here are also a number of non-university higher educational institutions which are called polytechnic institutes since 1970s. Some of these institutions existed since the 19th century with different designations (industrial and commercial institutes, agricultural managers, elementary teachers and nurses schools, etc.). In theory, the polytechnics higher education system is aimed to provide a more practical training and be profession-oriented, while the university higher education system is aimed to have a stronger theoretical basis and be highly research-oriented. The polytechnics are also oriented to provide shorter length studies aimed to respond to local needs. The Portuguese polytechnics can then be compared to the US community colleges. Since the implementation of Bologna Process in Portugal in 2007, the polytechnics offer the 1st cycle (licentiate degree) and 2nd cycle (master's degree) of higher studies. Until 1998, the polytechnics only awarded bachelor () degrees (three-year short-cycle degrees) and were not authorized to award higher degrees. They however granted post-bachelor diplomas in specialized higher studies (DESE, ), that could be obtained after the conclusion of a two-year second cycle of studies and were academical equivalent to the university's licentiate degrees (). After 1998, they started to be allowed to confer their own licentiate degrees, which replaced the DESE diplomas. Romania Politehnica University of Bucharest, 1864 Polytechnic University of Timișoara, 1920 Gheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iași, 1937 Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 1948 Technical University of Civil Engineering of Bucharest, 1948 Oil & Gas University of Ploieşti, 1948 University of Petroşani, 1948 Technical Military Academy of Bucharest, 1949 Russia Bauman Moscow State Technical University Saint Petersburg Polytechnical University Novosibirsk State Technical University Tomsk Polytechnic University Moscow Polytechnic University Singapore Polytechnics in Singapore do not offer bachelor's, master's degrees or doctorate. However, Polytechnics in Singapore offer three-year diploma courses in fields ranging from applied sciences to business, information technology, humanities, social sciences, and other vocational fields such as engineering and nursing. There are five polytechnics in Singapore: Singapore Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Temasek Polytechnic, Nanyang Polytechnic and Republic Polytechnic. The Polytechnic diploma certification in Singapore is equivalent to an associate degree obtainable at the community colleges in the United States. A Polytechnic diploma in Singapore is also known to be parallel and sometimes equivalent to the first years at a bachelor's degree-granting institution, thus, Polytechnic graduates in Singapore have the privilege of being granted transfer credits or module exemptions when they apply to a local or overseas