MDIS – Business Times Enterprise 50 Awards
Founded in 1956, the Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS) is Singapore’s oldest not-for-profit professional institute for lifelong learning.
The institute continues
to be a one-stop-destination for Indian students who aspire to study abroad. MDIS
started out with the primary focus of addressing
industrial relations of the Singapore workforce and in training supervisors on
subjects ranging from job relations to industrial safety. Dr. R Theyvendran,
Secretary-General, MDIS talks about the institute and its achievements.
Excerpts:
1. Could you share about the history of MDIS and some of its latest
developments? –
In
the 1980s, MDIS’ focused on forging global partnerships with Universities from
countries like UK, USA, Australia, etc. The year 2008 was significant for MDIS
as we opened our first overseas campus in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. This was the
first ever venture of a Singapore education provider into Central Asia. MDIS’
global perspective has gone further and in July 2012, the Ministry of Higher
Education, Malaysia, approved the establishment of an MDIS campus with the
approved name, KolejMDIS Malaysia. Set to open its doors in 2018, MDIS’s second
overseas campus, a RM300 million self-funded investment project is the first by
a Singaporean group in Johor, Iskandar.
Latest
developments
School of Nursing
Set against the backdrop of
ageing population, Singapore’s healthcare landscape will inherit the standard challenges
and will pose a few that would be specific to a predominantly geriatric
population. This signals the continued and increasing need for nursing
and other healthcare professionals. Thus, MDIS has set up a dedicated Nursing
School for the training and education of nurses pursuing their post
registration degrees.
The MDIS School of Nursing has partnered with Edinburgh Napier University, UK, to deliver a
two-year Bachelor of Science Nursing (Top-up) programme which is accredited by
the Singapore Nursing Board. MDIS is also committed to provide conducive
learning environments which include hands on learning practicum in dedicated
classrooms, lecture theatres and in-house customised Nursing equipment.
Opening of
Malaysia Campus
Set to open in 2018, Kolej MDIS Malaysia will be equipped
with state-of-the-art infrastructure such as campus-wide WiFi connectivity,
fully-equipped computer laboratories, and dedicated lecture theatres. In
accordance with the institution’s green initiative, the campus will also
dedicate to approximately 40 percent of its 30.07 acres of land to
incorporating eco- and disability-friendly features such as solar panels,
rainwater collection tanks and glare shields to minimise water and electrical
usage.
Kolej MDIS Malaysia will offer
courses in Business, Tourism & Hospitality, Mass Communication, Information
Technology, and Digital Media. All of these courses have already received the
Malaysian Qualifications Agency’s (MQA) Accredited and relevant course
licences.
Our Iskandar Campus will allow MDIS
students transnational education, in which they can study at different
geographic locations so that they can become global professionals. Our existing
campuses in Singapore and Tashkent in Uzbekistan would also allow students from
the Iskandar Campus to do twining programmes so as to enjoy an international
educational experience and exposure.
INCREASE IN
SKILLSFUTURE/VOCATIONAL PROGRAMMES
We constantly review our courses and facilities to ensure industry
relevance. As a forward-looking institute, the foundations of new programmes and
facilities are strategically laid before the industry realizes its needs. This
equips students and mid-career professionals with future-ready skills for
evolving industry demands.
Supporting this vision to introduce more future-ready courses, MDIS
recently expanded its network of global university partnerships to offer new
academic programmes including:
·
National Certificate in Professional Cookery
Awarded by Scottish
Qualifications Authority, UK
·
Bachelor of Science Nursing (Top-Up)
Awarded by Edinburgh Napier
University, UK
·
Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Broadcast Media Production (Top-Up)
Awarded by Teesside University, UK
·
Bachelor of Science (Hons) Information Technology
Awarded by Teesside
University, UK
·
Master of Arts Education Studies
Awarded by Bangor
University, UK
2. What are some of
its biggest achievements to boot?
Our
globalization efforts, Singapore Branded Education overseas
Since the 1980s, MDIS has been putting much effort
in globalizing our “Singapore Brand”. Apart
from the main Singapore campus, MDIS has three international campuses –
Tashkent, Uzbekistan; Johor, Malaysia; and Chennai, India, set up in 2008, 2013
and 2015 respectively.
In 2008, our first MDIS overseas campus was opened
in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. From an initial batch of 240 students, we have at present, more than 3000 students from all
regions of Uzbekistan studying at MDIS Tashkent; including international
students from South Korea, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and
Kazakhstan.
MDIS
also has representative offices in China, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and
Thailand, as well as agents throughout Southeast Asia.
Education
Trust Fund
Another
key aspect of the MDIS Mission, being socially responsible, is realised through
the institute’s Education Trust Fund. The MDIS Education Trust Fund was
established in the year 1999 and does not receive any
funding from the government. The awards are made possible solely with the kind
contributions of well-wishers and surpluses from MDIS. Since the inception of
the MDIS Education
Trust Fund, we have been raising funds annually for the bursaries and
scholarships.
The primary objective of the MDIS
Education Trust Fund is to support needy and deserving students who have
financial difficulties in pursuing their education in Singapore. We firmly believe
in education as the key to sustaining the economic growth and social fabric of
Singapore, by means of investment in human capital and providing opportunities
to narrow the income gap.
Over the years, more than 7,500 scholarships and bursaries totalling
nearly S$6 million have been awarded.
MDIS Hostel
awarded Green Mark Gold Plus Award
The MDIS Residences@Stirling is the very first hostel in
Singapore to be awarded the Green Mark Gold Plus Award. Costing S$80 million,
the new 15-storey hostel consists of 782 air-conditioned rooms, 14 suites, a
lecture theatre and cafeteria. The eco-friendly hostel can accommodate some
1,700 students and is fully-integrated so that students can live, learn and
play in an interactive and conducive environment.
3. Competition is getting stiffer in the industry – how is MDIS coping
with that?
Externally, to stand out from the
compeititon, MDIS focuses on providing
students a unique MDIS study experience through technology and
infrastructure, future-ready skills and knowledge and equipping them with the
confidence and soft skills needed in their careers when they graduate.
Infrastructure Expansion
MDIS
constantly plans for infrastructure improvements in order to provide the
necessary environment for our students to learn and develop industry relevant
skills. Gaining the practical skills through specialty equipment will boost in their employability when they
graduate.
·
Baking and
Culinary Studio
The newly
launched MDIS Bakery and Culinary studio has been built to nurture and help
students master skills required by the F&B industry. The facilities have acquired
WSQ Approved Training Organisation accreditation. Not only does this benefit
MDIS students, the public can even take up short culinary workshops with MDIS
in the studios.
·
Dedicated
Facilities for the School of Nursing
For our new
School of Nursing, we have in the pipeline, 2 dedicated classrooms with
specialty nursing equipment for students to practice theories and knowledge
gained. Up to 5 dedicated classrooms is expected to cater for future growth.
·
Industry-relevant
Technology for the School of Engineering
The School of
Engineering will also be acquiring 2 additional types of 3D printers. Currently,
the School has 3D-printers making use of extrusion technology. With the
acquisition of a powder bed and
a light polymerized 3D-printer, student’sknowledge about design and
manufacturing will be expanded and also, having the opportunity to practise
theoretical concepts on the actual machines they will come across in the
industry.
E-Learning capabilities
Expanding
over next 5 years,
MDIS will be turning traditional
classrooms into collaborative communities of learning; driving student
engagement and successful learning outcomes. E-Learning technology will allow instructors
to capture audio and video content, providing students with on-demand access to
course content.
Accreditation from WSQ
MDIS will be
aligning and mapping various academic programmes to the WSQ framework. MDIS
students can thus be confident that the skills/knowledge acquired from their
courses are of high quality and accepted by the industry here.
The 9 areas
are Engineering, Fashion, F&B, Health & Safety, Healthcare Management/Support,
Information Technology, Leadership and People Management, Life/Health Sciences
and Media & Communications.
Internally, we have a strong culture of making use
of feedbacks and data in our decision making processes. This allows for MDIS to
manage resources better.
Culture of feedback
Be it in the
development of new programmes or process changes in view of productivity, MDIS
encourages a culture of feedback from employees and making use of other
comparative data. Such information will allow MDIS to make informed choices,
which is an edge in terms of cost-savings, productivity increase or market
acceptance.
4. How is MDIS differentiating itself from the rest?
Corporate
Social Responsibility
Generally people have a concern on PEIs on the
quality of their academic programmes as in essence, people do view PEIs as
commercially driven organisations.
This is where MDIS strives to differentiate
ourselves from the rest of the PEIs in Singapore. Being the oldest not-for-profit
educational institute, MDIS has always been aware of its role as a caring
corporate citizen and strives to help out the needy. By actively contributing
back to the society, MDIS aims to break the stigma that its functions are
merely profit-driven.
Holistic
Development – The MDIS Experience
Understanding the need to prepare students beyond academic excellence,
we have constituted the ‘MDIS Experience’ – which entails a series of personal
development workshops/programmes that aspire to build students’
self-confidence, creativity and communication skills.
To enhance
students’ learning opportunities and experiences, the Institute organises a
myriad of activities such as industry visits, community outreach initiatives,
overseas student exchange programmes, cultural events, bazaars, sports
activities and Student Council that students can engage in and be part of the
MDIS family.
Over the last decade, MDIS has also established
facilities and enhancements to the benefit of local and international students,
working professionals and the public; and provided community support in its
immediate neighbourhood and beyond. MDIS will continue to forge the trust and
reputation as the choice institution of learning and an educator with a heart.
5. Why did MDIS decide to participate in E50 Awards?
The Enterprise 50 Awards has been a mark of
excellence in the business environment. MDIS’ participation is aimed at being
recognized as one of the top companies locally and amongst the PEIs. Winning
the award will recognize the efforts of our staff in their contribution to the
success of the Institute. Externally, the award will build another layer of
confidence with our University and Industry partners.
By participating, MDIS will also have an
internal benchmark to measure the success of our processes and decisions.
Lastly, this year’s Enterprise 50 theme,
"Innovate, Grow & Succeed: Staying competitive in today's
economy", is extra significant to MDIS. As a heritage brand of 61 years,
MDIS wants to prove that heritage does not equate to being out-of-touch. We
possess the necessary processes and mindset as an organisation to stay relevant
in the industry, grow and succeed. With
the institute circling all processes around this concept, we can be sure that
our graduates will be industry-relevant and future-ready after their education
at MDIS.
6. How does it intend to benefit from its win?
With the win, MDIS has an additional
affirmation that our processes, business model and “entrepreneurial” focus are
on the right track. The Institute will continue with our best practices and
seek to be more productive and continue our growth.
As a heritage brand of 61 years, the win is
testament to our efforts in being productive and staying relevant. As the only
Private Education Institute (PEI) to win this award, we hope to serve a
benchmark and inspire the rest of the industry towards excellence as well.
With the win, we will also be using this
accolade in our marketing collaterals or corporate presentations where
appropriate as a mark of business excellence. This will certainly help in
forging new collaborative partnerships with external partners.
7. What are some of MDIS’ biggest challenges?
Declining
Local and International Student Numbers in Singapore Campus
Over the last 3 years, the
Private Education sector was affected by the dipping student enrolment,
particularly the local students. This was attributed by the increase in
university places, especially at the Singapore Institute of Technology and
Singapore University of Social Sciences, which caters to polytechnic graduates.
The number of local students is expected to fall further as the
Government has pledged to increase the yearly intake for the six universities
from 15,000 now to 16,000 by 2020.
We are also experiencing declines in
International student numbers. This is largely caused by two reasons. The
rising cost of living is one factor attributing to the fall in foreign student
numbers here. Coupled with a rising Singapore dollar, it has become
increasingly unattractive for a foreign student to study in Singapore.
Another reason
is that countries such as the United States, United Kingdom and Australia are
wooing students directly from the region as well. With a relatively lower
cost of living, and enjoying direct admission to the universities, this option
gains popularity amongst students that can negate the language barrier or adapt
to the difference in culture.
Competitive Market
Besides
foreign competition, the private education industry in Singapore is highly
competitive. There are 287* PEIs registered with CPE in Singapore, of which 125*
have Edutrust certification. Every student interested in studying in Singapore
has an abundance of choice.
*Source - https://www.cpe.gov.sg/for-students/registration-status-of-private-education-institutions-peis-in-singapore - Updated as of 23 June 2017
8. What are some of MDIS’ plans for the near future?
Achieve growth through
internationalization
MDIS is also exploring the feasibility of establishing a presence and/or
collaborative partnerships in countries such as Indonesia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka,
Philippines, etc. We will be delivering our “Singapore Brand Education” in the
region to not only achieve growth for MDIS, but also to contribute in
solidifying Singapore’s reputation as a strong regional education hub.
Expansion plans for MDIS’
Overseas campuses
·
MDIS Tashkent
Enrollment numbers have
exceeded full capacity at the moment. We have plans to expand the campus
further and improve teaching quality over the next three years. We will be
looking at accommodating up to 5000 students with the expansion.
·
Kolej MDIS Malaysia
Presently, more than 500 students are
studying out of the City Campus at City Square Mall in Johor, Malaysia. With
the completion of the first phase of construction of our Iskandar campus, the
institute will be able to accommodate up to 2000 students.
Align more programmes to WSQ
framework
MDIS will be expanding the range of Workforce
Skills Qualification (WSQ) Approved Courses, which are jointly awarded by
overseas institutions/universities and will help enhance the capabilities,
productivity and growth of the workforce.
MDIS will be further developing the following courses under the WSQ
framework which will help provide qualifications for the local workforce.
·
Leadership and People
Management (Management Development & Consultancy)
·
Social Service and
Community (School of Health & Life Sciences)
·
Clinical Research (School
of Health & Life Sciences)
·
Precision Engineering
(School of Engineering)
·
Logistics (MDIS Business
School)
·
Creative Industry (School
of Fashion & Design)
Moreprogrammes to be SkillsFutureCredit
Eligible
In supporting the
government in tackling challenges of a slowing
economy, technological disruptions, and greying population that the country
will face in the next 50 years, MDIS will be providing more industry-relevant courses with applied
learning opportunities that are SkillsFuture Credit Eligible.
MDIS is targeting
for 10-20% of new programmes (2017 – 2019) to be SkillsFuture Credit eligible. Upcoming
SkillsFuture Credit eligible classes will be from areas like Financial
Management, Sales, Business Management, and Communication and Supervisory
Management
Continued efforts in
forging industry partnership
In our efforts of shaping future-ready graduates, another core focus for
MDIS will be in developing stronger industry partnerships. These collaborative
partnerships with industry partners provide crucial opportunities for students
to gain practical experience in their field and develop relevant skills. MDIS
aims to have 100 new partnerships over the next 3 years.
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