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Singapore Strengthens Education and Research Collaborations with Sweden
During his recent visit to Sweden, Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence, met Mr Jan Björklund, the Swedish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Education, where they reaffirmed the close educational and research collaborations between Singapore and Sweden. To further promote exchanges in the fields of education, research and innovation between Singapore and Sweden, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed on 18 October 2010.
The MOU builds upon existing education and research links between the two countries. The National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Singapore Management University (SMU) have signed MOUs, academic and research collaboration agreements and student exchange agreements with 13 Swedish institutions to date.
Speaking at an official lunch hosted by the Swedish DPM on 18 October, Dr Ng said, “The MOU recognises the existing linkages between Singapore and Sweden. It will serve as a formal platform to further deepen the strong ties in education and research.”
Our universities have collaborated with Swedish universities to launch several joint degree programmes. Both NUS and NTU currently offer joint PhD degrees with Karolinska Institutet (KI). Bilateral student exchanges are also active. At any one time, there are more than 100 Singaporean students studying in the NUS Overseas College in Stockholm and other Swedish universities. (Please refer to the Annex for more details.)
Research linkages between Singapore and Sweden are similarly strong. For example, a consortium consisting of KI, NUS and ASTAR’s Genome Institute of Singapore is working on a Breast Cancer Research Programme. ASTAR also has graduate training tie-ups with Swedish institutes. Such arrangements enable a two-way flow of graduate students who can participate in research in different settings, which would enrich their learning experiences. (Please refer to the Annex for more details.)
Close research ties among researchers have also culminated in a number of distinguished Swedish researchers being attracted to work in Singapore universities. They include the President-Designate of NTU, Professor Bertil Andersson, and the Director of the Singapore Centre of Environmental Life Sciences RCE, Professor Staffan Kjelleberg. The President of KI, Professor Harriet Wallberg-Henriksson, also sits on the Singapore Biomedical Science Executive Committee’s International Advisory Council.
As part of the visit, Dr Ng also visited KI and its adjoining university hospital. KI is the top-ranked medical research university in Europe and is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year. It has produced five Nobel Laureates to date and also hosts the Nobel Assembly that is responsible for the choice of the Nobel Laureates in Physiology or Medicine. During the visit, the Singapore delegation gained insights into how KI has put in place a pervasive innovation structure that has led to numerous spin-off companies and drug discoveries, and contributed significantly to KI’s commercialisation revenue. About 20 Singaporeans are enrolled in KI’s prestigious PhD programmes, as part of A*STAR’s and Singapore universities’ collaborations with KI, and are receiving training to become clinical scientists.