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ITE Renews MOU with Ministry Of Education, Youth and Sports, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

by Hajijah Koming

Mr Gan Kim Yong, Minister of State for Education and Manpower, Dr Law Song Seng, Director & CEO, ITE and other delegates from Singapore were standing in one of the IT rooms in the Gottlieb-Daimler School II, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, listening intently as two students from the Industrial Design Department explained how a high-tech ballpoint pen could be aesthetically designed. The Singapore delegates were genuinely interested and several questions immediately ensued. Adding charm to his friendly demeanour, Mr Gan quipped: “When you are famous, you’ll have to send me one of these pens”. There was laughter all around.

Mr Gan and the Singapore delegates were in Germany recently for the renewal of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, Baden-Württemberg (KM) and Institute of Technical Education (ITE), Singapore, for a fourth term.

Bilateral Cooperation Commitments
ITE and Gottlieb Daimler Schools in Germany have been closely connected for more than 14 years. The bilateral cooperation between both countries was first mooted by the then Minister for Education, Mr Tony Tan, and following his visit, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed in 1991. The second and third MOUs followed in 1997 and 2002 respectively. The signing of the fourth MOU reaffirmed ITE and Baden-Württemberg’s commitment to this cooperation.

During the period of these MOUs, many common projects have been realised, one of which, a model conveyor belt. The conveyor belt which was developed in Sindelfingen, Germany, is currently controlled from Singapore through the use of a mobile phone. Presently, students from both countries are embarking on another assignment - designing a three-dimensional computer animation of basic commodities. Another ITE group is expected to visit Sindelfingen soon for a design project. Students from both countries have been sharing ideas and opinions on their latest inventions, creative technologies, and even on social and cultural perspectives via video conferences.

Learning and Bonding
In the midst of all these, the students have been in regular contacts through emails and they have become good friends. The cooperation has indeed borne fruits. Mr Holger Esch, Principal from Gottlieb Daimler I remarked steadfastly: “Students from both countries have benefited tremendously through this cooperation. They will continue to learn a lot from each other. The advent of digital technology will pave the way towards further strengthening of this cooperation”.