SIA pips Qatar Airways to top Skytrax poll on world’s best airline It is the fifth time that Singapore Airlines has taken home the gold prize. PHOTO: ST FILE Kok Yufeng Transport Correspondent UPDATED JUN 21, 2023, 7:32 AM SGT SINGAPORE – National carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) has been voted the world’s best airline in a global poll of more than 20 million travellers, wresting the top spot from Qatar Airways. In 2019, 2021 and 2022, SIA had finished second behind the Middle Eastern carrier in the annual world rankings done by London-based research firm Skytrax. Travellers of more than 100 nationalities rated over 325 airlines in surveys conducted between September 2022 and May 2023. Based on the poll, Qatar Airways was ranked second, Japan’s All Nippon Airways was in third place, with Emirates and Japan Airlines coming in fourth and fifth, respectively. It is the fifth time SIA has taken home the gold prize. The airline also bagged the Best First Class Airline, Best First Class Comfort Amenities, and Best Airline in Asia titles at the 2023 Skytrax World Airline Awards ceremony, which was held on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Paris Air Show. SIA budget arm Scoot was named the best long-haul low-cost airline, and ranked second in the world’s best low-cost airline category. SIA chief executive Goh Choon Phong, who was in Paris to receive the top prize, said the award is a testament to the hard work and sacrifice made by company employees during the Covid-19 pandemic. This work ensured that the flag carrier was ready for the recovery in air travel after border restrictions were lifted, and it allowed SIA to emerge “stronger and fitter”, he said in a statement. In May, SIA and Scoot carried a combined 2.8 million passengers, a year-on-year increase of 65.8 per cent. SIA Group’s passenger load factor – a measure of the percentage of seats filled – remained close to record highs, coming in at 88 per cent for the month. For the 2022/2023 financial year, the airline posted record revenue and profit numbers, with a net profit of $2.16 billion for the year ended March 31. A year earlier, it had posted a loss of $962 million. SPH Brightcove Video However, it has not been all rosy for SIA in 2023 as it has had to deal with a chorus of complaints regarding service quality and what has been perceived by some as cost-cutting measures. Earlier in June, SIA reinstated menu items such as appetisers and bread rolls to meal trays, following negative feedback from passengers about the quality of food served in economy class. The Singapore carrier has also not been spared the supply chain issues faced by airlines around the world, including delivery delays for new planes on its order book, such as the Boeing 777-9. MORE ON THIS TOPIC Singapore Airlines beats Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific in battle for the skies SIA to push ahead with regional tie-ups in ‘multi-hub’ strategy: CEO As at May, US jet maker Boeing had a backlog of more than 4,600 aircraft. Independent analyst Brendan Sobie of Sobie Aviation said that SIA Group has more than fully recovered from a revenue and profit perspective, but has still not fully recovered from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic from a capacity or passenger traffic perspective. “It is the ‘last mile’, the last 10 per cent or so of capacity, that will be the hardest to achieve,” Mr Sobie said. He also pointed out that the favourable market conditions that SIA benefited from over the past year, such as high air fares, the supply-demand imbalance and less-than-normal competition, are not expected to continue. It is a matter of when, not if, these conditions change, Mr Sobie added. “The expectation would be more of a soft landing than a hard landing, but no one really knows when that landing will occur,” he said. “SIA, more than virtually anyone else in Asia, has benefited from this kind of honeymoon period between the pandemic and the new normal. “All the credit to SIA management, employees and the Singapore Government for the incredible success that SIA has enjoyed during this period, but at some point, it will end.” Mr Joshua Ng, director at Alton Aviation Consultancy, said delays to the delivery of new aircraft may put a cap on SIA’s top-line growth, but may also help sustain profitability. “There’s not so much capacity in the market, so they can fly passengers at high fares,” he said. Renewed competition from Hong Kong’s flag carrier Cathay Pacific and Chinese airlines will be a challenge, so SIA needs to continue to innovate, said Mr Ng. “There’s a big push to continue to stay premium, so continued investment in products is important,” he added. MORE ON THIS TOPIC SIA to offer free unlimited Wi-Fi to KrisFlyer members flying economy from July 1 Record SIA earnings the result of intense preparatory work during pandemic: CEO
NUS and NTU among top 5 Asian universities in Times rankings Both universities have held top 10 positions since 2015. PHOTOS: ST FILE Elisha Tushara Correspondent UPDATED JUN 23, 2023, 5:43 AM SGT SINGAPORE - The National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have maintained their positions in the top five in the latest rankings for Asian universities by Times Higher Education. NUS has held on to its third placing for the fourth consecutive year. NTU has retained its fifth placing since 2021. Both universities have held top 10 positions since 2015. The top 10 universities in Asia were dominated by those located in China and Hong Kong, with Tsinghua University and Peking University clinching the top two spots for the fourth year in a row. The University of Hong Kong retained fourth place, while the Chinese University of Hong Kong and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology were sixth and seventh respectively. The other universities in the top 10 include The University of Tokyo in eighth place, and two more Chinese universities tied in ninth place (Fudan University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University). This year’s rankings, which were released on Thursday, comprise 669 universities from 31 countries and regions, up from the 616 ranked in 2022. Times Higher Education’s Asia University Rankings use the same 13 performance indicators the publication uses for its World University Rankings, although weightings were recalibrated to reflect the priorities of Asian institutions. For instance, the data for citations – which account for close to one-third of a university’s score – is normalised to reflect variations in citation volume across different subject areas. This is so that universities with high research output in subjects with traditionally high citation counts do not get an unfair advantage, said the publication. The performance indicators are grouped into five areas: teaching, research, citations, international outlook, and industry income. Mr Phil Baty, Times Higher Education’s chief global affairs officer, said the rankings reflect a growing influence among Asian universities on the spread of knowledge across the globe. For instance, citation scores on the continent are growing at a faster pace than the rest of the world. Research coming out of the region in business and economics, computer science, and engineering are particularly highly cited, said the publication. Commenting on Singapore’s performance in the rankings, Mr Baty said that Singapore has consolidated its position as one of the world’s leading global hubs of research and innovation, despite mounting competition from China and Hong Kong. “For a city-state with a relatively young higher education and research ecosystem, this is a remarkable achievement and bodes very well for the future,” he added. MORE ON THIS TOPIC NUS and NTU are top two Asian universities again in subject rankings NTU, NUS among world’s 50 research organisations most cited by key global innovators NUS told The Straits Times that the post-pandemic global higher education landscape has compelled institutions to re-examine the frameworks in which they operate, with NUS being no exception. “Going ahead, we will focus on intensifying innovations in university education and lifelong learning to help our students and alumni thrive in the future economy, substantially raising the translational impact of our research, and developing one of the most vibrant and dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystems in the world,” said an NUS spokesman. NTU told ST that it continues to pursue excellence in education, research and innovation while competing with the world’s top universities. The university is midway through its NTU 2025 strategic plan to nurture greater interdisciplinary collaboration, among other things, noted its spokesman. “The university is committed to our long-term investments and strategic choices that support our mission to nurture leaders and create societal impact through interdisciplinary education and research,” added the spokesman. MORE ON THIS TOPIC Why university rankings are pointless exercises for students in Singapore askST: How can I make use of university rankings?
NUS enters top 10 in global university ranking for the first time NUS emerged eighth in the latest Britain-based Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings released on Wednesday. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH Amelia Teng Education Correspondent UPDATED 4 HOURS AGO SINGAPORE – The National University of Singapore (NUS) has broken into the top 10 in a global ranking of institutions for the first time. It emerged eighth in the latest Britain-based Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings 2024 released on Wednesday. It was previously 11th in the 2023 edition, which was released in 2022. It is the highest-ranked Asian university and the first from Asia to be placed among the top 10 in the table, which is dominated by universities from the United States and Britain. The chart is topped by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as it was in previous years, followed by the University of Cambridge and University of Oxford. Harvard University is fourth, and Stanford University fifth. The latest QS ranking is the 20th edition and features updated methodology using three new metrics – an institution’s commitment to sustainability, employment outcomes, and international research network. QS has also made some changes to the weighting of some existing indicators: academic reputation, employer reputation and faculty-to-student ratio. For example, academic reputation is now worth 30 per cent, down from 40 per cent, while employer reputation is accorded 15 per cent instead of 10 per cent previously. NUS came in seventh for employment outcomes and 15th for academic reputation. It ranks 54th globally for employer reputation and 64th for citations per faculty, which measures research impact. In a statement, NUS president Tan Eng Chye said: “This is a historic first for NUS to be placed within the top 10 globally, amongst many other prestigious institutions worldwide. “This is a testament to our capabilities and commitment to providing a world-class and interdisciplinary education to nurture agile and resilient graduates with diverse skills and knowledge for an ever-changing world.” He added: “This achievement was made possible by the excellent contributions and outstanding work of our talented faculty, staff and students who remain deeply committed to flying the flag of our distinguished quality of education and creating positive impact in the classroom and beyond.” QS chief executive Jessica Turner said: “This unprecedented milestone marks a remarkable moment for Asian higher education and showcases NUS’ dedication to research excellence, innovation and sustainability.” Global top 10 universities 2024 rank 2023 rank University Location 1 1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology US 2 2 University of Cambridge Britain 3 4 University of Oxford Britain 4 5 Harvard University US 5 3 Stanford University US 6 6 Imperial College London Britain 7 9 ETH Zurich Switzerland 8 11 National University of Singapore Singapore 9 8 University College London Britain 10 27 University of California, Berkeley US Table: STRAITS TIMES GRAPHICS Source: QS World University Rankings 2024 Nanyang Technological University was ranked 26th in the latest table, down from 19th in the previous edition. Singapore Management University was in 545th position, and the Singapore University of Technology and Design made its debut in 429th place. MORE ON THIS TOPIC NUS and NTU are top two Asian universities again in subject rankings NTU, NUS among world’s 50 research organisations most cited by key global innovators
no wonder even my highschool alma mater decided to open a branch in singapore to get in on the action. they are good branding for one another.
i was born on one continent, went to high school, well technically secondary school on another, and sadly due to previous generation always looking westwards for life's answers, ended up yet on another, where i am now, in the boondocks. short answer, no.
I was born in the same place/country as now. But was under 5 different governments! By the way, can I presume you are now down under?
lol. no, still on the same hemisphere. just being constantly moved westwards, but halted just shy of a full circle. in case you are wondering about the time difference, i do not sleep much.
Singapore students rank top in maths, science and reading in OECD study Singapore students rank top in maths, science and reading in OECD study | The Straits Times Singapore students who took part in Pisa 2022 maintained their performance in mathematics and improved substantially in science. PHOTO: ST FILE Sandra Davie Senior Education Correspondent UPDATED DEC 7, 2023, 8:05 PM SGT FacebookX SINGAPORE - Fifteen-year-olds here have emerged top performers in an international benchmarking study to measure how well students use their knowledge and skills to solve real-world problems. Based on the performance of 6,606 students from 149 secondary schools and 15 private schools, including international schools and madrasahs, Singapore was ranked No. 1 for mathematics, science and reading in the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) 2022. The study, which is done every three years by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), was delayed by a year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the last Pisa study in 2018, Singapore was ranked second after China, which did not participate in the latest study because its schools were closed when the study was conducted. Compared with 2018, Singapore students who took part in Pisa 2022 maintained their performance in mathematics and improved substantially in science, but their performance declined slightly in reading. The Education Ministry said the decline in reading for Singapore students is similar to that of their peers in many other countries, and may reflect the impact of a global change in reading habits. The latest Pisa cycle also showed that Singapore continued to have high proportions of students who did well. In reading, for instance, 23 per cent of students in Singapore were top performers. For mathematics and science, the figures were 41 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively. Top performers achieve proficiency of level five and six. Similarly, Singapore had fewer students who were low performers in reading at 11 per cent, and in mathematics and science at 8 per cent. Such students achieve proficiency below level two. MOE said in a media release that the Pisa 2022 results, taken together with the results of another international benchmarking study, the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (Pirls), affirm the resilience of Singapore’s education system. In the Pirls study released in May, Primary 4 pupils in Singapore emerged as the top readers in the world. MOE paid tribute to teachers here, and said the results reflected the dedicated efforts of schools and teachers in supporting the learning and well-being of students throughout the pandemic. Noting that Pisa tests students’ ability to apply what they have learnt to unfamiliar settings and real-world contexts, MOE said: “Singapore students have shown that they are good in mathematical reasoning, can distinguish between relevant and irrelevant information, and use computational thinking (for example, pattern recognition, defining algorithms) as they solve complex problems in a variety of modern contexts.” These are critical skills that will prepare students well for global changes like digitalisation, the emergence of new technologies and the advent of new professions. MORE ON THIS TOPIC Students from lower-income homes in Singapore outperform peers overseas Less than half of S’pore students say parents ask about problems in school MOE also said “Singapore students continue strong performance despite Covid-19 disruptions, including those from lower socio-economic status homes”, based on figures that showed students from disadvantaged homes did better than the OECD average in all three domains tested. The Pisa 2022 survey highlighted a few problem spots for Singapore students. One was their perception of a lack of support from their parents, and another was the lack of physical activity among them, with 29 per cent reporting that they do not exercise at all after school. Commenting on the results, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said on his Instagram page: “Great job to our students for persevering with their learning despite disruptions caused by the pandemic. “My deepest gratitude to our educators too, who adapted quickly when learning pivoted online, and came up with many innovative teaching methods to ensure that learning continued.” He added: “We will not rest on our laurels and continue to work closely with schools, parents and partners to support our students in their education journey. “Let us always strive to surpass ourselves, rather than focusing on outperforming others.” Dr Andreas Schleicher, director for education and skills and special adviser on education policy to OECD’s secretary-general, praised Singapore for continuing to lead the global league tables in Pisa. “It has been one of the few countries that saw no negative effects on learning outcomes during the pandemic,” he said, adding that there are many factors at play, including the consistent and high expectations on students and an instructional system that provides rigour in terms of cognitive demand and focus. He said another factor is the push to teach fewer things in greater depth, and coherence – in terms of modelling learning progressions carefully, for example, in Singapore mathematics. Noting some areas of concern, he said: “Social disparities in learning outcomes remain clearly visible in Singapore. Also, in terms of students’ sense of belonging, Singapore is more an average rather than a high performer. “Not least, we have seen a decline in parental support and engagement in Singapore, an area in which Singapore used to be strong.” Are you as smart as S’pore’s 15-year-olds? Try answering these four maths questions. Tap the image to enlarge. MORE ON THIS TOPIC Singapore’s Primary 4 pupils are world’s best in reading Singapore students top international chemistry and biology Olympiads, place 2nd in geography
Singapore’s Primary 4 pupils are world’s best in reading More than a third of Singapore pupils achieved the highest “advanced” level in the study, which refers to high competency in reading difficult texts. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY Amelia Teng Education Correspondent UPDATED MAY 16, 2023, 11:06 PM SGT FacebookX SINGAPORE – Primary 4 pupils in Singapore have emerged as the top readers in the world in an international test. Results of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (Pirls), which were released on Tuesday, showed that pupils here were strong in both foundational and higher-order reading skills compared with their international peers. They could also navigate digital texts, drawing out central ideas and making simple judgments about the credibility of information. Held every five years, Pirls is an international study that evaluates fourth-grade, or Primary 4, pupils’ reading and comprehension skills, such as interpreting and drawing connections between texts. A total of 57 education systems across the world took part in the test, which was sponsored by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement. The association released the results, with Singapore’s Ministry of Education (MOE) giving the detailed findings for the Republic. This was the first time the test could be administered fully online, but the education systems could choose whether to do it on paper or digitally. Ireland took second spot in the latest 2021 study, followed by Hong Kong, Russia and Northern Ireland. The findings could be released only in 2023 because the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in delays in data collection. In the 2016 edition, Singapore came in second out of 58 participating education systems. Russia was first. A representative sample of 6,719 Primary 4 pupils across all 183 primary schools here participated in the study from October to November 2020. About 400,000 pupils worldwide took the test. Even with the pandemic, Singapore’s reading literacy scores improved from the previous 2016 edition, with its mean score going up from 576 to 587. Schools had to pivot to home-based learning in place of face-to-face lessons at several points during the pandemic. Despite concerns that this could have significantly affected the learning of lower-income pupils, the study found that the gap in reading performance between them and those from more affluent homes did not widen between 2016 and 2021. In a statement, the MOE said Singapore is the only education system where students have made steady progress over the 20 years since the Pirls study was first administered in 2001. It said this could be attributed to refinements made to the English-language teaching and learning curriculum over the past two decades, additional literacy support for pupils who need it, and efforts to ensure learning could continue during the pandemic. More than a third – 35 per cent – of Singapore pupils achieved the highest “advanced” level in the study, which refers to high competency in reading difficult texts and showing higher-order thinking skills. The international median was 7 per cent. In the 2016 iteration, 29 per cent of pupils here reached the advanced benchmark. MORE ON THIS TOPIC Building a strong culture of reading in Casuarina Primary School Should you worry if your child reads only manga and not Shakespeare? The lowest-performing 10 per cent of Singapore’s pupils were also among the highest-scoring across all education systems in the test, said MOE, adding that it will continue to support pupils across all academic abilities and backgrounds and uplift those who need more help. Like in previous years, Singapore pupils reported being confident in their reading abilities. But fewer of them enjoyed reading. The proportion of those who reported enjoying reading a lot fell to 51 per cent in 2021, the lowest in a decade. This is compared with 55 per cent in 2016 and 60 per cent in 2011. Similarly, the proportion of pupils whose parents reported enjoying reading a lot dropped to 48 per cent in 2021, from 53 per cent in 2016 and 60 per cent in 2011. MOE said the decline in reading enjoyment is not unique to Singapore. “(It) may in part be driven by the rapid proliferation of other forms of entertainment and content formats like social media over the last decade,” it said. Ms Liew Wei Li, MOE’s director-general of education, said: “Reading literacy is the foundation for learning and one of the most important skills that our students acquire in primary school. Our MOE specialists and master teachers have improved our curriculum and strengthened the capabilities of our teachers.” Pupils showed strong reading literacy by international standards despite the pandemic challenges, she said, because of teachers who ensured learning could continue, and the close partnership with parents in adapting to the circumstances. “Building a strong culture of reading takes a whole-of-society effort. We thank parents and community partners for their dedication towards fostering good reading habits in our young, and in nurturing them to become confident, competent readers,” said Ms Liew. MORE ON THIS TOPIC Why reading books is good for society, well-being and your career Parents want well-read kids, but are they themselves reading?
