Partnership creates power engineering degree course
At the first-ever In Dialogue with Youth at SIEW, Minister S Iswaran responded to a question on whether Singapore would offer a degree in clean tech...
(Picture credit: EMA)
The Singapore government is building its capability to meet challenges in the energy sector by launching a degree programme in power engineering next year.
A partnership between the Energy Market Authority, the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) and the UK's Newcastle University, the two-year full-time course is targeted primarily at diploma-holders seeking to upgrade themselves.
The programe, which will be held at SIT, will offer a comprehensive, industry-validated curriculum, and the chance for graduates to be involved in the work of generating, transmitting and distributing electricity in Singapore. The application process will begin early next year.
Announcing the launch at the inaugural youth dialogue of the Singapore International Energy Week this morning, Mr S. Iswaran, Second Minister For Trade & Industry and Home Affairs, said: "If you look at the power sector, there are significant opportunities for young people looking for career choices. It is a career that offers longevity and clear pathways."
During the 90-minute dialogue session moderated by CNBC Asia Pacific reporter Sri Jegarajah, Mr Iswaran, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, encouraged 150 students from junior colleges and polytechnics to play their part in shaping the country's energy future. The students, in turn, peppered him with questions ranging from the esoteric to the technical.
A common theme to the questions was the government's role in changing public attitudes towards energy usage in order to achieve greater energy sustainability.
Mr Iswaran spoke about the government's various initiatives, such as the BCA Green Mark scheme that encourages the construction of environmentally-friendly buildings, and the Energy Label scheme which promotes energy efficiency in appliances, but emphasises the need to avoid rebates that distort consumers' usage patterns.
"The challenge is that once you give a rebate, you are saying that a particular technology is good," he explained. "We should not be picking technologies. What we should focus on is ensuring the compatibility and competitiveness of new sources of energy, without distorting the market."
Minister Iswaran explains the energy trilemma. How should we address the concerns and manage the tradeoffs of environmental sustainability, economic competitiveness and energy security"We need to do the same to oil," said Dr Luft. "We need to turn oil from a strategic commodity to just another commodity."
One of the ways to do this, Dr Luft said, is to start designing vehicles differently. "Oil today is as important as salt used to be throughout ancient history because just like salt has a monopoly over food preservation, oil has a monopoly over transportation today", said Dr Luft.
The youth dialogue ended with the presentation of prizes for the Youths For Energy video competition, in which student teams competed for a S$3,000 prize by sharing their visions of a new energy landscape.
By: EMA staff, with additional reporting by Eden Hong