MEDIA ADVISORY 2 January 2009
Republic Polytechnic Strengthens Relationship with Australia’s Monash University
Memorandum of Understanding opens new opportunities for students and mid-career workers to pursue professional healthcare careers
Republic Polytechnic (RP), the tertiary institution that approaches education through learning with a difference, announced the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Australia’s Monash University to open new opportunities for RP students and current workers in other industries to pursue careers as radiographers or dieticians in the healthcare sector.
This development could not have come at a more opportune time. Singapore newspapers reported in December 2008 that with many recession-hit companies now retrenching, the healthcare sector is taking on a new lustre. As an example, the National University Hospital (NUH) was reported as wanting to fill 550 administrative, nursing and allied health professional positions in the next 15 months. Meanwhile, the Workforce Development Agency is offering a Healthcare Professionals Conversion Programme to 150 candidates who will undergo three years of training before working at a Singapore hospital.
Under the RP-Monash programme, the first of its kind in Singapore, qualified students with a biomedical science or biotechnology diploma would be able to pursue any of the two new post-diploma programmes - the International Programme in Medical Imaging (IPMI) or the International Programme in Nutrition and Dietetics (IPND) at Monash University. These two post-diploma programmes will complement the Ministry of Health’s targeted spending of $1.9 billion to expand Singapore’s pool of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and allied health professionals (which includes radiographers and dieticians) by 40% within the next five years.
The first batch of RP students in Monash University for the IMPI will be in 2010 while the IPND will receive the RP students in 2011. Students who want to pursue their degrees in Monash University are required to fulfil a cut-off point of 3.0 for IPMI and 3.2 for IPND.
The new MOU expands on the current partnership between RP’s School of Applied Science (SAS) and Monash University, which is a collaboration surrounding RP’s post-diploma programme, the International Programme in Biomedical Sciences (IPBMS) which links to the Bachelor in Biomedical Science at Monash.
Dr Terence Chong, Director, SAS said, “We are delighted with the growing relationship between the two institutions and look forward to building upon our success.”
For further details, kindly contact:
Republic Polytechnic
Benjamin Chow
Tel: 31001779
Email: benjamin_chow@rp.sg
Mileage Communications Pte Ltd
Ooi Kelly/ Ronald Wong
Tel: 62221678
Email: kelly@mileage.com.sg / ronald@mileage.com.sg
About Republic Polytechnic
The first educational institution in Singapore to adopt the Problem-Based Learning approach for all its diploma programmes, Republic Polytechnic has six schools and one centre offering thirty diploma courses in Information & Communications Technology, Engineering, Applied Science, Technology for the Arts, Sports, Health & Leisure, Events and Hospitality, Innovation and Enterprise, and Culture and Communication. Republic Polytechnic is committed to nurturing innovation and entrepreneurial learning in an environment that develops problem-solving process skills and a life-long learning attitude. Its holistic, broad-based curriculum, covering culture, enterprise development and cognitive processes, prepares students for an active and meaningful role in society. Republic Polytechnic strives for excellence by achieving various national and international accreditations, including People Developer Standards, ISO9001, ISO14001, OHSAS 18001, Singapore Quality Class, Singapore Innovation Class, and the Singapore Health Awards (Gold). For more information, visit http://www.rp.sg.