Speech by Mr Gan Kim Yong, Minister of State, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Manpower, at the Opening of the 15th World Conference hosted by Nanyang Technological University on Cooperative Education on Wednesday, 27 June 2007, at 9.30 am at Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre

SPEECH BY MR GAN KIM YONG, MINISTER OF STATE, MINISTRY OF EDUCATION & MINISTRY OF MANPOWER, AT THE OPENING OF THE 15TH WORLD CONFERENCE HOSTED BY NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY ON COOPERATIVE EDUCATION WEDNESDAY, 27 JUNE 2007, AT 9.30 AM AT SUNTEC SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION AND EXHIBITION CENTRE

Professor Ian Goulter, President of the World Association for Cooperative Education

Professor Er Meng Hwa, Chairman, WACE 2007 Organising Committee & Associate Provost, Nanyang Technological University

1. It is my pleasure to be here with you at the opening of the 15th World Conference on Cooperative Education hosted by Nanyang Technological University (NTU). First let me welcome all participants to this Conference and in particular, our overseas guests. I hope you will have a memorable and fruitful stay in Singapore.

2. One of the main challenges we face today is to ensure that the skills of our workforce remain industry-relevant. Our graduates will be competing in a global economy. Our educational institutions must organize themselves to anticipate and respond quickly to new trends and changing needs, not only in their home country, but around the world. Formal educational institutions no longer have the monopoly of providing education and transmitting information and knowledge. Many industries are now rich sources of information and knowledge. Therefore, it is crucial that the education institutions, the Government and industry foster close and mutually beneficial collaborations. We need close linkages among all three to train and prepare our manpower to meet the challenges of the global economy.

3. Work Integrated Learning, as a strategy for training and education, provides an opportunity for students to integrate academic learning with its application at the workplace. It is also an excellent platform for institutions of learning to work closely with industries and businesses to develop a resourceful and well-educated workforce.

4. In Singapore, WIL has been widely adopted in our schools. WIL programmes are constantly being developed and refined to enhance students’ learning. Our educational institutions employ a wide spectrum of WIL pedagogy, such as case studies and problem-based learning. Our students take part in internships and overseas study stints. Many of them also take part in community service learning enthusiastically. Let me share with you some examples.

5. The Institute of Technical Education (ITE) offers its students traineeships in which they take lessons part-time at ITE and work part-time at a sponsoring company. In addition, ITE has a global citizenship programme in which students can opt for activities such as overseas student industrial attachments, community service and exchange programmes. One group of students recently went on a 29-day overseas internship programme with IBM India in Bangalore. They experienced real-life IT operations such as Network and Server Support Operations. Another group spent 15 days doing community service at a village in Yunnan, China as part of a youth expedition project.

6. Our polytechnics, on the other hand, are working towards increasing the participation of students in overseas work attachments, exchange programmes and overseas exposure programmes, including attachment to companies in countries like China, Germany, Thailand, and the United States. We target to send 10% of our polytechnic students to participate in overseas industrial training and academic exchange programmes and to have 20% of them engage in overseas exposure programmes and community involvement programmes by the end of next year.

7. At our three universities, international student exchange programmes have given students more opportunities to develop global perspectives in the disciplines they pursue. I am pleased to note that our local universities, the National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Singapore Management University (SMU) have partnered with many universities all over the world.

8. Our universities also actively place students in private companies, non-profit organizations and Government agencies for internships, attachments and industry-sponsored projects. For instance, my Ministry currently has 12 interns from NUS, NTU and SMU who are attached to various Divisions during their holiday period.

9. At NTU, the Global Immersion Programme gives students the opportunity to gain overseas exposure by spending one or more semesters abroad. They have the option of taking courses at a partner university or working at an overseas organization. For example, students going to China have the chance to be attached to multinational companies, leading Chinese companies and startups in well known hi-tech parks.

10. The NUS Overseas Colleges in Silicon Valley, Philadelphia, Shanghai, Stockholm and Bangalore provide opportunities for students to immerse themselves in the dynamic environment of these global entrepreneurial hubs. Students in the programme engage in full-time internships at start-ups and take entrepreneurship courses at NUS’ partner universities.

11. At the Singapore Management University, 32 students from the Lee Kong Chian School of Business recently visited the UAE and Qatar on a Business Study Mission. The Mission, a part of their undergraduate curriculum, studied how Singapore companies in UAE and Qatar carried out their internationalization strategies. The Study Mission gave students a better understanding of the region and offered them the chance to see how businesses are conducted in a different socio-economic environment.

12. In addition to sending our students out, Singapore has also brought in students from overseas institutions to take part in work immersion programmes. Such exchanges are important in a world where economies are becoming increasingly globalised.

13. The Ministry of Manpower has recently announced the introduction of the Work Holiday Programme (WHP) from 1 December this year. This programme aims to bring bright young people from all over the world to Singapore. Participants of the WHP will be allowed to work in Singapore for a period of up to 6 months. A positive experience of living and working in Singapore under the programme would encourage some of them to consider working here after they graduate.

14. In closing, I would like to commend NTU’s efforts in organizing this conference in conjunction with the World Association for Cooperative Education. This conference, with delegates from diverse backgrounds, is certainly a valuable platform for exchange of ideas and knowledge on WIL. I hope that this conference will boost collaboration among institutions of learning around the world and be the impetus for innovation in WIL.

15. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank IEEE, the Singapore Business Federation, the Singapore Human Resource Institute, and World Scientific Publishing for their support for this Conference. Once again, I wish all of you a fruitful and enjoyable experience at the conference and in Singapore.