For decades, by developing bilingualism that allows the majority of the population to speak two languages - Chinese and English - the country's authorities have managed to create its positive image, allowing foreign businessmen to feel comfortable on the island. The country has become a kind of incubator for multinational corporations that could recruit labor from among national personnel. As TsMK "Parta" notes, this led to an inevitable increase in demands for the education they receive, provided by national educational institutions. With the growth in the quality of teaching at local universities, students from other countries also began to flock to the peninsula.
Now Singapore is trying to develop three main economic directions - healthcare, biomedicine, and education. The country strives to become a global educational epicenter, and its government has invested millions of dollars in creating a powerful educational network in the Southeast Asia region. The government plans to attract at least 150,000 foreign students by 2012, who are expected to generate at least $2.2 billion in profit, and thus ensure Singapore's GDP growth of at least 5%.
And the aspirations of the Singapore government may be justified, because branches of such famous universities as the University of Chicago, Stanford University, Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Dutch Eindhoven University of Technology (Technische Universiteit Eindhoven), and the French INSEAD have already opened in the country. The educational programs of these famous universities, included in all world rankings, taught in Singapore, have different focuses. For example, Johns Hopkins' programs are related to medicine, MIT's focus is on nanotechnology, electronic components, and radio parts, Eindhoven's on mechatronics and industrial design. At the Singapore branches of INSEAD and the University of Chicago, one can obtain an MBA degree.
By placing their campuses here, the universities have provided themselves with a huge number of Asian students who now do not need to struggle to get a visa to the US or Europe. Europeans and Americans, in turn, having compared the price-quality ratio of living and the dynamic life of the city, have also been drawn to Singapore.
The local system of higher public education consists of five polytechnics, three universities, a national pedagogical institute, and an institute of technical education, whose main purpose is to train specialists in postgraduate education programs.
The National University of Singapore, founded in 1980 as a result of the merger of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University, despite its youth, has an excellent reputation. According to the latest ranking of The Times newspaper, it not only entered the list of the two hundred best universities in the world, but also took a very honorable 18th place there, and in the specialty ranking it entered the top ten in information technology and engineering. The university has faculties of humanities and social sciences, business, computer science, engineering, design and environment, law, natural sciences, public administration, medicine, and dentistry. It also includes a music conservatory. It has 22,000 undergraduate and 8,000 graduate students, and about 3,000 staff members.
Nanyang Technological Institute was established in 1991 on the basis of the Institute of Technology. It now has 23,000 students. In the aforementioned Times ranking, it took the 50th line in the table. Its strongest point is considered to be the teaching of engineering specialties. The university consists of faculties of art, design and media, biological sciences, engineering, communication and information, humanities and social sciences, business, physics and mathematics. The pride of the university is the National Institute of Education.
The Singapore Management University, the forge of national personnel, is a very young institution. It was opened in 2000. By its status, the university is a private institution, but with government funding. Since its establishment, the Management University has set itself very ambitious goals to enter the elite of world MBA schools, so it took the programs of the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, which ranks second among MBA schools according to the latest Financial Times ranking, as the basis of its activities. The university, which currently has 3,000 students, includes schools of business, accounting, economics and social sciences, and information systems. The latter works in partnership with the American Carnegie Mellon University.
Polytechnic institutes, called polytechnics, differ from universities in the following parameters. First, the main focus of their activity is training in engineering specialties. Second, the vast majority of degrees they award are limited to the bachelor's level. Third, they typically do not engage in research work. Fourth, they are significantly smaller than universities in the number of students and teachers.
Nanyang Polytechnic opened its doors to the first students in 1992. The institution has six faculties: engineering, information technology, design, business and management, health care, chemistry and biology. The total number of students studying at the polytechnic is 12,000.
Ngee Ann Polytechnic, founded in 1963, is considered the national leader in the field of automation and robotics. At Ngee Ann, one can obtain an education at the faculties of business and accounting, engineering, film and media, information technology, chemistry and biology, and preschool education.
Republic Polytechnic is even younger than the University of Management. It was opened in August 2002. However, already now its faculties of applied science, engineering and information technology have 13 thousand students.
Singapore Polytechnic is the very first polytechnic institute in the country. It admitted its first students in 1954. Today, over 16 thousand people study here. The polytechnic consists of faculties of business, design and the natural environment, chemistry and biology, electrical and electronic engineering, information communications, mechanical engineering and manufacturing technology, and the maritime academy.
The country's fifth polytechnic got its name from the name of its first settlement - Temasek (Temasek Polytechnic). Here one can receive education at the faculties of applied sciences, business, design, engineering, information technology. In terms of the number of students, it is not inferior to Singapore Polytechnic.
As for the cost, on average a year of study at Singapore's national universities for foreigners will cost from $4,000 to $12,000. Average living expenses will be $500 per month.
Since Singapore inherited a 12-year school education system from the British, applicants from our country need an additional year of academic preparation - i.e., either to study for a year at a university in our country, or to take preparatory courses in an English-speaking country or in Singapore, where such programs are called junior colleges (Junior College).
Requirements for applicants for a master's degree are no different from other English-speaking countries. The same higher education diploma, TOEFL or IELTS, resume, references, letter of intent, GMAT for MBA.