SIM to double its campus size by 2014
Just eight years since it moved into its current home at Clementi, SIM is planning to double its campus size in five years' time. SIM has announced a Master Plan to further expand its Clementi campus at a platform topping up ceremony on 9 October 2009. The ceremony was officiated by President S R Nathan and Mrs Nathan, and attended by some 200 guests.
The SIM Campus Development Master Plan, which will cost $300 million and expected to be completed by 2014, will be rolled out in two phases. It will render an additional 56,000 square meters of space, more than double its current campus, thus consolidating its position as the largest private tertiary institution in Singapore, both in terms of total campus size and student enrolment.
Why the need for campus development
SIM's plan to increase its campus size is made in anticipation of the steady growth in its student population, as it looks forward to playing a greater role as a leading higher education and lifelong learning institute.
The extended campus will cater primarily to the growing needs of SIM University – the only university in Singapore dedicated to working adults, allowing them to pursue lifelong learning and higher education while balancing career, family and social responsibilities. SIM University adopts a flexible and practice-focused learning approach, and offers more than 50 academic programmes in various disciplines.
With the incentive of a Ministry of Education subsidy of up to 40% for its students introduced in 2008, SIM University has seen a substantial jump in its enrolment. In 2011, the government has further increased the subsidy up to 55%. SIM University now has more than 12,000 students and expects the number to grow to 14,000 by 2020, as continuing education and training continues to play a pivotal role in Singapore's economic growth. SIM University currently caps its annual intake to only about half of applications received due to limited facilities.
The new campus extension will allow SIM University to meet increased and future demand for places which it is not able to meet at the moment. To support SIM University's growth in student population, more staff will also be required and the new extension will allow SIM University to house staff from its four academic schools within its own premises.
SIM Campus Development Phase 1 - facilities
The completion of Phase 1 of this Master Plan in December 2010 has added an annex building of 30,000 sq m to the existing SIM headquarters. The new annex building houses more than 60 lecture theatres, seminar rooms and computer laboratories, as well as a library extension, a student hub, an open courtyard and F&B outlets, providing a dynamic and holistic learning experience for our students.
View our facilities images in phase 1 to find out more.
SIM Campus development phase 1 key milestones
9 October 2009
On 9 October 2009, President S R Nathan and Mrs Nathan officiated the SIM Campus Development Topping Up Ceremony on SIM HQ Clementi campus. At the event attended by more than 200 guests, President S R Nathan was asked to hit the 'gong' to activate the lowering of the concrete slab. The lowering of the concrete slab and the placing of it on the concrete platform signifies the completion of the piling stage of the new extended campus construction. After this, work will start on the second stage by building upwards and downwards.
1 October 2010
A year after the construction of the new SIM Campus Development Phase I building started, a topping out ceremony was held on 1 October 2010 to mark the completion of the superstructure for the new Phase I building adjacent to the current campus. Professor Cham Tao Soon (Chairman of SIM University Board of Trustees and Special Advisor to SIM Group), along with senior management from the SIM Group led a small group of SIM staff to attend the symbolic event where they shovelled cement to 'top out' the roof of the building. The new building now has two basement car parks, six storeys comprising 27 lecture theatres, 32 seminar rooms and four large computer laboratories and a roof. The next phase will be to fit out the building and to make it operational by early 2011.
Campus Development Video Slideshow
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