Press Releases
High Level Panel Discusses Singapore's University Sector
The 8th meeting of the Ministry of Education’s International Academic Advisory Panel (IAAP) will be held in Singapore from 8 to 12 November 2010. The Panel will discuss the latest developments and progress of Singapore’s university sector, and recommend strategies to further increase the sector’s impact on and contribution to Singapore.
The theme of the 8th IAAP meeting is “Transforming University Education for the New Economy”. During the meeting, the IAAP will deliberate on the progress of our existing autonomous universities—the National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Singapore Management University (SMU). It will also discuss the establishment of new institutions in the higher education sector, namely the Singapore University of Technology and Design, the Singapore Institute of Technology, the new Medical School jointly established by NTU and Imperial College London, and the potential collaboration between Yale and NUS to set up a liberal Arts College in Singapore.
In addition, the IAAP will be apprised of the Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2015 funding framework, and consider the research strategies of our institutions.
President S R Nathan will host IAAP members to a dinner at the Istana. IAAP members will call on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and also interact with prominent industry and public sector representatives, as well as visit NUS, NTU and SMU.
Background
The IAAP was established in 1997 by MOE to advise Singapore’s universities on major trends and directions in university education and research. Its role has since been broadened to provide guidance on the development of Singapore’s tertiary sector as a whole, including how we can attract talent and strengthen Singapore’s reputation as an education and talent hub in Asia. The IAAP usually convenes on a biennial basis. It last met in June 2008.
The 8th IAAP is chaired by Dr Tony Tan, Chairman of the National Research Foundation and Singapore Press Holdings. The IAAP comprises 12 other distinguished academics and heads of universities and industry from China, Finland, India, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. Three are newly-appointed to the Panel from 2009: Mr Dirk Jan van den Berg (President, Delft University of Technology), Professor Sanjay Dhande (Director, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur) and Professor Mark Wrighton (Chancellor, Washington University in St Louis). The Presidents of Singapore’s four publicly-funded universities serve as ex-officio members. The list of IAAP members is at the Annex.
Annex
Composition of the IAAP for the 8th 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 |
| Mr Dirk Jan van den Berg | President Delft University of Technology |
| Dr Robert A Brown | President Boston University |
| Prof Sanjay Dhande | Director Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur |
| Prof Gu Binglin | President Tsinghua University |
| Dr Hiroshi Komiyama | Former President University of Tokyo |
| Dr Kari Olavi Raivio | Former Chancellor University of Helsinki |
| Prof Rafael Reif | Provost Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Prof Alison Richard | Former Vice-Chancellor University of Cambridge |
| Prof Paul Romer | Senior Fellow Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research Stanford University |
| Prof Mark Wrighton (unable to attend 8th meeting) |
Chancellor Washington University in St Louis |
| Dr Henry T Yang | Chancellor University of California, Santa Barbara |