With rising intake, SIT gets centralised campus in Punggol

SINGAPORE — With plans to raise its intake in the coming years, the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) will get a new centralised campus in Punggol. 

The university takes in about 2,000 students a year currently, and its intake will rise to 3,500 students a year by 2020. 

Set up in May 2009 to create more upgrading opportunities for polytechnic graduates, the SIT has a main campus at Dover Road, while its branch campuses are in the five polytechnics.

Announcing the new campus during the National Day Rally today (Aug 23), Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said it would be integrated with the creative industry cluster, which will be built by JTC across
the road. 

“Students can easily go from classroom to workplace and apply what they learn,” said Mr Lee. “And companies can easily go to SIT and get help if they need some new idea, or some problem solved.” 

The new campus will also be integrated into Punggol Downtown and the Housing and Development Board’s upcoming Northshore District. 

The community will be able to share in the new facilities, such as its classrooms, workshops and multipurpose hall. 

“We’ve talked about Punggol 21 plus; with SIT, it will be Punggol 21 A-plus,” quipped Mr Lee.

The university awards both its own degrees and degrees in partnership with foreign universities.

Mr Lee said the Government must continue to improve on the education front, not just in schools but in terms of life-long learning.  

“(This is) because education enables our people to be self-reliant,” he added. “Because our workers and students must stay ahead of globalisation and technology.”

In last year’s National Day Rally, Mr Lee announced the SkillsFuture initiative, which aims to give every Singaporean the chance to develop their full potential whether they are at work or in school. “Since then, we have made progress,” he added. 

The SkillsFuture Earn-and-Learn Programme was launched this year to give fresh Institute of Technical Education (ITE) and polytechnic graduates a head start in their careers. 

“They can earn a full-time salary (while) at the same time learn new skills, and then upgrade to higher jobs,” said Mr Lee. 

The Government also rolled out SkillsFuture Credit, which gives Singaporeans who are at least 25 years old an initial S$500 of credit, with subsequent top-ups to come, to spend on training programmes throughout their lives. 

These efforts are long-term ones, said Mr Lee, citing a Chinese saying that goes: “(It takes) ten years to grow a tree, one hundred years to nurture a person. 

“We are planting for the long term, planting seeds now to bear fruit many years from now,” he said.