The Republic-Industry MOU Signing Ceremony
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| The Republic was proud
to host its MOU signing ceremony with 33
industry partners on 25th February 2003
at The Grassroots Club. A highly significant
milestone in the history of the nascent
polytechnic, The Republic commemorated
its 'coming of age' with over 150 guests
from industry and other public institutions.
Over 150 guests received a warm The Republic
welcome by our staff-turned-receptionists-and-ushers
for the day as they entered the club. |
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Preceding the MOU signing
ceremony was a round of informal press
interviews held at the Winebar. Dimly
lit and cosy, the Winebar was an inviting
place for nine selected companies to
be interviewed over hot drinks and light
finger food. Prof Low, our P/CEO, opened
the session with a short introduction,
explaining the importance of industry
in the co-development of The Republic's
curricula and training facilities.
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| At 10:30am, the interviewees
were 'matched' with their respective media
for a fifteen minute interview, followed
by another at 10:45am. Seated together
with the interviewees were School Directors
and Programme Chairs, to facilitate the
interview and help in the changeover to
the next interview. Most of the 12 print
and broadcast media enjoyed the ambience
afforded by such comfortable settings.
The Winebar was given a rousing thumbs
up from the press as it allowed for interviews
to be conducted tête-à-tête
and subsequently, for more rapport to be
created. |
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| From 10:45 am
onwards, cocktails were served in the
foyer area, during which guests could
mingle freely and admire the posters.
The registration desks were neatly designated
to cater for VIP guests, including the
Board of Governors and those in ambassadorial
circles, as well as the non-VIP industry
partners. Entering the foyer was akin
to stepping into COMDEX or a IDA roadshow.
The entire area was decked out with posters
from every participating company, including
those from The Republic, of course. Drawing
the most attention were the posters lined
up against the walkway leading to the
function room as they featured the youthful,
attractive faces of staff at Republic
Polytechnic. More importantly, they were
testament of The Republic's philosophy
of being 'Radical, Revolutionary, Real'.
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| Making an entrance
at 11:20am was our guest-of-honour, Minister
of Education, RAdm (NS) Teo Chee Hean,
who graciously greeted and mixed freely
with the crowd. Rear-Admiral Teo was
shown around the foyer and introduced
to various guests by Prof Low. After
touring the poster area, our guest-of-honour
made his way towards the function room,
with the rest of the guests for the ceremony.
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| Without undue fanfare,
the ceremony kicked off with a video presentation
on The Republic's milestones since its
inauguration. Next, Prof Low made a formal
opening address in which he highlighted
industry as an important co-partner in
the teaching and training of The Republic's
students. Driving home that point, Rear-Admiral
Teo expressed his desire to see The Republic
'producing innovators for the next phase
of our country's development'. With that,
the signing ceremony proceeded as signatories
were invited up onstage by order of company
name as Geraldine, our emcee for the day,
read out citations for each. Each signatory
was invited to sign electronically on a
tablet PC, after which they could see their
signatures flashed up onto the big screen
for all to see. |
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| After the 33 signatories
were done, Rear-Admiral Teo was invited
to be the final signatory as a witness
of the event. Concluding the ceremony,
he was invited together with all the signatories,
including Ms Lien and Prof Low, to take
a group picture as a fitting end to the
momentous occasion. The Minister proceeded
to take his leave for another appointment
while the lights dimmed for the screening
of The Republic's funky video. As everyone
enjoyed their lunch together, the place
was abuzz with excitement over the new
approach that The Republic was embarking
on. Most of our guests expressed their
appreciation of the pacey and enjoyable
affair. Kudos go out to every single member
of staff at The Republic for their efforts
in creating a well-run, successful event.
Together, we look forward to building a
long fruitful relationship with our industry
partners for the continued growth and progress
for Singapore! |
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| Who Our Industry
Partners Are:
ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES
(SINGAPORE) PTE LTD
AEM-EVERTECH HOLDINGS LTD
AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES SINGAPORE (SALES) PTE LTD
AMPLUS COMMUNICATION PTE LTD
APPLE
APPLIED MATERIALS SOUTH-EAST ASIA PTE LTD
AVAYA SINGAPORE PTE LTD
BAXTER HEALTHCARE PTE LTD
BIO-RAD LABORATORIES (SINGAPORE) PTE LTD
CHARTERED SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING LTD
CISCO SYSTEMS (USA) PTE LTD
FUJITSU ASIA PTE LTD
HEWLETT-PACKARD SINGAPORE (SALES) PTE LTD
HITACHI DATA SYSTEMS PTE LIMITED
IBM SINGAPORE PTE LTD
INTERNET SECURITY SYSTEMS PTE LTD
MACROMEDIA
MENTOR GRAPHICS ASIA PTE LTD
MERCK SHARP & DOHME (SINGAPORE) LTD
MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY SINGAPORE PTE LTD
MICROSOFT SINGAPORE PTE LTD
NEC SINGAPORE PTE LTD
ORACLE CORPORATION SINGAPORE PTE LTD
PALM SINGAPORE SALES PTE LTD
PARKWAY GROUP HEALTHCARE PTE LTD
PFIZER ASIA PACIFIC PTE LTD
PSB CORPORATION
RATIONAL SOFTWARE, SOFTWARE GROUP, IBM SINGAPORE
SEMBCORP LOGISTICS LTD
SINGAPORE COMPUTER SYSTEMS LIMITED
SUN MICROSYSTEMS PTE LTD
TECH SEMICONDUCTOR SINGAPORE PTE LTD
YCH GROUP
© Feb
2003, Republic Polytechnic.
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