SIT to offer Singapore’s first Aircraft Systems Engineering degree

The Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) is launching a Bachelor of Engineering with Honours in Aircraft Systems Engineering for the 2018/2019 academic year.

Developed in collaboration with SIA Engineering Company (SIAEC), the degree is the first of its kind to be offered by an autonomous university in Singapore. Built on an interdisciplinary curriculum that intersects engineering and science with a hands-on approach, it aims to develop graduates for careers as licensed aircraft engineers, project engineers, and technical service/repair development engineers.

The first intake of around 48 students for the three-year degree programme will commence classes in September 2018. Students will be trained by both SIT faculty as well as instructors who are Licensed Aircraft Engineers from SIAEC’s Training Academy. They will also undergo an eight-month Integrated Work Study Programme (ISWP), a signature programme of SIT-conferred degrees, at SIAEC in their third year. The IWSP will see students actively apply theoretical knowledge to solve problems and gain first-hand industry experience in aircraft maintenance.

In addition to the SIT-conferred degree upon graduation, students will also be awarded a Certificate of Recognition (CoR) by SIAEC, a Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) SAR-147 approved Maintenance Training Organisation. The CoR certifies that the holder has successfully completed a SAR-147 Approved Basic Course, which is one of the requirements for the award of an Aircraft Maintenance Licence.

Professor Loh Han Tong, Deputy President (Academic) & Provost, SIT, comments, “The air transport industry in Singapore and the Asia-Pacific is undergoing rapid expansion and transformation, and there is demand for skilled engineers and technicians to support this fast-growing sector. As a university of applied learning, we want to produce the ‘best-in-class specialists’ who will be catalysts for transformation.”

“Such industry-university collaboration benefits students, employers and industry as it shortens the total time taken to build up skills for various jobs, as relevant practical skills are imparted during the three-year programme,” added Zarina Piperdi, SIAEC’s SVP Human Resources.