Some 2000 students will now pit their skills against each other to emerge winners in the biggest ever National Infocomm Competition (NIC). Students from Secondary Schools, Junior Colleges, Polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education can look ...
Singapore, 13 June 2006 | For Immediate Release
Some 2000 students will now pit their skills against each other to emerge winners in the biggest ever National Infocomm Competition (NIC). Students from Secondary Schools, Junior Colleges, Polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education can look forward to compete in a series of infocomm competitions starting from September 2006 till January 2007. The inaugural NIC, an initiative by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) and supported by the Ministry of Education, seeks to attract top talent to form part of the future infocomm talent pool needed to drive Singapore's global competitiveness ahead. It is organised with the three Universities, five Polytechnics, ITE College Central, Singapore Computer Society and Singapore Science Centre.
"Singapore needs to develop globally competitive infocomm professionals who are both technologists and business strategists to transform key economic sectors and propel Singapore's growth into the future. Hence, it is important that we start from schools by attracting and nurturing the best talent into the infocomm workforce." said Mr Leong Keng Thai, Deputy Chief Executive and Director-General (Telecoms) of IDA Singapore.
In November last year, IDA announced the Infocomm Manpower Development Roadmap to boost Singapore's Infocomm Iandscape. A joint effort between the government and industry, the five-year Roadmap will develop Infocomm professionals into globally competitive players, the general workforce into savvy Infocomm users, and students into the Infocomm talent of the future. Kicking off the roadmap was the roll-out of the Student Outreach Programme. In order to attract the young into making infocomm their choice, programmes like the Infocomm Clubs and the National Infocomm Scholarship were also implemented.
The NIC brings together five existing and six brand new infocomm competitions under one umbrella brand name. The established ones include the National Software Competition, the National Olympiad in Informatics, the Splash Awards and the National StrITwise Challenge. Six new challenges, namely, VirtualXgame, Innovate IT!, Singapore Games Creation, Alice-In-Action, Network Security Investigation and Quiz have been specially created to expand the scope of infocomm skills to be tested including emerging growth areas like digital media and security. (Please see the summary of challenges under the NIC - Annex A).
In order to emerge winners in each individual challenge and circuit, schools will have to accumulate points for the challenge. The school which accumulates the highest number of points in each circuit will emerge as the circuit champion.
More than S$200,000 worth of cash and prizes are up for grabs in this inaugural National Infocomm Competition. Prizes include knowledge acquisition trips to top infocomm companies in US for the circuit winners to learn the latest technology trends and research areas.
ISSUED BY CORPORATE & MARKETING COMMUNICATION DIVISION
INFOCOMM DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF SINGAPORE
Notes to Editor:
1. Infographics of 
For soft copies of the Infographics, please contact the undersigned.
2. Infocomm Manpower Development Roadmap
For more information on IDA's manpower initiatives and programmes, please visit www.ida.gov.sg/Manpower/20060414201723.aspx.
About Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) is committed to growing Singapore into a dynamic global Infocomm hub. IDA uses an integrated approach to developing info-communications in Singapore. This involves nurturing a competitive telecoms market as well as a conducive business environment with programmes and schemes for both local and international companies. For more information, visit https://www.imda.gov.sg/.
For media clarification, please contact:
Gayle Wong (Ms)
Manager
Corporate and Marketing Communication
Tel: +65 6211 0209
Fax: +65 6211 2226
HP: +65 9753 3273
Email: Gayle_Wong@imda.gov.sg
Ho Hwei Ling (Ms)
Assistant Director
Corporate and Marketing Communication
Tel: +65 6211 1996
Fax: +65 6211 2227
Email: Ho_Hwei_Ling@imda.gov.sg
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