Page 12 - Nanyang Technological University

IN CONVERSATION WITH
THE NTU PRESIDENT
So how will all the research benefit students
and Singapore?
If you are a student taught by a top scientist, everything
you learn is the latest. I call it “fresh food” as compared researchers in world-class laboratories.
to “tin food”, which is learning from textbooks written by
others years ago.
There are two types of research – applied research
and not-yet-applied research. NTU encourages our
researchers and even students to translate and apply
their research into innovations and indeed many have
done so.
We also have a track record of working with the industry,
with the likes of Rolls-Royce and BMW. It’s a win-win
situation. These global multinationals choose NTU
because we have the research expertise to solve the
problems faced by the industry.
And through these collaborations, NTU students gain
early industry exposure when they work on projects
with these esteemed partners at our labs and even
go on internships there. Through these opportunities,
our students get to apply their knowledge and build
a network of valuable industry connections.
Aside from benefiting students, the initiatives bring
long-term economic value for Singapore in terms
of marketable innovations and solutions, and
job creation.
NTU has been creating many opportunities for
global exposure for students. How does a global
education benefit students?
In an increasingly interconnected world, learning should
be holistic and multidimensional, with strong global
and interdisciplinary perspectives. Recognising the
importance of this, our goal is to have eight in 10 NTU
undergraduates go on at least one overseas stint during
their studies. That is an ambitious goal, given the size
of NTU, but we are tracking well.
Ramping up on overseas exchange, we now have
more than 400 partner universities, and we support
our students in various overseas competitions
and internships.
10 NTU ANNUAL REPORT 2016
Our premier programmes also have overseas components
built in. For example, students on the CN Yang Scholars
Programme now spend eight months abroad for their final-
year research project, where they work with distinguished
The dual-degree Renaissance Engineering Programme,
the first-choice engineering programme among top
pre-university students in Singapore, offers a full year of
studies at University of Berkeley, California, and Imperial
College London. Northwestern University and University
of British Columbia are being added.
The University Scholars Programme similarly comes with
overseas learning from the first year, and a curriculum that
challenges students to be intellectually daring and creative.
Our medical students get that vital clinical perspective
early on, with chances to go overseas to apply their
skills and broaden their view of medicine. Some of our
students studying to be teachers have also taught in
countries like Finland, Sweden and the United States.
What other new developments are there on the
education front?
We started the Asian School of the Environment, which
taps the top faculty from NTU’s Earth Observatory of
Singapore and the Singapore Centre for Environmental Life
Sciences Engineering, both high-impact Research Centres
of Excellence substantially funded by the government.
NTU has also kept up with the changing face of learning
in this digital age and we have extended the flipped
classroom pedagogy to even more courses, including
adult continuing education. The Hive, our much-lauded
centrepiece of flipped classroom learning, supports broad
forms of education, including the running of student-
managed social enterprises. Another learning hub is
being built and will be ready by 2017.
In terms of student and employee achievements,
what was a source of pride for you last year?
Individually, faculty, staff and students have brought glory to
NTU in their own distinctive ways, from building and racing
Singapore’s first urban solar electric car to being named
among the world’s most influential scientific minds.