Singapore has a number of educational institutions offering quality management training programs and workshops for university graduates, professionals and executives from all management levels.

At NUS Extension, students can gain greater knowledge and keep abreast of current issues and the latest business trend, while also exploring new business opportunities.

Aside from offering training programs and courses traditionally required by corporations such as management development, NUS Extension also offers new programs and courses catering to the needs of the marketplace.

NUS Extension, a major education service provider in Singapore, lures international participants thanks to its innovations in designing new programs relevant to current affairs.

The emergence of China as a major economic and geo-political power, for instance, has prompted NUS Extension to introduce the Leaders for China Program.

The Leaders for China Program is an intensive two-week residential program targeted at senior executives and leaders in private enterprises and government agencies from the Asia-Pacific region.

The program includes lectures and workshops, dialog sessions, visits to governmental institutions and companies, as well as visits to historical and cultural sites in Beijing, Shanghai and Xi'an.

"Senior executives and leaders in industry and government who join the program are expected to gain greater insight into China to lead their companies and agencies in conducting their projects in the country," Koh How Eng, the director of NUS Extension, says.

The growing demand for Mandarin courses has also encouraged NUS Extension to offer daytime and evening intensive short- courses for full-time working professionals.

NUS Extension has also introduced several new technology management programs in response to market needs. These courses include Introduction to Life Sciences, Combating Bioterrorism, Advanced Technology Licensing, European Patent Law System and Biomedical Ethics and Patent Rights.

Operating since 1966 as the Extra-mural Studies Department of the University of Singapore, NUS Extension is gaining a reputation in the marketplace for continuing education beyond the university.

Classes are conducted at NUS Extension's new training facility at Park Mall, about a three-minute walk from the Dhoby Ghaut MRT station.

Occupying a total floor area of about 20,000 square feet, NUS Extension features 20 well-equipped seminar rooms in different layouts to meet varying training needs. The seminar rooms are specially designed to have the flexibility to accommodate various audience sizes ranging from 10 to 80 participants.

All the training rooms, including two computer labs, have Internet broadband access. The facility also houses a boardroom- cum-library and a cafe.

To offer the best services for its clients, NUS Extension works with specially selected private training providers and well-respected overseas universities, including Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), University of British Columbia, University of California: San Diego (UCSD), Los Angeles (UCLA), Davis (UC Davis), and several universities from China, such as Beijing University, Fudan University and Xi'an Jiao Tong University.

While new programs and courses continue to be introduced, NUS Extension retains its existing programs that are relevant and in high demand.

With a mission to offer opportunities in professional education, management development and lifelong learning beyond the traditional boundaries of mainstream education, NUS Extension offers a wide range of quality programs categorized into several different areas.

These areas include Professional Development, Management Development, Technology Management, Business Development, Personal Development and Lifelong Learning.

Each area features different programs and courses catering to individual and corporate needs.

Leadership and Influence, Strategic Management and Planning, Entrepreneurship and Planning, Business Law, Human Resources Management, and Sales and Marketing, to name but a few, are among the programs and course in high demand.

Programs and courses under the category of Lifelong Learning include language, arts, literature, history, culture and civilization.

This year, NUS Extension has an enrollment of 8,000 students, most of whom are graduates. NUS Extension has set up three learning centers, namely the Centre for Enterprise Leadership, Centre for Professional & Management Development and the Centre for Lifelong Learning, to cater to the learning needs of professionals, executives and lifelong learners.

"We hope the Centre for Enterprise Leadership will serve as a place for business CEOs and senior management who are interested in learning more about leadership skills, business ethics, strategic management and other issues," says How Eng.

The Centre for Professional & Management Development is expected to be a learning hub for graduate-level executives seeking professional upgrading as well as management development. "Many of our instructors are practitioners and role models, and their practical wisdom and guidance are very useful."

"Many individual learners welcome the idea of the Centre for Lifelong Learning, which offers a comprehensive range of high quality courses.

"The centre also has special appeal for senior citizens looking for a credible place to learn and network," How Eng adds.

Lisna, an Indonesian student who is attending a two-year course in Mandarin at NUS Extension, says that Singapore provides an environment conducive to learning Mandarin, which is the reason she chose to study Mandarin in the country.

"At NUS Extension, Chinese language courses are presented in a lively and entertaining way. The teaching method allows us to take part in activities outside the classroom to give us opportunities to practice Mandarin in real-life settings," says Lisna, who plans to become a teacher upon completion of the course.