Lianhe Zaobao, 21 January 2017, SUTD launches first integrated Masters programme (translation)
To drive entrepreneurship and innovation, the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) launched an integrated programme that will give students the opportunity to experience an entire year studying and interning abroad. They will gain understanding of the entrepreneurship environments in the United States and China and will receive both a Bachelor and a Master degree in four and a half years.
This is the first time SUTD is launching an integrated Masters programme which is known as the SUTD Technology Entrepreneurship Programme (STEP), and it will begin enrolling students this year.
Students enrolled in STEP can specialise in any of SUTD’s undergraduate pillars and spend the first three years taking classes in Singapore, followed by spending their entire fourth year overseas. For the remaining two terms after they return, students will need to complete an entrepreneurship capstone project as well as a masters dissertation to complete their masters. Graduates will receive a Bachelor degree in the pillar they have chosen as well as a Master of Science in Technology Entrepreneurship.
When speaking with the Lianhe Zaobao reporter, SUTD Provost Professor Chong Tow Chong pointed out that the highlight of STEP is the one year immersion experience in the United States and China. By that time, students will first go to the University of California, Berkeley to take some entrepreneurship modules, followed by an internship in the San Francisco Bay Area. Finally, they will participate in a cultural exchange with a university in China, such as Zhejiang University.
Professor Chong said: “Compared to one term of exchange, an entire year of overseas immersion is more holistic. By providing students with the best of the East and West in terms of both education and overseas work and cultural experience, students will be able to gain a global perspective and understand the different entrepreneurship culture and environments in different regions.”
The STEP will take up to 30 students and successful Singaporean applicants will receive a bond-free scholarship from SUTD.
Besides offering STEP to new students, SUTD third-year students can also apply and join this integrated programme midway.
SUTD Associate Provost for Graduate Studies and International Relations, Professor Yeo Kiat Seng said: “In following the economic trend, we want to cultivate intrapreneurs and innovative talents who can value-add to their companies. This is one of the objectives of STEP.”
Catholic Junior College graduate, Kenneth Ng (21), who is interested in STEP said: “I believe it allows me to not only obtain the necessary technical skills involved in engineering, but also be immersed in entrepreneurship. Having the opportunity to study in Singapore as well as to have real experience working and studying in both China and the USA will allow me to expand my social network in the future.”
Those interested in STEP can visit http://www.sutd.edu.sg/apply for more information.