Singapore, 5 April 2018 –The future of learning is mobile-first and bite-sized! Today, Temasek Polytechnic (TP), in collaboration with industry partner Gnowbe, launched more than 60 mobile Micro-Learning Courses (MLCs) aimed at meeting the skills-upgrading demands of busy, working professionals. The launch was officiated by Guest of Honour, Ms Low Yen Ling, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Trade and Industry. In addition, from 5 April to 4 June 2018, TP will offer every Singaporean and Permanent Resident one free MLC from a basket of 34 courses, to encourage their pursuit of lifelong learning anytime, anywhere (the list of the 34 courses is in Annex A).

In its continuing efforts to support the SkillsFuture movement and contribute towards Singapore’s journey as a Smart Nation, TP has developed bite-sized MLCs in subject areas such as Business, Engineering, IT, Applied Sciences and Life Skills. Each MLC comprises 10 to 20 lessons and every lesson can be completed within 15 minutes. The learning is made interesting with video and audio resources that are blended with relevant articles, as well as interactive features such as quizzes and reflection sharing at the end of each lesson.

There are two categories of MLCs: Certificated Courses and Accredited Suite Courses. Certificated courses are standalone courses, with topics ranging from personal enrichment to professional development. Accredited Suite Courses are groups of MLCs that can lead to full or partial exemptions in TP’s Diploma or Post-Diploma programmes.

“Moving forward, TP will be inviting domain experts outside of TP to collaborate and co-create the MLCs with us. We believe this crowd-sourcing will multiply the MLCs that can be offered to everyone in Singapore by leveraging a bigger pool of expertise.  This will allow TP to introduce MLCs at a faster pace, enable them to be scalable, and result in a more diverse range of courses.” said Mr Peter Lam, Principal and CEO, Temasek Polytechnic.

The MLC launch included an insightful sharing by Gnowbe Founder and CEO, Ms So-Young Kang, on “The Future of Learning”.

The fees for TP’s MLCs start from a discounted price of $19. Singaporeans can utilise their SkillsFuture Credit to offset the course fees of TP’s MLCs for a period of one year, starting from today. The online course catalogue is available at www.tp.edu.sg/mlc

To support the upskilling of the Singapore workforce, TP is working with NTUC to promote the MLCs to the members from both the United Workers of Electronic and Electrical Industries (UWEEI) and Hospitality & Consumer Business Cluster. Supported by SkillsFuture Singapore, the MLCs in emerging areas such as Advanced Manufacturing and Digital Marketing, will equip our workers with future-ready skills.

Please see Annex B for quotes from industry partners.

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ANNEX A

LIST OF TP MICRO-LEARNING COURSES ELIGIBLE FOR FREE ENROLMENT*

*Applicable to registrations from 5 April to 4 June 2018, for Singaporeans and Singapore Permanent Residents only.

ANNEX B

QUOTES FROM INDUSTRY PARTNERS

Mr Melvin Yong
NTUC Assistant Secretary-General and UWEEI Executive Secretary

“The Electronics Industry Transformation Map has been launched and we will see a transformation of the electronics sector. As we move towards a digital and automated work environment, it is pertinent that our workers’ skills stay up to date.  Hence, we look forward to work with Temasek Polytechnic to roll out these micro-learning courses for United Workers of Electronics and Electrical Industries (UWEEI) members.  Supported by SSG, TP and UWEEI will jointly outreach to its members and companies in the Electronics industry, especially those programmes in emerging areas such as Advanced Manufacturing, to prepare them with future ready skills.”

Mr Tan Hock Soon
Chairperson
NTUC Hospitality and Consumer Business Cluster

"We know for certain that many hospitality staff desire to upskill yet find it challenging time-wise. Hence, we congratulate Temasek Polytechnic, our Hospitality ABC Network partner, for launching this online micro-learning initiative that is in-step with the Network's broader aspiration of delivering accessible, bite-sized competency-based training to hospitality staff.

Leveraging the strengths of progressive Network partners such as Temasek Polytechnic, the Labour Movement is confident that training modes will continually evolve to complement staff's busy schedules and offer them and their organisations ample opportunities for regular upskilling."

Ms Teo Swee Theng
HR Senior Manager
Lumileds Singapore Pte Ltd

“On-demand, bite-sized learning is the way forward. We applaud Temasek Polytechnic’s efforts to develop micro learning courses to help support continuous upgrading of our workforce.  The micro-learning courses in Industry 4.0 and Industrial IOT are especially relevant for Lumileds staff as we prepare for Industry 4.0 transformation. We will certainly encourage our staff to try this new mode of learning.”