The Bachelor of Technology Programme at NUS
Professor POO Aun Neow
Faculty of Engineering, NUS
19th October, 2010, NUS
WCCEE 2010
Singapore Facts & Figures
NUS
Area: 690 sq km Population: 5.0m Residents: 3.7m
GDP: S$265b (US$204b) GDP per Capita: S$53,143 (US$40,880)
( 2009 figures - http://www.singstat.gov.sg/stats/keyind.html )
Singapore’s successful development since independence some 50 years ago has been due in no small part to the high value it placed on education, by both government and many in its population.
WCCEE 2010 17-19 October, Singapore.
Education in Singapore
“Singapore believes in education and, for 2007, about 20% of the national budget has been allocated for education with almost half of this on tertiary education.”
“Our polytechnics and universities play a critical role… for a growing and increasingly high value economy.”
(Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister of Education. 28 March 2007)
WCCEE 2010 17-19 October, Singapore.
“Every student must … go as far as you can.”
“Our education system has been successful ... We will continue to improve.”
“We will create multiple pathways … the Government is investing $5.5 billion over 5 years to build up Continuing Education and Training.”
(Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong , August 2010)
Education in Singapore
WCCEE 2010 17-19 October, Singapore.
Singapore Education System
Figures based on Year 2009
The school system
WCCEE 2010 17-19 October, Singapore.
Primary School Leaving Examination
Compulsory Primary (6 Years)
Secondary Schools (4 years)
GCE 'O' Level Examination (Age:16)
Inst. of Tech. Edu.(2 years)
Polytechnics(3 years) Pre-University
(2 years)
98.1% of cohort
27.7%42.9%21.4%
48,000 students
10 y
ears
13 y
ears
12 y
ears
Singapore Education System
Figures based on Year 2009
Age: M 20 F 18
Inst. of Tech. Edu.(2 years)
Polytechnics(3 years) Junior Colleges
(2-3 years)
GCE 'A' Level Exam
IndustryYr 2
B.Eng
(6,300)
(11,000)
(4,200)
Engineering Education
Many polytechnic graduates aspire for an engineering
degree. But university places are limited.
WCCEE 2010 17-19 October, Singapore.
(4 years)
Singapore Education System
Figures based on Year 2009
Age: M 20 F 18
Inst. of Tech. Edu.(2 years)
Polytechnics(3 years) Junior Colleges
(2-3 years)
GCE 'A' Level Exam
IndustryYr 2
B.Eng
(6,300)
(11,000)
(4,200)
Many go overseas right after polytechnic.
Engineering Education Overseas Studies
Many others left after working and saving for a few years. This caused significant disruptions
to their employers’ operations
WCCEE 2010 17-19 October, Singapore.
(4 years)
Singapore Education System
Figures based on Year 2009
Age: M 20 F 18
Inst. of Tech. Edu.(2 years)
Polytechnics(3 years) Junior Colleges
(2-3 years)
GCE 'A' Level Exam
IndustryYr 2
B.Eng
(6,300)
(11,000)
(4,200)
And many more were not able to fulfill their dreams because of
family commitments.
Engineering Education Overseas Studies
WCCEE 2010 17-19 October, Singapore.
(4 years)
Bachelor of Technology at NUS
Introduced in 1995 primarily: To provide an opportunity for polytechnic graduates
working in the local industry to study for a good engineering degree without having to leave their jobs and families.
To contribute to the development of the engineering manpower needed for Singapore’s increasingly knowledge-based economy.
Operating Parameters: To be financially self-sustaining. To maintain the high academic standard.
WCCEE 2010 17-19 October, Singapore.
Approach Take full advantage of its position within NUS with
its well-established BEng Programme, high quality staff and excellent teaching facilities.
To reduce cost, time and effort, avoid re-inventing the wheel.
Aa far as possible use existing systems, operating procedures and policies and adjust only to meet the special needs of the BTech students and the BTech Programme.
WCCEE 2010 17-19 October, Singapore.
Bachelor of Technology at NUS
Program Structure All students admitted must have polytechnic
diploma and preferably some working experience.
Students granted exemptions of one year of the four-year full-time B.Eng programme – BTech curriculum maps the final 3 years of the 4-year BEng course.
Courses specially tailored for students with polytechnic background working in industry.
WCCEE 2010 17-19 October, Singapore.
Bachelor of Technology at NUS
Figures based on Year 2009
Age: M 20 F 18
Inst. of Tech. Edu.(2 years)
Polytechnics(3 years) Junior Colleges
(2-3 years)
GCE 'A' Level Exam
IndustryYr 2
B.Eng
(6,300)
(11,000)
(4,200)
WCCEE 2010 17-19 October, Singapore.
B.Tech
(370)
Bachelor of Technology at NUS
(4 years)
Programme delivery Use the same staff teaching the BEng courses, but
remunerate them “on a consulting basis” on a willing-buyer/willing-seller basis.
Fully utilize the same laboratory and other physical facilities during the “3rd shift”. Such excellent and expensive facilities would otherwise become obsolete as time passes anyway.
Classes are held only during the evenings and on Saturdays, as all students hold full-time jobs.
No “long vacation” to allow students to complete in shorter time.
WCCEE 2010 17-19 October, Singapore.
Bachelor of Technology at NUS
Some key numbers Currently 5 programmes: Chemical, Electronics,
Industrial & Management, Manufacturing, and Mechanical.
Student enrolment: 1200 Graduated: 1900 Tuition Fees: S$36,000 (US$27,000)
Or S$9,000 (US$6,750) per year Profile of students:
Age: 20 to 60 years; Median: 30 Also from China, India, Myanmar, etc.
WCCEE 2010 17-19 October, Singapore.
Bachelor of Technology at NUS
Accreditation Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES) Professional Engineers Board (PEB) Engineering Council (UK) to Master of
Engineering level Engineering Accreditation Board (EAB) of
Singapore and thus recognized under the Washington Accord.
WCCEE 2010 17-19 October, Singapore.
Bachelor of Technology at NUS
Bachelor of Technology Programme
Some Contributions of Programme Contribute to local community and industry, without cost to
FoE/NUS/public. (Save taxpayers $150m thus far?) Appreciated by many of its graduates:
“Without the second chance provided by the BTech Programme, I would never have had the chance of getting a degree and upgrading myself…” a graduate from Class of 2004
Additional income welcomed by staff, both academic and non-academic, and graduate students.
Good annual surpluses. (Breakeven enrolment: 300) Faculty finds teaching BTech students a different useful
experience, good industrial contacts.
WCCEE 2010 17-19 October, Singapore.
Admission Statistics
Admission Statistics
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
Academic Year
Nu
mb
er Applications
Admitted
Student Enrolment Statistics
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
Academic Year
No
. of
stu
de
nts
Graduate Statistics
BTech Graduating Class
0
50
100
150
200
250
1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012
Year
Nu
mb
er o
f g
rad
uat
es
Performance of BTech students
WAM vs Total Admission Points
All Graduates
0
10
20
30
40
50
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80
90
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Admission Points
Weig
hte
d A
vera
ge M
ark
s
WCCEE 2010 17-19 October, Singapore.
Performance of BTech students
WAM vs Diploma Points
All Graduates
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Diploma Points
Wei
ghte
d A
vera
ge M
arks
WCCEE 2010 17-19 October, Singapore.
Bachelor of Technology Programme
Comments by external examiner
“Good course, well executed serving a real need, in short… excellent.
“They (the students) felt the course had been very worthwhile and were now looking forward to moving to better paid jobs.
“…the graduates deserves greater respect for having achieved the same academic level whilst holding down a full-time job.”
(Professor John Midwinter, vice-provost at UCL and past President of IEE)
WCCEE 2010 17-19 October, Singapore.
Bachelor of Technology Programme
Performance of Graduates
In a recent survey among our graduands:• 98% were promoted after joining the B.TECH
programme with about half just before or after completing their course.
• Close to 70% indicated that the B.TECH course contributed directly to their promotions.
• 100% indicated that what they study in the B.TECH course were useful to their work with almost 70% indicating that these were useful to a large extent.
WCCEE 2010 17-19 October, Singapore.
End of PresentationThank you.
WCCEE 2010 17-19 October, Singapore.