Thursday, November 13, 2008

Classes start next month at Curtin Uni

AUSTRALIA'S Curtin University of Technology will start classes at a newly consolidated campus in Singapore next month.

It plans to broaden its course offerings from business to health sciences and humanities by next year.

School officials made the announcement yesterday at the official opening of the campus in Balestier.

Curtin has been running programmes with partners in Singapore since the 1980s. But this is the first time its students will study together under one roof.

The school has 800 students doing degrees with its three Singapore-based partners. By the end of next year, the number is expected to grow to 1,500.

The campus is on the grounds of the former Institute of Technical Education in Jalan Rajah. It was refurbished and now includes facilities such as 40 tutorial rooms, 10 lecture halls, auditoriums and a basketball court.

The opening ceremony yesterday was attended by Australian High Commissioner Doug Chester and Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry S. Iswaran.

Mr Iswaran called Curtin Singapore a 'significant addition' to Singapore's education landscape.

Programmes will range from diplomas to master's degrees. In future, PhD programmes will be offered too.

Curtin Singapore's pro vice- chancellor, Professor John Neilson, said the university is looking at extending research now done in Perth to the new campus. While most of the students in its initial cohort are Singaporeans, it expects the majority of its students to come from outside the country in the years to come.

Global education services company Navitas has put in $40 million to fund the refurbishment, campus lease and start-up costs.

Executive director and CEO Rod Jones said he does not think the economic downturn will hurt Curtin Singapore. Singapore's location, strong demand from international students and government policies will ensure its success, he said.

Curtin's vice-chancellor, Professor Jeanette Hacket, said the financial crisis might be a boon as more adults could return to classrooms to be retrained.

Applications by mature students to the university's Perth campus are up 20 per cent over last year.

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