Sláinte! A Toast to a Great Partnership

SIT and Trinity Dublin College mark a decade of friendship with a gathering of faculty, students and alumni.

The Chua Thian Poh Student Activities Centre at the SIT@Dover campus was all abuzz with music, chatter, and laughter on 18 July 2023, when the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) hosted friends from Ireland as well as the Trinity College Dublin (Trinity) at a special gathering.

The Trinity delegation, led by Trinity’s Provost and President, Dr Linda Doyle, was joined by Dr Stanley Quek, Trinity’s Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of The Ireland Funds (Singapore), as well as Guest-of-Honour Her Excellency Sarah McGrath, Ambassador of Ireland to Singapore. They were warmly welcomed by Professor Chua Kee Chaing, SIT President, Professor Tan Thiam Soon, SIT Institute Professor, as well as SIT faculty and staff. Students and alumni of the SIT and Trinity allied health degree programmes also turned up to mingle with the guests and forge new connections with other professionals in their fields.

The visit marked SIT’s good relations and partnership with Trinity and the Irish community of more than a decade, as well as the completion of SIT’s collaboration with Trinity on the joint-degree programmes.

The partnership between SIT and Trinity began in 2012, with degree programmes in Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy. In 2014, joint degree offerings in Diagnostic Radiography and Radiation Therapy were launched, followed by the SIT-Trinity Physiotherapy Programme (direct-honours) in 2016.

SIT also enjoys warm relations with The Ireland Funds (Singapore), which supported The Ireland Funds Singapore Overseas Immersion Programme Grant at SIT between 2014 and 2021. The Ireland Funds (Singapore) has since made possible The Ireland Funds Singapore Applied Research Grant, which supports applied research undertaken by SIT’s Health and Social Sciences Cluster. It was through The Ireland Funds (Singapore) that the Tan Mui Eng Bursary and the KM Quek Applied Research Grant have been established at SIT, thanks to the philanthropic leadership of Dr Stanley Quek. While the Bursary is applicable to deserving Nursing or Allied Health undergraduate students, the Grant supports applied research involving undergraduate participation and learning at SIT’s Centre of Health Sciences Research & Innovation.

An alumnus who attended the event was Ms Sharifah Rawiah Matnor, who graduated from the Occupational Therapy degree programme in 2016. She is passionate about making a difference to the industry and community. Currently a Senior Occupational Therapist with social service agency AWWA, she also volunteers at the Singapore Association of Occupational Therapists. In 2020, she came back to SIT as an Alumni Mentor, sharing her industry experience, as well as providing guidance and support for junior students.

A recipient of The Ireland Funds (Singapore) Overseas Immersion Programme Grant in Academic Year 2015/16, she said the Overseas Immersion Programme enabled her to see the different occupational services in Ireland, and encouraged her speak up and have dialogues. She said: “Through the programme, I was able to learn and reflect on what are some of the services in Ireland that would be beneficial in the context of Singapore.”

Guests were entertained with performances by dancers from the Irish Inspirational Dance Singapore who performed sets of Irish stepdance to the tune of traditional Irish music, as well as live music by the Singapore Trad Collective.