Short Speech on Singapore Universities Essay Example for Free

Short Speech on Singapore Universities Essay Good morning teacher and fellow classmates. My name is ______and today, I will be talking about the increasing amount of diversity in higher education in terms of student admissions and the different university experiences in Singapore. With 7 different local universities to choose from, A-level and polytechnic graduates nowadays have a variety of courses to choose from that suit their needs. But is diversity in schools a problem? Singapore Management University (SMU) partnered up with the American Wharton Business School in 1999 and accepted their first batch of students in 2000. To set itself apart from the more established National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU), students are not only accepted based on grades, but also through panel interviews, reflective essays and their other qualities and achievements. The American-style of teaching students in small seminar groups and giving marks to students for class participation that SMU has adopted has taught their graduates to think on their feet and to speak up in a more confident, articulate and mature manner. With SMU’s increasing popularity amongst students and employers posing a challenge, both NUS and NTU are stepping up to try and draw the best students. NUS has made use of its high worldwide ranking to form partnerships with different universities around the world to offer overseas exchange programmes to its students. The NUS-town was also opened at the former Warren Golf Club site in Clementi to give students a residential college experience. Meanwhile, NTU started to focus on sciences and technology, setting up several labs  including the Future Mobility Research Lab with BMW to study the future of transportation. With 2000 graduates a year, NTU pioneered in engineering education, and is the world’s largest single-campus engineering facility. NTU students also get to spend a year with a partner university before taking up internships at start-up companies and companies abroad. In the eyes of the government, it would make sense to encourage diversity among the higher education sector to offer an education with a difference and in the process, preparing  graduates for the job market. However, this should be done carefully so as to avoid labelling the institution as purely â€Å"research-intensive† or â€Å"teaching† universities. The friendly competitions and rivalry between the schools has also encouraged the universities to build on their unique strengths. Thus, diversity in the higher education is not a problem. The different institutions provide a platform for their students to be as prepared as they can be to enter the job market according to their strengths. Thank you.