Dell Technologies today announced a joint commitment with four Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) to enhance the pre-employment training curriculum for over 5,000 tertiary students in Singapore over the next two years. The programme seeks to build and attract a robust talent pipeline for the local information and communications technology (ICT) sector by equipping the students with industry-relevant skills.

Together with Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), Singapore Management University (SMU), Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) and Singapore Polytechnic (SP), Dell Technologies will co-develop new content for curriculum modules, specialist diplomas and degree courses focused on critical core skills tied to new and emerging technologies such as cloud computing, data analytics, the Internet of Things (IoT) and digital cities management. These key skills were identified based on industry needs – through feedback from Dell Technologies and its partners and customers – and aligns with the Infocomm Media Development Authority’s (IMDA) Services 4.0 roadmap, which envisions the future of services using emerging technologies in a digital economy.

Delivered by Dell Technologies Academy, the launch of this new initiative between Dell Technologies and the four IHLs was witnessed today by Mr Tan Kiat How, Minister of State, Ministry of Communications & Information at Dell Technologies Executive Briefing Solution Centre at One@Changi City. The programme comes under the Dell Technologies Digital Future - Made in Singapore umbrella, which aims to fast track the adoption of future-ready digital solutions and drive innovations in Singapore for partners and customers globally.

“The Government is committed to developing our youths to seize the exciting opportunities in the digital economy, which has grown despite the economic contractions elsewhere. Industry partners such as Dell Technologies play a key role in translating this growth into good opportunities for Singaporeans, especially in the area of emerging technologies. We look forward to more of such partnerships, that really bring the possibilities of technology to life.” said Minister of State Mr Tan Kiat How, Minister of State, Ministry of Communications & Information.

“Dell Technologies is committed to collaborate with the Singapore government and the tertiary education institutions to help shape the next generation of tech talent. Together, we can help drive human progress with technology, values and purpose,” said Amit Midha, President, Asia Pacific & Japan, and Global Digital Cities, Dell Technologies. “Under our Digital Future – Made in Singapore initiative, our strategic partnerships with Singapore Institute of Technology, Singapore Management University, Ngee Ann Polytechnic and Singapore Polytechnic will enhance the overall tech learning curriculum for students, uplift the ICT and cloud-native ecosystem in Singapore and advance the skills and employability of our future workforce. We will continue to build on these partnerships and are open to forge new ones to expand on the growing tech ecosystem.”

Access to curated courses on cloud and dedicated mentorship

Dell Technologies will work closely with the IHL professors and lecturers, offering customised tech expertise and consultation to aid in curriculum planning and curate cloud-native content to be included in students’ learning curriculum.  Beyond curriculum design, students can benefit from Dell Technologies industry experts’ insights, and mentorship will also be offered to students as they navigate final year projects and industry attachments. 

Students can look forward to immersing in the latest emerging technologies and industry-relevant content such as DevOps, microservices, cloud-native security, containers and Kubernetes. They will also get opportunities for hands-on experience via lab tutorial projects that highlight the importance and complexity of managing applications in an enterprise environment.

With the current hybrid education model, students from the four IHLs will be granted access to a suite of self-guided e-learning courses via Dell Technologies’ digital learning platform. These courses are designed to provide students with practical tech knowledge and skills that are in demand by the ICT sector, enhancing their employability and providing a head start to their future technology careers.

An ongoing effort to nurture the tech talent pool

The latest collaboration with the four IHLs is an extension of Dell Technologies’ tech skills accelerator initiative announced in February 2021, which aims to equip fresh graduates, mid-career professionals and students in Singapore with practical knowledge and skills in cloud computing, data protection and management, data science and big data analytics by 2023. Beyond students, Dell Technologies continues to work with its network of partners and customers to support mid-career professionals with skills training and enhancement for the data era, through its Dell Technologies Skills Up programme.

“Being part of the Dell Technologies Skills Up programme gave our employees the chance to be trained in core critical skills such as Cloud Infrastructure and Data Analytics. ST Engineering believes in continual learning and upskilling of our employees. In 2021, employees from Mission Software & Services have accumulated over 800 hours of training under this program. This is especially critical in the fast changing and dynamic digital landscape. We seek to work with strong, likeminded partners like Dell Technologies, and invest in the growth of our digital talent.” said Rajagopal, Senior Vice President/General Manager, Mission Software & Services, ST Engineering.

Additional quotes

• Prof Chua Kee Chaing, President-designate, SIT said, “SIT is happy to co-develop content with Dell to jointly train future ICT talents. As Singapore’s University of Applied Learning, we provide avenues for students to work on real-world projects that deepen their knowledge and skills. This uniquely designed programme will allow students to acquire industry-relevant knowledge on emerging technologies and gain rich insights through hands-on projects and close industry mentorship.”
• Professor Timothy Clark, Provost of Singapore Management University said, “As the digital transformation of industries, economies and societies accelerate, there is strong demand in the public and private sectors for graduates with sound knowledge and training in new and emerging technologies such as cloud-native skills and digital cities management. Collaborations with industry and technology providers, such as Dell Technologies, are part of our overall efforts to nurture future-ready graduates who are able to create value to business and society with industry-relevant skills. We are confident that the knowledge and skills gained from our growing collaboration with Dell Technologies can boost the employability of our students and enable them to be even better prepared for evolving technological trends.”
• Mr Lim Kok Kiang, Principal & CEO, Ngee Ann Polytechnic said, “Ngee Ann Polytechnic is pleased to partner Dell Technologies to nurture our future infocomm talents, especially in emerging areas such as Virtualisation and Cloud Native App Development. With industry currency being a key focus area, this collaboration is another strategic partnership for learners at NP to gain proficiency in the latest industry software and exposure to real-world applications. This is very much aligned with our commitment to equip learners with relevant knowledge and skills to better prepare them for careers in the cloud era.”
• Mr Soh Wai Wah, Principal and CEO, Singapore Polytechnic said, “As industries and businesses fast-track their digital adoption, it is vital to shift and transform our workforce to be more resilient and ready to meet the demands of an expanding digital economy. Our partnership to innovate with Dell will enable SP to nurture a future talent pool of engineers and software developers with the capabilities to build cloud-native solutions that allow enterprises to deploy highly scalable systems in an agile manner. This co-innovation ecosystem will create even greater learning value to our students when they gain access to work on industry projects and develop solutions that integrate Dell’s technologies.”

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