Joint-accreditation visit to University of Glasgow campus, Singapore ​

Last month, the Institution sent a small delegation to Singapore to perform an accreditation of four Bachelors (BEng) degrees delivered at the Singapore campus of the University of Glasgow.

The delegation consisted of Professor Ieuan Owen, Dr. John Tan and Mr. Carl White. Professor Owen was also accompanied by his wife and the secretariat support was provided by Mr. Ed Hansom from IMechE HQ. The visit to the campus was a joint visit with two other Professional Engineering Institutions (PEIs) - the Royal Aeronautical Society and the Institution of Engineering Designers. The IMechE was the ‘lead’ Institution for the visit.

The University hosted all of the PEIs superbly ensuring that all of the team members’ requirements were catered for. The days were long and the itinerary packed. The visiting teams witnessed a well-established set of four BEng (Honours) programmes delivered by a dedicated staff to a broad selection of enthusiastic students. The new buildings and state-of-the-art facilities offered an excellent learning environment. As a result, the students on the programmes are highly regarded by the local Singaporean industry and are a popular choice for employment upon graduation.

The visiting team members were particularly impressed with the excellent Overseas Immersion Programme (OIP), where the Singaporean students go to Glasgow during the summer break between Years 3 and 4 to carry out a team project. The team also noted the recent appointment of an Academic Liaison Officer to work with the Institution and the creation of a student Chapter of the IMechE. The resulting recommendation from all of the PEIs represented was a resounding agreement to recommend accreditation of all programmes witnessed. This recommendation will be considered by the Institution’s Academic Standards Committee (ASC) for IMechE accreditation at the meeting in September.

The IMechE team also managed to fit in a number of social engagements as part of the visit including tours of some tourist ‘hotspots’. These included the evening lights display at the ‘Gardens by the Bay’, a stroll around the Marina Bay and a boat trip along the canal. No visit to Singapore would be complete without the opportunity to buy a few gifts from Chinatown. The social highlight of the visit was, however, when members of the local branch hosted the IMechE team to a wonderful celebration of the Chinese New Year at the very exclusive Raffles Town Club. The photographs are a testimony to a very enjoyable evening that was spent in each other’s company.

The IMechE team was in Singapore for just one week although several members decided to extend their stay after the visit to visit family or to have a small holiday. The change in temperature and humidity from the very cold UK the team had just left did take some getting used to. Nevertheless, the team managed to survive although with the Raffles Hotel closed for renovation works the restorative effects of its famous ‘Singapore Sling’ could not, unfortunately, be sampled. The members of the IMechE team all returned home to the remnants of the ‘Beast from the East’ that had seen temperatures drop well below zero in the UK. A sobering welcome home from an excellent visit.