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NGEE Ann Polytechnic is starting a diploma programme in logistics management in China in September, becoming the first Singapore tertiary institution to teach its own courses in a branch campus overseas.
The course, to be conducted in partnership with the 110-year-old Wuhan University of Science and Technology (Wust) in Hubei province, will be taught mainly in English by the polytechnic's lecturers.
At the end of the three-year programme, which offers foundations in business, logistics and information technology, students will be awarded diplomas from both Ngee Ann and the Chinese university.
How other institutions are expanding overseas
The three local universities work with overseas partners to conduct joint degree programmes or offer internships.
For instance, the National University of Singapore has five overseas colleges in global entrepreneurial hubs such as Silicon Valley in the United States, Shanghai in China and Bangalore in India.
Students take up internships at start-ups and attend part-time entrepreneurship courses at partner universities.
Polytechnics offer a range of overseas internships, exchange programmes and study missions to developing countries such as China and India.
Some have a presence overseas as well.
Temasek Polytechnic offers a certificate in business in Myanmar and sends its lecturers there to conduct classes.
Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) has gone further by establishing a centre in China within the Beijing IT College - the NYP Student Project Centre.
The centre allows NYP students from IT and engineering courses to work on projects with industry partners.
So far, about 240 students have undergone or are undergoing attachments there.
Hwa Chong opened its first satellite campus in Beijing, China last year and plans to open two others in India and the US.
Its Chinese campus is located within one of Beijing's top high schools, The Second High School.
Its students attend lessons conducted by Hwa Chong's teachers as well as those from the host school.
They also take modules online - which have been prepared by their teachers in Singapore - and go on home stays and weekly field trips.
JANE NG
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Ngee Ann principal Chia Mia Chiang said that the partnership with the prestigious university would help the polytechnic to expand its global presence.
Wust's vice-president Ma Jihua told The Straits Times in a telephone interview that 120 students would be recruited for the inaugural programme. He expected the response to be overwhelming.
'Like Singapore, Wuhan...is a logistics hub,' he said. 'There is thus great demand for trained professionals to support a growing logistics industry.'
With over 70 per cent of the course taught in English, Professor Ma said that the employment opportunities for its graduates, especially in multi-national companies, would be good.
This explains why many prospective students in Wuhan are willing to pay 17,000 yuan (S$3,400) per academic year for the programme, more than three times the school fees for other courses.
'Ngee Ann is well known in Wuhan since it started recruiting students here to study in Singapore 10 years ago and we hope to continue working together to offer more courses to our students in future,' said Prof Ma.
Ngee Ann's Mr Chia is just as hopeful. He said that business and tourism-related courses could be rolled out there next.
'When the number of our students in Wust reaches 1,000, we will start to build our own campus there,' he added.
Ngee Ann's branch campus there is now situated on premises borrowed from Wust.
Besides Wuhan, Ngee Ann is also exploring similar partnerships with universities in other Chinese cities, as well as those in India and Vietnam.
Hundreds of Ngee Ann's engineering, Chinese and film studies students are already doing short stints of up to one semester at Chinese universities.
Similarly, final-year students of the logistics management course here will eventually be able to spend a semester at Wust.
In exchange, Ngee Ann will offer the top 20 per cent of its second-year students at Wust a chance to complete their final year in Singapore.
The course manager for Ngee Ann's logistics management programme in Wuhan, Mr Wong Soon Fatt, 48, is among the first batch of three lecturers to be sent to Wust.
Mr Wong, who will be teaching overseas for the first time, said: 'It will widen our scope and help us see how the Chinese students with a different culture and social background can learn and benefit from the course.'
This article was first published in The Straits Times on Jun 5, 2008
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