Higher education in Singapore has been improving in leaps and bounds over the past couple of decades and students from every corner of the globe are now choosing Singapore as their preferred destination for higher education. National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NIE NTU, Singapore) was established in 1950 as the Teachers' Training College, and the national teacher education institute in Singapore. An autonomous institute of NTU and a higher education institution that strives to offer holistic education for the wholesome development of their students, NIE NTU, Singapore, has been nurturing students to become thought leaders and achieve success in their respective careers. One of them is Divya Patteri, a graduate from the Master of Education (Curriculum and Teaching) programme, who has gone on to hold respectable positions in multiple established companies.

Striving to Leave her Mark on Global Education Fraternity

Divya is currently working as a lead designer for an Australian education-technology company that curates learning experiences for adults taking university courses in the UK and the US, and she sees herself as an education professional with a proclivity for e-learning, ed-tech, and learning sciences researches. Asked about her professional journey, Divya shared, "I started my professional journey as a STEM educator and teacher volunteer. My innate curiosity and growth mindset were the driving force behind my gradual transition to the world of e-learning.

I grabbed the first opportunity that was offered and there was no looking back. In the e-learning space, teaching was no different from face-to-face (F2F) lessons. The only challenge was to be technologically literate and advanced, which I felt I was! Designing curriculum and developing courses from scratch was one of my major responsibilities, and I designed the content and contributed to the e-pedagogical experiences for well-known online course providers. I was also actively involved in curriculum designs and engaging experiences for various learning management systems for international educational publications.'

"Already juggling between the roles of a trainer, educator, and designer, the knowledge Divya gained from her one-year of full-time studies in the NIE programme has helped her to evolve both personally and professionally"

As an avid learner, Divya had always felt that there were gaps in her applications that needed to be filled with the right facts and not answers from sources on the internet. That was what brought her to Singapore to pursue a postgraduate degree that would help further her knowledge in the field of learning, curriculum, and assessment. This unquenchable thirst for constant learning and improvement is what made her join NIE, and this eventually paved the way for her future success. When asked what motivated her to join NIE to enrol for her postgraduate studies and how it has helped in her career, Divya recalls, "After moving to Singapore, I had the chance to interact with some bright minds at a graduate fair. I was already in the education scene and understood the 'how' and 'what' of everything I do. I was just looking for the answers to 'why', which motivated me to enrol in NIE. Already juggling between the roles of a trainer, educator, and designer, the knowledge I gained from my one-year of full-time studies in the programme has helped me to evolve both personally and professionally."

Importance of Choosing the Right Institute

It is suffice to say that NIE has played a major role in Divya's career success. With a strong emphasis on social learning as well as a constructive approach to learning, the institute allows their students to get the most out of their interaction with each other, and not just from the facilitators and books. This ensures that the internalised knowledge is constructed and scaf-folded well, and the concepts are tried and tested in real-life scenarios, instead of just theoretical thoughts. By offering a balanced blend of theoretical knowledge and practical know-how, NIE is able to carve out a niche for themselves, while at the same time, remain appealing for aspiring students from across the world. By combining world-class infrastructure with top-notch faculty, NIE Singapore has been able to create the perfect learning environment for their students, most of whom have attained success at a global level.

From one international student to another, Divya has some tips for aspiring international students, that is, "to make an effort to mingle and learn proactively from each other. Keep an open mind and learn from one and everyone!" She muses that, "Being from India, I never felt alone in the campus. I got to interact with international and local students, who were supportive of me when it came to adjusting to the everyday thing majigs of a new country and its culture." She also encourages students to make good use of all the opportunities in facilitator interactions, as NIE's well-informed teachers have the best interest of students in mind. "Open up and speak your mind as all kinds of thoughts and perspectives are heartily welcomed here without judgements."