In a world shaped by constant disruption, lifelong learning is pivotal in nurturing innovative and adaptive workers, enhancing economic competitiveness and quality of life.
Besides equipping its students with industry-relevant expertise, the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) also strives to support its alumni who have joined the workforce, to continually gain and apply new skills.
SITLEARN – for Working Adults
This led SIT to launch SITLEARN in 2017, to cater to the growing development needs of working adults across various industry sectors.
In line with SIT’s emphasis on applied learning, SITLEARN’s courses integrate case studies and evidence-based research with real-world applications, that are delivered by SIT faculty and industry experts.
In addition, courses delivered by SITLEARN are developed in consultation with subject experts in the industry to achieve high industry relevance. The support of SIT’s partners, including trade associations, agencies and societies in providing insights about their evolving needs, has made this possible.
SITLEARN supports the needs of Engineers
At the National Engineers Day 2019 held at the Devan Nair Institute of Employment and Employability (E2i), Mr Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Education, emphasized in his opening remarks that IES can play a big role in lifelong learning. Supporting the SkillsFuture movement and IES mandate, SITLEARN offers many engineering courses for working professionals, supporting its engineering alumni who have joined the workforce to continually acquire new skills that enables them to stay adaptable, relevant and nimble.
SITizens Learning Credits -
Enabling SIT Alumni to Pursue Mastery in their Selected Domains
With the aim to facilitate learning beyond graduation, SIT launched the SITizens Learning Credits in 2019.
Under this scheme, SIT alumni will each receive $2,000 worth of credits upon graduation to reskill or up-skill. Besides standalone courses offered by SITLEARN, SIT alumni can also use these credits to off set eligible courses funded by SkillsFuture Singapore.
The SITizens Learning Credits offer alumni the autonomy to return to SIT and continue their learning – which is a part of SIT’s DNA to encourage students to learn, unlearn and relearn.
Success Story
Since its launch, the scheme has received positive response. One such SITizen is Tng Shun Li, who graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in Chemical Engineering in 2016 from Newcastle University, offered through SIT.
In fact, Shun Li is the first alumnus to have fully utilised his credits, putting them to good use to advance his role as a process engineer at Croda Singapore. His responsibilities in process safety; safety, health and environment; and plant upgrading amongst others, require him to constantly acquire new knowledge and competence in these fields.
Shun Li is the first SIT alumnus to have fully utilised his $2,000 worth of SITizens Learning Credits.
“I decided to sign up for a workshop at SIT. While applying, I discovered that as an SIT alumnus, I am eligible to use my SITizens Learning Credits. So, I proceeded to sign up for a series of workshops structured towards process safety essentials of a chemical plant,” said Shun Li.
Process safety is one of SITLEARN’s wide array of domain-specific courses across various industries, from building services, cybersecurity, hospitality business to design innovation.
SITLEARN also offers essential soft skills, such as communication skills and people management, traits important in the workplace setting, to complement their professional skills.
Like many others, Shun Li was initially uncertain about how applicable the courses would be. He later realised that his worry was unfounded.
“The Process Safety workshop covered both theoretical and practical aspects, providing me with important fundamentals to review and carry out tasks related to each module. Furthermore, I am now able to better understand discussions during process safety meetings and share my knowledge with fellow engineers and operators,” he shared.
“Besides the course content, I also had the opportunity to learn from fellow course mates who have vast experience in process safety and exchange knowledge on industrial insights with them,” he added.
Shun Li is just one of many success stories that have demonstrated the difference lifelong learning can make to a professional career. In Shun Li’s words, “Never forget the SIT-DNA of 'Able to Learn, Unlearn and Relearn'. The world is ever-evolving and we have to be adaptable to changes to stay on top. Don’t stop learning, and start taking up courses to deepen your knowledge to stay competent.”
Come 2023, SIT will move to the Punggol Digital District that incorporates a business park. The proximity will open up greater opportunities for SIT to collaborate with the industry and pave the way for working professionals to stay adaptive, relevant and nimble – through lifelong learning.
Visit sitlearn.singaporetech.edu.sg to learn more about the wide array of courses at SITLEARN.
This article was adapted from The Singapore Engineers December 2019 publication with the permission of The Institution of Engineers, Singapore.
