04/05/2005 | Singapore, View from the Top

View from the top

By: Tony Martin

SOME INSTITUTIONS ARE REPORTING A DOWNTURN IN CHINESE STUDENT APPLICATIONS � IS THAT THE CASE WITH NUS MASTERS AND PHD APPLICATIONS?

Not at all. Problems with US visas mean that we are also getting an improvement in quality in the last year or two. Numbers of applications remain high. All our research students are financially supported and it's finding funds for this that is the hard part.

WHERE DO YOU FEEL THAT NUS NOW SITS AGAINST GLOBAL COMPETITION, PARTICULARLY UK, USA, AND AUSTRALIA?

Our competitive strength, because of the situation Singapore is in, is providing niche areas that can give better returns, but graduate students don�t always think that way. Their decision is often reached by first thinking �where am I going?� The way we address global competition varies from area to area. There's no avoiding competition when it comes to science and technology because it isn�t a local thing. So we are trying to portray our faculty as strong in these areas so that we can at least reach the same level of competence. But that�s not sufficient on its own � there are specific areas where we are capitalising on specific sources of our graduate enrolment. This includes regional logistics which is very important in serving the needs of regional students.We can do this better than anyone else. Our bio-medical sciences also offer a tremendous opportunity for regional students.

WOULD YOU SAY THAT NUS IS THE LEADER IN THE REGION FOR BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES?

Well, that depends how big the region is! It is a very complex domain because it cuts into other science disciplines. If you acknowledge that, other universities � such as Tokyo and Beijing � have many more years� experience in establishing regional science programmes. However what we are lacking in history, we are more than making up for in momentum and in government support, and in determination to play it big in this area. It doesn�t hurt to have world standard hospitals as it helps demonstrate our commitment to abide by international bio-safety standards. Of course, there is a vast difference for us as a small country than for large countries to reinforce and monitor bio safety standards. Our quicker response to the SARS epidemic helped give confidence to the outside world as to how strong we are in this area.

�Not just a land of electronics experts but a society that is knowledge driven, knowledge dominated.�

LOOKING MORE BROADLY NOW, DOES NUS SUBSCRIBE TO THE NATIONAL VISION OF SINGAPORE AS THE REGIONAL HUB FOR HIGHER EDUCATION?

I think we definitely have to! Singapore�s success here has hinged on our government's ability to see and plan for the future and stay one step ahead in industry.We don't have the manpower to compete so taking a lead in emerging technology � bio technology, nanotechnology, and chemical technology � has been a natural next step. These industries have an important common characteristic in that much of the science was not understood. Knowledge discovery and knowledge applications have run almost back to back and therefore influence each others development. You make applications of a new discovery and, in exploring its applications, this feeds back to the discovery process. This means that there is a certain risk and you cannot just look at applications, you need that knowledge generation. You cannot wait for someone else as by that time you would have fed back to their countries.