MESSAGE FROM CHAIRMAN AND PRINCIPAL & CEO

"We aim to produce graduates who will be able to excel in their lives rather than just function well in their jobs."

SEAH MOON MING Chairman Board of Governors

How do we characterise the Temasek Polytechnic brand of education? If it can be summed up in one word, it would be “Relevance”.

Temasek Polytechnic is committed to delivering an education and training that is economy relevant, future relevant and life relevant. Through our efforts in pedagogical innovations, improving how we instil life skills and the character development of our students, the diploma from TP assures that they will have skills beyond the technical ones required of their field of study. We aim to produce graduates who will be able to excel in their lives rather than just function well in their jobs.

To this end, we have endeavoured to provide an educational experience that is rooted in the expectations of industry and life. Our students undergo learning that demands their understanding and integration of knowledge and skills through project work, internships with industry and community service. Through the realism of their experiences, coupled with a meaningful and vibrant campus life, we bring education to life and life to education.

BOO KHENG HUA Principal & CEO

In today’s economy, talent, skills and ideas flow seamlessly across geographical boundaries. It is therefore imperative for our graduates to be global-savvy. On campus, we received over 400 overseas visitors and celebrated the cultural diversity of our student body through the annual “Celebrate! Global Community @ TP” event. Through academic and cultural exchange programmes, overseas study visits and community service, as well as Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ programmes to share technical know-how and experience with developing countries, we have sought to send increasingly more students and staff abroad in order to inculcate their global mindset. Importantly, these opportunities give them firsthand experience in understanding the interconnectedness of the global economy and societies.

Additionally, we have begun to engage leading universities in China for longer term partnership in education and learning. This is part of our internationalisation effort to share with these universities our best practices in skill–set training while we establish an educational presence in the fastest growing economy in the world.

For our internationalisation efforts, TP is gratified to have been honoured with two awards in this review year. The first was by the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam who conferred us with the Friendship Order. The Order was given for our active contribution towards their human resource training and the development of friendship between Vietnam and Singapore. It is the country’s highest award in the area of international relations. In addition, we also received the “Best Host for International Students Studying in Singapore” title at the Singapore Tourism Board’s inaugural Singapore Education Awards. This award was for our contributions towards enriching the educational experience of our international students.

We continued to develop our facilities to keep our training industry-relevant. In this year, the Temasek Culinary Academy was established. This $5.5 million facility, equipped with the latest high-quality food production and restaurant equipment, together with the Tourism Academy @ Sentosa, signifies the Polytechnic’s commitment to provide the very best of education and training in the hospitality, tourism and culinary related areas. Our design students also benefited from the establishment of The Hereafter, the region’s first fully-equipped high definition (HD) post production facility using Apple’s HD Workflow and Panasonic’s technology. Students trained in this facility will undoubtedly be well-positioned to support the media industry that is making the swift transition to HD technology.

Driven by developments and in anticipation of manpower needs in the economy, TP introduced five new courses in the new academic year. The courses are Aviation Management & Services, Baking & Culinary Science, Veterinary Technology, Environment Design and Retail & Hospitality Design. They are aimed at keeping our graduates relevant to the growth areas of the Singapore economy.

While we strive to extend our reach and impact globally, Temasek Polytechnic continues to be a responsible corporate citizen. In this year, Temasek Design School announced that it would dedicate design efforts in 2007 to the needs of the elderly. In October 2006, we received the 15-Year Outstanding SHARE Award, in addition to the SHARE Platinum Award, from the Community Chest for our continued strong support of the SHARE Programme.

As evidenced in this Report, our staff and students have continued to do well when benchmarked against their peers in competitions, and in their support for disadvantaged communities, whether in Singapore or abroad. As an organisation, we pressed on in our journey of excellence and renewed our Singapore Quality Class and ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 certifications. We were also recognised for our support towards Singapore’s efforts in defence and nation building.

It has indeed been another eventful and meaningful year for us. For their guidance, insight and continuing support of our efforts, we would like to record our appreciation to members of the Board of Governors, School Advisory Committees and our industry partners. We would also like to commend our staff for their commitment and dedication in bringing a first class polytechnic education to our students.

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