Infocomm Clubs turn one this November. One of the latest and hippest co-curricular activities (CCA) for students, Infocomm Clubs put in a shining report card on its first birthday...
Singapore, 29 November 2006 | For Immediate Release
More Members, More Partners, More Activities
Infocomm Clubs turn one this November. One of the latest and hippest co-curricular activities (CCA) for students, Infocomm Clubs put in a shining report card on its first birthday. At an event to celebrate the coming of age of the Club, the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) revealed that since its launch in November last year, more than 80 schools are now offering Infocomm Clubs as part of the CCA, far exceeding its target of 30 schools set for this year. With this, a 3,500 strong Infocomm Club community has emerged, comprising members from primary and secondary schools, and junior colleges all across Singapore. The 3,500 strong showing also surpassed the target of 900 members set for this year.
Part of IDA's Student Infocomm Outreach programme under its Infocomm Manpower Development Roadmap1 launched last year, the Infocomm Clubs initiative is seeing early success among Singapore's youth as a CCA of choice. "Since the launch of the Infocomm Club this year, we have been receiving several requests from students to join the club. These students are excited by the training offered by the club and want to be part of it. We are very encouraged by the response and are certain that we have made the right decision to be part of the programme." said Mr Ang Tee Koon, teacher-in-charge, St Margaret's Secondary School.
Mr Leong Keng Thai, Deputy Chief Executive & Director-General (Telecoms) of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) said, "For Singapore to remain competitive as an infocomm hub, we must cultivate the best and brightest minds to form the next generation of infocomm talent in Singapore. Infocomm Clubs is one of the ways to reach out to our youths and excite them with the possibilities that infocomm brings, and ultimately groom them to be our future infocomm leaders. A sustainable pipeline of talent will help Singapore achieve its iN2015 vision of a globally connected city, powered by infocomm."
Infocomm Club students have many activities to expand their infocomm horizons. For a start, Infocomm Club members had a chance to engage in spirited discussions with speakers from Lenovo, Cisco and Microsoft in a conference held during the anniversary event at Hwa Chong Institution. Issues discussed included online security, mobile-government, and the digitalised society.
Chan Wei Jian, 15, a student from Raffles Institution, who recently emerged tops in a Computron Visual Design Competition said, "Being in the Infocomm Club has provided me the necessary infocomm skills required for this competition. In addition, by exchanging my infocomm knowledge with fellow club members, I am able to broaden my creative horizons beyond school work. I am really proud to be chosen as an Infocomm Club ambassador and look forward to the many opportunities to co-organise and plan activities with IDA." The Computron Visual Competition is a national competition organised by the National University of Singapore that challenges the contestants on general computing concepts and applications of algorithms.
Wei Jian is part of a group of 13 Infocomm Club Ambassadors who act as the voice of students. Together, they will also facilitate more vibrant exchange of ideas amongst students, the industry and IDA.
After a stringent month-long selection process, these individuals have been selected for their strong CCA track records, involvement in community work, knowledge and passion for infocomm, and their leadership potential. The Infocomm Club Ambassador Programme is aligned with MOE's CCA Grading Scheme (LEAPS) where students are awarded points for their CCA participation at the end of their school year.
As spokespersons for the Infocomm Clubs, the ambassadors will also be participating in an interactive forum in the infocomm talent portal which will be ready by end December 2006. The portal will house a myriad of talent development initiatives for students, infocomm professionals and the non-infocomm workforce.
To encourage further discussion, Infocomm Club members can also look forward to a "clubhouse" where they can congregate, exchange ideas and opinions on infocomm. iFuture, when launched in December this year at the Singapore Science Centre, will be the perfect hangout for the Infocomm Club enthusiasts. At iFuture, Infocomm Club members can play, touch and learn about all things infocomm, brainstorm with other members on the possibilities that infocomm can bring to better our lives, pit their skills against each other, and listen to some of the best and brightest infocomm minds. (Please see Annex B for iSpace and iFuture Factsheet.)
The Infocomm Club Programme is jointly developed with seven leading Infocomm organisations and tertiary institutions such as Adobe Pte Ltd, Apple Singapore Pte Ltd, Cisco Pte Ltd, Nanyang Polytechnic, Novell Singapore Pte Ltd, SingTel Ltd and Temasek Polytechnic. Today, the number of partners has risen to 13 with the addition of seven other partners including Hewlett Packard Pte Ltd, Microsoft Singapore Pte Ltd, National Grid Office, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Nanyang Technological University and Singapore Polytechnic in November 2006.
ISSUED BY CORPORATE & MARKETING COMMUNICATION DIVISION
INFOCOMM DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF SINGAPORE
Notes to Editor:
1 Infocomm Manpower Development Roadmap IDA's Infocomm Manpower Development Roadmap is a five-year roadmap to develop infocomm professionals into globally-competitive players, the general workforce into savvy Infocomm users, and students into the infocomm talent of the future. The Roadmap supports the ten-year Intelligent Nation 2015 (iN2015) masterplan to turn Singapore into a globally connected city, powered by infocomm.
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 infocommunications 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 news and information, visit https://www.imda.gov.sg/.
For mediaon clarification, please contact:
Ms Gayle WONG
Manager, Corporate & Marketing Communication
Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
Tel: +65 6211 0209
HP: +65 9753 3273
Fax : +65 6211 2227
Email: gayle_wong@imda.gov.sg
Ms HO Hwei Ling
Assistant Director, Corporate & Marketing Communication
Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
Tel: +65 6211 1996
Fax : +65 6211 2227
Email: ho_hwei_ling@imda.gov.sg
Annexes
A. Fact Sheet on Infocomm Clubs (34.83KB)
B. Fact Sheet on iFuture and iSpace (99.99KB)
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