Bernina joins hands with NIE for training

BERNINA, the leading Swiss sewing and embroidery machine manufacturer with a heritage of more than 125 years, has joined hands with the National Institute of Education (NIE) to develop training programmes to help students acquire important skills through a multidisciplinary approach.

"Our concept, which we are developing together with the NIE and a Swiss university, is aimed at educational institutions of all levels. We focus on learning objectives targeting the 21st century skills through our well-rounded Bernina creative programme," says Katharina Ueltschi, a director of the company.

Bernina is a family-owned company and Ms Ueltschi represents the fifth generation.

The firm is already collaborating with the Institute of Technical Education (ITE). For example, via the "Train the Trainer" model, ITE lecturers were taught by Bernina's technical after-sales support team on everything they need to know about the maintenance of its textile technology. "Such collaborations lead to a win-win situation: on one hand, we impart the technical know-how to Singapore students, and on the other hand, these students can acquire professional qualifications that will help them advance further in their career," says Ms Ueltschi.

Another important partner in Bernina's project with NIE is the Haute ecole pedagogique du canton de Vaud based in Lausanne in Switzerland.

"(The partnership) offers students solid training on both the theoretical and practical levels, thus promoting their integration into the professional world. That's exactly what our joint project with the HEP and NIE is all about," says Ms Ueltschi.

Bernina is also working with Temasek Polytechnic (TP). "At TP School of Design, the focus is more on integrating the Bernina machines technology into the world of the students, to help them with their design creation using our technology in various aspects of design.

"Together with TP, we launched the Bernina-TP Creative Studio in 2020, an all-in-one facility, with customised programmes for everyone. We accompany the students on their journey and support them in a wide variety of design thinking areas. That's exciting for us, too," she adds.