This article is reproduced from The Business Times. The article may be edited for length.
In a bid to expand its presence in the region, Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS) is setting up its third overseas campus in Chennai, India, in a joint venture with Vels Institute of Science, Technology and Advanced Studies (VELS). The agreement was inked on Wednesday by MDIS secretary-general R Theyvendran and VELS University founder and chancellor Ishari Ganesh.
Founded in 1956, MDIS is Singapore’s oldest not-for-profit professional institute for lifelong learning. Its courses are offered in collaboration with several universities from Australia, France, the United Kingdom and the United States. It previously opened its first overseas campus in Tashkent, Uzbekistan in 2008, and its second in Johor, Malaysia. MDIS Malaysia made MDIS the first private tertiary institution in Singapore to foray into Malaysia.
MDIS will hold a 51% share in MDIS-VELS Education Pte Ltd, with the remainder held by VELS University. The total investment in the joint venture is expected to be S$10 million. The overseas campus will have its first intake in October, with about 100 students expected to be admitted. Programmes offered include a diploma and masters in the field of business and management, with more programmes being planned for later in 2016, including hospitality and IT.
Some students may also be required to complete their semesters in both the Singapore and India campuses. Construction of the new campus in Chennai covering an estimated 70,000 square feet is scheduled to begin in July 2016, after which the university will be able to support 1,500 to 2,000 students. Meanwhile, MDIS India will operate out of the VELS University premises.
Said Dr Theyvendran: “There is demand from students from around the world to pursue programmes with the Singapore brand, evident from the vast number of countries that students at MDIS in Singapore come from. Our existing two overseas campuses are doing well, and that is a further testament of the Singapore brand. This is the reason why we are taking bold steps and investing in this third overseas campus in India.”
MDIS’s second overseas campus, MDIS Malaysia, is slated to begin operations on its new campus after the completion of its first phase of construction in 2016. The new campus will be able to support up to 2,000 students. MDIS Tashkent, MDIS’s first overseas campus, is embarking on plans to expand its premises to meet growing demand. The student population has grown from 275 to 2,200 students since its opening in 2008.
Locally, MDIS Singapore – which was presented the Singapore Service Class award by SPRING Singapore in June – will continue to expand. It recently launched three new engineering programmes from Northumbria University earlier this year, in acknowledgement of the demand for engineering courses here. MDIS is also looking to expand further into the region in Sri Lanka, it announced on Wednesday, having previously purchased a plot of land there. However, Dr Theyvendran emphasised the intention to focus on establishing its existing overseas campuses first.
