From Diploma to Ph.D

	Alvin's graduation and convocation.
	Alvin during his attachment in Nestle Research Centre, Lausanne, Switzerland.
	A field-trip to the micro-brewery.

The usual route that most students would take if they want to study Science would be enrolling into Junior College (JC) and then moving on to obtain their degree in a university. However, TP alumnus Alvin Loo defied convention by being one of Temasek Applied Science School's first few graduates to complete a degree in Food Science and Technology from NUS. He obtained First Class Honours and has been awarded an NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and Engineering Scholarship to do his Ph.D in NUS as well.

Being among the top students in the Diploma in Applied Food Science and Nutrition (AFSN) course, Alvin was awarded the course Gold medal and was a confident student with a cheerful disposition.

Mrs. Evelyn Lim, who taught Alvin when he was in TP said that, "Alvin was always asking questions and was very focused on his projects and assignments."

Seven years after getting his diploma, Alvin looks back on his polytechnic education and is grateful for the learning experience he had during his three years in TP.

"I picked up skills on how to learn independently in TP, especially while doing projects. This is especially important because nobody knows everything but often your boss expects you to be able to learn it by yourself."

Comparing JC and poly students, Alvin believes that the latter does have a head start because some of the materials in the degree course would have been covered in the diploma. Also, poly students are more accustomed to the modular system and tertiary-style education, which is an added advantage.

All said, Alvin hopes that his performance would be good enough to lead a research team and direct his own research in the future.