Groundbreaking Ceremony at Woodlands Campus

‘X’ MARKS THE SPOT! With much anticipation, staff, students and guests alike watched eagerly as the piling machine began to grind into the soft ground, drivng in the very first pile of The Republic’s permanent campus at Woodlands Ave 9, amidst the cheers and delight of the crowd.

Manning the piling rig was Guest-of-Honour, Minister for Education, and Second Minister for Defence, RAdm (NS) Teo Chee Hean, who gamely followed the precise instructions given by Benjamin Seow, a GAO from the School of Applied Science. It wasn’t exactly rocket science for the Minister but he was determined to put on a good show for the 300 guests present.

This included the Acting Minister for Manpower, and Minister of State, MOE, Dr Ng Eng Hen, Senior Minister of State, MOE & MTI, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Parliamentary Secretary, MOE & MOM, Mr Hawazi Daipi. Other important guests included Chairman of The Republic’s Board of Governors, Mr Lee Hsien Yang, MP for Sembawang GRC, Assoc Prof Chin Tet Yung as well as the other community leaders, school representatives and industry CEOs in attendance.

Turning up in full force were also media from the four dailies as well as broadcast crew from the Channel NewsAsia, Channels 5 & 8, Channels i & U as well as from NewsRadio 938 and Radio Singapore International (Malay division). As over three hundred pairs of eyes watched the first pile mark The Republic’s home in Woodlands, other eyes were intently surveying the skies, watchful for impending signs of rain. For weeks leading up to the groundbreaking ceremony, many hardworking staff members from the various schools and departments had spent much time in organizing things down to the smallest details and planning for every contingency.

Fortunately, the weather was good. As Serene presided on the small stage as the master of ceremonies, it was difficult to resist looking at the sky beyond and noting how the weather couldn’t be better. As soon as Minister stepped off the piling rig, all attention was turned to the VIPs as they put on their hardhats for a quick photo opportunity. Besides the Ministers present, Japanese architect, Mr Fumihiko Maki, as well as Mr Chan Sui Him, MD of DP Architects were also invited to participate in this photo-taking session to recognize their contribution to the design of the Woodlands’ campus - a place that both staff and students of The Republic can be proud of.

Next, Minister Teo was invited to the stage to hand out tokens of appreciation to the student leaders as well as to Operation Art Core (OAC), an interest group focusing on providing graffiti artists with avenues to express themselves. OAC was instrumental in the spraying of graffiti art along the entire 300m stretch of The Republic’s hoardings at Ave 9. This is also believed to be the longest ever piece of graffiti artwork in Singapore. Bold, colourful and striking in design, OAC’s art received much praise from guests and public alike.

The Ministers then proceeded to view panels showcasing various parts of the Woodlands campus, with Prof Low and Mr Maki, taking turns to explain the themes and concepts behind the various artist impressions of the upcoming campus.

Accompanied by members of staff, our VIPs’ were in good hands as staff members provided interesting snippets of information about the new polytechnic to them. Following which, all guests took a slow walk along Ave 9 to view the gaily coloured hoardings, the first of its kind in Singapore. All the Ministers and VIPs were then brought to the signing board where spaces had been designated for them to ‘sign’ their names using spraycans. As the Ministers were handed their spraycans, it was truly a sight seeing their expressions as they turned ‘graffiti artists’ for the first time in their lives.

Amidst much amusement and encouragement, Minister Teo stepped up to sign and he tried his best to ‘ink’ his name with spraypaint. The crowd responded warmly with applause as the other Ministers took their turns at the signing board. This was a very important moment for TV cameras film and photographers as they only had one chance to catch the Ministers 'caught in the act of vandalism’. As shutters whirled fiercely and the cameras rolled, the signatures got shorter and shorter as the VIPs cleverly figured out the best way to leave their mark without a mess – to sign only their initials. Gradually, the entire board was littered with capital letters with only their formal titles below giving a clue as to whom the signatory was.

Nonetheless, everyone loved it. It was a rare moment to see some of the top guns in government in their polo shirts and shorts, doing what one thought only ghetto kids in other countries would do. After the signing was completed, it was time for the staff & student run. About 50 staff and students gathered behind the start line awaiting the Minister Teo’s flag off for the 3.2km run along Ave 9, up to Riverside Walk and back. As the bullhorn sounded, the competitive runners went off their way, in order to win the top three prizes for both men’s and women’s categories. The rest were content to do a slow walk of the same distance.

The VIPs then made their way to the tent for some refreshments. Media interviews got underway as the reporters seized the moment to ask Minister Teo. Afterwards, the VIPs made their way to their cars and left.

As the sun began to get hotter, staff and students began to stream back from the run. Top prizes were awarded to the best three runners by Prof Low on the stage. It was a happy occasion as all present enjoyed free sandwiches and pastry as well as ice-cool water. To top that, all guests went home with an umbrella that thankfully, they didn’t have to use that morning.

When everything came to close at around 12 noon, the sun was beating down mercilessly. However it was a good feeling to leave without having to activate the wet weather plans. Not forgetting too, all the news to look forward to resulting from that morning’s activities. Thank you for your hard work and well done, all!