New polytechnics courses

By Amelia Tan
AS THE popularity of traditional engineering courses wanes, Singapore polytechnics are rolling out programmes this year in newly popular fields such as clean energy and aeronautical engineering.
Polytechnic lecturers said interest in these disciplines is booming, in part because of the glamour of the jobs but largely because the clean energy and aerospace industries are flowering amid a bonanza of investment.
About 10,000 jobs will be created when the $60 million Seletar Aerospace Park is completed in 2018.
With heavy government investments, the clean energy industry is expected to bring Singapore $1.7 billion a year in gross domestic product and create 7,000 jobs by 2015.
The courses are drawing some of the top engineering students at the expense of programmes like electrical and mechanical engineering.