INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIC ADVISORY PANEL FIFTH MEETING 11-14 JANUARY 2005

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14 January 2005

INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIC ADVISORY PANEL FIFTH MEETING 11-14 JANUARY 2005

1. The Ministry of Education’s International Academic Advisory Panel (IAAP) has concluded its fifth meeting in Singapore. Over the last four days, the IAAP met and interacted with the key stakeholders of the three universities, namely, the Council members of the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU), and the Trustees of Singapore Management University (SMU), as well as university management, faculty and students. The IAAP notes the significant improvements in our Universities. They are particularly impressed with the greater breadth of opportunities for holistic development available to our students.

2. The IAAP discussed extensively the recommendations of the University Autonomy, Governance and Funding (UAGF) Steering Committee, and the proposal to set up a Foundation for research excellence in Singapore.

Recommendations on University Autonomy, Governance & Funding

3. The IAAP strongly endorses the move to transform NUS, NTU and SMU into autonomous universities to enable them to achieve teaching and research excellence, raise their international standing and enhance their students’ experience. As Singapore progresses towards a knowledge economy, our Universities will have an increasing role to play in enriching our stock of human capital by providing quality education, and excelling in research to create knowledge and wealth for Singapore. The IAAP agrees that greater autonomy will allow our Universities to better fulfil these missions. Our Universities can then be more nimble and responsive to the rapidly changing environment, as well as to the needs of Singapore’s society. Engendering greater ownership among key university stakeholders will be crucial to the success of autonomous universities.

4. The IAAP highlights that university education must remain accessible and affordable even as our Universities become autonomous. Fee revisions, where necessary, must be adequately justified to the public and commensurate with the improvements in the quality of education within the Universities.

5. No Singaporean admitted to university should be denied a university education because of financial constraints. Our Universities must have appropriate schemes to help students who require financial aid. In this regard, the IAAP notes that Government-supported loan schemes will continue to be available to students even after autonomy is granted.

6. The IAAP is pleased to note that the Government will maintain its level of funding commitment to the Universities even after they have become autonomous. At the same time, the IAAP strongly encourages our Universities to diversify their sources of funding, and lauds the Government’s commitment to match the Universities’ endowment donations.

7. The IAAP highlights that as with autonomous universities in other countries, the university Councils will have to assume greater responsibility to provide oversight of the strategic direction for the universities, and ensure the proper use of and accountability for their resources. Council members should be appointed based on competency and their ability to contribute to the mission of the University. The tenure of Council members should be longer than the current two-year term to allow members an adequate grasp of issues within the University. The IAAP also recommends that the universities enhance their governance structures and processes involving the Council, university management and faculty, given that decision-making will shift from the Ministry of Education to the autonomous universities. The IAAP observes that Council members in successful autonomous universities invest a considerable amount of time and commitment to help their universities achieve excellence.

8. The university Councils welcome the move towards greater autonomy and recognise that these expanded roles and additional responsibilities require enhanced capabilities within the Council and management in their quest for excellence. The IAAP applauds the Council members for embracing this endeavour that will bring about greater benefits to society. This is indeed a good opportunity for greater civic participation in the ownership and running of our Universities. To this end, the IAAP recommends that appropriate opportunities be created to help Council members, particularly the newly-appointed ones, gain a deeper understanding of the affairs of the University. This could include interaction with Councils of other top private and autonomous state universities.

9. The IAAP concurs that with increased autonomy, greater accountability will be necessary. The IAAP endorses the proposed enhanced accountability framework comprising the Policy Agreement, Performance Agreement and the Quality Assurance Framework for Universities. Such an enhanced accountability framework must be transparent to assure the public that the Universities’ missions remain aligned with our national strategic objectives, that the quality of university education continues to be enhanced, and that Government funding is optimally utilised. Our Universities must communicate their plans and progress with various stakeholders within their faculty, alumni, students and the public.

Proposal for a Research Foundation

10. The IAAP shares the vision of developing Singapore into an international centre of excellence for research and development, as this can accelerate Singapore’s continued growth as a knowledge economy and a magnet for scientific talent.

11. While the IAAP believes that Singapore is well-poised to achieve excellence in research, there is a gap in the current research landscape to support curiosity-driven, investigator-led research. The IAAP therefore endorses the recommendation to set up a Foundation to support high-impact, investigator-led research in disciplines that are broadly aligned with a long-term vision of the strategic interests of Singapore. In particular, the Foundation should attract, develop and nurture promising, young scientific talent. It emphasises that these efforts require sustained and sufficient support over the long term necessary to create a research culture and community of excellence.

12. The IAAP shares the view that the Foundation should maintain close linkages with the Universities as this will uplift the whole university sector. The Foundation will complement the efforts of the autonomous universities to pursue research excellence.

13. The IAAP will meet once again in Singapore in 2007.