Pratt & Whitney Teaches Singapore Polytechnic Students to Power the Future

SINGAPORE, Feb. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- SINGAPORE AIR SHOW -- Singapore Polytechnic (SP) and Pratt & Whitney signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today enabling students to participate in an Overseas Industrial Training Program (OITP) at Pratt & Whitney's Customer Training Center in China. Pratt & Whitney is a division of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX).

The MOU extends an agreement initially signed by SP and Pratt & Whitney at the 2010 Singapore Air Show. To date, more than 150 students have participated in the program. Pratt & Whitney anticipates at least 300 more students will train at its Beijing or Guangzhou, China locations through 2017.

"We have seen great results with this program, and the feedback we have received from students is very positive," said Jon Beatty, vice president, Airline Customers for Pratt & Whitney. "We are very proud to continue to grow the program with Singapore Polytechnic."

As a result of the program, SP's students will gain relevant exposure and training in commercial aviation at Pratt & Whitney over a six-week period. Students receive the same hands-on training, both instructional and practical, as aircraft maintenance engineers.

"Our partnership with Pratt & Whitney is timely. It brings the kind of global exposure and real-life training that our students need to prepare them for the future as Singapore gears up to provide maintenance and overhaul work for commercial and carriers," said Mr. Tan Hang Cheong, principal of Singapore Polytechnic. "I am confident that through our partnership, our aeronautical engineering students will continue to receive world class training and the best hands on experience possible. Pratt & Whitney will be working with some of the graduates who are highly valued and most sought after by the industry."

Pratt & Whitney's Customer Training Center in Beijing is a joint venture company with partner China Aviation Supply Holding Company. Opened in 2002 and serving more than 1,000 students annually, the training center offers a wide range of commercial aerospace courses and hands-on training opportunities for aviation professionals in the Asia-Pacific region.

Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines, space propulsion systems and industrial gas turbines. United Technologies, based in Hartford, Conn., U.S.A.  is a diversified company providing high technology products and services to the global aerospace and building industries.

About Singapore Polytechnic (www.sp.edu.sg)

Established in 1954, Singapore Polytechnic (SP) is Singapore's first polytechnic. Its 10 academic schools offer 49 full-time diploma courses for its 15,500 students and courses are kept relevant through close links with industry and government bodies, as well as with various overseas institutions.

SP offers broad-based, multi-disciplinary and flexible curriculum dedicated to hands-on experience. It is committed to the development of its applied research and development capabilities to enhance the quality of teaching and commercialization efforts. Through Design Thinking, SP offers a revolutionary approach to education, allowing its students to look at problems from different perspectives, and strike a dynamic balance between intuitive and analytical thinking to provide impactful solutions.

Among SP's 160,000 graduates are successful entrepreneurs, top executives in multinational and public-listed corporations, and well-known professionals, many of whom are captains of industries, university professors and researchers, and leaders in government.

SP is the first polytechnic to be awarded the President's Award for the Environment in 2010 and the President's Social Service Award in 2011.

Follow SP on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/singaporepolytechnic or Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/SingaporePoly

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SOURCE Pratt & Whitney