SINGAPORE - MediaOutReach - 3 October 2019 - Students from Kaplan in Singapore had the opportunity to intern withsome of Singapore's most interesting start-ups. Five shortlisted students andstart-up companies, part of a community at the co-working establishment TheWorking Capitol, jointly worked on ideas over three months and convinced apanel of judges, which included Kaplan management as well as a representative fromits Industry Advisory Board, and The Working Capitol. iWonder Pte Ltd (winner)and LOPELAB (runner-up), brought home prize money of S$40,000 and S$20,000respectively at the Kaplan Kickstart Challenge Finale, a pitch session whichtook place last Friday at The Working Capitol.

The KaplanKickstart Challenge is Kaplan's latest initiative to equip students withemployment-ready skillsets through real-life experiences. The inaugural editionsaw an exclusive partnership with The Working Capitol to match shortlistedKaplan students with their start-ups to develop and pitch business ideas.

The programme,held from 8 July to 27 September 2019, offered students an internshipopportunity for three months at start-up companies from various industries,from healthcare to digital content and recruitment. In addition to learning andassisting with day-to-day work with the start-ups, the students had theopportunities to contribute to the implementation of a business idea. They wererequired to be a part of the presentation team to pitch the idea at the KaplanKickstart Challenge Finale.

"The KickstartChallenge is designed to help Kaplan students become more employable when theygraduate. We are pleased to see that our students have gone the extra mile andenjoyed the journey -- from stepping up to the challenge of trying somethingbeyond their programmes, to doing their best to not just learn on the job, butalso contributing back with knowledge learnt from school. The Working Capitol'sgenerosity in providing access for Kaplan students to its vibrant and diversecommunity has been key to bringing this initiative to life," said Khoo Yu Hung,Director, Marketing and Communications of Kaplan in Singapore.

"Having aninternship programme within The Working Capitol is an initiative we've alwaysset our sights on; our startups will always require creative and ambitioustalent, and we get to share our vision of a sustainable urban future with theyouths of Singapore. Kaplan's range of programmes are geared towards flexiblelearning, which we believe is the future of education. We are honoured to comeonboard and hope this collaboration provided Kaplan students the experience andenvironment to springboard their careers," added Saranta Gattie, CEO andCo-Founder of The Working Capitol.

The winner,iWonder, is a streaming video service that allows subscribers to watch a largevariety of award-winning documentaries and current affairs programmes. LOPELAB,the runner-up, is an innovative design studio that designs different kinds ofevents or temporary structures for public spaces that stimulate socialinteraction and create collective experiences.

Beyond the prizemoney, students who took part in the Challenge took back valuable insights andopportunities towards their dream careers.

Shaun Tan, 23,who is currently studying a Bachelor in Business Studies in Management withUniversity College Dublin at Kaplan, received a certificate for being theKickstart Challenge's Best Intern. He has secured the opportunity to extend hisinternship at Cavago. "I was excited to be matched with a start-up that is in adisruptive industry that has yet to be fully explored. I had to cope with timemanagement when I started. However, through the internship, I am glad to havemade good friends with the team, received critical and constructive feedback,and overcame the challenges along the way," he said.

Taking the challenge to try an industry out of her existing coursewas an opportunity that Shiyamielah Kesavan Pillai, 28, a student pursuing aKaplan Diploma in Hospitality Services and Events Operations, was excited tograb. Her academic and work background in events management proved to be usefuleven as she interned in Vista Health. "The journey was unexpected but great --even though I was an intern, my colleagues and managers valued my opinions andI was able to give back to the company," she said. Her stint in a start-upenvironment has made her consider her options more carefully after graduating."The learning opportunities in taking up different internships, instead ofstarting a new job immediately, is one of my considerations now," Shiya added.

With over 300 degreeand 25 diploma programmes, Kaplan in Singapore is focused on equipping studentswith the skillsets for employment and to meet evolving industry needs. One ofits initiatives was to set up six Kaplan Industry Advisory Boards in 2016,involving over 40 senior executives and entrepreneurs from MultinationalCompanies, Small & Medium Enterprises and Start-ups. Collectively, theyprovide perspectives on the latest industry trends to align programmes offeredat Kaplan to meet Singapore's labour needs, to prepare graduates to be relevantto industry and career-ready.

"The job markettoday has gotten a lot harder to get a foothold in. Initiatives like The KaplanKickstart Challenge really fit into what we have been trying to do. We arefocusing so much more on, other than giving students the education, equippingthem with employable skills and having them apply what they learnt in theclassroom to a real-world scenario. I'm glad that the Challenge is off on agood start and I hope more companies and our students will benefit from futureeditions of this programme," said Associate Professor Rhys Johnson, ChiefOperating Officer and Provost of Kaplan in Singapore.

For more information on theprogrammes delivered by Kaplan in Singapore, check out the official website kaplan.com.sgor contact info.sg@kaplan.com. Join in the conversations at www.linkedin/kaplansingapore and www.facebook.com/kaplansingapore.

About Kaplan in Singapore

Kaplan inSingapore is part of Kaplan Inc., one of the world's most diverse educationproviders and is the largest subsidiary of Graham Holdings, formerly The WashingtonPost Company. To date, Kaplan in Singapore has students from over 35countries worldwide, and has served over 65,000 graduates. With over 480academic programmes for higher learning and professional certification coursesavailable for skills development, Kaplan provides opportunities for individualsto pursue lifelong learning.

To find out more about Kaplan Singapore, visit www.kaplan.com.sg.