20 May 2002

SPEECH BY MR THARMAN SHANMUGARATNAM, SENIOR MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY & EDUCATION, AT THE SIGNING OF A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING FOR STUDENT EXCHANGE PROGRAMME BETWEEN NUS AND XI'AN JIAOTONG UNIVERSITY AND AGREEMENTS FOR STUDY AWARD SPONSORSHIP FOR NUS BUSINESS SCHOOL'S INTERNATIONAL MBA PROGRAMME, ON MONDAY 20 MAY 2002 AT 8.00 PM AT KENT RIDGE GUILD HOUSE

Mr Wang Yongli, Counselor for Education
Embassy of the People's Republic of China

1 I am pleased to be here today to witness the signing of a memorandum of understanding between NUS Business School and Xi'an Jiaotong University, and corporate sponsorship agreements between NUS Business School and various partners in industry.

2 We are seeing the emergence of a vibrant and increasingly competitive landscape for university education in Singapore. Besides our local universities, which offer a comprehensive range of disciplines and with international reputations of their own, we now have eight top foreign educational institutions here under the World Class Universities programme.

3 Our local universities recognise that, to compete successfully both in Singapore and in the global arena, they must tread new paths and actively seek opportunities outside of Singapore. Through such outward-reaching strategies that they can add new dimensions to Singapore's role as an Asian education hub.

4 I am pleased today to announce one such strategic alliance - the establishment of a student exchange programme between the NUS Business School and Xi'an Jiaotong University. I understand that it is the outcome of a mission organised by the International Enterprise Singapore (IES) last August. I would like to congratulate the two universities for the farsightedness and dedication to enterprise that has led to the blossoming of this initiative.

5 This linkage will support and strengthen educational, intellectual and business networks between Singapore and China. Such networks will be integral to our future.

6 The memorandum of understanding with Xi'an Jiaotong University will see student exchanges taking place between the two institutions. Selected students on the International MBA (IMBA) programme will have the opportunity to spend time both in Singapore, at the NUS Business School, and in China, at Xi'an Jiaotong University. Other students on the same programme will also have the opportunity to go on student exchanges to other top Chinese universities, under separate memoranda of understanding.

7 I am told that the NUS Business School's IMBA programme is among the world's first to be conducted in both English and Chinese. I commend NUS for leveraging on Singapore's unique multi-lingual environment to offer customised education options that meet the needs of growing numbers of professionals, executives and business persons. In so doing, we carve out new niches of excellence to ensure our continued relevance in the international marketplace.

8 This exchange programme is timely for another reason. With the increased flow of foreign investments into China and its robust domestic growth, the demand for reputable and effective business education among China's young executives and senior managers is growing exponentially. Singapore, with its track record in providing quality training opportunities for graduate manpower in Asia, is well-placed to help cater to this demand.

9 There is clear value-add in this exchange arrangement for students on the IMBA programme. They will now directly experience two distinct intellectual and business cultures. As the trading and investment hub for many international companies in Asia, Singapore will act as a window for Chinese students to gain exposure to the workings of global businesses. During their time here, they should also gain a greater insight into our local culture and business environment. Upon their return to China, they will be well-placed to promote business partnerships by considering how Singapore - located at the crossroads of Asia, providing easy access to India, Southeast Asia and Australia - can feature in their companies' international business development plans.

10 For the Singapore students, the programme will provide an opportunity for immersion in the Chinese environment, where they will have an opportunity to acquire local knowledge and practical business know-how. They will also establish useful networks and alliances. These participants will add to the pool of business managers and leaders with the acumen to take Singapore enterprises into China and bring Chinese enterprises into Singapore.

11 Today, we witness also the signing of corporate sponsorship agreements between the NUS Business School and various companies from China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. In all, the companies involved are sponsoring a total of more than 30 two-year study awards, worth about S$1 million dollars. I am heartened by this keen show of industry support. It demonstrates confidence in the rigour and relevance of NUS's IMBA programme. It also sends a strong message that corporations recognise the need for continual upgrading by their staff. I am further encouraged by the news that this family of sponsors is expected to expand as more companies come on board. This is good news for the growth of the IMBA programme.

12 In closing, allow me to congratulate once again the various partners here tonight whose collaborative efforts have helped to advance the shape of management education in Singapore. We look forward to the creation of a pool of global business managers and leaders whose unique training and exposure will provide them distinct advantage in a fast-changing business environment.

13 May I take this opportunity to wish the NUS International MBA programme and its partners all success.