University at your doorstep

UniSIM to offer modular courses to public which can be studied at home
By Sandra Davie, Senior Education Correspondent, The Straits Times, 8 Apr 2015

SIM University (UniSIM) - the main university here for working adults - has drawn up a plan to bring university learning to the homes, offices and neighbourhoods of Singaporeans.

From July, it will offer 186 modular, bite-sized courses to the public, on subjects ranging from company law to financial accounting and human resource management.

Singaporeans can study for the courses at home, as much of the teaching will be conducted online. This will be supplemented with classes at the UniSIM campus in Clementi Road.

The university will also look at bringing some of the industry- specific courses to workplaces.

In the future, it is also thinking of running some of its general interest courses, such as in art and music appreciation and fundamentals of investing, at places such as MRT stations.

The modular courses that UniSIM will offer from July are part of the Government's SkillsFuture initiative to encourage Singaporeans to develop specialised skills and adopt the habit of lifelong learning.

UniSIM and the five public universities, as well as the polytechnics, will launch about 300 courses altogether this year.

UniSIM, set up in 2005 to offer part-time degree courses for working adults, now has 14,000 of them enrolled in more than 50 degree courses. It also admitted 217 school-leavers into its first three full-time degree programmes last year.

Students can take the new courses as stand-alone modules to gain particular skills, or take several related ones and chalk up enough credits to attain a degree.

Fees for each course range from $600 to $1,300, but with subsidies from the Government, students will pay less than half the amounts.

They can use their SkillsFuture Credits - the training grants that all Singaporeans aged 25 and above will receive from next year - to offset the remaining fees.

UniSIM president Cheong Hee Kiat said: "Over the last decade, we have built up a range of industry-relevant courses for working adults and expertise on how to help adults work and study at the same time.

"We will continue to work closely with the industry to ensure that our courses stay relevant. At the same time, we will continue to conduct research on how adults learn best and how technology can be used to enhance their learning."

Professor Cheong said that in the years to come, UniSIM wants to make its courses more accessible to the public, including retirees and those about to retire, by conducting some courses out of campus, closer to people's homes.

For instance, it could hold classes at rented spaces in MRT stations, which would make attending them in the evenings more convenient, he added.

He hoped that UniSIM, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, will become known as the university for life, and not just working adults, over the decade.

"Learning should not just be for work and building up a career, but also for living fulfilling lives," he said.

Retired sales director James Tan, 63, welcomed the idea of offering general interest courses at places such as MRT stations.

"I am interested in courses on topics such as teenage psychology because of my five grandchildren, as well as on counselling and investing for retirement. I hope they will offer these courses soon, at subsidised rates and at a place near my home.

"I am retired from work, but not from life."

UniSIM opens new degree pathways for poly graduates
Those in new apprenticeship scheme can go on to degree course
By Sandra Davie, Senior Education Correspondent, The Straits Times, 11 Apr 2015

POLYTECHNIC graduates taking part in a new apprenticeship scheme will be able to go on to study for degrees at SIM University (UniSIM), the main university here for working adults.

They can take the degree courses on a part-time basis and stand to receive credit exemptions based on their work experience and further qualifications.

UniSIM is working with polytechnics and industry partners to draw up degree pathways for those in the SkillsFuture Earn and Learn programme, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam announced yesterday at UniSIM's 10th anniversary celebrations.

Under the programme, which starts this month, polytechnic and Institute of Technical Education graduates undergo 12-month to 18-month apprenticeships and earn industry-recognised qualifications at the end.

Mr Tharman, who chairs the SkillsFuture Council, also announced that UniSIM will be setting up a website to offer professional development as well as general interest courses to the public from next year.

UniSIM is also looking into learning analytics to study how working adults learn best, so as to customise and adapt learning paths for students in future.

Calling UniSIM "a leader in the field of lifelong learning", Mr Tharman said its strengths lie in its open admissions policy for its part-time degree courses, its modularised curriculum, emphasis on applied learning and its blended learning approach using online and campus learning.

He told UniSIM officials and alumni: "Build on your strengths and play a major role in Singapore, not just in our education system but also in developing our society and its people."

UniSIM president Cheong Hee Kiat, who gave more details on the online courses for the public, said 20 to 30 courses will be offered next year.

Most will be work-related courses, but there are some general interest ones in areas such as art and music appreciation. He said some of the basic courses will be offered free, but the public has to pay for the advanced and credit-bearing courses.

UniSIM is looking into supplementing online learning with face-to-face classroom sessions to help participants complete the courses, he added.

Earlier this week, The Straits Times reported that from July, UniSIM will offer 186 modular, bite-sized courses to working adults under the SkillsFuture initiative to encourage Singaporeans to develop specialised skills.

Fees for each course range from $600 to $1,300, but with subsidies from the Government, students will pay less than half the amounts.

They can use their SkillsFuture Credits - the training grants that all Singaporeans aged 25 and above will receive from next year - to offset the remaining fees.

UniSIM, set up in 2005 to offer part-time degree courses to working adults, now has 14,000 enrolled in more than 50 degree courses. Last year, it admitted 217 school-leavers into its first three full-time degree programmes.