There is never a dull moment being a student of the Diploma in Marketing. Events ranging from talks by industry practitioners, overseas study trips, bonding and enrichment activities are organised for the students throughout their stay with us.
Overseas Study Trips
Osaka Observations
 | From 6 to 11 October 2008, Diploma in Marketing students made a study trip to Osaka, Japan, to experience its culture and marketing practices first-hand. Japan is well-known for its many innovative products and creative retail formats in shopping districts such as Shinsaibashi and Tenpo-zan Integrated Harbour Village. Students also visited Osaka Prefectural College of Technology for some friendly interactions. Company visits to Nissin, Panasonic and ATC Green Eco Plaza gave students an insight into futuristic cutting-edge technology and eco-friendly practices. It was a fruitful experience as these 27 marketing students not only brought home kawaii souvenirs, they were enriched with valuable lessons and wonderful memories. |
Study Trip to Hong Kong
EXPERIENCING HONG KONG (8– 12 Oct 2007)
The five day cross-diploma study trip to Hong Kong – jointly organized by Diploma in Marketing (MKG) and Diploma in Leisure & Resort Management (LRM) – had 58 student participants.
As Hong Kong possesses a unique blend of Western and Chinese cultures, it offers a wonderful myriad of shopping, dining, entertainment and sightseeing choices. Our students appreciated the diversity of products and retail formats from flea markets, major malls to factory outlets.
The students had the opportunity to personally meet and listen to the expert advice of representatives from the Hong Kong Tourism Board and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. They also experienced Disneyland and Ocean Park as part of their academic learning on tourism marketing.
All in all, the trip provided our students a good exposure to the broad spectrum of marketing issues and challenges faced by the Fragrant Harbour.
 Students at Hong Kong Polytechnic University campus |  Students at Ocean Park learning Tourism Marketing |
Study Trip to Korea
29 eager Diploma in Marketing Juniors and their lecturer embarked on a five-day study Trip to Seoul, South Korea, with the goal of gaining a global perspective of marketing and a unique learning experience.
In addition to savouring kimchi and ginseng chicken soup, the students experienced new sights and ideas and the trip was an eye-opener for the delegation. The itinerary included a visit to Korean’s famous attractions including Everland and COEX Integrated Complex and interaction and exchange sessions between Temasek Polytechnic’s representatives and staff and students from Hannam University. CIC & Co, a marketing consultancy company that is based in Seoul, whose forte is in customer relationship management, hosted a field trip that provided marketing insights into Korean brands. For the students, concepts such as destination marketing and brand loyalty came alive through first-hand interaction with the Koreans and acquaintance with their brands.
 | The group visited one of Seoul’s newest retail destination, COEX to observe how the mall integrate shopping, culture, education, and leisure in one complex. Click here for students’ reflections (including pictures) of the trip. |
Study Trip to Australia
The objective of this trip was to expose the students to a different academic and marketing retail environment in Australia, Brisbane and Melbourne. To this intent, the students visited institutions of renowned academic standing and honed their entrepreneurial inclination by purchasing selected indigenous merchandise for retail back home.
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Study Trip to Bangkok, Thailand
The objective of this trip was to raise students' awareness in the retail marketing scene and aimed to instill the flair and spirit of entrepreneurship as the students will be given an opportunity to import indigenous merchandise for trade at the TP's retail kiosks upon return.
Besides visiting Thailand 's first institution of higher learning, Chulalongkorn University where Dr Wilert C Sopon (Marketing Professor) shared his valuable experience on the retail scene in Thailand, the students attended talks by established retailers where they shared their business models and how they cope with changes in the local retail scene.
The trip was fruitful and memorable as quoted by student Kelvin Ling as not only did it enable them to meet their objectives but more importantly the bond between the tutors and students has grown much stronger during the trip.
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Special Events
Institute of Marketing (CIM) International Marketing Competition 2007
 | In the finals of Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) International Marketing Competition 2007 held on 29 October 2007, Brandhubbers, a team of 7 MKG Seniors won the Merit Award. The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) is the leading international body for marketing and business development. CIM aims to provide marketers with best practices, helping them to deliver world-class marketing and seeks to do that by providing training courses and networking opportunities. The objective of the competition is to promote marketing talent and capabilities of students and to encourage knowledge exchange among students. |
| The seven members of Brandhubbers agreed that it was a fruitful and enriching experience to participate in the competition. Angeline Tan, the team leader remarked “I think this competition really challenged us out of our comfort zone. And in the process, we have strengthened our analytical and presentation skills in the process. And it’s wonderful to learn from one another.” |
Talks by Industry Practitioners
Diploma in Marketing believes in enhancing students’ learning through interactions with industry practitioners in talks and forums and we are fortunate to have had the support of so many leading marketing industry experts and marketing gurus who are always so willing to share their experiences with us.
This industry interfacing has enabled Diploma in Marketing to remain visible to our key stakeholders and augurs well for our students and graduates for future employment and further education.
“What's in My Brand?” Talk
Over 300 Year 2 and 3 Diploma in Marketing and Diploma in Retail students get to listen to how three unique businesses develop and grow their brands.
Ms Joyce Koh, Head of Brand Development at BreadTalk, shared how her company used their anchor product “breadflosss” to grow into a host of other unique bread and non-bread related products. It customises its products to suit the cultural preferences of each country.
Mr Lars Svensson, Country Marketing Manager of IKEA, gave the audience an appreciation of how IKEA has evolved and grown with Singapore over more than 20 years here since its early days. Its expansion takes a quantum leap with the opening of its outlet in Tampines.
Mr Albert Toh, Manager of Temasek Polytechnic's Centre of Entrepreneurship gave us an insight into TP's special “learning factory”, KoolWerkz. This set up was designed to integrate learning across disciplines like product development, financing, branding, selling and marketing. It is able to produce a host of rather esoteric ice-cream and frozen-desert items to cater to the increasing interest in KoolWerkz's products.
All these engaging speakers described how important branding is to them. They spoke about how they made their products unique and stand out among their competitors.
Exposing our students to industry speakers give them a “real-life” appreciation of what they learn in their curriculum. It also injects a sense of “industry-connection” and relevance as they work on these products for their projects in subjects like Branding, Marketing Research, Fundamentals in Marketing and Sales Management.
| Students get a taste of “real world of work” through listening and interacting with industry speakers on how they develop their brands. | |
| A picture taken with our guest speakers (from right to left) – Mr Lim Kim Tong (Temasek Business School), Mr Lars Svensson (Country Marketing Manager, IKEA), Mr Albert Toh (Manager, Centre of Entrepreneurship, Temasek Polytechnic), Ms Joyce Koh (Head of Brand Development, BreadTalk), Ms Sue Lou (Section Head, Diploma in Marketing) and Dr Arnold Tan (Course Manager, Diploma in Marketing). |
Creativity in Advertising Forum
Marketing students had the opportunity to attend a forum on creativity in advertising by one of the most prominent advertising gurus in the Asia-Pacific region, Mr Jim Aitchison.
Described as an "Awards Machine", Mr Aitchison has won more than 600 advertising awards, including one for Chinese copywriting. He was Creative Director of The Ball Partnership, Singapore; and Executive Creative Director of Batey Ads, Singapore.
Mr. Aitchison has judged The One Show, America's leading awards show; and the London International Advertising Awards for many years. He is a member of the most prestigious industry associations including Britain's Design & Art Directors Association, the Australian Writers and Art Directors Association, the Type Directors Club of New York.
Now an entrepreneur writing books about the subject closest to his heart, Mr. Aitchison is the author of international bestselling titles, Cutting Edge Advertising and Cutting Edge Commercials among many others.
 | Jim Aitchison, prominent advertising guru in the Asia Pacific speaks on clever and witty advertising and how to create these cutting edge advertisements |
The Future of Branding in Asia
Diploma in Marketing students was treated to a talk on branding in Asia by a well known speaker, Ms Shauna Li Roolvink, Founder and Managing Director of BrandHub Consultancy. The talk adds new dimension to the learning of this very new field of marketing study.
With over 10 years of experience in business strategy, branding, market research, customer experience and e-business consulting in the Asia Pacific region, Ms Li Roolvink is a noted speaker and author on branding topics in the Asia Pacific region. Her articles have been published in magazines such as The Edge and Insight. Students feedback that they enjoyed the talk greatly and would like to hear more from her.
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The speaker, Ms Shauna Li Roolvink. Founder and | Students listening and taking notes during the talk. |
Branding MTV
As part of Diploma in Marketing strategic tie up with the industry, we invited MTV Asia to give a talk to our students on licensing and brand management of merchandise.
Response was overwhelming with an audience of more than 400 students.
The guest speaker was Mr Terry Chua, Account Director (Licensing and Merchandising Department, MTV Asia). The talk gave students a better understanding about marketing and brand building for a global brand. Several students walked away with unique prizes sponsored by MTV Asia during the quiz session.
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Overwhelming response from | students and staff. |
