18 July 2014 - Ten thousand primary and secondary school students are expected to benefit from a new S$2.8 million dollar Robotics & Maker Academy (RMA) collaboration between the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) and Singapore Polytechnic (SP) over the course of three years.
Singapore, 18 July 2014 | For Immediate Release
IDA and Singapore Polytechnic launched the new Robotics & Maker Academy
to reach out to 10,000 students to experience and create "robots"
Ten thousand primary and secondary school students are expected to benefit from a new S$2.8 million dollar Robotics & Maker Academy (RMA) collaboration between the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) and Singapore Polytechnic (SP) over the course of three years.
The collaboration will be co-funded by IDA and SP, and will run till June 2017. Over this period, the RMA will target 30 primary and secondary schools. When the RMA is officially launched in the last quarter of 2014, primary and secondary schools with an interest in Robotics and Engineering will be invited to join the programme.
It was announced today by Mr Heng Swee Keat, Minister of Education at the co-opening of the National Engineer Day and Singapore Mini Maker Faire Education Day 2014.
This programme will take students through a knowledge discovery process as they learn to code and programme robots in a guided environment with hands-on activities such as workshops and competitions. Through this process, students will gain the necessary computational thinking skills and basic understanding in coding and robotics - skill sets that are necessary to enable Singapore to gear up as the world’s first Smart Nation. It will also allow students to gain an interest in infocomm technologies and take on professional infocomm careers in future.
The programme allows teachers access to a series of teaching and learning packages by RMA that will equip them to provide help to the students in their course of learning about robotics. These packages can also be used to as advanced learning materials for students who have prior experience in robotics programming.
The collaboration taps on SP’s knowledge and expertise in the areas of Engineering and Robotics, in particular the usage of Educational Robotics to teach Science, Technology, Engineering and Math to youths. The RMA will also see SP students from various disciplines, participating in the training workshops and development of the teaching and learning packages used.
Mr Steve Leonard, Executive Deputy Chairman, IDA, said, “Getting young people excited about building and experimenting with tech is easy when it involves cool things like robotics. We are focused on developing young Singaporeans to be confident with coding and building technology so as to prepare them for an ever-evolving Smart Nation future.”
SP’s Principal and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Tan Choon Shian, said, “As a polytechnic, we are glad that we could further contribute towards nurturing and preparing our youths in the areas of science and technology through this unique collaboration.”
JOINTLY ISSUED BY INFOCOMM DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF SINGAPORE AND SINGAPORE POLYTECHNIC
About Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
The mission of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) is to develop information technology and telecommunications within Singapore with a view to serve citizens of all ages and companies of all sizes. IDA does this by actively supporting the growth of innovative technology companies and start-ups in Singapore, working with leading global IT companies as well as developing excellent information technology and telecommunications infrastructure, policies and capabilities for Singapore. For more news and information, visit www.ida.gov.sg.
About Singapore Polytechnic
Established in 1954, Singapore Polytechnic (SP) is Singapore’s first polytechnic. It has 10 schools that offer 50 full-time diploma courses for close to 16,000 students. SP adopts a proven creative teaching and learning framework and offers students a holistic, authentic and industry-relevant curriculum, innovative and vibrant learning spaces, and enriching overseas programmes.
The Polytechnic is committed to producing competent and versatile graduates (who are also imbued with sound values, so that they can be work ready, life ready and world-ready. SP has more than 178,000 graduates and among them are successful entrepreneurs, top executives in multi-national and public-listed corporations, and well-known professionals across various industries and leaders in government.
SP is the first polytechnic to be awarded the President’s Award for the Environment in 2010 and the President's Social Service Award in 2011.
Follow SP on Facebook at www.facebook.com/singaporepolytechnic or Twitter at www.twitter.com/SingaporePoly or visit its website at www.sp.edu.sg
For media clarification, please contact:
Eugene NEUBRONNER (Mr)
Assistant Manager, Corporate and Marketing Communication
Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
DID: (65) 6211 1182
Email: eugene_neubronner@imda.gov.sg
Frank CHUA (Mr)
Corporate Communications Officer
Singapore Polytechnic
DID: (65) 6870 7043
Email: frank_chua@sp.edu.sg
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