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Tag: NTU

  • Moment Of Near-Failure Spurred Him To Succeed

    Moment Of Near-Failure Spurred Him To Succeed

    The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) convocation ceremony on Aug 1 will be a special occasion for Mr Ridhwan Muzaki and his family.

    Not only will the 27-year-old be the family’s third graduate, but he will also celebrate the milestone with his brother, Mr Abdul Rashid, 32, who will be receiving his doctorate in biological sciences the same day.

    Mr Ridhwan, who will receive his biological sciences honours degree, is a three-time Dean’s lister and scholarship recipient.

    His academic success belies an unusual background.

    Like his older brother, he was from the Normal (Academic) stream in secondary school. Many of his classmates smoked, others dropped out, and he was not motivated to do well.

    But something changed when he was in Secondary 4. A teacher who never stopped believing in him encouraged him not to drop the subject, Principles of Accounts, when he was on the verge of giving up.

    “She was like a mother-figure to me… I did some reflection and thought to myself, if I don’t work hard now, my future will never be bright,” he recalled.

    So he studied hard, becoming the top N-level Malay student in 2005 and went on to study biomedical sciences at Singapore Polytechnic.

    In 2010, his application to NTU’s School of Biological Sciences was rejected, but he did not give up.

    He applied again the following year and got in.

    He was so determined to get a head start that he borrowed his elder brother’s notes and studied them a year before he was due to start his university course.

    During weekends, he would spend 10-11 hours each time poring over his notes.

    “Ridhwan had a timetable which he would stick to strictly,” said his mother Rosiah Osman, 54. “He has always been quite an average student, but he studies very hard.”

    The third of four siblings in his family, Mr Ridhwan has an older sister, Ms Siti Rawaidah, 31, who works as a project officer, and a younger brother, Mr Zulfadhly Muzaki, an NTU undergraduate.

    All four siblings have either pursued or are pursuing the biological sciences course at NTU.

    Mr Ridhwan says he hopes to be a researcher. He received a scholarship from NTU in April to do postgraduate studies.

    He has a special interest in RNA – ribonucleic acid – a messenger in the body, transferring instructions from DNA to make proteins.

    Mr Ridhwan says he is especially grateful to his parents for their support. His father, Mr Mohammad Muzaki, 57, works as a senior technician in a drinks packaging company.

    Said Mr Muzaki: “It is every parent’s wish to see their children go further than they have. Being able to see my children come this far makes me proud.”

    Source: The Straits Times

  • Cost Of Singapore University Education To Rise

    Cost Of Singapore University Education To Rise

    The cost of a university degree in Singapore is set to rise, according to a new study by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

    Released yesterday, the study projected that a four-year degree will cost 70.2 per cent of an individual’s average yearly income in 2030, up from 53.1 per cent in 2015.

    Since 2010, tuition fees at local universities have gone up every year for most undergraduate courses, mainly due to rising operating costs.

    For instance, a local undergraduate entering the National University of Singapore’s faculty of arts and social science this academic year (2016) would pay $8,050 annually, up from $7,950 last year (2015).

    Another projection showed that Singapore’s education spending will dip from 3.4 per cent of gross domestic product last year to 2.7 per cent in 2030, largely due to falling birth cohort sizes and a growing population aged over 60 years.

    The study, known as the Yidan Prize Forecast, Education to 2030, was released today (May 22) at a press conference held at the Kowloon Shangri-La in Hong Kong.

    It was commissioned by the Yidan Prize Foundation, a global education foundation based in Hong Kong and named after its founder Charles Chen Yidan, a Chinese Internet philanthropist.

    The EIU study, conducted from January to March, looked at future trends in education across 25 economies including Hong Kong, the United States, Germany, and Japan.

    It focused on five indicators: public expenditure on education, youth unemployment, affordability of education, number of graduates in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) fields and the access to Internet in schools.

    Historical data was collected from sources such as the Unesco Institute for Statistics, the World Economic Forum, EIU income data, as well as university rankings.

    For each of the five metrics, the EIU derived results based on econometric models that would forecast how these trends would continue in the next 14 to 15 years.

    For instance, the affordability of a university degree was based on factors such as inflation rates, analyst feedback and research.

    According to projections, Singapore’s proportion of Stem graduates in its labour force will grow slightly to 0.4 per cent in 2030, from 0.3 per cent last year.

    Mr Chris Clague, editor of the EIU report, said this forecast could be worrying, depending on Singapore’s priorities and if its job market will need Stem skills, as this might mean a skills mismatch.

    The report also cited a separate 2015 study by the US National Science Foundation which noted that Stem knowledge and skills are used in more occupations than traditionally thought of, including finance, and sales and marketing.

    Such a trend is likely to intensify in the next 15 years and beyond as technology becomes more central to different jobs, it said.

    Meanwhile, Singapore’s youth unemployment rate is projected to remain low – from 10.9 per cent last year to 10.8 per cent in 2030.

    The Republic is also among the top performers for having Internet access in schools in 2015, coming in joint second with Finland with a 6.4 on a scale of 1 to 7, with the latter being the best.

    This improves to 6.5 in 2030, although Hong Kong, Finland and Norway are expected to surpass that level by then.

    Yesterday’s event also saw the launch of the Yidan Prize – the largest education award of its kind in terms of monetary value.

    There will be two awards each year, – one recognising education research and the other initiatives that promote development in education. Each winner will receive a cash prize of HK$15 million (S$2.67 million) and a fund of HK$15 million based on the principle of impact investment, to be distributed in three instalments over three years to fund research or projects.

    Nominations for the prize will open next month (June). Individuals such as teachers, academics, and policymakers, among others, from around the world including Singapore can apply. The first winners will be announced in September next year (17).

    Speaking at the press conference yesterday, Mr Chen, who funded the prize, said education is close to his heart as he sees the potential of university education in helping people discover themselves.

    “The prize recognises and supports agents of change whose work transforms education in a sustainable way, and encourages innovative approaches to education research and development,” he said.

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • Ustaz Dr Mohamed Ali: Masyarakat Tidak Harus Keliru ISIS Berlandas Islam

    Ustaz Dr Mohamed Ali: Masyarakat Tidak Harus Keliru ISIS Berlandas Islam

    Masyarakat Islam tidak harus keliru dengan fakta bahawa ajaran pengganas ISIS walaupun atas nama Al-quran dan Sunah tetapi bukanlah satu ajaran Islam yang sebenar.

    Pengganas ISIS ialah golongan yang melampau yang menggunakan agama bagi membenarkan sesuatu fahaman atau ajaran mereka termasuk pengganasan diterima oleh umat Islam yang lain.

    Fahaman mereka itu hanya menuju ke arah radikalisme dan akan terus merosakkan Islam.

    Naib pengerusi Kumpulan Pemulihan Keagamaan (RRG), Ustaz Dr Mohamed Ali, yang juga Penolong Profesor Program Pengajian Perhubungan Antara Agama Dalam Masyarakat Majmuk (SRP), Sekolah Pengajian Antarabangsa S. Rajaratnam (RSIS) di Universiti Teknologi Nanyang (NTU) berkata: “Adakah umat Islam perlu menanggung masalah ISIS? Sebenarnya masalah yang dihadapi oleh ISIS bukanlah masalah umat Islam keseluruhannya. Tetapi ini masalah salah guna agama dan tiada kena-mengena dengan Islam.”

    Beliau berkata demikian ketika diminta mengulas mengenai tulisan Encik Sulaiman Daud di laman Facebook yang meminta umat Islam menanggung masalah militan ISIS.

    Menurut Dr Mohamed, umat Islam perlu membezakan antara keperluan sebenar umat Islam dengan kehendak pengganas.

    Beliau turut mengutarakan konsep ‘Al Wala Wal Bara’ iaitu di antara konsep Islam yang diputarbelitkan kumpulan pengganas bagi mengesahkan niat jahat mereka itu.

    Konsep itu membicarakan tentang hubungan antara orang Islam dan golongan bukan Islam, serta Islam ialah agama yang mementingkan perhubungan baik sesama manusia.

    Menyentuh tentang langkah mewujudkan negara Khalifah Islam, Dr Mohamed berkata tindakan mewujudkan negara khalifah bukan satu keperluan agama pada zaman hari ini.

    “Zaman ini terdapat kuasa negara ‘nation state’ dan zaman telah berubah kepada bentuk sekular atau sistem pemerintahan yang lain. Umat Islam sebenarnya sesuai pada setiap zaman pemerintahan. Kita boleh tinggal di mana sahaja di England atau di mana sahaja. Apa yang diperlukan oleh setiap orang Islam yang berpegang teguh kepada agama dan menyesuaikan diri dalam apa sahaja keadaan,” ujar Dr Mohamed.

     

    Source: http://beritaharian.sg

  • NUS Is Asia’s Top University, NTU 55th in Tmes Higher Education World University Rankings

    NUS Is Asia’s Top University, NTU 55th in Tmes Higher Education World University Rankings

    SINGAPORE – The National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have both made a good showing in the latest Times Higher Education World University Rankings published today (Oct 1).

    As the only Asian university in the global top 30, NUS was crowned Asia’s top university – a first for NUS in the ranking’s 12-year history – while NTU scaled six spots to rank 55th globally in the 2015-2016 rankings.

    The rankings are based on 13 separate performance indicators to reflect a university’s strengths in five areas: Teaching, research, citations, industry income and international outlook. It draws on data from 1,100 institutions, 11 million academic papers and more than 11,000 academic surveys to list the top 800 universities across 70 countries.

    In the latest rankings, NUS was at 26th spot globally. In the previous 2014-2015 edition of the rankings, NUS ranked a spot higher at 25th place and was the second best Asian university, behind the University of Tokyo (ranked 23rd globally).

    In the latest list, the University of Tokyo dropped to 43rd place, just behind China’s Peking University (ranked 42nd). After NUS, these were the next highest ranked Asian institutions.

    Screenshot showing the scores of NTU and NUS in five areas.

    Within the five areas that the universities were scored, NUS was placed in the top 10 in the area of international outlook, which considers a university’s international-to-domestic-student ratio, international-to-domestic-staff ratio and international collaboration. In the areas of teaching (the learning environment) and research (volume, income and reputation), NUS was in the top 30.

    NTU was in the top 20 in the areas of industry income – an indicator for knowledge transfer activity – and international outlook. Neither university placed in the top 30 in the area of citations, which is the research influence indicator that looks at universities’ role in spreading new knowledge and ideas.

    NUS President Professor Tan Chorh Chuan said: “We are pleased that NUS has been placed among the leading universities in the world and top in Asia.” He credited the university’s achievements to “strong support from the government, as well as commitment to excellence by our faculty, staff and students”.

    Pointing to NTU’s leap to 13th place from 39th in the Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings a fortnight ago, NTU President Professor Bertil Andersson said: “Although the two indices use different methodologies, they show one common trend – that NTU is on a rapid upward trajectory.” At the 55th spot, NTU has leaped 114 places on the Times Higher Education World University Rankings over the last four years.

    “We will continue to work hard to be a leading global university that is academically and intellectually rigorous and vibrant, and one that serves the needs of Singapore and Singaporeans,” said Prof Andersson. Still, he noted that while rankings are useful for young universities like NTU as it allows them to be benchmarked with the best, “rankings do not shape our strategies”. “We are focused on our fundamentals – to create a world-class environment for learning, teaching and research,” he said.

    Times Higher Education World University Rankings’ editor Phil Baty said NTU’s “consistent rise is particularly impressive” given the 13 rigorous performance indicators used for the rankings. “Singapore is one of the most exciting countries in global higher education at the moment, and NTU is at the heart of that,” he added.

    On NUS, Mr Baty said its new position as Asia’s top university and among the very best of the world’s elite research universities is “thoroughly deserved”. “NUS has proven its strength in depth against the highest global standards,” he said.

    Source: Times Higher Education World University Rankings

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • Victim To NTU Thief: Stop Stealing Underwear!

    Victim To NTU Thief: Stop Stealing Underwear!

    Here’s a warning to the thief who pilfers students’ panties: Stop it!

    Victims at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) were so fed-up that they have put up not one but two notices telling the criminal off.

    One even went online to berate the culprit, who made off with assorted lingerie worth hundreds of dollars, Chinese newspaperLianhe Wanbao reported today (Sept 25).

    The un-named student wrote on a discussion forum on Wednesday (Sept 23):

    “To the underwear thief who strikes at Hall 6 Block 33, you’ve repeatedly ignored the warnings that were put up at the laundry drying area (and) neither the security gate nor the hall’s email can deter you.

    “I have little choice but to leave you this note. Stop what you’re doing.”

    Victims pasted a warning to the criminal. The Chinese headline reads: Underwear thief on the loose in NTU female students hostel. PHOTO: LIANHE WANBAO
     

    She also mocked the thief’s “refined taste”, claiming the person stole only expensive, branded lingerie.

    A Year 3 undergraduate, known only as Miss Koh, said her hostel room mate and neighbours were recent victims:

    “My friend lost her underwear twice, including a pair that costs over $100.

    “She was so angry that she pasted two big notices around the drying area at the hall’s third level.”

    A female Year Two hostel resident recalled how they would occasionally find sticky tape on the magnetic gate.

    Perhaps this was how the underwear thief gained access, the 22-year-old alleged, by damaging the gate so it would not operate properly.

    Female students live in the upper two levels of Block 33, which is four storeys high.

    Those whom Wanbao interviewed called for closed circuit cameras to be installed as they felt that relying solely on the metal gate would not stop trespassers.

     

    Source: www.tnp.sg