GLOBAL RECOGNITION

Let’s Celebrate! Mr Bob Tan, Chairman/ITE (centre), leads the ITE Board of Governors and Senior Management in the Harvard-IBM Award celebration segment during the ITE Awards Ceremony 2007 on 15 October 2007.

ITE’s transformation of VTE in Singapore received strong endorsement in FY 2007, when ITE’s programme, “Trail-Blazing Transformation in Singapore’s Vocational and Technical Education”, was picked as the winner of the inaugural IBM Innovations Award in Transforming Government from more than 100 government programmes submitted by 30 countries.

Sponsored by IBM and administered by the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, ITE was picked by an international panel of experts as “a model programme in improving vocational education due to its measurable successes, collaborative and innovative practices, scope and potential global replication.”

Said Dr Stephen Goldsmith, Director of Innovations in American Government Program at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government: “We are pleased to honour the Institute’s achievements and commend the outstanding dedication of multiple administrations of ITE leadership in collaboration with an international portfolio of technology and business partners. ITE’s contributions extend far past the school room and have a direct impact on youth employment rates, community safety and the Singapore economy.”

The global Award underlines a decade’s work by successive Boards of Governors, Management and Staff, and recognises ITE’s efforts in developing a first-class education that advances the opportunities of its students through a unique “Handson, Minds-on and Hearts-on” learning approach.

Sharing ITE’s Expertise: Singapore’s Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mr Zainul Abidin Rasheed (second from right), and Jordan’s Labour Minister, Mr Bassem Al-Salem (extreme right), graced the official opening of the Regional Vocational Training Centre in Jordan. They are briefed on the Centre’s works by Mr Soh Cheow Hin (in white shirt), Section Head/Building Services Technology, ITE College East.