Five years have passed quickly since our last Tenth Anniversary Commemoration Ceremony on IA in December 1993.  During this period, NTU’s external attachment wing has grown steadily from a base of 12 organisations providing placements for 18 students to 8 countries in 1993/94 to the present network of more than 55 organisations providing placements for 187 students to 23 countries spread over Asia, Europe, U.S.A and Australia.  Despite the present economic problems faced by many countries, NTU is confident that it will continue to grow this external wing with the support of its industry and institutional partners.  Institutional partners include many well-known universities overseas such as Northeastern University, University of Surrey, University of Strathclyde, Brunel University, Fachhochschule Bochum, University of Technology, Esslingen, Eindhoven University of Technology etc.

I am particularly pleased to note that 27 of the 32 organisations which received the Tenth-Year Commemoration Awards will be here again to receive their Fifteenth-Year Commemoration Awards.  There is also an additional 24 organisations which have provided continuous support of our IA programme for 10 or more consecutive years.  These organisations will deservedly receive their Tenth-Year Commemoration Awards at the same ceremony.

NTU’s industrial attachment programme has continued to enjoy the support of its industry partners - now numbering more than a thousand.  This amicable and close working relationship has not only given rise to interesting and productive training placements but also provided employment opportunities to many of our graduates.

NTU remains committed to ensure that IA programmes will be beneficial for both its students and industry partners.  I look forward to NTU working closely with new industry partners and receiving continued support from our present partners.