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Introduction: Facts and Brief
History of NTU
History
Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is a research
intensive university with globally acknowledged strengths in
science and engineering. The University has a distinguished
lineage that goes back to 1955. We began as Nanyang
University (Nantah), the first Chinese-language university in
Southeast Asia. Nanyang University, founded by Mr Tan Lark
Sye in 1955, started with a fund-raising campaign to which
tycoons and trishaw riders alike contributed. Nanyang
University gave hope to the multitudes of students who would
not otherwise have had a chance to become graduates. The
sprawling campus now known as the Yunnan Garden
Campus was donated by the Hokkien Huay Kuan.
After Nanyang University, a completely new model of
engineering school was established in Yunnan Garden in
1981: Nanyang Technological Institute (NTI). NTI was funded
by the government to educate practice-oriented engineers for
the burgeoning Singapore economy. The passage of time has
shown them capable of standing up to any engineering
graduate in the world of practical knowledge,
entrepreneurship or research and development.
Over the years, as more professional schools were added,
and with the absorption of the National Institute of Education,
NTI became a full-fledged university in 1991: Nanyang
Technological University (NTU). In April 2006, NTU was
corporatised. Autonomy brings about increased flexibility and
new opportunities, allowing NTU to draw on its strengths to
enhance global education and research.
Achievements
Nanyang Technological University is ranked among the top
one percent of universities globally.
Our Nanyang Business School (College of Business) is the
first and only Singapore business school to be ranked in the
top 25 of the Financial Times Global MBA 2009 rankings. The
research output from our College of Engineering is among the
top four in the world. Our College of Science is known for its
award-winning faculty and world class laboratories and has
secured substantial research funding and grants. Our College
of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences is home to a top
journalism and media school in Asia, a fast-growing
humanities and social sciences school with distinctive niches
of excellence and Singapore’s first professional art school
offering degree courses in art, design and interactive digital
media.
The University has also invested heavily in research, creating
some of the best laboratories and research centres in the
world. With our growing research profile, NTU is creating a
name internationally for its scientific breakthroughs and
life-changing innovations in fields such as advanced
materials, biomedical engineering, clean energy and
environment, computational biology, intelligent systems,
nanotechnology and wireless and broadband communication.
NTU’s international outreach is broad and strong and includes
academic and research partnerships with more than 400
institutions in about 45 countries. The university’s
multi-country programmes and initiatives are conducted with
institutions such as MIT, Stanford University, Cornell
University, Caltech, the University of Washington, Georgia
Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University, Peking
University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Waseda University,
Indian Institute of Technology, Cambridge University, Imperial
College and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.
Vision and Mission
A great global university founded on science and technology,
nurturing creative and entrepreneurial leaders through a
broad education in diverse disciplines.
University Governance
T
he NTU Board of Trustees sets the broad strategic directions
of NTU and oversees its affairs and business. The President
of the University is its Chief Executive Officer.
Academic Council
The Academic Council, comprising all tenure-track
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faculty of
the University, provides input on academic matters through
the Senate and its committees, as well as the Advisory Board.
The President of NTU chairs the Academic Council and
delivers the State of the University Address during its annual
meetings.
Senate
The Senate is formed by 50 Academic Council members
elected from the various Colleges, NIE and RSIS. The
President, the Provost and other key members of the
University Administration are ex-officio members. The Senate
acts on behalf of the Academic Council as its elected
representative body. Its key responsibility is to consider
recommendations from Academic Council committees on
relevant matters.
The Senate, in turn, elects a Senate Steering Committee from
among its members to facilitate its work. The President and
the Provost are ex-officio members of this Committee, whose
key role is to identify subjects for study and discussion by the
Senate, i.e. it sets the agenda for Senate meetings. The other
standing committees of the Senate are the Committee on
Committees, which is responsible for setting up committees