Singapore is surely seeing a rise in services-related diplomas and degrees if the recent offerings by Republic Polytechnic (RP) and now, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), are anything to go by. While Republic Polytechnic offers the very specific Diploma in Integrated Events Management, NTU attempts to reach out to the entire tourism sector with a Bachelor of Business in Tourism and Hospitality Management instead.

NTU’s move comes in the wake of it’s (relatively) recent tie-up with Cornell University (United States) to offer a joint postgraduate programme in hospitality management - which apparently is the first of its kind in the whole of Asia.

More importantly, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is offering scholarships worth $350,000 to outstanding students, which will definitely be critical in attracting Singaporean students away from more conventional career paths. FYI: STB provided similar scholarships for Republic Polytechnic’s Diploma.

Like RP’s Diploma, the new degree is most likely an attempt to ride the tourism bandwagon as it expands (Read: Integrated Resorts).

[News via HOTELS Magazine]