Temasek Polytechnic
Temasek Polytechnic (Abbreviation: TP) is an institution of higher learning located in Tampines, Singapore. It is the third polytechnic established in the country. As an industry-focused alternative to a broader based junior college education, polytechnic graduates in Singapore are sought after for work or well-prepared to complete university degrees. In contrast to polytechnics in the United States and the UK, polytechnics in Singapore admit the majority of their students after secondary school, normally at the age of 16-17, which is after ten years of formal education. A diploma in a specialised area of study, for example Law & Management, is awarded after completing three years of academic studies and industry internship.

Established on April 6, 1990, the campus of the institute sits on a 30 hectare plot near the Bedok Reservoir in the eastern part of Singapore. Temasek Polytechnic features 37 full-time and > 40 part-time diploma courses, spread over 6 academic schools. Currently Temasek Polytechnic has approx. 14,000 full-time students and more than 1,200 academic and administrative staff.

History

1989-1995
In June 1989, Dr Tony Tan, then the Minister of Education, announced that a third polytechnic is being considered and in April, 1990, Temasek Polytechnic was established with an initial enrolment of 735 students. The institute originally set up at Baharuddin Vocational Institute's premises at Stirling Road and the vacated premises of Raffles Institution at Grange Road. Due to increased enrolment and the introduction of new courses, three more campuses at Kim Seng, Bukit Merah and Portsdown Road were acquired to house the institutes' student population.

1995: Moving to a permanent location
In September, 1995, the permanent campus for Temasek Polytechnic was completed and it moved to its current location in the town of Tampines.

2012-present: Logo redesign, construction of foyer
Temasek Polytechnic underwent a logo redesign, sporting a fresh new look to reflect the vibrancy of the school. The TP Auditorium Foyer began construction in 2010 and was completed in 2013. McDonald's, Subway, and Cheers are available to both staff and the general public.

Academic

Academic Schools
School of Applied Science
School of Business
School of Design
School of Engineering
School of Humanities & Social Sciences
School of Informatics & IT

Temasek Polytechnic offers 37 full-time diploma courses in the areas of applied sciences, business, design, engineering, humanities & social sciences, and informatics & IT.

The TP Student Profile and the TP Fundamentals Curriculum
In 2017, TP adopted the TP Student Profile (TSP) that comprises nine desired attributes which together spell out how TP endeavours to develop each student into a Lifelong Learner, Future-oriented Creator and Values-Centred Leader. A set of subjects, collectively known as the TP Fundamentals (TPFun) curriculum was created concurrently to instil these TSP attributes in all our students and prepare them for the New Economy. TPFun focuses on imparting key skills including leadership, communication, critical thinking, innovation and entrepreneurship, which industries in this economy require. In addition, students will develop a more global mindset, build resilience through learning and playing a sport, and even gain knowledge and skills for healthy living.

Global Exposure
In today's highly globalised economy, it is one of TP's main priorities to arm our graduates with the necessary skills to help them turn into world-savvy individuals. We are the only polytechnic in Singapore to have a Centre for TransCultural Studies, which works to create opportunities for our students to have cross-cultural experiences, both locally and overseas. Opportunities to acquire international experiences via learning trips, overseas internships and exchanges, as well as community involvement programmes are theirs for the taking.

Internships
Internships give our students real-world work experience, and is a cornerstone of the polytechnic teaching system. Generally ranging between 12 and 26 weeks, TP's internship programme exposes our students to the ins and outs of the very industry they will be a part of after they graduate. Our extensive industry networks give our students access to a wide range of businesses and academic institutions, both in Singapore and abroad. Some of them have enjoyed once-in-a-lifetime internship experiences working with world-renowned companies, such as Airbus in France, Disney World in the US and the Four Seasons Safari Lodge in Tanzania, while others have been involved with leading researchers at prestigious universities and research institutions around the world.

Advanced Standing
Universities that recognise the TP diploma may grant advanced standing to you, depending on your academic achievements, sometimes for up to two years. This means that with a TP diploma, you spend a shorter time pursuing your degree at a university. Some of our students with a two-year advanced standing only need two years to complete a four-year honours degree course. Our graduates have done very well at local and overseas universities, with many getting good honours degrees in their fields. Many have also gone on to pursue their Masters and PhD programmes. More than half of our graduates go on to pursue a university degree immediately after graduation, or after National Service. Many more do so following some work experience.

SkillsFuture Earn and Learn Programmes
Our graduates can sign-up for Earn and Learn Programmes (ELP) – a work-study programme designed to give Singapore Citizens or PRs, who are fresh polytechnic or ITE graduates, a head-start in careers related to their discipline of studies. The ELP supports the participants’ transition into the workforce by allowing them to secure full-time employment with industry leaders. It is also an opportunity for these graduates to build on the skills and knowledge within their respective specialisations after graduating from TP.

Campus Facilities

Training Facilities
Getting trained at cutting-edge facilities, such as the TP-Nvidia Technology Centre, TP-Autodesk Serious Games Hub, Agilent Partner Laboratory @ TP, Interactive Digital Centre Asia and TP-Lufthansa Technical Training Centre Singapore, is an advantage students can look forward to when they join TP. Developed in partnership with various industry sectors, these facilities keep our students up-to-date with the most current operations platforms and the latest developments and practices.

State-of-the-art learning enterprises
In addition to these facilities, our campus also has a range of Learning Enterprises that mimic actual business working environments. The TP-IBM IT Service Management Centre, the TP-Thomson Reuters Financial Risk Management Centre, TopTable (a fine-dining restaurant), Kelly Services Career Centre and the TP Animal Clinic, amongst others, provide our students with the opportunity to put to practice what they have learned through interacting with and servicing real customers.

Campus features

Temasek Polytechnic's campus was designed by architect James Stirling. The campus has 61 lecture theaters, a convention centre, canteens, auditoria, an amphitheatre, laboratories and training facilities, a large library, sporting facilities, and 13 food outlets including three cafés, three F&B outlets and an air-conditioned food court.

The Temasek Aviation Academy was opened in 2014 in the School of Engineering . The 6000 square metre facility houses a Hawker 700 private jet, specialised laboratories, and specialized training equipment for the aerospace diploma courses.

Former lecturer convicted of fraud
On 30 May 2017, American Mikhy K. Farrera-Brochez was sentenced to 28 months jail for cheating, lying to a public servant, possessing drugs and using forged educational certificates to gain employment as a lecturer in early childhood and psychology for Temasek Polytechnic. Farrera-Brochez, who is HIV-positive, moved to Singapore in 2008 and successfully applied for an employment pass in 2009 by faking his HIV blood test result with the aid from his boyfriend Ler Teck Siang who was on duty as a general practitioner at the clinic. Investigations further revealed his educational certificates, including a doctorate degree in psychology and education from the University of Paris, were forged. In an interview with The New Paper in 2010, he claimed to be well-versed in Hebrew, English and Spanish and that he entered Princeton University at 13 before transferring to Vanderbilt University as the latter was better in linguistic courses. He also claimed that his mother, Teresa King, a renowned professor of child and adolescent psychology, child neurology and gifted science and mathematics education in the UK was responsible for his success. This claim was later proven to be false by UK mainstream media, The Independent.

On 28 January 2019, after being deported back to the United States, Farrera-Brochez released confidential information of 14,200 individuals diagnosed with the human immunodeficiency virus in Singapore that he had obtained from Ler when he was the head of the National Public Health Unit in the Ministry of Health.

Achievements
 In 2018, students designed and built a Proton Exchange Membrane-power unit, successfully powering both an UAV and an electric bicycle using the same unit, thought to be a world-first.
 The School of Design is a three-time winner of the Crowbar Awards 'Institution of the Year' and 'Best of Show' for the year 2017, 2018 and most recently 2019. The Crowbar Awards is the only major student competition in the region and sees entries from institutions worldwide. The competition is a creative & craft competition where students from creative, design & media challenge for titles in 5 main categories. The best among the 5 categories walks away with the top prize for Best of Show and Institution of the Year (entries average 900-1000 annually and about 10% are from foreign institutions worldwide)
 A team of students from the school of Engineering, Diploma in Aerospace Engineering (AEG) course won the Gold award in the annual Singapore Space Challenge (SSC2018) competition held on 2 Feb 2018 by the Singapore Space and Technology Association.

Notable alumni

 Priscelia Chan - Mediacorp actress
 Sylvia Ratonel - Singapore Idol finalist
 Ferlyn Wong - Singaporean singer
 Faris Ramli - Singaporean footballer
 Jacob Mahler - Singaporean footballer
 Hady Mirza - Singapore Idol Asian Idol winner
 Teo Ser Luck - Member of Parliament, Singapore
 Xu Bin - Actor and singer
Dasmond Koh - TV host and Founder of talent agency Noontalk Media
Hong Ling - Mediacorp Artiste