16 March 2006 - Address By Mr Chan Yeng Kit, Chief Executive Officer, Infocomm Development Authority Of Singapore At SMU-Carnegie Mellon-IDA Memorandum of Intent Signing Ceremony, Singapore Management University.
Address By Mr Chan Yeng Kit, Chief Executive Officer, Infocomm Development Authority Of Singapore At SMU-Carnegie Mellon-IDA Memorandum of Intent Signing Ceremony on 16 March 2006, Singapore Management University.
Dr Jared L Cohon, President of Carnegie Mellon University,
Professor Howard Hunter, President of Singapore Management University,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
A very good morning.
Introduction
1. I am very pleased and honoured to be here today at the MOI signing ceremony for the Fast-Track Master Programme between SMU, Carnegie Mellon University and IDA. This programme is of strategic significance for Singapore's infocomm development. The programme will help attract and develop top Infocomm talent for Singapore, furthering our ambition to be Asia’s innovation hub.
The Collaboration
2. The collaboration among SMU, Carnegie Mellon and IDA puts together the right ingredients to produce top-notch Infocomm professionals – professionals who are not only technologically competent, but also business savvy.
3. SMU and Carnegie Mellon will provide the students with a rigorous and well-rounded education to equip them with the knowledge and skills required by the industry. Sponsoring companies under the National Infocomm Scholarship will provide the necessary overseas attachment and exposure opportunities. IDA will provide funding to defray the tuition fees and living expenses for the students, both in Singapore and in US. All together, we are committed to award 40 National Infocomm Scholarships for the Fast-Track Programme for a start, over the next five years. On a whole, IDA has set aside S$40 million to award some 200 scholarships. We are prepared to increase our funding to expand the scholarship programme further if demand is good.
The Fast-Track Master Programme
4. The Fast-Track Master Programme is a dream come true for many aspiring Infocomm professionals. Students now have a chance to learn from the very best and become the very best. Not only will they get well-grounded in a mixture of IT, business and liberal arts foundation courses at SMU, they will also hone their expertise through specialised courses in Carnegie Mellon.
5. I am confident that the graduates of the Fast-Track Master Programme will be in high demand when they enter the workforce. The IDA's 2005 Infocomm Manpower Survey showed that the number of employed Infocomm manpower grew strongly from 108,000 in 2004 to 111,400 last year – an all-time high for the industry. The buoyant outlook also showed that higher-end, higher value-added jobs will be in demand for a long time to come.
6. In closing, I wish to thank SMU and Carnegie Mellon for this collaboration.
7. Thank you.
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