20 November 2001, Singapore

IT Graduates in High Demand

"The infocomm sector has been a key growth sector of our economy, contributing 7 per cent of our GDP last year. The value of the sector also grew 12 per cent from 1999 to 2000 to reach S$26 billion. Despite the current economic downturn, coupled with the recent security concerns, IT is likely to have positive, long-term growth," said Associate Professor Yaacob Ibrahim, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology to over 1000 bachelor and master graduates at the Informatics Graduation 2001 Ceremony.

"Today (11 November 2001) is a significant day for the graduands of the Informatics Class of 2001. It marks the start of your journey into the information technology sector," said Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, the Guest-of-Honour for the Graduation 2001, adding that the newly-acquired qualifications will not only put the graduands in a very exciting and advantageous position, but also an opportunity to drive the sector's development, and most importantly, to shape its future direction.

Held at the Kallang Theatre, the graduation ceremony run from 9am to 6pm. To accommodate the large number of graduands, the ceremony was split into two sessions. The morning session was for diploma, higher & advanced diploma graduates, while the afternoon session was for bachelor and master graduates. Representatives from Informatics Group's university partners had specially flown in from USA, UK and Australia to attend this grand affair.

Mr Lim Wee Kee, Vice President of the Franchising Sales Unit of Informatics Holdings Ltd, in his opening address sent his heartiest congratulations to the graduates. He said: "The award of your Degree or Master is more than the receipt of a piece of paper. It is a testimony to your hard work, motivation and your personal determination to succeed. Studying at Degree or Master level is challenging and to have done so successfully signals that you have added special qualities that of commitment, dedication and the ability to manage busy and often competing schedules (work, family, study, play)."

He further urged graduands to "continue to learn and upgrade yourself to remain employable."

Mr Wong Siau Chuin, one of the graduands of PurpleTrain was invited to share his e-learning experience in the ceremony said: "I have always dreamt of being a graduate, today my dream has come true. Thanks to Informatics, my lecturers, my coursemates and most importantly, my family for their support and my friends for being there for me. Without these people, I would not have come so far."

Despite hearing impaired, Mr Wong managed to attain a BSc (Hons) in Computing by the University of Portsmouth through e-learning with PurpleTrain, the e-learning service provider by the Informatics Group. In his "speech" presented by Mr Nick Swallow, the Master of Ceremony, he stated that the "e" mode of communication, such as email, live chat sessions and IRC, are important communication tools for him, as he has difficulty in carrying out a normal conversation."

Special mentioned must go to Mr Mohsin Iqbal, who has also excelled in e-learning with a first class honours degree in BSc (Hons) in Computing by University of Portsmouth. "I would like to express the feelings of my fellow coursemates here. We really enjoyed the experience of e-learning. The course content was well presented and all the facilitators very knowledgeable and helpful," wrote Mr Mohsin Iqbal recently in his email to PurpleTrain.

Both Mohsin and Rabia, her younger sister has successfully attained the their higher education through e-learning with PurpleTrain and found good jobs thereafter. "e-learning is a new revolution and is expected to touch new horizons in coming future. It is cost effective, timely and flexible," he added.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICTURES TAKEN DURING GRADUATION 2001

About PurpleTrain.com

PurpleTrain.com is the e-learning service provider which offers a one-stop service for business and IT education programmes, corporate training courses and education-related services.

By combining innovative technology with world-class training content, PurpleTrain.com offers companies and individuals a high value, quality and effective online training solution. Over 1000 online courses are available, offering masters, degrees, diplomas and certificates in business and IT programmes. Its e-community now stands at over 42,000 users.

PurpleTrain.com is a 100%-owned venture of Informatics Holdings Limited, a leading training and education provider listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange.

For more information, please contact :

Cheryl Lee
Marketing & PR Manager
PurpleTrain.com
Email : pr@purpletrain.com
Website : www.purpletrain.com
               www.informaticsgroup.com

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