31 March 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA RELEASE

First-Year Engineering Students From Republic Polytechnic Take Top Honours In An International Competition

They Emerged Winners In The First Tiger Balm International Case Challenge

It was an international competition for the brightest minds to present innovative and viable business ideas, demonstrating their analytical skills and strategic thinking abilities. Open to tertiary students, the Tiger Balm International Case Challenge attracted 80 submissions from tertiary institutions around the world, including Canada, India, Hong Kong and Singapore.

The winning team comprised two first-year students from the School of Engineering of Republic Polytechnic – Ismalina bte Samsuri and Tan Chee Yuen. They warded off competition from four other teams in the final, from Nanyang Polytechnic and Marketing Institute of Singapore, to claim the top honours.

Their strategies encompassed market penetration, market development, product development and diversification plans for a range of Tiger Balm products.

The runner-up team comprised students of Nanyang Polytechnic’s Diploma in Business Management.

Another Republic Polytechnic team came in third in the competition, held at the Singapore Management University on 30 March 2005. The team members are first-year students Ester Khin Sandar Win from School of Applied Sciences, Yeo Jia Hui from School of Applied Sciences and Tan Mei Jing from School of Information Technology.

The panel of judges commended the Republic Polytechnic teams on their outstanding market research and impressive product drawings and prototypes. Polished presentation skills also won the teams top marks. Furthermore, the two Republic Polytechnic teams were the only teams who came out with financial projections for their plans.

Republic Polytechnic Principal and CEO Prof Low Teck Seng singled out the achievement as particularly significant because none of the students from the two teams are business diploma students. “As Engineering, IT and Applied Science students, they are still able to display a strong grasp of business and marketing concepts. This exemplifies the merits of the holistic education we bring to the students at our Polytechnic, where there is cross discipline training and exposure to modules such as entrepreneurship offered by the Center for Innovation and Enterprise,” said Prof Low.

The Tiger Balm International Challenge was organised by AIESEC-SMU and the Marketing Institute of Singapore, and sponsored by Haw Par Healthcare Limited.

Mr A K Han, Executive Director of Haw Par Corporation Limited, said the event was an effective outreach to younger consumers and budding marketers. “I am heartened to see the high standards and serious efforts put into the submissions received. This augurs well for the future business environment of Singapore when these students join the workforce,” said Mr Han.

About Republic Polytechnic

The first educational institution in Singapore to fully adopt the Problem-Based Learning approach is a progressive polytechnic with four schools offering 10 diploma courses in Engineering, Information and Communications Technology, Applied Science and Technology for the Arts. Republic Polytechnic is committed to nurturing innovation and entrepreneurial learning in an environment that develops problem-solving process skills and a lifelong learning attitude. Its holistic, broad-based curriculum, covering culture, enterprise development, and personal development, prepares students for an active, meaningful role in society. Republic Polytechnic’s quest for excellence is recognised through various national and international accreditations such as People Developer Standards, ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001 and the Family Friendly Employer Award. For more information, visit www.rp.sg

For media enquiries and interviews, please contact:

Augustine Low

Email: gus_low@rp.sg Tel: 9274 2489

Leo Kwang Lin

Email: leo_kwang_lin@rp.sg Tel: 9679 8291