30 October 2002

SPEECH BY MR THARMAN SHANMUGARATNAM, SENIOR MINISTER OF STATE FOR EDUCATION AND TRADE & INDUSTRY AT THE INAUGURATION CEREMONY OF SHANGHAI JIAO TONG UNIVERSITY'S GRADUATE SCHOOL IN NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY, SINGAPORE ON WEDNESDAY, 30 OCTOBER 2002 AT 10.00AM.

His Excellency Zhang Jiuhuan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, People's Republic of China,

Professor Zhou Qifeng, General Director, Office of Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council, Ministry of Education, China,

1 A very good morning to all of you. It is my pleasure to be at this inauguration ceremony which marks a landmark partnership between Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU). Today is a special day as we formally announce and welcome the first Chinese institution into Singapore's world-class universities programme. It is also the first Asian institution to be admitted.

2 Singapore is honoured to be able to partner with SJTU in their pioneering venture outside China. Shanghai Jiao Tong is a university of exceptional international renown and standing, and we are pleased that in going international, it has made a strategic decision to come first to Singapore.

3 SJTU's partnership with NTU to offer education to top quality students and key industry leaders from China, Singapore and the region deepens the relationship between our two countries. I am sure it will help forge many business, industry and research collaborations.

4 The growth and transformation of the Chinese economy is the brightest spot in the international economy. With China having joined the WTO, international participation in the Chinese economy will be enhanced. More Chinese companies and organisations will also venture abroad. The ties between our two countries will reflect these new currents.

5 In May this year, Singapore's Economic Development Board (EDB) and China's Torch Centre of its Ministry of Science and Technology signed an agreement to set up China's first overseas centre for the internationalisation of China's high-tech enterprises in Singapore. In August, EDB and International Enterprise Singapore formally opened their offices in Shanghai to boost bilateral economic relations.

6 Today, we mark a further addition to the Singapore-China relations - a university from China becoming part of the growing global university community in Singapore. SJTU is the ninth world-class university to set up in Singapore. It joins five from the US - the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, MIT, Johns Hopkins, Wharton and Georgia Tech - and three from Europe - INSEAD, and the Technical Universities of Eindhoven and Munich. SJTU's presence in Singapore enhances the unique range of international universities in Singapore, something that is hard to find in any other university city. This is exciting for local students as well as foreign students in search of postgraduate education and research opportunities. In Singapore, they will now be able to choose from a range of Singapore universities, European and American universities, and now a top Chinese university.

7 Leading universities worldwide are seeking to stay relevant to an increasingly globalised industry and business community. The universities are themselves adopting an international perspective, looking beyond their own country and traditional areas of focus. They recognise that knowledge creation is now an intrinsically global activity, drawing on the talents and diverse perspectives of leading centres spread across national borders. A "go it alone" strategy does not work in the knowledge-based economy.

8 Many universities have therefore entered into strategic cross-border alliances with other overseas universities, while some others have set up foreign branch campuses. This also allows them to tap on the resources, capabilities and knowhow of their institutional partners, the host countries and possibly an international community in the host country, such as we offer in Singapore today.

9 In an increasingly connected world, many students have also gone beyond their own countries to seek international education opportunities, especially at the post-graduate level. Globally, there are already more than 1.8 million students pursuing their higher education abroad, according to the UNESCO 2000 report.

10 Despite the turmoil in the world today, the human instinct for self-improvement and a desire to learn from the rest of the world remain powerful forces. The number of tertiary students will continue to increase. Universities are now looking at how they can actively meet the demands of this growing international student market and attract the best.

11 SJTU is highly-recognised internationally for its engineering and management courses. NTU, despite having only 21 years of history, is a key pillar of university education in Singapore, with global reputation and capabilities. The strategic alliance between SJTU and NTU holds much potential and promise. This partnership allows for an assimilation and integration of expertise in the international, Asian and Chinese markets. This integration of expertise is of utmost importance for academics and students looking to the future.

12 There are many other aspects to our complementarity. Like Shanghai, Singapore is a cosmopolitan city. We have well-established economic and cultural relationships with many countries globally, and are host to 6,000 multinational companies and thousands of smaller enterprises. Singapore's widening global web of networks, of people and organisations, now has a vital additional strand of collaboration with China in university education.

13 Given the close cultural affinity between our two countries, Singapore offers SJTU a unique environment that is easy to adapt to, while giving SJTU access to the whole spread of global perspectives and networks from a single location. Your partnership with NTU allows you to leverage on NTU's reputation and capabilities to expand the universe for both universities immensely.

14 We believe that this arrangement will be equally beneficial to Singapore and NTU. Partnership between Singapore and Chinese universities are essential in building expertise and knowledge, in Singapore and the region, about industry, business and culture in China. This venture gives us an important opportunity to work closely with each other. It will promote a rich exchange of students and research manpower, build linkages and create networking opportunities between business, industry and academic communities in Singapore and China.

15 Finally, I see this as a long term strategic partnership which will need strong commitment and continual effort to grow and deepen. SJTU and NTU have taken the first step to seal this partnership, by offering postgraduate and executive programmes in Business, Environmental and Construction Management.

16 With the dedication of all who are present today, I am certain that this common venture will add momentum to the continuing, fruitful collaborations between China and Singapore. I congratulate the managements of NTU and SJTU and look forward to a lasting and growing relationship between the two universities, and our two countries. Thank you.