The Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) was officially inaugurated by President Tony Tan Keng Yam on 7 May 2012.[1] The SUTD is situated at the campus of the former Institute of Technical Education at 20 Dover Drive and will move to a permanent location in Upper Changi in 2015.[2]
The SUTD offers a multidisciplinary and broad-based curriculum that focuses not only on technology and design education and research but also incorporates a variety of subjects in the social sciences and humanities.[3] The university aims to inspire and motivate a new generation of innovative entrepreneurs with the potential to make significant breakthroughs in Singapore’s architecture, engineering, technology, design and software industries.[4]
The university offers four Bachelor’s degree programmes in Architecture and Sustainable Design; Engineering Product Design; Engineering Systems and System Design; and Information Engineering and Design, with each programme comprising eight semesters stretched over three-and-a-half years. Students are given the flexibility of taking courses outside their curriculum for up to four weeks (known as Independent Activity Periods) for each year of their programme and will have the opportunity to intern with companies during their two 18-week breaks between academic years.[5]
On 1 January 2010, Professor Thomas L. Magnanti, Dean of Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from 1999 to 2008, was appointed as the first president of SUTD[6] and Professor Pey Kin Leong was appointed as Associate Provost.[7] Professor Chong Tow Chong officially assumed the post of SUTD’s first Provost on 1 June 2010.[8]
On 15 January 2010, the SUTD signed a partnership agreement with MIT. Under this collaboration, MIT helped to develop SUTD’s curriculum and research programmes and created an International Design Centre that would serve as an incubator for design research and experimentation. The collaboration also included a student and faculty exchange programme between both institutions, with MIT faculty members sharing in the teaching of courses.[9] MIT staff eventually filled more than half of the 50 available teaching positions at the university, which had attracted more than 100 applications.[10]
On 26 August that same year, the SUTD signed an agreement with China’s Zhejiang University. This collaboration saw Zhejiang University helping to develop and teach courses aimed at giving students perspectives on Chinese entrepreneurial culture, urban planning, as well as architectural and product design. Both institutions would also participate in joint research projects and competitions and facilitate a mutual student exchange programme.[11]
An open house was held over two days from 20 to 21 March 2010 at the Swissotel Stamford for prospective students and their parents to interact with SUTD’s management and faculty.[12] The university held its first undergraduate admissions exercise on 20 March with close to 500 prospective students in attendance.[13] From a pool of 674 A-level and polytechnic graduates who applied for admission, 120 students were selected. The admission offer was accepted by 80 students.[14]
The SUTD’s inaugural batch eventually comprised 340 students, who were selected from 4,150 applicants. Female students formed more than 40 percent of the cohort, while foreigners made up 25 percent.[15] Scholarships for the 100 best performing students covering tuition fees for their entire degree course, as well as other financial assistance plans, were made available to the pioneer batch.[16] Atotal of 91students were awarded scholarships.[17]
All freshmen undergraduates of the SUTD are required to stay in a 12-storey block of converted four-room HDB flats-turned-hostel located at Dover Drive to encourage student rapport.[18] Tuition fees for the inaugural batch of Singaporean students were about S$11,000 per academic year, with permanent residents and foreign students paying an additional 20 and 60 percent more respectively. The specialised nature of the four degree courses and the small student to faculty ratio (11: 1) contributed towards the cost of the tuition fees.[19]
A fundraising gala dinner held on 4 May 2012 raised S$2.5 million in donations for SUTD’s scholarships and bursaries. This sum was matched by the government, which contributed S$3 for every S$1 raised, bringing the total funds to S$10 million. Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong accepted the role of SUTD’s “patron of advancement” at the dinner and will undertake an active role in SUTD’s fundraising activities.[20]
References
1. Singapore University of Technology and Design. (2012, May 7). President Tony Tan officiates at celebrations at the inaugural ceremony of SUTD. Retrieved July 17, 2014, from Singapore University of Technology and Design website: http://www.sutd.edu.sg/newsdetails.aspx?news_sid=20120508eNwmEhC1aCjO
2. Hoe, Y. N. (2010, March 19). SUTD admissions exercise starts Saturday, classes begin in April 2012. Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved from Factiva.
3. Singapore University of Technology and Design. (2014). Mission & values. Retrieved July 17, 2014, from Singapore University of Technology and Design website: http://www.sutd.edu.sg/mission_values.aspx
4. Singapore University of Technology and Design welcomes applications for its first intake. (2010, March 19). Singapore Government News. Retrieved from Factiva.
5. Channel NewsAsia, 19 March 2010.
6. Tan, A. (2010, January 2). The challenge in learning. The Straits Times. Retrieved from Factiva.
7. Professor Chong Tow Chong named Provost of Singapore University of Technology and Design. (2010, January 19). Singapore Government News. Retrieved from Factiva.
8. Singapore Government News, 19 Jan 2010.
9. Singapore University of Technology and Design signs formal agreement with MIT. (2010, January 25). Singapore Government News. Retrieved from Factiva.
10. Tan, A. (2010, January 26). Faculty positions: Over 100 applications so far. The Straits Times. Retrieved from Factiva.
11. Singapore University of Technology and Design. (2010, August 26). Singapore University of Technology and Design signs formal agreement with Zhejiang University. Retrieved July 17, 2014, from Singapore University of Technology and Design website: http://www.sutd.edu.sg/newsdetails.aspx?news_sid=20110124MzgaRz5s84aO
12. Singapore Government News, 19 Mar 2010.
13. SUTD holds its first student admission exercise. (2010, March 20). Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved from Factiva.
14. Davie, S. (2010, June 20). 80 students get a place in new varsity. The Straits Times. Retrieved from Factiva).
15. SUTD takes in pioneer batch of students. (2012, April 30). Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved from Factiva.
16. Singapore Government News, 19 Mar 2010.
17. Channel NewsAsia, 30 Apr 2012.
18. Tan, A. (2012, March 1). Dover flats to house SUTD students. The Straits Times. Retrieved from Factiva.
19. Channel NewsAsia, 19 March 2010.
20. Lin, Z. (2012, May 5). ESM Goh to help raise funds for SUTD. The Straits Times. Retrieved from Factiva.
The information in this article is valid as at 2014 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.