Press Releases
7th Meeting of the International Academic Advisory Panel
The 7th meeting of the Ministry of Education’s International Academic Advisory Panel (IAAP) will be held in Singapore from 25 to 27 June 2008. It will be chaired by Dr Tony Tan, Chairman of the National Research Foundation and Singapore Press Holdings.
At its 7th meeting, the IAAP will deliberate on the preliminary recommendations of the Committee on the Expansion of the University Sector (CEUS). The Committee is chaired by Senior Minister of State for Education RAdm (NS) Lui Tuck Yew. Dr Tan serves as its Advisor.
Among the Committee’s recommendations is the establishment of a new publicly-funded university to provide the bulk of the additional university places required to achieve the subsidised university participation rate of 30% by 2015. The Committee has also recommended that the existing universities continue to provide high quality education for their students, with new and enhanced programmes. In its deliberation meetings, the IAAP will discuss the Committee’s preliminary report, and provide comments on its recommendations.
IAAP members will call on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on 27 June 2008. They will also meet with CEUS members and senior management of the Singapore universities.
Background
The IAAP was established in 1997 by MOE to advise Singapore’s universities on major trends and directions in university education and research with a view to developing them into world-class institutions of excellence. Its role has since been broadened to encompass the provision of guidance on the development of Singapore’s tertiary sector as a whole. The IAAP usually convenes on a biennial basis and has met six times previously. It last met in January 2007.
The IAAP comprises 12 distinguished academics and heads of universities and industry from Finland, India, Japan, the People’s Republic of China, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. The Presidents of the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University and Singapore Management University serve as ex-officio members. The list of IAAP members is at the Annex.
Annex
Composition of the IAAP for the 7th Meeting
| Name | Designation |
|---|---|
| Dr Tony Tan (Chairman) | Chairman, National Research Foundation and Singapore Press Holdings |
| Mr G Leonard Baker Jr | Managing Director Sutter Hill Ventures |
| Dr William Brody | President Johns Hopkins University |
| Dr Robert A Brown | President Boston University |
| Prof Ernst Buschor | Vice-President ETH Board |
| Prof Gu Binglin | President Tsinghua University |
| Dr Hiroshi Komiyama (unable to attend 7th meeting) |
President University of Tokyo |
| Prof Ashok Misra | Director Indian Institute of Technology Bombay |
| Dr Kari Olavi Raivio | Chancellor University of Helsinki |
| Prof Rafael Reif | Provost Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Prof Alison Richard (unable to attend 7th meeting) |
Vice-Chancellor University of Cambridge |
| Prof Paul Romer | Professor of Economics Graduate School of Business, Stanford University |
| Dr Henry T Yang | Chancellor University of California, Santa Barbara |