More S'pore Polytechnic Graduates Heading to Top Overseas Universities

Move abroad driven by greater access to information and desire for broader exposure

- Joakim Kang

While serving national service in 2021, Mr Nicolas Chew received news that would have once been unimaginable — an offer to study human, social and political sciences at the prestigious University of Cambridge in Britain.

Coming from a less affluent background, he had always received help to pay for school fees in primary and secondary school. During his polytechnic days, he worked part-time as a customer service agent at Changi Airport to cover essential costs like transport.

It was not until the Covid-19 pandemic hit that he began considering studying overseas.

Mr Chew is one of a growing number of polytechnic students in Singapore seeking overseas university experiences, mainly in Britain and Europe, driven by greater access to information and a desire for broader exposure.

This comes as more students are choosing the polytechnic route despite qualifying for junior college, and local university enrolment for them has risen, with one-third of poly graduates matriculating at local universities.

Mr Chew, 26, a communications and media management graduate from Temasek Polytechnic, successfully juggled studies and work, topping his cohort with a grade point average of 3.97 out of 4.

He was given a place to study at Cambridge and a scholarship from Changi Airport Group that covered his undergraduate studies.

He is now pursuing a postgraduate degree in Digital Media: Critical Studies at University College London, which is also covered by the scholarship.

In response to queries, Temasek Polytechnic said more of its alumni are qualifying for admission to top universities overseas, without giving exact figures.

Similarly, a Ngee Ann Polytechnic spokesperson said there has been an "almost threefold increase" in graduates going to these universities in the last decade, compared with the decade before.