June 2009

Contents

• Assimilation Programme for International Students
• Past and Upcoming Events
• International Students Achievement
• Application to Republic Polytechnic
• Feedback

Assimilation Programme for International Students

The Assimilation Programme (AP) is an annual event organised by the International Student Club (ISC) to familiarise first-year international students with useful knowledge and information, which will allow them to enrich their learning experience at the Republic Polytechnic (RP).  The AP was held on April 13 and 14, 2009.  Over four hundred first-year international students and over fifty enthusiastic senior international students sacrificed their school vacation to plan and coordinate this AP.

Various activities were planned so that the event was fun and informative. The freshmen were briefed on RP’s learning system and important guidelines/requirement for international students. Besides important briefings, there were team-building games for freshmen to shed inhibitions and make new friends from different countries. Senior student leaders who were eager to encourage teamwork and build camaraderie led the games.

A three-hour performance finale put up by talented seniors at The Republic Cultural Centre (TRCC) studio for the first time. RP’s Principal Mr Yeo Li Pheow and other senior directors witnessed the good performance staged by students from ISC. The management had enjoyed the performances, which include drama, live band and dance. A special song, written and composed by our senior international students, was performed for the first time. The song aims to encourage the freshmen who might be homesick and unfamiliar to their new schooling environment to be strong. To listen to the song, please click here.

This year’s AP was a success. It brought excitement and benefited the freshmen tremendously. Even though it was a tiring two days for the seniors, they said the effort was worth it, quoted one: “Our tiredness means nothing after seeing how the programme has benefited and enjoyed by the freshmen.” The seniors look forward to welcome the next batch of freshmen next year, and to continue the legacy and spirit of ISC.

Past Events

Republic Polytechnic (RP) makes a presence in Vietnam

Organised by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) for cities in Cantho (Mekong Delta), Hai Phong (northern part of Vietnam) and Danang (central Vietnam), RP participated in the recent educational fair road-trip. The fair was held from March 1 to 5, 2009.

For the venue in Hai Phong, students from RP who had just completed their first-year study and were home for the holidays generously volunteered their time to assist Christina Chan, Assistant Director (International Operations), in Hai Phong. All but one is from Hanoi and thus they had to travel for about an hour and a half by road to Hai Phong.

This group of RP students met with representatives from other institutions like Singapore Institute of Management (SIM), Bradford-Rex, Informatics, Kaplan, etc. We received feedbacks from these institutions that RP students spoke eloquently and interact well. They also met students from local high schools, parents, as well as government officials to share RP’s unique learning pedagogy, and chatted on life in Singapore. Officials were impressed by our students’ ability to express and present their views with ease.

The Office of Planning and International Operations (OPI) would like to thank Nam, Tiffany, Tonie, Gold, William, and Kua Lee for volunteering and share their experience with fellow Vietnamese students.

Upcoming Events

From June to September 2009, representatives from the Office of Planning and International Operations will be involved in education fair in Malaysia to address students’ concerns about pursuing a tertiary education at the Republic Polytechnic (RP).

If you are interested in knowing more about having a tertiary education in Singapore, do visit us at the upcoming education seminars.

Malaysia

International Students Achievement

Republic Polytechnic’s (RP) School of Engineering made a clean sweep of trophies in the Underwater Robot category at the Singapore Robotic Games 2009.

RP’s School of Engineering (SEG) achieved a record-breaking feat by winning all top three prizes of Gold, Silver and Bronze in the Underwater Robot category of the competition. This is an improvement from its own two-medal (Gold and Silver) win in the same category at the same event last year.

The team behind the winning robots included SEG senior academic staff Mr Prasanna Kumar, who was supported by Mr Shi Haidong, who is ex-RP international student and currently SEG’s technical support engineer, and final year Diploma in Communications and Automation Electronics international students, Myo Min Maung, Si Thu Win, May Myat Mon and Saw Kyaw Lwin.

The online application dates and the entrance assessment information for the academic year 2010 is shown in the table below.

Please apply online at www.rp.sg.

For more information on the minimum entry requirements, please click on http://www.rp.sg/admissions/intl_students/default.asp

Feedback on the E-newsletter

Please click here to provide us with feedback for this newsletter so that we can improve on it.

Contact Information

Republic Polytechnic (Singapore)
9 Woodlands Avenue 9
Singapore 738964
Tel: (+65) 6510 3000
Fax: (+65) 6415 1310
E-mail: Enquiry_DAEforeign@rp.sg
Web: www.rp.sg & www.rpi.sg

This e-newsletter is brought to you by Office of Planning & International Operations (OPI) from Republic Polytechnic (Singapore).

OPI coordinates the corporate & strategic planning functions of Republic Polytechnic as well as the liaison with overseas institutions on articulation and partnership matters. It also oversees the recruitment of international students and manages student overseas programmes. OPI works closely with Republic Polytechnic International Pte. Ltd. (RPI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Republic Polytechnic to manage its overseas projects.