Professor Shih Choon Fong
Chairman, SMA Governing Board
President, NUS

“With the close cooperation and continued support of SMA’s stakeholders – A*STAR, EDB, MOE, NTU and NUS – I am confident that the Alliance will remain relevant for many more years to come.”

SMA started out as a new paradigm – established to play a key role in nurturing human capital to drive the economic growth of Singapore and the region. This collaboration with MIT has enabled NUS and NTU to gain insights into how MIT sustains excellence and builds synergies with industry partners.

The past year has seen the successful implementation of SMA’s second phase – SMA-2. SMA-2 was conceived to build on SMA-1’s strengths and success while having a greater focus on research and the development of talent at the doctoral level. Progressing into SMA-2, the Alliance remains committed to its founding goals – to groom leaders in science and technology who combine academic excellence with a broad understanding of industry, equipping them to spearhead new ventures and catalyze innovation.

SMA-2 continues to demonstrate how SMA’s global education model – one that transcends boundaries of time and space – can be brought together in synergistic collaboration through the use of advanced interactive distance learning facilities. Top quality educational programs and high impact research initiatives will enable SMA-2 to play a critical role in advancing education and research at MIT, NUS and NTU as well as A*STAR research institutes and industry.

Our deep appreciation goes to Professor Anthony T. Patera who relinquished his position as MIT Co-Director in June 2006. Professor Patera’s contributions during his five years as Co-Director have been pivotal to growing SMA. It was under his dynamic leadership that SMA successfully concluded its first phase. He has been a great source of inspiration to his students as well as faculty members and staff. Taking over from Professor Patera is Professor Steven Lerman, who will act as Co-Director until the appointment of a new Co-Director. Professor Lerman’s experience as SMA’s former Deputy Director will be invaluable as he provides leadership from MIT’s end.

In its first year, SMA-2 launched several important initiatives, including the implementation of its fifth program in Chemical and Pharmaceutical Engineering, the inter-university research projects program and the transformation of the annual SMA Symposium into an international conference. These initiatives have enhanced SMA’s global profile as well as enabled SMA-2 to begin on a firm footing. This was made possible by the contribution of Professor Ng Wun Jern, who as Co-Director from August 2005 to June 2006 saw SMA through the critical period of its transition to SMA-2.

Professor Hardy Chan has since taken over the stewardship of SMA at the Singapore side. With his management skills and industry experience, I am confident that Prof Chan will continue to lead SMA in pioneering research and educational collaboration of mutual benefit to the three partner universities.

As SMA-2 moves beyond its first year, we will see our pioneer batch of dual masters degree graduates this December. We look forward with anticipation to our graduates’ contributions towards making a difference in the fields of science and engineering.

Global collaborations such as SMA require leaders who possess foresight and drive to navigate the constantly evolving fields of science and engineering as well as to ensure their continuing dynamism and relevance. With the close cooperation and continued support of SMA’s stakeholders – A*STAR, EDB, MOE, NTU and NUS – I am confident that the Alliance will remain relevant for many more years to come.