Singapore at Night NTU Campus Professor Bertil Andersson President, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore APAC Research Intelligence Conference 10 June 2014 Nanyang Executive Centre, NTU, Singapore
Singapore East Meets West Gained independence in 1965 Population size: 5.4 million (2013) Land area: 716 sq km (2013) English as the working language 3 rd richest country in the World (2013): GDP per capital US$ 55,250 GERD target: 3.5% in 2015 Multicultural, highly cosmopolitan & diverse with people of Chinese, Malay, Indian & other ethnicities Singapore A rapidly emerging country when it comes to Academia & Research
World of R&D (2014) Source: Battelle, R&D Magazine Singapore South Korea Japan
4 universities Nanyang Technological University (NTU) National University of Singapore (NUS) Singapore Management University (SMU) Singapore University of Technology & Design (SUTD) 5 th & 6 th universities to be established SIM University (UniSIM) Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) Vibrant Academic Ecosystem in a Small Country New Research Institutes: Agency for Science, Technology & Research (A*STAR): 14 Research Institutes Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Singapore Government Walks the Talk for the Knowledge Society Research, Innovation & Enterprise Council (RIEC): Chaired by the Prime Minister of Singapore, it brings together world-leading experts & 9 Cabinet Ministers to ADVISE the Singapore Cabinet on national research & innovation policies & strategies to drive the transformation of Singapore into a knowledge-based economy Mr Lee Hsien Loong Prime Minister of Singapore Source: A*STAR 5-year Science & Technology plan for research funding *Does NOT include basic funding for the universities
Singapore s Competitive Research Funders National Research Foundation (NRF) Academic Research Council of the Ministry of Education (MOE) Agency for Science, Technology & Research (A*STAR) National Medical Research Council (NMRC) Economic Development Board (EDB)
Tradition of Philanthropic Endowments Generous Donation System Encouraged & incentivized by Government Donors receive 2.5x tax reduction Endowed donations raised by universities are matched 1.5:1 For new institutions, eg. LKCMedicine: Government provide 3:1 match for first 10 years and 1.5:1 thereafter Example: LKCMedicine s S$150 million donation from Lee Foundation will amount to S$400 million, with Government matching between 1.5x to 3x
Nanyang Technological University (NTU) A Brief History 1991: Establishment of Nanyang Technological University (NTU) 1991 2001: Focused on education of engineers & business graduates for Singapore market 2001 2006: Establishment of several new disciplines School of Biological Sciences (2001) School of Humanities & Social Sciences (2004) School of Physical & Mathematical Sciences (2005) School of Art, Design & Media (2005) 2005: Autonomous university with independent Board of Trustees 2010: Establishment of Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine in collaboration with Imperial College London (first intake in AY2013) 2006 2011: Heavy investments in research & recruitments
Basic Facts & Figures Total student population: 32,500 23,500 undergraduates 9,000 graduate students International students: 17.5% of undergrads 52% of Masters 79% of PhDs Total staff strength: 6,850 1,700 faculty (including visiting faculty), with 943 international faculty 2,350 research staff 2,800 admin & support staff 70% of international faculty & research staff
The NTU College Structure College of Engineering Chemical and Biomedical Engineering Civil and Environmental Engineering Computer Engineering Electrical and Electronic Engineering Materials Science and Engineering Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering College of Business Nanyang Business School College of Science Biological Sciences Physical and Mathematical Sciences Asian School of the Environment College of Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences Art, Design and Media Wee Kim Wee Communication and Information Humanities and Social Sciences Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine Collaboration with Imperial College London Autonomous Institutes National Institute of Education S.Rajaratnam School of International Studies Earth Observatory of Singapore Singapore Centre on Environmental Life Sciences Engineering
Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine) Partnership between NTU & Imperial College London 5-year joint MBBS medical degree programme Tan Tock Seng Hospital/NHG primary clinical partner First intake in AY2013: 54 students; Planned steadystate intake: 225 students per annum Strong international recruitment of top faculty
HQ Building Toh Kian Chui Annex Clinical Sciences Building (New)
NTU s Journey as a Fast-rising University Ranked 41 st in QS World University Rankings Quantum leap of 33 places over 3 years (from 74 th in 2010) Ranked 76 th in Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings Quantum leap of 98 places over 3 years (from 174 th in 2010) Ranked 2 nd in QS Top-50 under 50 Ranked 7 th in QS Asia University Rankings Ranked joint 1 st in the World for industry income-innovation (THE) NTU s MBA program ranked 38 th in the World; EMBA program ranked 13 th (Financial Times) Prof Vijay Sethi
Asian Research Impact Trends Singapore s Universities Top in Asia Source: Elsevier NTU 1 st in Asia
Asian Research Impact Trends Singapore s Universities Top in Asia Source: Thomson Reuters NTU 1 st in Asia
Nature Publishing Index Asia-Pacific Ranking vs Global Top 100 Institutions Asia Pacific Ranking 2012 Asia-Pacific Ranking 2013 Global Top 100 (2012) Global Top 100 (2013) Chinese Academy of Science 2 1 12 6 University of Tokyo 1 2 9 8 Kyoto University 3 3 26 27 RIKEN 4 4 33 31 Osaka University 7 5 36 41 National University of Singapore 9 6 75 46 Tohoku University 10 7 84 47 University of Melbourne 6 8 62 54 University of Science and Technology of China 8 9 72 57 Tsinghua University 11 10 88 64 Australian National University 13 11 94 72 Nanyang Technological University 34 12 217 73 Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) 16 19 115 123
NTU s Rapid Development What Made it Possible? Global competition as a driver : A strategic interdisciplinary approach Long term generous finance from & commitment of Government to research & higher education: Excellent resources & infrastructure to conduct research Strong educational base; Educational reforms for stimulating creative thinking International profile in an open international country: Recruiting top faculty on the international scene Vibrant higher education ecosystem and willingness to collaborate with industry Change means change!
NTU Education Developing Graduates for the 21 st Century Rationale for change: ICT-based learning Need for flexibility in learning Learning to learn Not a case of memorising what may be, in the 21 st Century, redundant facts Need for soft skills (social, communication, negotiation, entrepreneurship, leadership, teamwork, etc)
NTU Education Developing Graduates for the 21 st Century e-learning Introduction Introduction Additional Features: & e-teaching
Recruitment of Top Senior & Junior Faculty from Across the World 30 top international scientists recruited since 2008 Gazelles Kerry Sieh World-renowned geologist & seismologist From Caltech Daniela Rhodes, FRS Superstar structural biologist From Medical Research Council Lab of Molecular Biology, Uni of Cambridge Stephan Schuster One of Times Magazine s Top-100 Most Influential People, 2009 From Penn State Uni >60 outstanding young researchers 31 out of 61 NRF Fellows (51%) chose NTU as host institution 50 Nanyang Assistant Professorships awarded (from >2,800 applicants worldwide)
NTU s International Profile 70% of international faculty & research staff (from >75 nationalities) Extensive international graduate student recruitment ( 52% Masters & 79% PhD international students) International academic partnerships with top universities based on mutual academic esteem Working with global industry partners International leadership
Emphasising Research Trend of External Grants Awarded (Figures calculated on an annualised basis) Financial Year April to March
Top Funding for Top Scientists NTU s Research Centres of Excellences (RCEs) Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS): NTU s first RCE; Awarded S$150m Region s flagship institute for earth sciences research & innovation Research focus: Processes of natural hazards such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions & climate change Kerry Sieh Paul Tapponnier Singapore Centre on Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SCELSE): NTU s second RCE; Awarded S$120m Catalytic platform to synergise research on environmental sciences & life sciences Research focus: Environmental microbiology with objective to create practical environmental solutions & a new discipline in bio-films Staffan Kjelleberg Yehuda Cohen Stephan Schuster
NTU 2015 Strategy of the BOT Five Peaks of Excellence Sustainable Earth Future Healthcare New Media New Silk Road Innovation Asia Peaks of Excellence in a landscape of high achievement & potential Sustainable Earth Mount Everest of NTU
Some of NTU s Major International Industry Partners Ranked joint 1 st for industry income-innovation score
Rolls Royce BMW NTU-TUM CREATE Lockheed Martin Sembcorp Marine
International Networking Key partners: Imperial College London, Technical University of Munich, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, University of Cambridge, etc GlobalTech: Global Alliance of Technological Universities (NTU Chair)
Excellent Brains Require Excellent Infrastructure S$ 1.8 billion ( US$ 1.4 billion) Building Program at NTU
Asia for the Future? Excellence is universal; Europe & North America no longer have a monopoly Asia committed to progress & to build excellence So far, Asian academia was influenced by & relied on the West Will Asia start to influence the academic outlook of the West & the global knowledge scene?
THANK YOU Tack ありがとう ত ম ক ধনযব দ salamat ד אנק א Terima Kasih धन यव द ขอบค ณ 감사합니다 谢 谢 cảm ơn bạn