Issue 32 l September 2014
Life at Nottingham Want to work in the Retail Industry? University Fair 2014 Get to know about it!
www.rp.edu.sg/grad
CONTENTS
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Life at Nottingham
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National Day Rally 2014
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Working With Life
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University Fair 2014 @ RP
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IGNITE 2014
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Snapshots @ IGNITE Music Festival 2014
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Want to work in the Retail Industry?
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Interview Guide
12 It’s all about making sense, Money Sense! 13 Money Sense – Buying a car 15
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Alumni@RP Email 5 Way to stay connected
16 Calendar of Events
dREam. An RP Alumni Magazine. Everything starts from a dream. dREam is a quarterly publication to keep graduates informed about the happenings in RP, continued education, career opportunities, networking sessions and more, in the hope of achieving their aspirations. No part of the publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the written permission of the publisher. The views and opinions expressed or implied in dREam are those of the authors or contributors and do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited. Copyright © Republic Polytechnic
Quiz
Publisher Office of Student and Graduate Affairs Republic Polytechnic 9 Woodlands Avenue 9, Singapore 738964 Editorial Editor Nurhadi Khan B H K Designer PurpleCircle Design Pte Ltd Editoral Alumni Garret Yap, Kelda Chua, Kevin Lam, Maya Murni, Shawn Kong, Siti Aishah, Usha Devi Dewani General Enquiries Email dream@rp.edu.sg Enquiries www.rp.edu.sg/grad Facebook www.fb.com/alumniRP
Editor’s Note
HELLO GRADUATES! Without knowing it, it’s September already! As the saying goes, times sure flies when you are having fun. Lots of activities and events have been taking place in RP – IGNITE 2014, M.A.D 2014, RP Alumni Financial Literacy Workshop. We are happy to share with you that Republic Polytechnic made 3 significant contributions to the 2014 National Day celebrations: 1. Our School of Infocomm staff & students developed a seating allocation application for the NDP 2014 which was deployed at weekly rehearsals since July 5th. 2. Our students performed at the main event on Aug 9th on the floating platform under the creative direction of The Republic Cultural Centre staff Mr Zaini Tahir as Chief choreographer for NDP 2014; 3.
Our School of Hospitality students served at the National Day Reception at the Istana Lawn hosted by President (Dr) Tony Tan Keng Yam and Mrs. Mary Tan on Sunday Aug 10th. The students were working for the Conrad Singapore, who was the main caterer for the event. Two staff were also there to oversee the students.
We are proud of their contribution to our nation’s 49th birthday! We will be rolling out more events in the coming months exclusively for RP Alumni. Here are some of the upcoming events that await you! 1. Reunion Month – Let’s Re-unite! - 0ctober 2014 A list of get–together activities will be conducted by your Schools/ Centre. Look out for the invites from your Grad Chapters. 2. Movie Screening
Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 1
– 22 November 2014 Missed out on the Transformers movie screening? Fret not. There will be another blockbuster coming your way by year’s end.
For those who will be involved in this year’s Graduate Employment Survey, look out for our invitation email and letter sometime in October. There are very attractive prizes, such as MacBook Pro, Samsung Tablets and Smartphone, to be won in the survey! So do not miss the chance to participate. That’s all for now, from us at Graduate Services! Enjoy reading!
Keep your profile current! Just drop us an email at helpgraduate@rp.edu.sg with your NRIC/ FIN, and most up-to-date personal particulars; we promise not to send you Nigerian bank transfer requests, lame forwarded jokes or chain letters.
Do your prefer to receive your dream in hardcopy Simply login to Graduates’ Portal at www.rp.edu.sg/grad to indicate your preference under your personal profile now! (applicable for local addresses only)
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Life at Nottingham Imagine being a student in a university that traces its roots all the way back to 1798, where Einstein and Gandhi were once lecturers? dREam managed to catch up with one of our alumnus, Ms Siti Aishah Binte Mohamad Sukor, Graduate of 2013 who is doing just that by currently pursuing a BSc in Finance, Accounting & Management at Nottingham University, in East Midlands, United Kingdom.
Good day to you! Now that you have been at Nottingham University for about one semester, how does it feel to be so far away from home?
Well it has been said the Nottingham was also named the most haunted city in England, have you seen any? Nope! But then again, Britain has a lot of folklores about their cities. For those who seek dark tourism or interested in any, I would recommend heading to York.
G’day! To be honest, it feels quite lonely to be far away from home – because friends and family are back at home. Apart from that, most of the time you’ll be missing all the local food back in Singapore. That aside, it can be quite adventurous as well. One day you’re in this country and the next day, you’re in another country.
What do you do during your free time?
Like all your peers, you would have faced a fork in the road after obtaining your diploma. Have you always wanted to come to this part of the world?
What I miss most about RP would definitely be the friends I’ve made here and the facilitators who have groomed me. The experience and learning process I got from RP is something that is memorable to me.
I’ve always explored the thought of furthering my studies overseas after my diploma so the country itself didn’t matter to me.
During my free time, I would most probably be heading up to a different city to meet my friends or going on a short weekend travel.
What do you miss most about Republic Polytechnic?
Are there any friends from RP studying there with you? Sadly, none that I know of. However there are a lot of RP
Judging from your photos, it sure looks like you are having fun there! Has RP helped you in managing your studies there? Honestly, was it challenging? RP’s method of teaching (PBL system) has helped me a lot in terms of being independent and to solve problems. It is really useful when you have to come up with another alternative whenever we’re tasked with group assignments. However, getting used to written exams and closed book system was challenging at the start. But being “trained” to be problemsolvers, it took no time to adjust back.
alumni all over England in other institutions.
Last question… what are some tips for our fellow alumni who intend to further their studies in England, especially the East Midlands? All I can say is to just have fun, study hard and soak up the different environment here! Also, do adequate research about the school; and the city; and you’re very much prepared.
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National Day Rally 2014 dREam managed to catch up with one of our alumnus, Ms Kelda Chua, Graduate of 2014 who on 17 August 2014, attended the National Day Rally. She was even lucky enough to have taken selfies with Prime Minister Mr Lee Hsien Loong himself! Here, she shares with us what the National Day Rally means to her and how it would affect RP alumni.
Good day to you! How did you get the tickets to the Rally 2014 in the 1st place? Hello! About three weeks before the rally, Prime Minister Mr Lee Hsien Loong uploaded an Instagram video for his social media followers to participate in a competition, winning tickets to the Rally 2014. I decided to try my luck with his large Instagram following pool. The rules were simple - upload a photo, hashtag #invitemetoNDR and state the reason why you should get invited. I uploaded a photo of Mr Lee together with Azmee (also a fellow RP Graduate) and myself from last year’s Very Special Arts - Welcome to My World Concert held in RP where I was the Student Producer for the show. Do you think that the messages voiced out by the government resonate well with the polytechnic alumni population? Yes, definitely! This year’s Rally focused on the Polytechnic and ITE students talking about how they would be able to find better job prospects and further improve themselves in the workforce with their certification. Polytechnic and ITE students need to know the importance of how they can make a difference to the economy even with just their ITE certificate or their attained diploma. Which parts of his speech did you like the best? I really enjoyed the part where he talked about ASPIRE, Applied Study in Polytechnics and ITE Review. It allowed me to be assured that even with a diploma, I am able to perform well in the workforce. Being an average student during my three years in RP, I understand the difficulties of getting into a local university of choice. With ASPIRE, many will realise their potential in the industry and climb the ladder for greater job prospects. Did the rally cause you to have some introspective thinking to reflect on yourself as a Singaporean? Definitely! Everything discussed during the speech was engaging and has allowed myself to understand more about Singapore than just things that relate to me. For example, the bulk of the Rally was about the Central Provident Fund (CPF) where I learnt more than just knowing that the money was for old age.
We would like to thank Ms Kelda Chua for sharing her thoughts on the National Day Rally with us. Do look out for future contests to win for yourself tickets to upcoming National Day rallies!
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Studying in MDIS has been an amazing experience so far. While, admittedly, I chose to do my course in Biotechnology only because the biotech industry is doing very well, once I actually started studying the subject, I found that it was so much richer and deeper than I had expected. After studying modules like Animal and Plant Biotechnology, Immunology, Bioinformatics and Bioethics, I’ve learnt that biotechnology is more than just running lab tests: it’s also about how we should respect all forms of life and how we can improve the quality of life for everybody. The lecturers at MDIS are extremely capable, and I hope one day to be as unselfish as they have been when it comes to sharing my knowledge and making this world a better place, one day at a time.
Usha Devi Dewani
Bachelor of Science (Hons) Biotechnology Northumbria University, UK (MDIS Student 2014) Previously graduated from Republic Polytechnic with a Diploma in Biotechnology (2012)
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Music Festival 2014 Shawn Kong
Special thanks to our alumni who have come back and helped to make the event a success! Name
Graduated
Mark Spencer
2009
Benjamin Kheng
2010
Eldad Leong
2010
Dhivyah Muthaiah
2011
Jeremy Leow
2011
Niki Koh
2011
Jamie Lim
2012
Khair Safaruan
2012
Lim Teck Kiang
2012
Nurul Asyikin
2012
Nur Amira Bte Khairil Anuar
2012
Shahrin Syazwan
2012
Erma Dzalin
2013
Uthaiyan Kumanan
2013
Communications and Publicity Coordinator Republic Polytechnic Alumni Committee Class of 2011
This year’s IGNITE! Music Festival took place at the Lawn of Republic Polytechnic, on the 15th and 16th of August. Held annually, IGNITE! is currently in its 7th year and is the biggest local music festival in Singapore with people coming from all walks of life to enjoy a broad genre of music by our talented local bands. The Republic Cultural Centre, together with students and staff from Republic Polytechnic, initiated the annual music festival which drew in more than 10,000 attendees this year. Throughout the evening, local music bands and artists like Stopgap, The Sam Willows, Gentle Bones and ShiGGa Shay rocked the main stage, dishing out their chart topping hits as well as newly released songs. The members of Stopgap, who performed for their very first time at IGNITE! felt that the crowd was ‘insane’ and unanimously voted to come back to perform for IGNITE! over other music festivals. “As a student of Republic Polytechnic we should be supportive of the event as it is run by our own people,” asserted Eng Jie, Year 3 Diploma in Sonic Arts. As the sun began to set and the sky got darker, the atmosphere became more electrifying as the colourful spotlights flashed across the main stage and catchy beats from the bands moved the energetic crowd. “It is very exciting as it is my first time here and it feels like I am at a club!” exclaimed Fiona, a Year 1 student from the Diploma of Business Applications. There was also a bazaar where a variety of things were sold. It ranged from the juicy Ramly burger, to CDs by the performing bands and even candles for charity. Overall, IGNITE! has been an accessible platform for people with the same passion to convene and for those aspiring musicians in the alumni community, “One should stay hungry and never give up pursuing their passion for music,” advised the alumni who is also a drummer in the local band Stopgap.
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It’s all about making sense,
Money $ense! Mr Garrett Yap
Graduate of 2008 and Administrative Support Executive Graduate Services
About 30 alumni came back to Republic Polytechnic on Saturday morning to attend a workshop that could help them in their future - a Financial Literacy Workshop. The course was conducted by Moneysense Singapore and organised by The Republic Polytechnic Alumni Club, Club Republic and Graduate Services. The lecturer was pleasantly surprised and felt happy to see a full house of young adults wanting to know how to manage their finances, which is a topic that semiretired or post retirement adults usually like to attend. The alumni were taught some skills sets and tips and tricks on how to start saving as well as also practical lessons on managing their personal finances. We received good feedback from the alumni who attended. For those who missed out on the workshop, don’t worry. This was the first workshop that we have lined up for you, among a series of financial literacy workshops. The workshop ended with a sumptuous lunch buffet, which gave the alumni a good chance to mingle and catch up with their friends.
Thanks for organising the workshop, enjoyed learning the concepts! Clinston Tan SOI Alumnus 2008
I feel that the workshop was well done. It was very informative and well planned. I wil definitely come to more of such workshops in the future. Thank you Club Republic and Graduate Services! Pang Weilun Edwin SOH Alumnus 2011
Thank you for this Financial Literacy workshop! Kyaw Myo Tun SEG Alumnus 2008
Thank you for engaging the RP alumni for this event, I would definitely get my RP friends from my batch to sign up for future exciting courses. Keep it up! Thanks :) I LOVE RP! Lim May Ching Caryn SOH Alumna 2009
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MONEY SENSE
BUYING A CAR In the last few issues, we shared about some tips and advice on how to manage your money. In this issue let’s talk about something that (almost) all of us want to own;
your very own car!
Owning a car can be consider as a “high maintenance” relationship. Before you decide to buy a car, consider if public transport can meet most of your transportation or commuting needs. Try adding up the cost of each journey you and your family members make every day and compare this to the cost of owning and running a car. Owning a car may not be a better option.
How much does it cost? Buying a car can be expensive, especially if you are eyeing a luxury car. If you need to sell your car later, it will most likely be at a value lower than its original purchase price. The price you receive may not be enough to pay off your car loan. There are also running costs such as fuel expenses, Electronic Road Pricing (ERP), road tax,servicing and repair costs, as well as motor insurance premiums.
Borrowing to pay for the car Most of us may not have enough cash to pay for a car without borrowing money. If you are going to borrow money for a car, work out what you can afford to borrow first. In addition to meeting all your current household expenses, debt and other financial obligations, you will be adding more debt to your expenses and you still need to have enough money for the upfront payments to buy the car as well as to run it. Work out how much money you need for each item, and decide if your budget is able to accommodate these expenses. As a rule of thumb, your total debt repayments (including credit cards, home and car loans) should not exceed 35% of your monthly income. The Land Transport Authority (LTA)’s One Motoring portal has a Car Loan Calculator which can help you to get a better sense of your financial commitments when buying a car.
The above information is prepared in collaboration with the Ministry of Social and Family Development and Monetary Authority of Singapore
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, It,s FREE and it ll last you a lifetime! brought to you by Graduate Services, Republic Polytechnic
alumni@rp email - Your complimentary, lifelong email account that immediately identifies you as a member of the Republic Polytechnic community! Evoke your sense of pride and belonging to Republic Polytechnic by using an alumni@rp email account. Alumni@rp uses the email address format userid@alumni.myrp.edu.sg and helps you stay connected with your friends long after you have graduated. It is your gateway to maintain strong bonds with other alumni and also serves as a lifelong connection between you and your alma mater. • Large storage size for email (10GB for Outlook Live) • Password-protected 25GB online storage through Windows Live SkyDrive • Office Live Workspace - room for more than 1000 files
3 EASY STEPS
to start using your alumni@rp email account! Step 1:
Go to URL www.rp.edu.sg/grad
Step 2:
Click on the Check Email button found on the flash banner
Step 3:
Login using the same method you logged in with when you were a student.
If you have any enquiries or are unable to login, simply email us at help-graduate@rp.edu.sg
5 ways
to stay connected with your alma mater!
Use your Club Republic Card to get birthday gifts for your loved ones This card identifies you as an alumnus and offers you exclusive benefits and discounts. Apply for your Club Republic Card at www.rp.edu.sg/grad
Make a donation – bank in your karma credit Your gift will make a difference to the well-being of financially-needy students. It frees them from financial worries and allows them to concentrate on pursuing academic excellence at RP. Logon to www.rp.edu.sg/grad
Let your alma mater organise your gathering Have your professional, social and personal needs met through our diverse range of alumni programmes.
Read dREam Magazine Be updated on campus activities through this complimentary quarterly publication. Also available online at www.rp.edu.sg/grad
Use your Club Republic Card to get birthday gifts for your loved ones This card identifies you as an alumnus and offers you exclusive benefits and discounts. Apply for your Club Republic Card at www.rp.edu.sg/grad
15 Graduates’ Portal www.rp.edu.sg/grad
It’s time to reconnect with your course-mates. Reminisce the good old times and rediscover Republic Polytechnic. Date
School/Centre Event
Venue
1 Oct
SEG
Alumni Get Together
RP LR-W5
10 Oct
STA
Homecoming Dinner
RP W1 Student Forum
11 Oct
CEC
Alumni Homecoming
RP Agora Hall 1
18 Oct
SAS
Alumni Halloween Night
Universal Studio, Sentosa
18 Oct
SHL
Reunion Lunch
RP Agora Hall 4
17-18 Oct
SOI
Reunion Chalet + BBQ
Aloha Changi
Nov
SOH
Alumni Charity Drive 2014
To be Advised
Office of Student and Graduate Affairs (Graduate Services) Republic Polytechnic 9 Woodlands Avenue 9, Singapore 738964
Hotline : 6510 3000 Fax : 6415 1310 Email : help-graduate@rp.edu.sg Facebook : www.fb.com/alumniRP
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Sep 2014
s t n e v E f o r a d n e l a C 8 Oct 6 Sep
Financial Literacy Workshop Venue: Republic Polytechnic Campus
10 - 12 Sep
*ACE@RP Programme Pro Tools 110: Essentials of Pro Tools Venue: Republic Polytechnic Campus
11 Sep
Republic Polytechnic Alumni Club Meeting Venue: Republic Polytechnic Campus
17 - 19 Sep
Oct 2014
*ACE@RP Programme Air-con Energy Efficiency and Indoor Air Quality Assessment Workshop Venue: Republic Polytechnic Campus
8 Oct – 24 Nov
*ACE@RP Programme Basic Sports Science (BSS) Course Venue: Republic Polytechnic Campus
9 Oct
Republic Polytechnic Alumni Club Meeting Venue: Republic Polytechnic Campus
*ACE@RP Programme Problem-Based Learning: Who, What, Why and How Venue: Republic Polytechnic Campus
*ACE@RP Programme Clean Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Venue: Republic Polytechnic Campus
30 Sep - 11 Oct
10 Oct
*ACE@RP Programme Introduction to Exercise and Fitness (IEF) Venue: Republic Polytechnic Campus
1 Oct
Launch of Graduate Employment Survey SEG Alumni Homecoming Venue: Republic Polytechnic Campus
5 Oct
Hari Raya Haji
*ACE@RP Programme Power Quality and Energy Audit Workshop Venue: Republic Polytechnic Campus
11 Oct
CEC Alumni Homecoming Venue: Republic Polytechnic Campus
13 – 14 Oct
*ACE@RP Programme Introduction to iPhone and iPad Application Development using iOS and HTML5 Venue: Republic Polytechnic Campus
Sep – Nov 2014 16 – 17 Oct
*ACE@RP Programme The Art of Facilitation: Effective Listening and Questioning Skills Venue: Republic Polytechnic Campus
22 Oct
Deepavali
25 Oct
SAS Alumni Halloween Night Venue: Universal Studios Singapore
24 – 25 Oct
*ACE@RP Programme Certificate in Business and Social Enterprise Management Venue: Republic Polytechnic Campus
24 Oct – 8 Nov
Reflections Community Arts Festival Venue: Republic Polytechnic Campus
Nov 2014 13 Nov
Republic Polytechnic Alumni Club Meeting Venue: Republic Polytechnic Campus
22 Nov
Lunch Reception and RP Private Movie Screening *
For more information on ACE@RP and NTU-edUtorium programmes, please visit www.rp.edu.sg/grad. Club Republic members would get to enjoy the ACE@RP and NTU-edUtorium programmes at a discounted rate. For more information on other RP events, please email us at help-graduate@rp.edu.sg
Quiz for September issue
Who was NDP 2014 Chief choreographer?
Get Rewarded for reading
Winners get cash vouchers dREam June Contest Winners
To participate, simply email your answer to dREam@RP.edu.sg with your name, NRIC, and Club Republic membership number. Closing date for the contest is 30 September 2014. All winners will be notified by email.
TAN WEI JIE CLINSTON SXXXX759C NURYANA BTE IDRIS SXXXX755I
Missed out on the Transformers RP Alumni Exclusive Movie screening?
Fret not. There will be another blockbuster coming your way on Saturday, 22 November 2014! Lunch buffet spreads that requires you to loosen your belts + Movie Tickets (popcorn and drink)
Book your calendar now! RP Alumni Private Movie Screening
Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 1