NTU gets creative, offers philosophy

Nanyang Technological University is offering three new courses this August to meet growing demands of the economy. It will take in 95 students for the courses  – 35 for philosophy, 30 for earth sciences and another 30 for engineering-cum-business. The courses are all-four-year honours programmes.

NTU’s President, Professor Bertil Andersson, said: “The world is changing and it’s important for NTU to keep up with those changes and prepare our young people for the future. As Singapore’s economy continues to move up the value chain, we also need to inject greater innovation and creativity, and equip our graduates to meet the rapidly changing needs of the society and industry.

“The new programmes at NTU will offer students more options and flexibility to pursue diverse career goals.

NTU’s Provost, Professor Freddy Boey said: “As a university, we need to think ahead of the curve and project where the demand will be five to 10 years down the road. I would like to see every NTU graduate have a relevance to our economy, in one way or another, and make an impact on the future.”

Students who chose to read Environmental Earth Systems Science will be taught to tackle some of the key issues facing the world, such as climate change, management of natural resources, forecasts of natural disasters and developing alternative energy sources.

They will be taught by experts in their fields, including Professor Kerry Sieh who heads the Earth Observatory of Singapore and tectonics expert, Professor Charles Rubin.   Singapore is short of earth-science specialists and such earth science firms  have had to base their operations elsewhere because of the lack of people trained in this area.

NTU’s engineering dean Professor Ng Wun Jern said by combining engineering with business studies, graduates will have a competitive edge in the marketplace. They will also have wider career options in diverse industries and this makes them thrice valuable.

Those planning on taking up Philosophy, which has become a popular subject in recent years, can expect to land careers in human resource managers, marketing or industry relations experts.

NTU’s current annual intake stands at 6,000 students.