TRANSFORMING HIGHER EDUCATION TO MEET FUTURE CHALLENGES: THE EXPERIENCES OF NUS— INTERVIEW WITH PROFESSOR TAN ENG CHYE, PRESIDENT OF NUS Zsolt Csepregi, August 2020, Budapest
Professor Tan Eng Chye Elected as president of the National University of Singapore in 2018, Professor Tan Eng Chye is the 23rd leader to head the institution. He obtained his BA in Mathematics and did his PhD at Yale University. He joined NUS in 1985 and has held visiting positions at various universities overseas. His work as an educator and scientist earned him numerous awards and honorary titles. He is also a member of several councils, e.g., in the International Advisory Council of the Southern University of Science and Technology in China; Singapore’s Future Economy Council; the Agency for Science, Technology and Research; and the National Research Foundation.
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INTRODUCTION
Singapore’s local universities are highly regarded globally. The National University of Singapore (NUS) and, particularly, the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have done very well on the global ranking of universities. What are the main factors in the case of NUS that have made this impressive accomplishment possible? Allow me to preface my responses by first highlighting the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a small country globally connected to the world, Singapore has been greatly impacted by the pandemic—our GDP is expected to contract by up to 7% this year, an unprecedented figure. Universities, not just in Singapore but across the world, have also been affected. For NUS, our core activities lie in three spheres: education, research, and enterprise. Each of these has global dimensions, such as international student exchange, overseas startup nodes, research with partners, and many other connections, and all these have been impacted to a certain degree, in some instances drastically. In the long term, it is not yet clear how the higher education landscape would be permanently affected by COVID-19. However, the tentative
picture emerging suggests an employment and labour market that will be much changed, with old jobs disappearing, and new ones, requiring new skills or a new blend of skillsets, rising in demand. Universities will have to cater for this changing environment and to reconfigure themselves quickly if they are to remain both relevant and dynamic. However, returning to your question, perhaps let me start by saying that universities in Singapore do not have as long or distinguished a history as those in the US or Europe. NUS is Singapore’s oldest university; still, we are only 115 years old. So, in university terms, we are a relative youngster! The development of NUS and other local universities has actually been in tandem with Singapore’s development as a nation. NUS started as a small medical college supported by the local community when we were still part of the Straits Settlements, under British rule. Our first intake was a modest twentythree students. When Singapore first gained independence, and for many years afterwards, our priority was to train and educate young cohorts of students for a rapidly developing nation. During this period, NUS
