ITE 16/18/01

Press Release No. 13/05

Information Embargoed Until
Mon 22 Aug 05 at 1500 hours

BENEFITTING FROM A UNIQUE BRAND OF ITE EDUCATION:
589 TOP ITE GRADUANDS TO BE HONOURED AT GRADUATION CEREMONY

 

             They have gone through a unique brand of ITE education and are now ready to take on new challenges after graduating from ITE. Some 589 top ITE graduates will be honoured at the ITE Graduation Ceremony to be held on Monday 3 October 2005 at 1500 hours at the Singapore Polytechnic Convention Centre at 500 Dover Road.

2             Mr Gan Kim Yong, Minister of State, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Manpower, is the Guest-of-Honour and will present Medals and Awards to the Top Graduands at the ITE Graduation Ceremony 2005.

3             The 589 students were selected from this year’s graduating cohort of 9,621 students. Among them, 90 will also be receiving Course Medals, which are awarded to top students for excellence in their respective courses. The Course Medals are donated by professional associations and companies with linkages to industry.

Top ITE Graduands

4             During the National Day Rally on 21 August 2005, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke about ITE training as “a brand of education which is unique in the world.” He pointed out that ITE are training graduates to be “hands-on, minds-on and hearts-on”, so that they can become all-rounded individuals .

5             ITE’s most outstanding graduates in academic year 2004/2005 have proven to be such all-rounded students who have benefited from an ITE education. The three top students will be awarded the Lee Kuan Yew Gold Medal, Tay Eng Soon Gold Medal and Sng Yew Chong Gold Medal. These three medals will be awarded to Hansel Koh Zhi Ren, Norhayati binte Zakaria and Nicholas Tan Guan Hong respectively. Details of the three students are at Annex A.

Other Outstanding Graduands

6             Besides the top three graduates, another nine outstanding ITE graduates will be honoured with the Singapore Manufacturers’ Federation (SMa) Medal (2 recipients), the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) Medal (2 recipients), the ITE Alumni Association Medals (2 recipients) and the Continuing Education & Training (CET) Awards (3 recipients). Profiles and contact particulars of nine graduands are at Annex B .

Invitation to Media Members

7             Members of the media are cordially invited to cover the ITE Graduation Ceremony 2005 to be held on Monday 3 October 2005 at 1500 hours at the Singapore Polytechnic Convention Centre. The Programme for the Ceremony is at Annex C and a location map is at Annex D.

8             For queries or arrangement for interviews, please contact Liang Hwee Ming, Head/Media Relations, on Tel No 67720805, mobile: 97390287.

 

Released on: 29 Sep 2005

 

Annex A

Profiles of Top Three ITE Graduates LEE KUAN YEW GOLD MEDALLIST: HANSEL KOH ZHI REN

Age : 19       ITE Course and Campus : Nitec in Info-Communications Technology ITE College Central (MacPherson Campus)       Current Status : Digital Entertainment Technology student at Nanyang Polytechnic       Secondary School : Ngee Ann Secondary School       Profile : Versatile Hansel Shines in Music and Robotics Hansel Koh is an IT whiz, accomplished clarinet player and competent leader all rolled into one. This Ngee Ann Secondary graduate discovered that he has a natural flair for Info-Communications Technology (ICT) when he joined ITE. Using his programming skills, Hansel led his team in various robotics competitions, such as the Singapore ROBO-Grand Prix F1 Masters Competition. He has also come up with new gadgets, such as a virtual, multi-player Chinese chess game for mobile phone users. This game was submitted as an entry at the Asia- Pacific InfoComm Technology Convention in Hong Kong last year. Hansel, who plays the clarinet, is equally accomplished in music. He plays for the Ngee Ann Secondary School Alumni Band, Musart Wind Orchestra and the Soka Wind Ensemble. After his polytechnic studies, Hansel plans to set up an IT company which would provide a suite of comprehensive IT services.

Profiles of Top Three ITE Graduates TAY ENG SOON GOLD MEDALLIST: NORHAYATI BINTE ZAKARIA

Age : 38       ITE Course and Campus : Nitec in Nursing ITE College East       Current Status : Enrolled Nurse, Singapore General Hospital       Profile : Once Upon a Secret Wish When Norhayati binte Zakaria was hospitalised a few years ago, she was touched by the care of nurses and realised that nursing was her calling. She nursed her “secret wish” for the next two years, before plucking up her courage to walk out of her 10-year banking career. She first signed up for a short healthcare course before going for a stint at the KK Women’s & Children’s Hospital. Next, she enrolled in a full-time Nitec in Nursing course at ITE. When her ITE application came through, she was apprehensive about how she, a mother of two in her 30s, could cope with going back to school. Her fears were unfounded as Norhayati scored straight As for her ITE course. Beyond her studies, Norhayati even led a team on a medical mission to Palembang, Sumatra, to educate villagers on the dangers of mosquito-borne diseases. Norhayati is now an Enrolled Nurse at the Singapore General Hospital. She is very grateful to her ITE lecturers who had faith in her and gave her many opportunities to excel.

Profiles of Top Three ITE Graduates SNG YEW CHONG GOLD MEDALLIST: NICHOLAS TAN GUAN HONG

Age : 19       ITE Course and Campus : Nitec in Mechatronics ITE College Central (MacPherson Campus)       Current Status : Mechatronics student at Temasek Polytechnic       Secondary School : St Patrick’s School       Profile : His Never-Give-Up Attitude Wins the Day Nicholas Tan has dogged determination and a ‘never-say-die’ attitude. As a result, he excelled in his studies. “I studied hard and never gave up. Whenever I come across difficult test questions, I persisted in solving these questions using different methods, until the solutions become clear to me,” said Nicholas, who scored straight As and attained a perfect Grade Point Average of 4.0. He is equally involved in his Co-Curricular Activities (CCAs). As Chairman of the Micromouse and Robotics Club, he led his team in various competitions, such as the Inter-School Micromouse competition. He also mastered karate and attained a black belt within three years. Nicholas is currently doing a Diploma in Mechatronics course at Temasek Polytechnic.

Annex B

Profiles of Nine Other Outstanding Graduates SINGAPORE MANUFACTURERS’ FEDERATION MEDALLISTS:   (A) NG KE XIN, 19   Course : Higher Nitec in Mechatronics Engineering ITE College Central (Tampines Campus)       Profile : Ace Student Who Put Others First This straight A student chose to devote much of her free time to community service. As Chairman of the Community Service Club at her campus, Ng Ke Xin brightened up the lives of some 20 elderly residents staying in Tampines with her weekly visits. There, she repaired toilet lights, serviced electrical appliances, cleaned their homes and took the time to befriend them. In return, her new-found elderly friends came to trust her and they looked forward to her weekly visits. Besides helping the elderly, Ke Xin also looks out for new students. As a Bridge Leader and Secretary of the Bridge Club, she organised activities to help students settle in.     (B) TAN WEE WEE, 22   Course : Higher Nitec in Mechatronics Engineering ITE College Central (Tampines Campus)       Profile : Hard Knocks, but Never Knocked Out Former Express stream student Tan Wee Wee was playful when he was young and did not think much about studies. Things changed, however, when he faced a family crisis after his ‘O’ levels. Dad was hospitalised for a spinal cord injury and could not work. The onus was on Wee Wee to start working to support his family, as his mother is a housewife and he has three other siblings who were in school. After a working stint and National Service, a more mature Wee Wee was prepared to return to his studies. He opted to come to ITE to do Mechatronics. In ITE, Wee Wee excelled in his studies and was well-respected as a big brother. He was glad that the hard knocks in life has toughened him and made him stronger today.       Profiles of Nine Other Outstanding Graduates NATIONAL TRADE UNION CONGRESS MEDALLISTS:   (C) MARCUS ONG MING WEI, 20   Course : Nitec in Multimedia Technology ITE College Central (MacPherson Campus)       Profile : Go for the Finishing Line Marcus felt lost after entering the Normal (Technical) stream some years ago. However, he was encouraged by successful ITE graduates and decided to give it ITE a shot by signing up for a Multimedia Technology course. There, Marcus realised he has a flair in multimedia and was soon excelling in his studies. He also discovered his talent in the sporting arena. Marcus’ love for running won him several gold medals in local competitions. Besides sports, Marcus was also involved in community service, and he won a National Youth Achievement Silver Award for his involvement in helping the Villa Francis Home for the Aged. Marcus is now a Multimedia and Infocomm Technology student at Nanyang Polytechnic.     (D) TEO CHANG PIN, 38   Course : Nitec in Electronics (Computer Technology) ITE College West (Bukit Batok Campus)       Profile : Never Too Late to Learn The last time Teo Chang Pin held a textbook was 20 years ago. But he never gave up hope of furthering his studies, even after he has already established a career in the Army. Two years ago, he got his wish when he enrolled for the Nitec in Electronics (Computer Technology) course, with the sponsorship from the Army. Although it was tough hitting the books again, Chang Pin worked hard and even had his Secondary Four daughter help him with Mathematics, his weakest subject. Chang Pin was glad that his studies has enabled him to spend more valuable time bonding and communicating with his family. He felt that attaining this medal will inspire him in his continuing quest for learning.       Profiles of Nine Other Outstanding Graduates ITE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION MEDALLISTS:   (E) DESSY, 21   Course : Higher Nitec in Business-Information Technology ITE College West (Clementi Campus)       Profile : Getting her Priorities rITE Determined and focused, Dessy’s main aim three years ago was to do well in her Nitec in Office Skills course because she knew it was important to gain a strong skills foundation. Dessy did well and progressed to a Higher Nitec in Business-Information Technology course. There, she discovered her interest in entrepreneurship, as the Vice-President of the Entrepreneurship Club. This gave her the opportunity to go to Thailand for a four-day entrepreneurship study trip, where she bought goods from wholesalers in Thailand and returned to Singapore to sell them.     (F) NATHAKUMARAN S/O PONNUSAMY, 20   Course : Higher Nitec in Mechatronics Engineering ITE College West ( Dover Campus)       Profile : Wind Beneath His Wings Nathakuamaran s/o Ponnusamy is fascinated by anything aeronautical, be it flying the aircraft or servicing the engines. To strengthen his foundation in technical training, Natha (as he is fondly known as to his friends and lecturers) graduated with top honours from ITE a year ago, but chose to take up a higher-level ITE course, instead of proceeding directly to the polytechnics. He felt that this move would help him strengthen his foundation in Mechatronics before he signs up for a Diploma in Aeronautics course after his National Service. This proved to be a good move. Natha not only scored straight As, he also participated actively in project work and won the Lee Kuan Yew Technology Award for his project ‘Continuous Poster Display Unit.’ He also won a bronze medal for his participation in the National Youth Achievement Award programme. Natha is grateful to his ITE lecturers for being the ‘wind beneath his wings’ and giving him opportunities to soar.       Profiles of Nine Other Outstanding Graduates CET AWARD MEDALLISTS:   (G) IBRAHIM BIN HUSSIN, 39   Course : Nitec in Chemical Process Technology (Petrochemicals) ITE College West (Bukit Batok Campus)       Profile : On the Right Track He made a career switch from precision engineering to chemical process technology in 1991. At that time, Ibrahim found himself learning on the job, as many areas of petrolchemicals were unfamiliar with him. So when ITE introduced the Nitec in Chemical Process Technology course in the part-time mode, Ibrahim quickly grabbed the chance and started his studies in 2003. He found juggling between lessons and work hectic, especially when he had to concentrate on his studies, after a long 12-hour shift. Nevertheless, he adjusted quickly and did well in his studies. He now plans to do a Diploma in Technology (Chemical) at Temasek Polytechnic.     (H) NG KHENG GUAN, 36     Course : Nitec in Electrical Technology (Installation & Servicing) ITE College West ( Ang Mo Kio Campus)       Profile : The Upgrading Advocate Ng Kheng Guan is an advocate for upgrading to his friends and colleagues. He said: “I have friends with ‘O’ level qualifications and yet they are reluctant to upgrade. I would tell them that if I – with primary school education – can do it, I’ll sure they can too.” Kheng Guan has set a good example for his friends, having started his upgrading journey since 2002 when he took up a Certificate in Competency course in Electrical Wiring, followed by a Nitec in Electrical Technology course. Although he has a hectic work schedule, Kheng Guan is disciplined and serious about his studies and he made it a point to revise his work everyday for an hour, no matter how busy he was. He hopes that his upgrading efforts would help him to provide for a good and comfortable future for his family.     (I) POON SUI HUAT, 42   Course : Nitec in Mechanical Technology ITE College Central (MacPherson Campus)       Profile : Loss in Overtime, Gain in Knowledge Poon Sui Huat realised the importance of qualifications in 2001 when his former company went into liquidation. When searching for a new job, his employers would ask whether he had an ITE qualification. To improve himself, he took up a fast track Nitec (Intermediate) in Mechanical Technology course for three months. When he attained a new job, he also enrolled in a Nitec in Mechanical Technology course. Sui Huat knew he made the right decision when he scored a perfect Grade Point Average of 4.0 for his course. Although he had to forgo his overtime pay, Sui Huat felt that it was worth the effort, as upgrading is very important to him. He is now in the first year of his part-time diploma course in Mechanical Engineering at Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

Annex C

PROGRAMME FOR ITE GRADUATION CEREMONY 2005 Monday 3 October 2005 1500 hours Singapore Polytechnic Convention Centre 500 Dover Road

1430 hrs Medal and Certificate Recipients to be seated         1445 hrs Guests to be seated         1455 hrs Arrival of Guest-of-Honour Mr Gan Kim Yong Minister of State, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Manpower         1500 hrs National Anthem ITE Song Video Presentation Address by Dr Law Song Seng Director & Chief Executive Officer Institute of Technical Education Address by Guest-of-Honour Mr Gan Kim Yong Presentation of Certificates of Merit Presentation of Course Medals Presentation of Awards to Outstanding Graduates         1700 hrs Reception