Temasek Polytechnic
Temasek Polytechnic (TP) is a post-secondary education institution and statutory board under the purview of the Ministry of Education in Singapore.
 | |
| Motto | Bringing Education to Life and Life to Education |
|---|---|
| Type | Public Government |
| Established | 6 April 1990 |
| Chairman | Lee Kok Choy |
| Principal | Peter Lam |
| Location | 21 Tampines Ave 1, Singapore 529757 |
| Campus | 30 hectares (74 acres) |
| Colors | Red White |
| Nickname | TP |
| Website | tp |
| Agency overview | |
| Jurisdiction | Government of Singapore |
| Parent agency | Ministry of Education |
Temasek Polytechnic teaches an industry-focused curriculum, which is an alternative to a broader based junior college/pre-university education.
Polytechnic graduates in Singapore are sought after for entry level professional positions or well-prepared to complete university degrees.
In contrast to polytechnics in the United States and the United Kingdom, polytechnics in Singapore admit the majority of their students after secondary school, mostly at the age of 16–17 (before receiving high school education), which is after ten years of formal education.
A Temasek Polytechnic diploma in a specialised area of study, for example Law & Management, is awarded after completing three years of academic studies and a industry internship.
Established on 6 April 1990, the campus of the institute sits on a 30 hectare plot near the Bedok Reservoir in the eastern part of Singapore. Temasek Polytechnic features 37 full-time and 40 part-time diploma courses, spread over 6 academic schools. Currently, Temasek Polytechnic has approximately 14,000 full-time students and more than 1,200 academic staff.
History
1989–1995
In June 1989, Tony Tan, then the Minister of Education, announced that a third polytechnic is being considered and in April 1990, Temasek Polytechnic was established with an initial enrolment of 735 students. The institute originally set up at Baharuddin Vocational Institute's premises at Stirling Road and the vacated premises of Raffles Institution at Grange Road. Due to increased enrolment and the introduction of new courses, three more campuses at Kim Seng, Bukit Merah and Portsdown Road were acquired to house the institutes' student population.
1995: Moving to a permanent location
In September 1995, the permanent campus for Temasek Polytechnic was completed and it moved to its current location in the town of Tampines.
2012–present: Logo redesign, construction of foyer
Temasek Polytechnic underwent a logo redesign, sporting a fresh new look to reflect the vibrancy of the school. The TP Auditorium Foyer began construction in 2010 and was completed in 2013. McDonald's, Subway, and Cheers are available to both staff and the general public.
Academic
Academic Schools
- School of Applied Science
- School of Business
- School of Design
- School of Engineering
- School of Humanities & Social Sciences
- School of Informatics & IT
- Temasek Tourism Academy (TTA)
Temasek Polytechnic offers 37 full-time diploma courses in the areas of applied sciences, business, design, engineering, humanities & social sciences, and informatics & IT.
Polytechnic Foundation Programme
The Polytechnic Foundation Programme (PFP) was introduced in 2011 for students in the Normal Academic stream to be offered an opportunity to gain direct entry into Polytechnic diploma programmes with their 'N' level certifications starting from 2012 onwards. Top students of the cohort each year would be offered the programme to skip their 'O' level studies and instead enrol into a polytechnic of their choice to complete a foundation year before embarking on their respective diploma programmes. During the foundation year, students would take introductory modules that would expose them to their courses of studies so that they would cope better in their first year. There is no GPA requirement to advance to Year 1, as long as students pass all of their modules during Year 0. Although they would also be graded in Year 0, the GPA will not count towards their cumulative GPA when Year 1 commences.[1]
The Centre for Foundation Studies (CFS) in Temasek Polytechnic was established in 2011 for students admitted into their PFP studies (Year 0).[2]
Courses offered
| School of Applied Science | School of Business | School of Design | School of Engineering | School of Humanities & Social Sciences | School of Informatics & IT | School of Temasek Tourism Academy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chemical Engineering | Accountancy & Finance | Apparel Design & Merchandising | Aerospace Electronics | Early Childhood Development & Education | Big Data & Analytics | Hospitality & Tourism Management |
| Food, Nutrition & Culinary Science | Business Studies | Communication Design | Aerospace Engineering | Psychology Studies | Common ICT Programme | Leisure & Events Management |
| Medical Biotechnology | Common Business Programme | Digital Film & Television | Aviation Management | Social Sciences in Gerontology | Cybersecurity & Digital Forensics | |
| Pharmaceutical Science | Communications & Media Management | Interior Architecture & Design | Biomedical Engineering | Financial Business Informatics | ||
| Veterinary Technology | Law & Management | Product & Industrial Design | Business Process & Systems Engineering | Game Design & Development | ||
| Logistics & Operations Management | Clean Energy | Information Technology | ||||
| Marketing | Common Engineering Programme | |||||
| Culinary & Catering Management | Computer Engineering | |||||
| Electronics Engineering | ||||||
| Green Building & Sustainability | ||||||
| Integrated Facility Management | ||||||
| Mechatronics |
Campus features
Temasek Polytechnic's campus was designed by architect James Stirling. The campus has 61 lecture theatres, a convention centre, canteens, auditoria, an amphitheatre, laboratories and training facilities, a large library, sporting facilities, and 13 food outlets including three cafés, three F&B outlets and an air-conditioned food court.
The Temasek Aviation Academy was opened in 2014 in the School of Engineering . The 6000 square metre facility houses a Hawker 700 private jet, specialised laboratories, and specialised training equipment for the aerospace diploma courses.[4]
Achievements
- In 2018, students designed and built a Proton Exchange Membrane-power unit, successfully powering both an UAV and an electric bicycle using the same unit, thought to be a world-first.[5]
- The School of Design is a Five-time winner of the Crowbar Awards 'Institution of the Year' for the year 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and most recently 2021. The Crowbar Awards is the only major student competition in the region and sees entries from institutions worldwide. The competition is a creative & craft competition where students from creative, design & media challenge for titles in 5 main categories. The best among the 5 categories walks away with the top prize for Best of Show and Institution of the Year (entries average 900–1000 annually and about 10% are from foreign institutions worldwide)[6]
- A team of students from the school of Engineering, Diploma in Aerospace Engineering (AEG) course won the Gold award in the annual Singapore Space Challenge (SSC2018) competition held on 2 February 2018 by the Singapore Space and Technology Association.[7]
Notable alumni
- Priscelia Chan – Singaporean actress[8]
- Sylvia Ratonel – Singaporean singer, Singapore Idol finalist[9]
- Ferlyn Wong – Singaporean singer[10]
- Faris Ramli – Singaporean footballer
- Hady Mirza – Singaporean singer, Singapore Idol and Asian Idol winner
- Teo Ser Luck – Singaporean politician
- Xu Bin – Chinese actor
- Dasmond Koh – Singaporean television host, founder of Noontalk Media
- Hong Ling – Singaporean actress
- Hany Soh – Singaporean politician
- Wan Rizal Wan Zakariah – Singaporean politician
- Charmaine Soh – Singaporean netball player
- Marc Ryan Tan – Singaporean footballer
- Jacob Mahler – Singaporean footballer
References
- "PFP Joint Admissions Exercise – Introduction". pfp.polytechnic.edu.sg.
- "Temasek Poly's fuel cell bet pays off". The Straits Times. 2 October 2018.
- "Priscelia Chan". spcnet. 13 October 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
- "Finalis Singapore Idol,dg Sylvia Ratonel, peluk agama Islam". Media corp .sg. 10 October 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
- "The S factor in K-pop". Asia News Network. 8 August 2012. Archived from the original on 17 October 2014. Retrieved 13 October 2014.