The Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) marked a momentous occasion on 20 March with a gala dinner at the Conrad Orchard Hotel to celebrate its 10th anniversary as an autonomous university (AU). The evening was filled with reminiscing about the decade of SIT’s remarkable growth and impact on Singapore's higher education landscape.
More than 350 guests attended the event, graced by Guest-of-Honour, Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and Minister for Finance, Mr Lawrence Wong. Other distinguished guests who left an indelible mark on SIT's development included current and former Education Ministers - Minister for Education, Mr Chan Chun Sing; Minister for Defence, Dr Ng Eng Hen; Minister for Health, Mr Ong Ye Kung; current and former members of SIT’s Board of Trustees (BOT); current and former Senior Management of SIT; Industry Advisory Committee Chairpersons; industry and community partners; and donors.
DPM Wong, Ministers Dr Ng Eng Hen and Chan Chun Sing, and Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Communications and Information & Ministry of Health Dr Janil Puthucheary at SIT’s 10th anniversary gala dinner. (SIT photo: Keng Photography)
The event commenced with guests walking down memory lane as they got a glimpse of SIT’s history. Panels chronicled SIT’s growth from its early days in 2009, before it became an AU, and how it has transformed into a university that continues to innovate and nurture individuals to contribute to Singapore’s success.
DPM Wong and guests learned more about SIT’s history through a showcase that documented how it started as Singapore’s first university of applied learning. (SIT Photo: Keng Photography)
Grooming Future-Ready Graduates
As everyone gathered to celebrate this special occasion, SIT acknowledged the invaluable partnerships and support it has received.
Underscoring the spirit of collaboration, a commemorative video highlighted testimonials from industry partners. “SIT has a very strong, innovation-driven agenda. We like working with SIT because there’s a shared innovation to make food supply chains more sustainable,” said Vishal Vijay, Head of Business Development at Agrocrop International.
“Today, I see SIT playing a bigger and more significant role in creating new competencies, learning pedagogies and continuing to address real-world challenges,” said Peter Tan, Co-Chairman of Advanced Manufacturing & Technology Centre (ARTC).
Welcoming guests to the gala, SIT President Professor Chua Kee Chaing thanked partners for helping to shape SIT's journey. He remarked that SIT has grown significantly over the past decade, from admitting 1,800 undergraduates in 2014 to over 3,300 students now, making it the third-largest autonomous university for full-time undergraduates. Prof Chua also shared that SIT graduates are highly sought after, with employment rates exceeding 90% and many landing advance job offers through the flagship Integrated Work Study Programme (IWSP), which has seen nearly 8,000 students participate since its launch and partner companies grow from 11 in 2015 to 884 today.
SIT President Prof Chua Kee Chaing delivering his welcome address. (SIT Photo: Keng Photography)
The evening also highlighted SIT's commitment to making university education more accessible, with Prof Chua expressing his heartfelt gratitude to donors.
"Our donors have been instrumental," Prof Chua said. "They've established close to 1,000 donor funds, enabling us to award over 9,100 scholarships and bursaries since 2014."
Guest-of-Honour DPM Wong was also instrumental in SIT's development, having led the Committee on University Education Pathways Beyond 2015 which proposed that SIT become Singapore’s 5th autonomous university. The committee's mandate to SIT - offer a distinct university education and produce a different type of graduate to meet the diverse needs of Singapore's economy.
“We decided to adopt this applied degree pathway in Singapore to cater to Singaporeans who prefer more applied and hands-on learning. Of course, the question then was, how do we go about implementing this? When we looked around Singapore at that time, SIT was clearly best placed to do this. Rather than create something completely new, why not just build on the SIT model. Hence, the committee recommended to make SIT Singapore’s fifth autonomous university, and that happened 10 years ago in 2014... All in all, it has been a long but very rewarding and fulfilling journey,” said DPM Wong.
DPM Wong delivering his congratulatory address. (SIT Photo: Keng Photography)
Read DPM’s full speech here.
Guests mingled over dinner to celebrate SIT’s 10th anniversary. (SIT Photo: Keng Photography)
The Future Ahead: A New Home, A New Horizon and Stronger Together in Punggol
The future beckons for SIT with the move to its new Punggol Campus later this year. This new home will see the coming together of all six current locations, fostering a vibrant hub for multidisciplinary learning, research, and innovation.
Situated in the heart of the Punggol Digital District, the new campus presents exciting opportunities for collaboration with industry partners. This includes the Punggol Coast MRT station – located at the doorstep of the Punggol campus. Together with SBS Transit, SIT will work to establish the station as a Living Lab, with a digital twin platform for students and academic staff to use as a learning and research facility to help address emerging challenges and leverage opportunities to drive innovation in the public transport industry. Public spaces in the MRT station will also serve as an event space where student performances and exhibitions can be held.
Charting the Course for the Future
It was certainly an evening to remember as guests left the event with not just a look to the future, but memories of SIT and a commemorative book, ‘SIT: Journey to Punggol’. Documenting SIT’s key moments, from its humble beginnings to its steadfast commitment to excellence, the book features the many individuals who have contributed to SIT’s success.
SIT President Prof Chua Kee Chaing (left) presenting a commemorative book, titled SIT: Journey To Punggol, to DPM Wong. With them is Mr Bill Chang, Chairman of SIT's Board of Trustees. (SIT Photo: Keng Photography)
As SIT embarks on a new decade, its focus on strong industry and community partnerships remains unwavering. This commitment to applied, authentic learning equips graduates with the skills they need to thrive in the ever-changing world of work and empowers students to translate ideas into tangible solutions.
2024 is just the beginning of an exciting new chapter for SIT. With a focus on collaboration, innovation and real-world learning, SIT is poised to contribute to Singapore and Singaporeans for years to come.
Check out the congratulatory messages from SIT’s esteemed partners!
"Congratulations SIT on your 10th Anniversary, looking forward to welcoming all of you to Punggol later this year. Please do keep up the excellent work in developing innovative educational pathways for all SITIZENS!” - Dr Janil Puthucheary
Dr Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Communications and Information & Ministry of Health (right). (SIT Photo: Keng Photography)
"Congratulations to SIT for achieving this remarkable milestone. I am impressed by how successfully you have utilised the applied learning approach to develop young talents for the various industries in Singapore. STMicroelectronics has been actively working with SIT on the IWSP programme, STEM outreach initiatives, and engineering programme curriculum advisory. We look forward to working on more programs together to make "ST in SIT & SIT in ST" a strong industry-university model that can serve as an inspiration to others." - Eugene Lee
Eugene Lee, General Manager, Analog & Power Front End Manufacturing, Asia Pacific region, STMicroelectronics (centre), with (from left) Yeo May-Fung, Bernard Nee, Prof Susanna Leong and Andrew Seah from SIT. (SIT Photo)
