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On 15 November 2006, on behalf of Republic Polytechnic (RP), Mr Eden Liew,
our Deputy Principal, received the much coveted TEC Public Service Innovation
Award (Bronze) Award from Minister Teo Chee Hean at the award presentation
ceremony at HDB Hub. This year, only 12 organisations received the TEC Award,
and RP is the only educational institution in Singapore to be awarded this
honour. Over more than 200 organisations were assessed and evaluated for this
award.
Below is RP's story on our integrated wireless
infrastructure:
One Seamless, Wireless,
Paperless campus
Republic
Polytechnic (RP), Singapore’s youngest polytechnic, is the first and only
academic institution in Singapore to run on a 100% wireless network
infrastructure.
Even
before RP began operating in 2002, its pioneers envisioned a campus where
technology is more than central to administration and learning – it is a way of
life for all its students and staff. Within four years, RP has transformed that
dream into virtual reality. From brick-and-mortar to click-and-mortar, RP now
thrives on a mobile computing culture that has changed the way people learn,
work and think.
Explaining
the strong drive to go wireless, Principal and Chief Executive Officer Professor
Low Teck Seng said: “Being a very technology driven organization, we want to
harness the benefits of technological opportunity to the very limits.”
“Implementing our campus-wide wireless network enables not just a 24x7 working
environment, more importantly; it enables us to deliver even better levels of
service to both our internal and external customers.”
Getting everybody
connected
At RP, all
the students use laptops and every staff member is given a tablet computer. All
enjoy wireless connectivity and can access email, internet and intranet; send
and receive faxes; access their learning resources and knowledge base; and even
make phone calls from anywhere within the campus.
A range of
software applications provides the complete solution for data/voice
communication, internet access, integrated teaching facilities, business process
automation and knowledge management tools.
All papers
and cables (apart from the power cable) have been eliminated from desk tops as
information is now captured and transmitted wirelessly and electronically.
A world of benefits
The
benefits of having a fully wireless campus are many. Most importantly, it
complements RP’s unique Problem-Based Learning (PBL) approach, which develops
work-ready students who are trained to think out of the box. The wireless
information technology (IT) infrastructure enhances the learning experience by
facilitating more active participation and peer learning, instead of passive,
one-way intake of information.
Said Mr.
Samuel Liu, Chief Information Officer and Director of the Office of Information
Services: “In PBL, we do student assessment in a holistic way, For example,
students have to do self-evaluation, peer evaluation and update their
reflections journal, and staff need to give comments and grade each student
every day. Such assessments are not possible without the wireless infrastructure
as there is a huge amount of data to be collected.”
RP’s shift
to a paperless campus has also changed the manpower structure, turned everyone
in the organization into knowledge workers, and shortened the business process
cycle line. Said one staff member: “IT has really saved my time.” Quipped
another: “My laptop is my office.”
Another
benefit that RP enjoys is cost savings it is much cheaper to maintain a
wireless network compared to a wired network. “It’s one third the cost!” Said
Mr Liu. And by conducting all tests for students online, RP saves an additional
$100,000 per year.
Embracing IT as a way of
life
RP has
proved that a 100% wireless network infrastructure is a workable solution, and
the speed of wireless connectivity is sufficient to support all the data and
voice communication.
Going forward, RP will
continue working closely with its partner and vendor, Singapore Computer Systems
Ltd, to capitalise on the infinite possibilities that IT can offer.
Participation in Public Service Exhibition - 15-19 Nov
2006 This year, RP is also the only Institute of
Higher Learning (IHL) invited to participate in the Public Service Exhibition at
HDB Hub from 15-19 November 2006 (Wed-Sun). At our booth, members of the
public may have a try at some of the problems our students are presented with
everyday in their classes. Do find out more from our friendly staff about how
RP's self-directed PBL approach works for our students!
* For RP Staff - Click here to view the rest of the photos from this event
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