Stronger together in a post-COVID-19 world: PSB Academy and Australian universities renew long-term partnerships for five more years

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 19 June 2020 –
PSB Academy (PSBA), one of
Singapore’s leading private education institutions, have pledged to
renew partnerships with Australian universities The University of Newcastle,
Australia (UON) and La Trobe University (LTU), to continue to offer select undergraduate
and postgraduate programmes in Singapore for another five years.

From top left clockwise:

A World’s Top 200 University strengthens its roots
in Singapore

Ranked 197 in the latest QS World University
Rankings 2021, UON has been partners with
PSB Academy since 2006. Together, they have educated over 6,000 graduates
in Singapore in the fields of Business, Commerce, Communication, Engineering,
Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety and Information Technology.

Professor Sally Chan, Pro
Vice-Chancellor (Singapore) and Chief Executive Officer, University of
Newcastle Singapore, cites UON
Singapore as the Asia Pacific hub of the University. The University’s strong
culture of inclusion and collaboration in its core planning, teaching, and
assessment initiatives with PSB, is its key to maintaining a strong and
sustainable internationalisation strategy in Singapore.

“Our shared values
with PSB Academy have allowed us to be steadfast and effective in developing
industry-ready graduates for Singapore and across the region for close to 15 years
now. Our students and graduates in Singapore are integral to our international
community of excellence. We continue to be confident in our partnership, even
as we face formidable challenges in the higher education industry in these
trying times,” says Professor Chan.

STEM education for the life sciences sector remains a bright spot

LTU has seen a
year-on-year student population growth of more than 30% in Singapore since it
started its first intake with PSBA in 2016. A Top 15 University in Australia
for Biological Sciences QS World University Rankings by Subject 2020, it offers
undergraduate courses in biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences as well as chemistry
through this partnership, and has enrolled close to 1,000 students in less than
five years.

“PSB Academy and the University aim to strengthen our position as a
leading higher education provider of STEM education in Singapore, and are looking
at developing programmes in Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Digital Health
and Nursing Science, to meet the demands of the fast-growing biotechnology and
healthcare industry in Asia Pacific.,” says Dr Charles Ong, Head of School of
Life and Physical Sciences at PSBA.

“Our survey with
current PSBA life sciences students show their thirst for more options in
postgraduate studies and a wider range of specialist skillsets in these fields.,” says Dr
Mike Angove, Head, Department of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, La Trobe University, Australia. “Given the
accelerated support for the biomedical manufacturing sector and Singapore’s
remarkable potential in Asia’s race for a coronavirus vaccine, we are in a
privileged position to work with committed partners like PSBA to develop talent
that will advance the role of medical and pharmaceutical research.”

Alliances in education key to supporting a
post-COVID-19 roadmap for growth

“Our mutual resilience
and collective resolve to emerge stronger from this pandemic, has only deepened
our commitment to international partners like UON and LTU. Our schools and
universities face new tests of resilience, but education needs to continue to
be a bulwark for the global community’s journey to recovery. We will forge
forward, to innovate and expand our offerings, and to renew our focus on
delivering on strong graduate outcomes in the face of these difficult times,”
says Derrick Chang, CEO, PSB Academy.

To mark this
partnership milestone with UON and LTU, and also working together with other reputable
university partners from Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), PSBA will host an ANZ
Virtual University Fair to recruit students interested in
pursuing an Australian or New Zealander degree in Singapore. Other partners featured in the fair
are

• Edith
  Cowan University (ECU) which is One
  of Two Australian Universities that is designated Academic Centre for Cyber Security Excellence (ACCSE) 
  and offers courses in cyber security and ethical hacking
• Massey
  University, which offers a Master
  of Analytics Programme sponsored by SAS
• University
  of Canberra, which offers Doctor of Business Administration programme
• University
  of Wollongong (UOW), which is also ranked among the World’s Top 200 Universities
  (QS Rankings 2021) and offers degree courses in a range of business disciplines