Education

Nanyang Technological University (NTU): Engineering: Information Engineering and Media

Category Communications and Media, Engineering, Information Studies, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, Undergraduate
Tags Engineering, Information, Media, Nanyang Technological University, NTU

Today, technology and creativity are coming together in ways we never thought possible. Remarkable progress in the movie and game industries, for instance, has been made possible with the intersection of creativity and technology. In Singapore, both the infocomm and media sectors are growing fast. The IT sector is projected to be worth US$4.4 billion by 2009. Moving forward, Singapore plans to also focus on interactive and digital media (IDM) because of its strong growth potential.

Meanwhile, recent rapid developments in infocomm technologies and the emergence of new media-rich services have led to the convergence of the infocomm and media sectors. This has created demand for a new breed of infocomm engineers equipped with sound understanding of the artistic/creative process in media design and production.

The Bachelor of Engineering in Information Engineering and Media (IEM) answers this demand.

As a rule, engineers and artists think and view things differently. This new four-year multidisciplinary degree programme changes this by cultivating in students the twin perspectives of engineers and artists.

This direct honours programme is hosted by the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and jointly offered with the School of Art, Design and Media, School of Computer Engineering, and Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information. Harnessing the strong engineering background of NTU and the synergies of the four schools, the programme immerses students in a rigorous curriculum in information engineering while exposing them to the artistic and creative processes.
Aims

The aims of this programme are:

• To train professional Infocomm engineers with strong technical skills to meet the projected demand for Infocomm manpower.
• To expose engineers to the artistic and creative processes and equip them with a deeper understanding of the needs of the growing Media industry.
• To provide a comprehensive and broad-based education as part of the new undergraduate experience to meet the demand of today’s fast changing world.

This programme is mainly technical and is rigorously grounded in core information and communication engineering principles, with 60% of the curriculum covering courses such as programming, computer hardware and software, networking, communications, digital audio and video processing. This part of the programme prepares graduates for jobs in the IT, computer and communications industries.

The programme also exposes students to the artistic and creative aspects of the media industry. About 20% of the curriculum is devoted to courses such as digital art and design, animation, game design, and radio/TV/movie production. This part of the curriculum allows students to graduate with a working knowledge of media design and production. The graduates will be able to work with media designers in content creation, production and delivery. They will be in a unique position to better understand the needs of the content creators and to develop new technologies and tools which will help the Media industry achieve higher productivity and elevate it to the next level of excellence.

Besides the specialized training, students are ensured a holistic and rich learning experience, as 20% of the curriculum is devoted to broadening courses in arts, humanities and social sciences, science and technology, and business and communication skills. These arm students with the capacity to readily adapt to the demands of tomorrow.