The Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) has
set
aside a multi-million dollar budget to spearhead its next phase of growth,
with the support of the Ministry of Education, Singapore (MOE) to develop a
suite of integrated, multi-disciplinary programmes in key economic sectors over
the next five years. These programmes will further enhance SUTD’s education and
research offerings, allow SUTD to better prepare its graduates for the future
economy, and support national growth priorities.
These programmes will leverage SUTD’s unique Technology and “Big
D” Design approach, where students are involved in technically grounded
designs related products, processes, services, and systems. They are designed
to tighten the integration between research, education, and industry to develop
multi-faceted skills and a holistic understanding of the sectors that students
will enter.
These initiatives go beyond the existing robust technology
and design curriculum, and overseas programmes that SUTD offers. They will
include research collaborations to develop state-of-the-art technologies and
capabilities to support industry transformation, in-depth faculty-staff
learning and training exchanges, co-development of specialised, skills-based
courses, access to advanced facilities and equipment for teaching, learning,
and research, and enhanced internship and mentorship programmes focusing on job
placements, innovation and entrepreneurship.
To design and implement these programmes, SUTD will be establishing strategic
collaborations with industry, government, and academia in four key areas –
Healthcare, Cities, Artificial Intelligence/Data Science, and Aviation.
For example, with the Healthcare sector, as a start, SUTD
will be expanding its partnership
with the Changi General Hospital to develop more specialised undergraduate
programmes in healthcare-related disciplines, and provide more incubation and
test-bedding opportunities to facilitate research, innovation, and enterprise
efforts, especially in the medical technologies start-up cluster. Students will
explore research innovations such as healthcare product/equipment design,
automated drug dispensing and delivery systems, optimisation of hospital layout
and processes, robotic surgery, and more.
In addition, SUTD has entered into a partnership with Duke-NUS Medical School,
to offer an SUTD-Duke-NUS Special Track to nurture future clinicians who are
adept at both practising medicine and harnessing technological advancements
across disciplines to impact healthcare. Students on this track will graduate
with a Bachelor of Engineering or Bachelor of Science degree at SUTD
after 3½ years, after which they can go on to obtain a Doctor of
Medicine degree at Duke-NUS Medical School subject to acceptance criteria.
Through such partnerships, students are expected to gain
deeper real-life knowledge and experience of working in these industries, more
research and development exposure, and more internship opportunities with both
local and overseas companies, and ultimately better career prospects.
SUTD Chairman, Mr Lee Tzu Yang said, “SUTD’s next phase will tightly integrate
education, research, innovation and enterprise. It will also build on our
robust technology and design curriculum to meet the future needs of industry
and government. We will greatly widen our current level of collaborations
beyond the current 700 companies for projects and student internships. Our aim
is that every SUTD graduate is not just ready for the future economy but will
create the future through technology and design.”
