Singapore, 28 July 2005 – MediaCorp Radio is proud to announce a joint initiative with Temasek Polytechnic in nurturing budding talents for the broadcast industry.

Second-year students doing Communications & Media Management at the polytechnic went on national radio when they were selected earlier this year to produce capsules for MediaCorp Radio’s Lush 99.5FM.  Working at The Lush Lab, the young talents produced capsules on a wide variety of topics including music, musical instruments and IT gadgets. Capsules are bite-size information segments with useful tips and details on technology trends and the arts.   

Since 14 May the capsules have been on Lush 99.5FM every Saturday and Sunday from 7 to 11am.  They are so popular with the listeners that Temasek Polytechnic has now made the stint with Lush 99.5FM part of its Communications & Media Management curriculum. The current series of capsules ends in early July and the next series will go on air in October 2005.

Since its launch at the beginning of the year, Lush 99.5FM has been very well received in the industry and gained a steady following of listeners.  Alongside its aim to continually introduce new programming content, The Lush Lab was an unprecedented opportunity to showcase ’s very own talents.   

Bernard Lim, General Manager of English Programming, has this to say: “We are very heartened by the quality of work from the students. It is obvious that a lot of time, effort and planning had gone into producing the capsules. We are also encouraged by the positive feedback from our listeners.

“As the national broadcaster, we are always looking at ways to promote the broadcast industry and nurture the next generation of talent. It is therefore a natural progression for us to get involved in school curriculum and we are extremely gratified that Temasek Polytechnic has sufficient faith in us to do so. With this, we hope that other institutions of higher learning will take the leap of faith and help us bring the broadcast industry to even greater heights.”

Ms Felicia Nah, Section Head, Diploma in Communications and Media Management, Temasek Polytechnic, says: "Temasek Polytechnic is always on the lookout for opportunities to collaborate with the industry. The students pounced on this opportunity to produce a series of capsules for Lush 99.5FM and be heard on national radio.  The experience helps them put into practice what they have learnt in their radio and audio production modules in school. 

“This collaboration is a milestone because we are the first educational institution to work with Lush 99.5FM.  It has resulted in a win-win situation for all parties.  Students get the opportunity to put into practice what they have learnt and showcase their work on a new, trendy and young station. At the same time, MediaCorp Radio is actively involved in the training and development of the young professionals of tomorrow's airwaves.