International Enterprise (IE) Singapore has launched the Singapore Talent Development Alliance, or Singapore TDA, to help Singapore institutions capture growing opportunities in China’s education and training sector.

Singapore Management University (SMU) and six other players from the public and private sectors signed a Memorandum of Understanding IE Singapore on Wednesday, 30 January 2013.  The other members of the Singapore TDA are: Civil Service College, ITE Education Services, Nanyang Polytechnic, Nanyang Technological University, National University of Singapore and NTUC LearningHub.

Education and training have always been a key area of collaboration between Singapore and China.  The Singapore brand of education and training is synonymous with quality and professionalism, and is well-received in the market.  Each year, some 7,000 Chinese government officials are trained in Singapore, in areas of vocational and technical education management and pedagogy, leadership and soft skills management.

Singapore’s education and training players have been actively engaging China, however, these exchanges are done individually and on programme basis.  With the formation of the Singapore TDA, and taking the Singapore Inc. approach, the key capabilities of the seven institutions could be aggregated to provide a holistic and comprehensive suite of courses which addresses the growing demand for a wider spectrum of education and training courses in China.

Representing SMU at the MOU Signing Ceremony was Associate Professor Annie Koh, SMU’s Vice President, Business Development and External Relations.  She said, “SMU is delighted to be part of the STDA.  China plays an important role in SMU’s next phase of growth and international reputation building.  With IE Singapore’s backing and the partnership of Singapore’s best institutions, STDA would complement our strategy and offerings very well.  Increasingly, a large part of China's policy reforms will entail effective engagement with the corporate sector.”

“SMU has been building competencies in public-private partnerships in sectors such as healthcare, and building and construction. We have also been enabling homegrown SMEs to grow globally, and deepening their expertise in financial institutions and markets.  We look forward to engaging the Chinese officials and business executives, and sharing our experiences with them, to prepare them for the new Chinese era,” she added.

[Photo: Associate Professor Koh sharing SMU’s areas of strengths with the audience at the MOU Signing Ceremony.  (Courtesy of IE Singapore)]