Singapore – Media company Mediacorp and Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) have strengthened their longstanding history of collaboration through the forging of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), paving the way for the potential establishment of a new centre of excellence for omnichannel marketing to support SMEs. This new centre aims to train SMEs and assist them in planning, creating, and driving omnichannel marketing campaigns by engaging NYP students and tapping on the creative talents and expertise of Mediacorp.

With the new MOU, which will be in place for a period of three years, more NYP students can look forward to an extensive range of programmes to prepare them for prospective careers in the media industry. These include opportunities to work on a wide variety of industry projects, which will reinforce what the students learn in the classroom, help them acquire industry-relevant skills, and allow them to be mentored by seasoned media practitioners from Mediacorp. At the same time, the students develop a portfolio of work which will smoothen their entry into the workforce upon graduation.

Moreover, internships with Mediacorp are also included, where they will be able to apply the knowledge learnt in the classroom, acquire practical skills, and gain real-life exposure to the media industry. And lastly, sharing sessions and career planning, where Mediacorp will be providing student cohorts with customised sharing sessions and learning journeys tailored to the students’ respective specialisations. On a broader level, careers talks and recruitment roadshows by Mediacorp will also offer graduating students career planning advice and information.

The partnership builds on an earlier MOU signed in 2019 to broaden the scope of collaboration to jointly develop a range of initiatives involving more schools, departments, and entities across both organisations, with the aim of nurturing the growth of the creative economy and talent in Singapore. It will also enable NYP’s academic staff to be up to date with the latest industry know-how and practices through staff attachments at Mediacorp.

Tham Loke Kheng, CEO of Mediacorp, said, “Mediacorp is pleased to further build on the solid foundations of our relationship with Nanyang Polytechnic. Through this renewed agreement, we affirm our commitment to leverage our strengths in content creation and production to groom the next generation of media professionals and ready them for exciting and fulfilling careers in this industry.”

Meanwhile, Jeanne Liew, principal and CEO at Nanyang Polytechnic, said that the creative and media industry in Singapore has shown rapid growth in recent years, and businesses are increasingly turning to digital platforms for better reach, and the media landscape is constantly evolving with the latest technology and trends. 

“Through this partnership, we hope to enable our learners to harness their skills and build their portfolios – be it in marketing campaigns or content creation and production for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises. Possessing such valuable hands-on experience will also allow learners to gain a competitive advantage when they enter the workforce or pursue further studies after graduating,” said Liew. 

Singapore – Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) in Singapore has recently collaborated with Microsoft to open the Centre for Applied AI (C4AI) which aims to empower SMEs with the platform, tools, and expertise to drive AI adoption, as they embark on their digitalisation journey. 

Supported by SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG), the collaboration will also nurture AI talent for the workforce through co-certification of full-time diploma courses with NYP for a resilient, digitally inclusive Singapore. C4AI will offer SMEs the opportunity to experiment, conceptualise and deploy Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions, as well as learn from similar AI adoption from other local SMEs in a range of sectors including manufacturing, urban farming, logistics and retail.

The new C4AI aims to play an important role in realising Singapore’s Smart Nation goals. At C4AI, NYP learners will be trained to curate plug-and-play AI solutions on Microsoft Cloud that SMEs can use responsibly and safely. 

“By embracing tech intensity through AI, SMEs can increase efficiency and productivity by reducing repetitive and labour-intensive tasks. Learners are also equipped with the latest AI skills, to become enablers of AI adoption in Singapore,” said the institution. 

NYP will work closely with SMEs to identify their business needs before recommending ready-to-use AI solutions and developing a roadmap for effective AI implementation through Microsoft Cloud solutions including the Microsoft Azure Kubernetes Service, Azure Container Registry, Azure virtual machines and Microsoft Power BI. 

NYP will also help companies to develop workplace learning practices for AI and train staff to adopt AI solutions sustainably to improve their operations. At C4AI, NYP will also work closely with other AI solution providers such as Tiger Analytics, YITU, and Senquire when needed, to accelerate the AI adoption for SMEs. 

Principal & CEO of NYP Jeanne Liew said that the last two years have delivered various shocks to many industries, hastening the need to constantly innovate and enhance their operations to remain competitive. 

“The Centre for Applied AI will be a key resource centre for companies to leverage expertise from both NYP and Microsoft as they learn, curate, and adopt AI to boost productivity and capabilities in a sustainable manner. The co-certifications from Microsoft and the hands-on experiences for our students here will also equip them with future-ready AI skills to support industry needs,” said Liew. 

Lum Seow Khun, director for the public sector group at Microsoft Singapore, added, “We are committed to building a resilient, and digitally inclusive Singapore, and are grateful for the opportunity to work with NYP and SSG as our nation continues on its digital transformation journey. Through deep robust ecosystem collaborations with institutes of higher learning and the public sector, we are best placed to drive innovation, improve productivity, create economic value, and contribute to our society as we empower every person and organization to achieve more.”