The history of Ngee Ann Polytechnic can be traced back to 1963, when it started out as Ngee Ann College. Its founder, The Ngee Ann Kongsi, had envisioned setting up a quality educational institution to link the Chinese-speaking community to its cultural roots during the colonial-rule era. The College had since morphed into a full-fledged polytechnic, a public institution overseen by an independent Council.

Six decades on, the Polytechnic has become a leading institution of higher learning, anchored on its core strengths of pioneering a broad-based and holistic learning approach, forging strategic alliances and providing enriching overseas experiences to prepare its students for a global workplace. The transformation of Ngee Ann Polytechnic has been a spectacular one, as evident in the key milestones recorded here.

1960s - Founding Years

1963

Ngee Ann College was inaugurated on May 25, 1963.

1967

The College became a legal independent institution governed by a Council,

1968

To reflect its expanded role and focus on technical education, the College changed its name to Ngee Ann Technical College.

1970s - Changing Focus

1970

The degree courses were phased out.

1971

English replaced Chinese as the College’s sole medium of instruction.

1972

The Business Orientation Programme was introduced

1980s – From College to Polytechnic

1981

In 1981, a five-year Phase I campus expansion project was launched to cater to an accelerated increase in student enrolment.

1982

To reflect its expanded role in providing quality education, the college’s name was changed to Ngee Ann Polytechnic (Ngee Ann).

1985

The Continuing Education Centre (currently known as CET Academy)

1986

NP embarked on Phase II campus expansion that added new facilities such as teaching blocks.

1988

NP celebrated its 25th anniversary. By then, its enrolment surpassed the 10,000-mark.

1990s – Pioneered E-Learning

1993

NP's Human Resource Office started the International Fellowship and Visiting Lecturer Scheme,

1994

The Polytechnic rolled out a new phase of campus environment and facilities upgrading.

1999

The Polytechnic was the first of its kind to launch Mobile e-Learning,

2000s – Rapid Growth

2001

The Polytechnic launched the Ngee Ann Learning Model (NLM), its unique broad-based approach of equipping students with a judicious blend of hard and soft skills to thrive in the knowledge economy.

2002

NP rolled out its plan to incorporate interdisciplinary studies into the curriculum.

2005

Important strides were made overseas as the Polytechnic collaborated with Zhejiang University City College to provide Diploma in Chinese Studies students with the chance to go on a China immersion programme.

2006

NP and SPRING Singapore jointly established the Marine & Offshore Technology Centre of Innovation (MOT COI) at the Polytechnic.

2007

Under the Ministry of Education’s Polytechnic-Foreign Specialised Institute (Poly-FSI) scheme,

2008

NP launched a $1 million Solar Technology Centre. Partly funded by the Economic Development Board, the Centre serves as a hotbed for applied research and student projects on solar technology.

2009

NP’s talent development programme was revamped and renamed The Christieara Programme (TCP) to boost the Polytechnic’s efforts in nurturing high calibre students. A new feature of TCP was the California Challenge, a three-week study trip with a liberal arts focus.

2010s – Future-Ready

2010

The Polytechnic officially launched Dialogue in the Dark Singapore, a walking tour of simulated environments in complete darkness, led by visually impaired guides.

2011

NP embarked on a strategic affiliation with Nanyang Technological University to reshape the way engineering is taught at the diploma level.

2012

NP students began enjoying new first-rate facilities that support their holistic education, thanks to the new building known as Seventy3,

2013

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong unveiled a blueprint that set out NP’s 10-year plan to reinvent itself and better prepare students to thrive in the global workplace.

2015

In line with the national SkillsFuture movement, to provide greater opportunities for Education and Career Guidance (ECG),

2016

NP became the first polytechnic in Singapore to infuse Service-Learning as a signature pedagogy into its core curriculum across all its diploma programmes.

2017

In line with the national push towards becoming a Smart Nation, NP championed embracing technology designed to enrich living and learning on campus.

2018

Singapore’s Economic Development Board launched the Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) Innovators Academy,

2019

In support of the Smart Nation push to develop deep-tech solutions benefiting Singaporeans, NP jointly developed OpenCerts, the use of blockchain technology for secure and reliable digital certificate verification, in partnership with SkillsFuture Singapore, the Government Technology Agency and the Ministry of Education (MOE).

2020

NP and UOB jointly launched AGILE, a campus incubator to nurture start-ups, drive student entrepreneurship and encourage ecosystem partnerships.

2021

The NP Robotics Research & Innovation Centre (RRIC) was launched to co-create customised robotics solutions with industry partners and develop the talent pipeline for the growing sector.

2022

The first-ever omni-channel Johnson & Johnson Experience Centre (JJEC) equipped with retail technologies such as the POP6 cloud-based point-of-purchase execution solution and a live-streaming set-up, was launched on the NP campus.

2023

As part of NP’s 60th anniversary, the polytechnic announced its 5th Strategic Plan, or NP2030, which shares the polytechnic’s vision and outlines its priorities and strategies for a shared and sustainable future.