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Either they act blur or they are really goondus. As usual, report ends on a high note that "it could be worse..." and so "let's move on".
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Fewer opting for older engineering courses
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Enrolment in polys halved from the 80s, 90s; new fields now attracting more students </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Jane Ng
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>
A good effort, says Dr Ng of Temasek Polytechnic's environmentally friendly bicycle, despite finding the acceleration a bit fast. -- ST PHOTO: WANG HUI FEN
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->STUDYING mechanical, electronic and civil engineering seems out of fashion now - the number of applications for these courses is half what it used to be a decade or two ago.
The queues are instead for places in newer courses like aeronautical engineering or clean energy, which are now pulling in more top students, said Dr Dave Chong, who chairs the task force to boost the popularity of engineering courses in the polytechnics.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>Engineers by training
NINE out of the current 20 Cabinet ministers - 45 per cent - are engineers by training:
Mr George Yeo, Minister for Foreign Affairs: Degree from Cambridge University
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Overall, the numbers of students in engineering in the polytechnics this year has held steady at 8,510 this year, said an Education Ministry spokesman. But a few more of the polytechnics, rolling with students' preferences, will offer aeronautical engineering programmes next year.
The plunge in popularity of the traditional areas of engineering is worrying, said Dr Chong, noting that the trend is worldwide, not just here.
In the polytechnics, the number of students applying to pure mechanical and electrical engineering courses, for instance, has been falling.
Where 700 students filled each course in the 80s and 90s, there are just 300 to 400 now, he said.
Dr Chong, who is also the director for Singapore Polytechnic's School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, was speaking to reporters at the opening ceremony of Engineering Week at Republic Polytechnic yesterday.
The annual event, a joint effort of the five polytechnics to promote the field of study among secondary school students, is into its fourth year.
Until tomorrow, workshops will be run, and job opportunities in the field will be highlighted to these students.
Dr Chong said he hoped the workshops will show students the joys of a career in engineering and puncture some myths. He said, for example, that the stereotypical engineer - that 'very serious guy, the 'square' who does not have a life' - could not be farther from reality.
'He's not a scientist, a mathematician or an artist, but has to have their attributes to be creative, imaginative, capable and resourceful,' Dr Chong added.
At the fair, Education Minister, Dr Ng Eng Hen, drew the attention of his audience of students and teachers to the promising prospects that await engineering graduands: The latest employment survey by the polytechnics indicated that newly minted diploma holders were making $1,930 on average, and those who have done National Service, $2,220; more than nine in 10 of them land a job within six months of graduation.
He also noted engineers' versatility - many fill management positions down the road.
But despite the falling number of applicants for engineering, the situation here is 'still healthy', he said. In countries like Germany, the shortage of engineers has become so acute that leading companies like Siemens and Bosch are throwing cash and resources at kindergartens to spark interest in science and technology.
Siemens Singapore runs a school-outreach programme at the universities here and about half its engineers are Singaporeans. [email protected]
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Fewer opting for older engineering courses
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Enrolment in polys halved from the 80s, 90s; new fields now attracting more students </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Jane Ng
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
A good effort, says Dr Ng of Temasek Polytechnic's environmentally friendly bicycle, despite finding the acceleration a bit fast. -- ST PHOTO: WANG HUI FEN
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->STUDYING mechanical, electronic and civil engineering seems out of fashion now - the number of applications for these courses is half what it used to be a decade or two ago.
The queues are instead for places in newer courses like aeronautical engineering or clean energy, which are now pulling in more top students, said Dr Dave Chong, who chairs the task force to boost the popularity of engineering courses in the polytechnics.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>Engineers by training
NINE out of the current 20 Cabinet ministers - 45 per cent - are engineers by training:
Mr George Yeo, Minister for Foreign Affairs: Degree from Cambridge University
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Overall, the numbers of students in engineering in the polytechnics this year has held steady at 8,510 this year, said an Education Ministry spokesman. But a few more of the polytechnics, rolling with students' preferences, will offer aeronautical engineering programmes next year.
The plunge in popularity of the traditional areas of engineering is worrying, said Dr Chong, noting that the trend is worldwide, not just here.
In the polytechnics, the number of students applying to pure mechanical and electrical engineering courses, for instance, has been falling.
Where 700 students filled each course in the 80s and 90s, there are just 300 to 400 now, he said.
Dr Chong, who is also the director for Singapore Polytechnic's School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, was speaking to reporters at the opening ceremony of Engineering Week at Republic Polytechnic yesterday.
The annual event, a joint effort of the five polytechnics to promote the field of study among secondary school students, is into its fourth year.
Until tomorrow, workshops will be run, and job opportunities in the field will be highlighted to these students.
Dr Chong said he hoped the workshops will show students the joys of a career in engineering and puncture some myths. He said, for example, that the stereotypical engineer - that 'very serious guy, the 'square' who does not have a life' - could not be farther from reality.
'He's not a scientist, a mathematician or an artist, but has to have their attributes to be creative, imaginative, capable and resourceful,' Dr Chong added.
At the fair, Education Minister, Dr Ng Eng Hen, drew the attention of his audience of students and teachers to the promising prospects that await engineering graduands: The latest employment survey by the polytechnics indicated that newly minted diploma holders were making $1,930 on average, and those who have done National Service, $2,220; more than nine in 10 of them land a job within six months of graduation.
He also noted engineers' versatility - many fill management positions down the road.
But despite the falling number of applicants for engineering, the situation here is 'still healthy', he said. In countries like Germany, the shortage of engineers has become so acute that leading companies like Siemens and Bosch are throwing cash and resources at kindergartens to spark interest in science and technology.
Siemens Singapore runs a school-outreach programme at the universities here and about half its engineers are Singaporeans. [email protected]
:p
