it not just to have a paper qualification, but because they are interested in the subject or find it relevant for their future plans.
The praise for polytechnics comes from international investors and education experts as well, said Mr Lee.
The investors say polytechnics give Singapore an added competitive advantage, especially in manufacturing, while educators from around the world have come to study the polytechnic model here.
"(Polytechnics) provide a high quality, practice- oriented technical training for jobs. They lay a strong academic foundation especially in technical subjects like mathematics and science, for those who go on to further their studies.
"They also imbue in our students a values-based education to nurture good citizens and caring Singaporeans," he said.
Last night, Ngee Ann also announced its fourth 10-year strategic plan that will see it forge closer ties with companies and introduce more overseas programmes for its students.
As part of the plan, it is looking at introducing a project component during internships.
The projects will be based on real problems faced by the companies that take them in and, where possible, project teams will comprise students from different disciplines.
Said Ms Jeanne Liew, registrar and senior director at Ngee Ann: "A lot of problems in the workplace are very complex and you need multi-disciplinary teams to come together and solve them."
PM Lee said the Government would give the polytechnic its fullest support in its next phase.
More broadly, the Government is already investing $7 billion in polytechnics over the next five years to expand campuses, build facilities, introduce courses and improve the quality of technical education, he added.
By doing it, it will ensure the polytechnics "continue to produce graduates with a wide range of skills and strengths which complement workers emerging from other educational pathways".
At the same time, the Government is improving the education system across all levels, including pre-schools, where it is starting a pilot project of Government-run pre-schools.
Among the 25 alumni who received an award yesterday for their contributions to society was Mr Nathan, Creative Technology founder Sim Wong Hoo, 58, and film-maker Boo Junfeng, 29.