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Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- WHAT THIS BOOK IS ABOUT
- FOREWORD
- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- INTRODUCTION It's All About Life Choices
- PART I THE BEGINING
- PART II ENGINEERING PURSUITS
- PART III THE LADY ENGINEERS
- CHAPTER 26 Adding Value to the Electronics Industry
- CHAPTER 27 Holding Their Own in a Man's World
- CHAPTER 28 Luminaries on the Infocomms Technology Stage
- CHAPTER 29 Grooming the Next Generation
- CHAPTER 30 Jumping onto the Business Bandwagon
- CHAPTER 31 Developing Human Capital
- CHAPTER 32 Aces in the Police & Defence Arenas
- CHAPTER 33 Treading Paths Less Travelled
- PART IV NON-ENGINEERING PURSUITS
- PART V EPILOGUE
- APPENDICES
- THE SUPPORT TEAM
CHAPTER 29 - Grooming the Next Generation
from PART III - THE LADY ENGINEERS
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 October 2015
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- WHAT THIS BOOK IS ABOUT
- FOREWORD
- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- INTRODUCTION It's All About Life Choices
- PART I THE BEGINING
- PART II ENGINEERING PURSUITS
- PART III THE LADY ENGINEERS
- CHAPTER 26 Adding Value to the Electronics Industry
- CHAPTER 27 Holding Their Own in a Man's World
- CHAPTER 28 Luminaries on the Infocomms Technology Stage
- CHAPTER 29 Grooming the Next Generation
- CHAPTER 30 Jumping onto the Business Bandwagon
- CHAPTER 31 Developing Human Capital
- CHAPTER 32 Aces in the Police & Defence Arenas
- CHAPTER 33 Treading Paths Less Travelled
- PART IV NON-ENGINEERING PURSUITS
- PART V EPILOGUE
- APPENDICES
- THE SUPPORT TEAM
Summary
“The discipline that I picked up in my engineering course prepared me for my career in education.”
— Chock Siew Hwa, CSE PioneerDEPUTY PRINCIPAL OF Anglo Chinese School (Independent) Chock Siew Hwa's engineering background is a good conversation starter with students. She explained, “They are intrigued that I decided to teach instead of becoming an engineer. They asked if it is a waste of my degree.” That gave Siew Hwa an opportunity to impart a lesson. “The first degree does not determine the end career of a person,” she said. “The discipline that I picked up in my engineering course prepared me for my career in education. It is more important to do your best in a field that you are passionate about.”
Siew Hwa's entry into the teaching arena was not by choice. “I could not get any engineering job after graduation,” she said. “So I took up a three-year contract teaching position with the Ministry of Education.” When ACS(I) started in 1988, Professor Lawrence Chia was the principal. He was prepared to take in graduates who had teaching experience but no professional teaching qualification. “National Institute of Education did not take in those with engineering degrees then,” said Siew Hwa. She became a mathematics teacher at ACS(I). At the same time, she was given the IT portfolio “perhaps due to her engineering background”. Later, she headed the IT department. She was recognised for her ability and dedication and the school entrusted her with two signature courses — the Integrated Programme and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. In 2001, ACS(I) was the first local school to offer the International Baccalaureate in lieu of the A levels. That first batch of students produced results that were among the best in the world. “It was a very rewarding and fulfilling outcome,” said Siew Hwa. “Impacting students and forging strong relationships with them make teaching very meaningful.”
For Teo Siew Chin, the interest in technology in education saw her devote the past two decades in this area. The former cleanroom project engineer taught in a secondary school and polytechnic before moving to Singapore Technologies to do instructional design and technology. From there, she joined U21Global, an online school offering postgraduate programmes.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- One Degree, Many ChoicesA Glimpse into the Career Choices of the NTI Pioneer Engineering Class of 85, pp. 121 - 123Publisher: ISEAS–Yusof Ishak InstitutePrint publication year: 2012