Discovering Life as a SITizen at SIT's First Virtual Open House
Prospective students and parents gain exclusive insights into the various programmes available for the upcoming AY 2021
Over the last two weekends of January 2021, SIT held its first virtual edition of the SIT Open House with a series of 30 talks put together by the various clusters, as well as the Student Life and Admissions divisions. The event featured a virtual campus tour to give prospective students and their parents a glimpse into how university life would be like.
At the dialogue session on 'The Value of An Applied Learning Degree in this Disruptive World', moderated by Mr Kelly Koh, Director of Admissions, a panel consisting Prof Chua Kee Chaing, Deputy President (Academic) & Provost, Mr Skye Tan Zhikai, Hospitality Business graduate (Class of 2018) and Marketing Manager, Intercontinental Singapore, as well as Ms Devanshi Patidar, Year 4 Student, Diagnostic Radiography, delved into a deep discourse on how SIT prepares its students for the future workplace.
"It is important in today's world to practise lifelong learning because, as you know, technology changes very rapidly. For the current generation, you will have multiple careers in a lifetime, so you will have a lifetime of careers, rather than a career of lifetime, as was the case for earlier generations," said Prof Chua, "It is therefore extremely important that we prepare you to be a lifelong learner."
Mr Skye Tan recalled one of his classes in SIT that equipped him with the right mindset to face the adversities of the pandemic. He said, "Being a hospitality professional, in this period of COVID-19, it's a real testimony of your grit. In one of the classes taught by an industry professional, he talked about crisis management and how crisis is ‘危机 ‘in Mandarin, which, when you split the words up, means danger and opportunity – I've always remembered that and it applies to the hospitality industry right now. We need to take a look at the current situation and see what opportunities there are right now."
Themed 'Discover Life as a SITizen', the first round of online talks at the SIT Virtual Open House also introduced the programmes available across the Engineering and Infocomm Technology clusters, and also touched on some pertinent trends that have emerged in recent years.
Sessions conducted included 'Admitting the Right Student: What Does SIT Look For?' and a dialogue session, 'The Value of An Applied Learning Degree in this Disruptive World', both conducted by the Admissions team, as well as a session on 'Robotics Systems: Beyond Robot Building', which highlighted the newly launched Robotics Systems degree programme.
At the 'Admitting the Right Student: What Does SIT Look For?' session, Ms Veronica Wong, Deputy Director, Admissions, advised parents and prospective students that when applying for a programme in the university, they should consider these three points: the programmes that best suit the student's aptitude, the type of learning environment that will best suit the student, and the applicability of the training that best prepares the student to be future-ready with relevant skills and knowledge.
In another session on 'Robotics Systems: Beyond Robot Building', Assoc Prof Liew Pak San, Programme Leader, Robotics Systems, highlighted how robotics applications and skilled engineers are crucial to Singapore's economic growth and are needed now more than ever.
"There is anticipated demand for Robotics Engineers – The deepening recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is bringing about a surge of robotic applications as companies automate their operations to deliver more value. Also, there will be accelerating applications of robots after the pandemic, which will be critical to both recovery and the future economic growth of Singapore," said Assoc Prof Liew.
