Millennia Institute

Millennia Institute (MI) is a pre-university institution in Singapore.

MI was established on 3 January 2004, to conglomerate the sparsely organised three-year pre-university institutions into a single entity. MI had moved into their new Bukit Batok campus, covering an area of approximately 16 hectares and built at a cost of around S$24 million completed with Junior College equivalent facilities. MI also had its official opening in May 2009 whereby Singapore’s former Minister for Education Dr Ng Eng Hen was the guest of honour.

Similar to Junior Colleges, MI accepts its students based on academic merit such as the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES) General Certificate of Examination Ordinary Level (GCE ‘O’ Level) results before graduation from secondary schools. Students from MI sit for the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES) General Certificate of Examination Advanced Level (GCE ‘A’ Level). To gain admission into MI, students not only have to meet the admission requirements, but the grades for various subjects as well. For instance, students must get at least A1 for mother tongue or C6 for higher mother tongue to be eligible for H1 General Studies in Chinese, at least A2 in combined humanities or B4 in English to be eligible for H2 Literature and so on.

A key distinctive feature of MI is also being the only pre-university institution to offer not just the two traditional streams of courses, namely the arts and science streams offered by similar pre-university institutions such as the Junior Colleges as well, but three streams of courses including the unique MI business stream, consisting of subjects such as the Principles of Accounting and Management of Business which were not offered in any other pre-university institutions.

MI had competed well against other Junior Colleges and academic institutions in areas such as sports and the arts since founding, remaining among the top 10 list in those categories since 2004, being awarded the best performing school under the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) physical fitness test consecutively since 2000. While most recently, MI had clinched the prestigious Think Award, from the world-acclaimed FIRST Vex Challenge World Championship held at Georgia, United States of America.

In 2012, MI organised the annual pre-university seminar from 28 May to 1 June 2012 and in the process became the first organiser in 43 years since the inception of the pre-university seminar to innovatively create a theme song for the reputable national event involving selected students from all pre-university institutions in Singapore. Beyond MI were the close rapport between students and teachers and the predominantly classroom-based curriculum delivery, and beyond classrooms, MI also seeks to enrich the learning experience of our students through programmes for Cultural & Performing Arts, Student Development, Pastoral Care, Work Attachment and Overseas CIP Trips.

Outram Institute (1987 - 2004)
Outram Institute (OI) was the first centralised institute open in 1987, and the oldest before her annexation into MI. OI occupied the former premises of the Chung Hwa Girls' High School and led by her first school principal, Mrs Lim Han Soon. In 1991, Mrs Lam-Kan Kim Swee was appointed principal. Through the course of Outram's history, students have gained not only 'A' level & LCCI certificates, but the intangible benefits of an education in character formation and citizenship.

Jurong Institute (1989 - 2004)
Jurong Institute (JI) was the third centralised institute when it was established in 1989 and was initially located at Jurong West Street 91. JI moved to 2 Toh Tuck Terrace on 18 November 1994, which was known as the Big Move. On that day, the student councillors, carrying the institute flag, set off on a symbolic Relay race|relay run, carrying a torch to signify that the JI spirit would continue to burn at the new premises. Lion dancers, awaiting staff and students, welcomed the school to its new site and ushered them into their new campus.

Millennia Institute (2004 - Present)
Under the leadership of Mr Tan Chor Pang (Principal) and Mr Mohd Azman Bin Mohd Sidek (Vice Principal), MI was the fifth pre-university institution to be established in Singapore as a centralised institute, as a result from the merger of Outram Institute and Jurong Institute in 2004, to further popularise the pre-university route. From 2004 to 2006, the institute operated at two campuses in Toh Tuck Terrace (Toh Tuck Campus, formerly Jurong Institute) and Bartley Road (Bartley Campus, formerly Outram Institute) until 12 December 2006. Today, MI operates at Bukit Batok West Avenue 8.

Campus
Prior to 12 December 2006, Millennia Institute operated at 2 separated campuses, at Toh Tuck Road (Toh Tuck Campus) and Bartley Road (Bartley Campus). Both campuses carried the name of "Millennia Institute", however, and were differentiated by their respective titles. This naming convention resulted in a deeply embedded feeling of isolation and alienation among students from either campus, as were prevalent during joint campus activities such as Track and Field meets, joint CCA events and non-curricular activities such as Post-Promotional Examinations field trips. On 12 December 2006, Millennia Institute's operation at Toh Tuck and Bartley Campuses were moved to the new campus at Bukit Batok West Avenue 8, and the Toh Tuck Road campus was to be converted into the temporary premises of Bukit Batok Secondary School in June 2007, while the Bartley Road campus is due for demolition. Millennia Institute embarked on programmes to integrate the students from the two different campuses in Toh Tuck and Bartley, to facilitate operations in the new unified campus at Bukit Batok, where students from both campuses began their 2007 academic year in the new campus. Toh Tuck campus offered the Science, Arts and Commerce streams. The Science stream constituted nearly 50% of the entire campus in the 2006 JAE batch, while Bartley campus provides only the Arts and Commerce stream, which do not provide Science subjects due to the lack of facilities and teaching staff. However, the JAE 2006 batch was eventually promoted to PU2 (Pre-University 2), and began their second year in the new Bukit Batok campus after the two campuses are consolidated into one. Millennia Institute provides all Science, Arts and Commerce subjects, including Biology, which was absent from 2004 to 2006 due to the lack of facilities at Toh Tuck Campus.

The new campus at Bukit Batok is a fully functional, purpose-built pre-university centre complete with facilities including the sports complex with running track and astro-turf hockey pitch; 2 lecture theatres that are designed to accommodate the entire enrollment.

Tutorial rooms are built into a single block, streamlined to connect the tutorial rooms conveniently to the lecture rooms, canteen, laboratories and other facilities, such as a fully air conditioned multi-purpose hall, 2 lecture rooms, IT hubs and library, known as 'MindSpace', sports complex and field and other sports facilities such as the 2 tennis, 2 basketball, badminton and volleyball courts, and other arts-related or welfare-related facilities.

Subjects offered
H1 subjects offered in MI are: General Paper, Art & Design, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Chinese Studies in English (CSE), General Studies in Chinese (GSC), Chinese, Malay, Tamil, Economics, Literature, History and Geography. H2 subjects offered in MI are: Art & Design, Economics, Literature, History, Geography, Chinese 'A', Malay 'A', Tamil 'A', Management Of Business, Principles Of Accounting, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology.

Similar to junior colleges in Singapore, MI provides the current A level curriculum to its students, starting from the batch admitted under the Joint Admissions Exercise (JAE) in March 2007, or the Provisional Admission Exercise (PAE) in January 2007. The new curriculum requires students to take up three H2 subjects, subjects that students will have to master at an in-depth level; three H1 subjects, of which one is a contrasting content elective subject, while the other two compulsory subjects are General Paper (GP) and Mother Tongue (MT). The Commerce stream has become the Business stream under its new curriculum, while Art and Science stream students are required to choose a cross stream subject, e.g. a Science stream student is required to take up an Arts or Business stream subject at the H1 level, at a simplified level of understanding and study compared to the component subjects at the H2 level. MI students who joined the institute prior the academic year of 2006 were not affected by the changes, and had continue to sit for the A level examination under the old curriculum at the end of their pre-university education.

H2 subjects offered are similar to H1, while mother tongue subjects are offered as Mother tongue and Literature (MTL) together with the relevant H2 subjects. Mother tongue syllabus "B" is offered as well to students with acute difficulties coping with H1 Mother Tongue.

Biology was not offered in MI between 2004 and 2006 due to the lack of facilities. Since 2007, MI offers the subject on H1 and H2 level when the institute operates at the new campus with necessary facilities. China Studies in English (CSE) and General Studies in Chinese (GSC) are offered at H1 level from 2009.

Curriculum hours
Curriculum hours vary in MI for individual levels. The first lesson in MI commences at 8.45 a.m., and the last lesson ends at 5:25 p.m. The duration of each lesson is 80 minutes. Students are provided with a break(s) or recess(es), and certain classes may have up to 120 minutes of breaks simultaneously on certain days. Classes are given a second recess in the afternoon prior to marathon lessons such as lectures and lengthy tutorials. Wednesdays are usually scheduled to end at 1.25 p.m. prior to CCA.

Co-curricular Activities
Co-curricular Activities, CCAs are an integral part of student life in MI. Typically, students participate in their respective CCAs on Wednesdays, although other weekdays can also be used for conducting of CCAs. Lessons across all levels on Wednesdays end at 1.25 p.m. MI offers a rich variety of CCA. CCA available within the Sports category are: Rugby, Football, Volleyball, Bowling, Netball, Hockey, Floorball, Track & Field, Badminton, Basketball, Tennis and Sepak Takraw; Culture and Arts category are: Cultural Dances (Chinese, Malay, Indian), Modern Dance, Angklung Kulintang Ensemble, Symphonic Band and Cultural Societies (Chinese, Malay, Indian); Societies category are: New Media Club, Interact Club, Entrepreneur Club, Young Innovator's Club, Speech & Drama Society and Library Club. All students must at least take up one CCA in the course of their study.

Attire of MI
The uniform of MI are light blue shirt and pants for male students, and light blue blouse and skirt for female students. All students of MI have to put on the MI collar badge on their left collar of their shirts or blouses.

Naming conventions of MI
MI, along with many other pre-university institutions like the Junior Colleges, regulates the naming conventions over several aspects related to the institution. Classes are ordered by the year of founding, curriculum stream, and then class number, one example would be the first class in the Arts stream founded in 2006 was 06A1; "06" denoting the year, while "A" for Arts, and "1" being the class number. Classes in the science stream are categorised by the "S" in the class name, while commerce/business stream classes are categorised by the "B" in the class name.

Prior to the unification of MI in the 2007 academic year, MI classes in Toh Tuck Campus were categorised by "A" for art stream classes, "S" for science stream classes, and "C" for commerce stream classes, although cross-stream students may be present in classes, such as an art stream student in a "C" class or a commerce stream student in an "A" class, depending on their subject combinations, Management of Business and Principles of Accounts being the only 2 commerce stream subjects offered in MI.

A sports house is one of the student unions that a student will be attached to during their course of study in MI, and its designation is similar for both campuses. The four Houses that currently exist are Zircon, Onyx, Garnet and Sapphire, which are named after precious stones. Students compete under the flag of their respective Houses during the annual MI Track & Field Meet, scheduled between April to June. Students are prohibited from switching houses, and are not allowed to appeal for changes.

Orientation
All pre-university 1 (PU1) students take part in an orientation programme organised by the Students Council of MI after each Joint Admission Exercise (JAE) intake in January. At the end of the orientation, Orientation Groups (OGs) will be subjected to an inter-OG competition to vie for the Best Performing OG. The orientation programme also made the PU1 students of MI feel welcomed, and to let them know that they are a part of the faMIly, and they were also taught the institute song, MI cheers and also the unique MI dance. OGs will be rewarded with prizes at the end of the orientation programme respectively.

Students are randomly placed into OGs which are led by an OG Leader (OGL) and supervised by two OG Tutors (OGTs). In the course of the first four days in school, PU1 students will participate in games, ice breakers, team building and scholastic activities. There are also talks conducted by teachers, subject heads or Heads of Departments (HODs) to brief the students on the process of selecting their subject combination, to prepare the students to choose subjects that are most suited to their interests and future career prospects (e.g. Mapping MI Future). Talks will also be conducted by the two vice-principals and the principal for the PU1 students. There is a Skills Foundation and Bridging Programme that help students to slowly transit from the GCE 'O' Level to the GCE 'A' Level course of study.

MI also organises a parents night in conjunction with the orientation programme. Here parents of MI students gain more information about the school, about the student's welfare, about the relationship between parents and students, and many other information such as the subject combinations etc. The Co-Curricular Activity (CCA) open house is carried out for the students to select a variety of CCAs available in MI. Students of MI may also choose external CCAs.