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Dell collaborates with IHLs to develop local tech talent

By Glenn Chua - on 3 Dec 2021, 6:40pm

Dell Technologies announces collaboration with IHLs to develop local tech talent

The collaboration seeks to enhance employability and provide head starts for students (Image source: Dell Technologies)

Dell Technologies has announced a joint commitment with four Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) in Singapore – Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), Singapore Management University (SMU), Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) and Singapore Polytechnic (SP), to enhance and supplement pre-employment training for over 5,000 tertiary students.

The collaboration was solidified with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the senior leadership of the four IHLs and Dell Technologies, witnessed by Tan Kiat How, Minister of State, Ministry of Communications and Information & Ministry of National Development. The signing took Friday (3 Dec) afternoon at Dell Technologies Executive Briefing Solution Centre at One@Changi City.

The partnership comes as part of Dell Technologies' 'Digital Future – Made In Singapore' initiative, which seeks to bolster Singapore's Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector by speeding the adoption of digital solutions and encouraging innovation in the digital space.

It also complements Dell Technologies' tech skills accelerator initiative, which aims to empower graduates, mid-career professionals and students to be digitally-ready in data and cloud computing skills by 2023.

Dell Technologies President for the Asia Pacific and Japan region and Global Digital Cities, Amit Midha, gives opening remarks at the signing ceremony. (Image sourceL Dell Technologies)

“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. 

What students can expect

Dell Technologies aims to enhance the current curriculum by co-creating new content, such as building cloud-native content into the curriculum. The tech company is also lending its expertise to students when it comes to final year projects and industry attachments, and all efforts will be delivered through Dell Technologies Academy.

These enhanced curriculum designs will mainly apply to students aspiring to study in the ICT sector, such as SP's School of Computing or NP's School of ICT, especially as these kinds of courses are becoming more popular, with SMU Provost Professor Timothy Clark stating that about 1,000 SMU students a year will go through this programme.

Fields being tackled by the collaboration include cloud computing, data analytics, Internet of Things (IoT) and digital cities management. These fields align with the Infocomm Media Development Authority's (IMDA) Services 4.0 roadmap, which sees a future with end-to-end seamless services, as well as feedback from Dell Technologies and its partners and customers.

Students can also engage more with the latest technologies such as well as hands-on experience via tutorial and lab projects. With the current hybrid learning model brought about by the pandemic, Dell Technologies will also be offering self-guided e-learning courses on its digital learning platform, so that students can also learn on their own time.

Digital preparedness

One of the big themes for this collaboration was preparing Singaporeans, both students and workers, for a digitally-focused future. The Minister mentioned during the doorstop interview after the MOU signing ceremony a "constellation" of partnerships that aims to collate the different strengths of the industry.

He also mentioned the concerns of students he had heard prior to the signing, primarily how they can keep up with the latest trends in technology while in school, especially those who feel they need to be industry-ready when they graduate.

With this partnership, it's hoped that real-life projects can help students by creating opportunities not just in learning technical skills but also working in teams with others from different cultures and geographies, as well as with consumers

Outside of schooling, this effort supports the Dell Technologies Skills Up programme, which aims to train mid-career professionals in skills such as cloud infrastructure and data management. It also comes after the opening of Dell Technologies' Global Innovation Hub earlier in February this year, one of the first innovation centres to be built outside the company's global headquarters in the US.

This isn't the first industry/education collaboration seen. in 2019, Huawei and Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) announced one to train up to 100 AI architects and 1,000 AI developers. Last year Infineon unveiled plans to work with NUS-ISS and AI Singapore (AISG) to offer AI courses and certifications.

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