T.E.D. Awards 2017: Hear From Your Winners
It was a night of celebration as congratulatory greetings were rambunctiously uttered and generously chanted around the ballroom of The Westin Singapore, where the second annual JobsCentral Learning Training & Development (T.E.D.) Awards took place. The leaders of higher education and corporate training providers were honoured for the value and service they provide to the students and clients. JobsCentral Learning had a chance to speak to the movers and shakers of their sectors to find out more behind the secret of their success and their vision moving forward into the new year.
When asked how they felt after hearing about the win, many expressed gratitude at this recognition from the public and esteemed industry players. Michael Lin, Managing Director of Auston Institute of Management, said “We were very excited. We participated in T.E.D. Awards 2016 in the Engineering category and despite our best efforts, we only received the Gold Standard. This year, we decided to (reposition ourselves) and compete in a different segment. We are very pleased to win Best Computer Science & IT this year.”
Others saw this as a learning opportunity and hope to come back bigger and better the next time around. Ananthi Durai Raj, Principal and CEO of ITC School of Law, which was given Gold Standard for Law, shared, “I was disappointed because we were hoping to win Best Law. However, since it was the first time we are participating in this event, we thought it was a good way to (have our name on the map) and hopefully next year we will win.”
What would the winners accredit their wins to then? What set them apart and then propelled them to the top? June Lim, Head of Management Development and Consultancy (MDC), which is the corporate training arm of Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS), praised the “staff and trainers for being highly committed to their craft.” MDC won Best Learning and Development and Gold Standard for Senior Leadership and Management courses.
“Awards like these are a good platform for training providers to be recognised for their contributions. By providing training solutions that are aligned with the dynamic changes in the business world, and blending theory and practice in its training programmes, we have become recognised for developing dynamic corporate and business professionals for the future,” she elaborated.
On the other hand, an institution’s ethos, curriculum, and physical infrastructure played the biggest role for other winners. Jason Tan, Senior Head of Marketing for DIMENSIONS International College, which was awarded Best Hospitality & Tourism, and Gold Standard for Culinary Arts and Business Management, cited the college’s “lifelong belief in providing quality education to students.”
“Our students get maximum exposure to a full variety of courses and enjoy the well-equipped facilities. For example, we built a practical training room to cater to the hospitality courses, an academic resource room to meet the needs of our business courses, and we have a full-fledged kitchen for our culinary students.”
Mr Tan explained the mission behind this was to train and groom graduates who “do not just excel academically but who are also industry-ready and equipped with practical skills.”
Looking ahead, how will the award and recognition contribute to the winners’ goals for their organisations? MDIS’ Head of School of Psychology, Jabines Christopher Bello, which was awarded Gold Standard for Psychology, stressed that “the award will serve as a motivator and reminder for us to uphold our commitment in providing competitive psychology programmes to cater to the demands of psychological services in Singapore.”
Dr Kwan Liu, Founder of At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy, which won best institution for Culinary Arts and Gold Standard for its Food & Beverage courses, will leverage on the awards to drive her student-centric plans. “Firstly, we want to ensure our students are successful and obtain high employability rates as that is a form of measure of their success. Secondly, we’ll like to help them achieve greater innovation and collaboration success among one another and constantly be creators,” she mused.
To find the ideal course to excel in your future or career today, peruse our full range of courses at JobsCentral Learning portal.
