Una Kelly
Online News Editor
Trinity College Dublin has signed a ground-breaking deal with the Singapore Institute of Technology to provide degrees to occupational therapy and physiotherapy students in Singapore. The degrees will be designed, taught and awarded by TCD, and are the first full-time occupational therapy and physiotherapy degrees of its kind to be offered. TCD Provost Dr Patrick Prendergast travelled over to sign the landmark partnership this week, witnessed by the Minister for Health in Singapore, Mr Gan Kim Yong.
“This is real globalisation of higher education. We have negotiated and established a joint programme for teaching physiotherapists. The Singaporeans searched the world for a partner and now they have begun a partnership with us to do a BSc in physiotherapy and occupational therapy,” said Dr Prendergast to the Irish Times earlier this week. “We’re very excited about the potential, to see it recognised and to see the demand on the other side of the globe.”
Classes have started and are currently being conducted at Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP), forming part of the SIT distributed campus. All students already have diplomas in occupational therapy and physiotherapy and the new Bachelor in Science programmes in occupational therapy and physiotherapy provided by Trinity will now confer them with an honours degree on graduating after one year. Students enrolled in both programmes will have the opportunity to undertake a clinical placement in Dublin.
Singapore and Ireland share many similarities in their healthcare environment and population demographics. Singapore is a small country with an increasing ageing population and an increased focus of healthcare has been on managing chronic disease. Professor Tan Chin Tiong, President of SIT, said the demand for more qualified health professionals is apparent. “Our partnership with Trinity College Dublin is a great opportunity for existing diploma-holder practitioners to upgrade themselves locally. Previously, the only avenue to further one’s studies in occupational therapy and physiotherapy was to go abroad. This requires large sacrifices in terms of investing time and cost, as well as being away from home and loved ones. With SIT’s degree offerings, students can obtain an affordable world-class education without the emotional burden of being away from family.”
Dr Prendergast continued, “The strengths in education and health have long been recognised in Singapore and it is acknowledged as an educational hub and a centre of excellence in Asia. There is a long history of students from Singapore coming to Trinity to study medicine. We are delighted to be now in a position that we will have graduates in other health science areas.”
During his Asia trip, the Provost was also looking at developing exchange agreements with blue-chip colleges in China, including Tsinghua and Peking University, which will give Trinity students an opportunity to spend a semester abroad as part of their degree. “If our students are going to be educated as global citizens, we need these semesters abroad,” he said.
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