08 July 2014
In a bold new venture, the University of South Australia in partnership with the M2 Academy will launch a suite of new degree programs in Singapore in a purpose built new campus.
The educational offerings will be delivered from a state of the art campus in the prestigious new Orchard Gateway development right in the heart of Singapore’s CBD – a study environment offering a full sense of campus life, student collegiality and networked into the working world.
The new Singapore Orchard Gateway Campus, at 218 Orchard Road, will be launched officially on July 8 by South Australian Minister for Employment Higher Education and Skills, Gail Gago, and Australia’s Deputy High Commissioner to Singapore, Julie Heckscher. The launch will also be attended by leading industry representatives.
UniSA Vice Chancellor Professor David Lloyd says the partnership gives Singaporean students the opportunity for a fully integrated university education that emphasises experiential learning and professional career skills.
“We are very excited about the new enterprise and the opportunity it presents to deliver offshore study options that so closely emulate the local experience of on-campus life at UniSA in South Australia,” Prof Lloyd says.
“The other pleasing aspect of this project is that it gives us a tangible presence in Singapore where we already have so many long standing links with past graduates who have studied with us in-country and in Adelaide and are now successful professionals.
“The Singapore Orchard Gateway Campus will be the focus for our public engagement with those alumni and with industry and business leaders, research partners and students.”
The new campus has direct access to major public transport, being located above an MRT Station, and amid the shops, hotels, restaurants and commercial enterprises of Orchard Road, Singapore's premier retail and business street.
Students will have access to 2,420 square metres of space spread over the top four levels of the 11-storey building which includes 13 classrooms and a large lecture theatre in what is a fully Wi-Fi-enabled environment suitable for the "flipped classroom" approach.
“Much in the style of our own new student learning centre, the Jeffrey Smart Building, the Singapore campus will feature great spaces for students to study and learn collaboratively and to access excellent online learning materials developed by UniSA academics,” Prof Lloyd says.
Founder and CEO of M2 Academy Mark Coggins, says the new partnership will lift the standard of private tertiary education in Singapore.
“We believe that education is one of the most important investment decisions that students will ever have to make,” Coggins says.
“Our role at M2 Academy is to do everything that we can to ensure that they get a great return on their investment. The core of the proposition lies with the University.
“We are delighted to have partnered with UniSA. Recognised globally as one of Australia’s rising stars, it was the youngest Australian university in the world’s top 50 of new universities in both the Times and the QA University surveys and 14th in research rankings in Australia.
“Apart from its impressive rankings UniSA has a set of values and ambitions that we share and believe are central to great outcomes for students, namely - an outstanding student experience, transformational infrastructure, engagement with society, industry connection and international reach.
“These values are geared towards ensuring that students’ graduate having acquired measurable, transferable skills for employment and life.”
Coggins says the M2 Academy is committed to bringing these same capabilities to students studying UniSA degrees in Singapore.
“At M2 Academy we aspire to provide ‘experience equivalence’,” he says.
“Our function is to make sure that all of the core elements of the broader UniSA experience are enjoyed by Singapore-based students. We want our students to think of our Orchard Gateway campus as more than where they go for classes.
“Conveniently located, contemporary, with open spaces for interactive work and state of the art classrooms the campus supports our interactive approach to teaching and the degrees on offer will also be informed by today’s best practice across a wide range of relevant industry collaborations.”
The first intake at the new campus will commence in September 2014 with degree offerings including the Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting); Bachelor of Business (Tourism and Event Management); Bachelor of Communication and Media; Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical); and the Master of Engineering (Engineering Management).
There will be the potential for a full program of industry guest speakers including senior executives from some of the biggest companies in the region.
Students will also be nurtured through their degrees with student counselling available on campus and buddy support systems for all students.
In 2015 more programs will come online at the Singapore campus including the Bachelor of Information Technology (Systems Administration), the Bachelor of Information Technology (Networking and Security), the Bachelor of Business (Marketing) and the Bachelor of Business (Finance).
Media contact: Michèle Nardelli office: 08 8302 0966 mobile: 0418 823 673 email: Michele.nardelli@unisa.edu.au
