| Faza Suraj |
THE Singapore Institute of Technical Education (ITE) College Central is looking at collaborating with Brunei companies to offer an ‘authentic education experience’ to students.
Ten students and one teacher from the ITE College Central are currently in Brunei for a student exchange programme that will run until October 7, 2016.
According to a press release, various activities have been lined up for the students such as a tour of the Institute of Brunei Technical Education (IBTE) Mechanical Campus in the Brunei-Muara District and an opportunity to experience the Brunei culture by having a day tour of the Bandar Seri Begawan.
Roslan bin Hashim, a lecturer from ITE College Central, told the local media that the ITE in Singapore is gearing towards providing real-life training experience for students.
“For example, our ITE College West has a hotel that not only trains the students but also functions as a real hotel.”
He said the ITE has training facilities for mechanical students but the facilities are limited, especially in terms of providing hands-on experience on pipework, pumps and valves. “It is because the equipment are quite expensive.”
The industry players are mostly concentrated in the Jurong Island area which is restricted to most people, he said. “So it is quite difficult for our students to have training there unless they are on attachment,” he said.
The Singaporean Institute of Technical Education (ITE) College Central delegation in a group photo with their Bruneian counterparts during their visit to IBTE Sultan Bolkiah Campus yesterday. – FAZA SURAJ
He said the management of ITE College Central is seeking authentic learning in terms of mechanical engineering.
“We are looking into that area where the students would undergo an attachment in Brunei,” he said, adding that ITE is mostly interested in the industrial companies rather than the training centres.
He said there are a lot of similarities between Singapore’s ITE system and Brunei’s IBTE system.
Singapore’s National Institute of Technical Education Certificate (NITEC) is similar to IBTE’s National Technical Education Certificate (NTEC), he said.
“We also have the Higher NITEC which is similar to the HNTEC,” he said, adding that there are also differences between the education systems of ITE and IBTE.
Yesterday, the Singapore students also got a chance to mingle with Bruneian students from IBTE Sultan Bolkiah Campus, attend a Malay Islamic Monarchy (MIB) briefing and learning about the traditional games and delicacies.
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