Singapore campus a coup for Massey

Singapore campus a coup for Massey

A unique collaboration between Singapore Polytechnic and Massey University will see the University’s first offshore campus developed. The venture, launched in Singapore, allows top polytechnic students to complete the final two years of a Bachelor in Food Technology through Massey papers offered in Singapore.

To have the University’s food technology honours degree selected from would-be providers all around the world is a significant achievement, Head of the Institute of Food Nutrition and Human Health Professor Richard Archer says.

Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Warrington, in Singapore for the launch of the collaboration on Wednesday, says Massey University was justifiably proud of its food technology degree.

“It is but three modules short of an accredited engineering degree yet it is a full science degree and it has very significant business content,” Professor Warrington says. “Unlike the more common food chemistry-dominated degrees, we really equip graduates to build an industry – to wear white coats one day, overalls the next and business suits on the third.”

Professor Warrington also notes that the venture has potential to engender applied research and development in the food technology area and in other academic areas, where several other long-standing relationships exist.

Singaporean Senior Minister of State and Minister of Education, Rear-Admiral Lui Tuck Yew, speaking at the launch, said the collaboration was a strategic and timely move given the value of the food and beverage industry in Singapore reaching $SG17.6 billion (NZ16.6 billion).

“Massey University’s Food Technology Institute is ranked among the top five in the world,” Mr Yew said. “The ministry has done a lot of groundwork and comparative studies before granting this degree tie-up and I am confident the programme will be of very high quality and international standard.”

The tie-up is part of the Singaporean Government-backed Polytechnic-Foreign Specialised Institution collaboration framework. Its aim is to allow Singaporean students to undertake “gold-standard” degree programmes of study without leaving Singapore. The venture is hosted and supported by Singapore Polytechnic.

Professor Richard Archer says tuition will be provided by Massey staff visiting the Singapore campus and by teleconference. Funding from the Singapore Government means the University is able to recruit additional staff to support the programme. The first 30 students will start in August, with the possibility of increases to 40 students in each of the next two years. All students will be top achievers who complete the Polytechnic’s three-year diploma in food.

The agreement on the collaboration was formally signed in Singapore at 11am on Wednesday 21 May(3pm NZT).

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