Singapore–MIT Alliance
Keynote Address Introduction
Professor Robert A. Brown - Provost, MIT
Provost Brown welcomed participants to the 2nd annual SMA Symposium and spoke of SMA's exciting growth over the last three years. Now with five graduate programmes and a host of research collaborations in engineering science and new technologies, Provost Brown addressed the remarkable involvement of faculty, and the quality of graduate students in the programme. In introducing Dr. Tony Tan, Provost Brown praised Dr. Tan for his tremendous impact on education in Singapore.
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Keynote Address
Dr. Tony Tan - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, Singapore
DPM Tan spoke of the dramatic changes within the world economy, and the challenges facing Singapore as developing countries throughout Asia work to catch up with its economic success. Tan shared how increasingly attractive China has become to foreign investors, not only because of its enormous domestic market and skilled labor force, but also because of a trend toward social reform. He voiced Singapore's plan to remake itself against this changing economic landscape, and the pivotal role that universities will play in this initiative. "Singapore's international reputation for high standards, organizational excellence and reliability gives us a comparative advantage in many fields," Tan explained. "But the role of our universities in this economic transition cannot be understated. To compete successfully in the global arena, universities must be prepared to take risks and to establish strategic collaborations with industry partners. They must be visionaries."
Dr. Tan spoke of SMA as a vessel for generating new technologies and innovations that will feed directly into the Singaporean economy. "SMA is a clear example of the successful innovation needed to fulfill these exciting new roles," he said. "SMA has tapped the benefits of technology and overcome barriers of time and distance." Dr. Tan cited SMA as the reason behind the attraction and retention of the finest regional talent, along with the generation of an exciting ecosystem of research and idea creation.
"We are all very pleased with the achievements of SMA," he said. "The programme has progressed from a mere concept to a productive distance educational facility that links three universities in two continents. SMA has greatly enhanced Singapore's reputation as a center for educational excellence."
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| SMA Overview
Professor Chang Chieh Hang - SMA Co-Director, Singapore
Co-Director Hang introduced the five current SMA programmes and explained that each was conceived with the industrial needs of Singapore and Asia in mind. He also noted that the SMA Master's and Ph.D. degree programmes would facilitate the development of Singapore's potential growth areas while simultaneously adding value to education at NUS.
Calling SMA the largest interactive distance learning programme in the world, Hang expressed SMA's goal of graduating up to 2000 top students for Singapore and Asia over the next ten years. Future plans also include keeping the special SMA lecture theatres busy five days a week, from 7 to10 AM and 7 to10 PM.
Co-Director Hang explained some of the educational innovations that make SMA so unique. One feature is the quality of the Master's programmes which involve six months of coursework and six months of industry project work. While SMA staff were initially concerned at not having enough projects to keep students busy, they soon learned that they had many more projects than students. "We've had excellent feedback from both students and industry partners," Hang said. "All of our students have received employment after graduation and have stayed in Singapore."
"SMA allows us to recruit top quality students," Hang added. "Our applicant ratio is more than 10 to 1, and our MIT colleagues say the quality of SMA students is no different than on the Cambridge campus." The SMA programme attracts the very best foreign students, with 1/3 of the student body from Singapore, and 2/3rds from outside the country.
As travel within Singapore poses certain restrictions for students, Co-Director Hang wondered if the SMA model could be adapted for continuing education. "We solved the distance of 12,000 miles," Hang said. "Now we hope to solve the distance problem within Singapore." A continuing education initiative would carry the SMA outreach to regional institutions, as well. Currently, interaction with National Research Institutes and their state-of-the-art facilities allows SMA to host outstanding research. With the combined benefit of MIT staff and additional research institutes, SMA could continue to select high quality, use-inspired research for its students.
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Professor Anthony T. Patera - SMA Co-Director, MIT
Professor Patera's complete speech follows:
"When SMA was first proposed, there were many doubters at MIT, including many of us in this room today.
"But also...
"They said it could not be done. But it can be done. And it has been done. And it is the SMA students who did it."
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| Human Resources for Technology and Innovation in Southeast Asia
Dr. Morris Chang - Chairman of the Board and CEO, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing
Co. (TSMC)
Dr. Chang has been the founding Chairman of TSMC since 1987, the founding Chairman of Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp. since 1994, and of WaferTech, LLC since 1996. TSMC pioneered the dedicated silicon foundry industry and has become the largest silicon foundry in the world. Prior to his career in Taiwan, he was the President and COO of General Instrument Corp. (1984-85) and was at Texas Instruments (1958-1983) where he was the Group Vice President responsible for worldwide semiconductor business. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from MIT (1952, 53), and his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University (1964). He holds a number of honorary degrees and international awards, and is on the Advisory Board of the New York Stock Exchange.
Dr. Chang opened his remarks by citing the eight human qualities he feels most important for technology and innovation including Group A, consisting of knowledge, industriousness, dedication and loyalty, and teamwork; and Group B, consisting of initiative, creativity, critical thinking ability and entrepreneurialism. He explained that he started his foundry in Taiwan because the country, among other destinations in Southeast Asia, possesses Group A qualities. "There is plenty of empirical evidence that, when it comes to Group A qualities, Southeast Asia has strong advantages over the West," he said.
Chang spoke of the ample supply of knowledgeable and qualified engineering and science graduates in Southeast Asia, both from high schools and universities. "Engineering graduates in Southeast Asia are far more friendly toward manufacturing careers than engineering technical graduates in Western countries, particularly in the U.S.," Chang said. "They not only don't mind a manufacturing career, they welcome it." To highlight the industriousness of the Southeast Asian workforce, Chang offered statistics on absenteeism. For example, in the U.S., 5-6% of employees are absent each day, while in Taiwan, only 1-2% are absent. In Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong, the average employee takes two weeks of vacation a year, even though he or she is entitled to more. When it comes to dedication, statistics show that turn-over in the Science Park in Taiwan is approximately 10%, while that of Silicon Valley is at an annual rate of 20%. Dr. Chang also touched on teamwork. "There is no quantitative evidence for teamwork, just a feel," Chang said. "Teamwork between engineers and supervisors is an advantage in the human resource qualities of Southeast Asia."
Chang feels strongly that when it comes to Group A qualities, Southeast Asian human resources have an advantage. "For Group B qualities," he said, "I think there is room for improvement." Chang presented the argument that Group B qualities are essential to technology and innovation, and are perhaps more important in the knowledge-based economy than those of Group A. "If we do not improve on these Group B qualities, I think the economic development of Southeast Asia will suffer," he said.
The current educational system in Southeast Asia is one that Chang labels the "stuffed duck" method, where students are simply stuffed with knowledge. He personally claims to use only 20% of the knowledge he gained in undergraduate and graduate classes. "I acquired lifelong learning habits and discipline in college," Chang said. "College stimulated my curiosity for knowledge; for all things around me. That developed my ability to think independently and critically. These were the treasures that my educational system gave me and that I have carried with me all my life."
To develop Group B qualities in the Southeast Asian workforce, Chang suggests altering the "stuffed duck" method by increasing general education and abandoning the "worship" of exam grades. "The grand objective should be to stimulate curiosity for knowledge in general, to develop independent thinking, and the habit and discipline of lifelong learning," he said.
"Young people are shaped by their total environment - not just schools - but by family and society," Chang offered. "Many of the Group B qualities are not traditional values in Southeast Asia, and are perhaps even anti-traditional. Most of these qualities might be called aggressive, and they are sometimes in direct contradiction to the traditional values that Asian societies treasure." Chang expressed that Group B qualities are essential for further progress, and that whole societies will need to change. "Respect for others is not an obvious, traditional value in the Confucian culture," he said. "The prerequisite for this cultural change that will lead the way for technology and innovation is the establishment of values based on respect for individuals, organizations, companies, countries, and communities."
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| A Vision of MIT's Future
Dr. Charles M. Vest - President, MIT
President Vest shared his enthusiasm for the SMA programme, and praised the rate at which MIT, NUS and NTU have grown together educationally over the past three years. "I have always been enthusiastic about this extraordinary Alliance," he said.
Speaking of MIT's longstanding international mission, President Vest reiterated the Institute's goal of using expertise in science, engineering, management, architecture, urban planning, humanities, the arts, and social sciences to tackle the great, intractable problems of humankind, wherever they occur. As an example of MIT's commitment to international education, Vest spoke of MIT's student body as comprised of individuals from 109 nations, or 8% of undergraduates and 37% of graduate students. As a research institution, President Vest confirmed MIT's long commitment to international collaborations.
"In a few short years, faculty at MIT, NUS, and NTU have worked together to create a world-class, research-based, highly interactive graduate engineering education program," he said. One of the advantages of SMA is its technology, including MIT's 155-megabits-per-second Internet-2 line, with dual-screens that allows students to view simultaneously both the lecturer and the accompanying lecture notes, as well as their fellow students on the opposite side of the earth. "SMA is the world's most technologically advanced point-to-point synchronous educational program, and is an ambitious, promising example of distance education that satisfies all of our core principles and values," Vest said.
Aside from SMA, President Vest shared two additional MIT global initiatives that serve the goals of education. The first, known as MIT World , involves a free, streaming web site that provides on-demand video of significant public events at MIT. "Our intent is a 24-hour-a-day TV station on the World Wide Web," Vest said, "replete with stunning lectures, performances, and events that should be shared beyond our boundaries." The second initiative is known as MIT OpenCourseWare . "We would make virtually all our undergraduate and graduate course materials available, free of charge, through the World Wide Web," Vest explained. "In the same way that SMA is a modern, electronic version of MIT teaching and research, so OpenCourseWare is the modern, electronic version of a textbook authored at MIT."
SMA, MIT World , and OpenCourseWare represent ways of sharing MIT's intellectual resources with a global audience. Over the next ten years, Vest expects SMA to play the crucial role in the ongoing development of a truly global university. Already, MIT professors and students involved in SMA both report that the courses are better designed and more effective than their campus-based equivalents — because the relative limitations of bandwidth force professors to focus even more rigorously on honing and organizing their messages.
Professor Vest spoke of three cornerstones in place due to the success of SMA: daily proof of an active, academic collaboration among colleagues in different parts of the world; the infrastructure to support the broader global academic enterprise; and a grand, living example of the emerging global university — a collective effort that will serve as a model for broader distance learning.
"SMA has proven itself as an outstanding part of our educational program — one that has already helped strengthen the existing academic and research enterprise at all three partner institutions," Vest said. The next stage in MIT's global transformation will build directly on these advances. "Through the power of technology, MIT faculty will be able to jointly develop and teach courses with faculty at other universities, conduct research more effectively with peers at other institutions, and interact even more closely with our industrial partners," he explained.
President Vest acknowledged the parts that NUS, NTU, and MIT have played in transforming the elite research university from a community of common location to a community of common interests. "Because of our partnership, teaching and research will soon be conducted in an environment largely unfettered by physical location," he said. President Vest shared his great pleasure with the results of SMA, and excitement over its growth. "We look forward to the future with tremendous hope," he said.
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| SMA Teaching and Research Highlights
A variety of SMA teaching highlights and research innovations were shared by SMA professors. Video clips conveyed the sense of excitement that often occurs in classes during interactive case studies, laboratory experiments, faculty critiques, and management seminars. "SMA has given the teaching staff opportunities to look at new ways of presenting material, to bring in experts from a number of fields, and to expose instructors to both a broader audience and cross cultural interaction," said MIT Professor Dave Hardt. "The SMA lectures are highly interactive, better than usual with respect for preparation, and held in better classrooms."
Highlights included a case study developed by IMST students and presented to their MIT advisor; designs for an inspection system being discussed on paper from two different locations (while a third student offered his displeasure with both designs); and a case study on "economies of flow" delivered by a Toyota production expert.
MIT Professor Jaime Peraire shared news of the research support tool called Simulations that Respond (SIMRES), which was developed under SMA sponsorship and is now used in the HPCES programme. SIMRES is unique in that it responds in context, to web queries, quasi-instantaneously, and with a certificate of fidelity. "The value of computation rests heavily on its ability to provide a useful answer to an appropriately posed question and to do so in an adequate time scale," Peraire said. "We now have that capability with SIMRES."
In a demonstration, Professor Peraire and HPCES student Christopher Prudhomme submitted entries into the SIMRES "computational" format. The MIT server computed the entries in a matter of minutes, as opposed to the hours or days in which a conventional computational device delivers output. Professor Peraire explained that it is also possible to change design variables or parameters to identify new and optimal designs. Traditionally, results might require days, if not weeks, of computer time; a situation unfeasible in most practical scenarios.
"The use of Rapid Response Computation in all research applications is making an enormous difference by allowing unprecedented levels of design and space exploration, as well as optimization," Peraire said. HPCES students and faculty are currently using these applications in three projects: numerical modeling of micro-machine devices (which makes it possible to mass manufacture at very low costs); novel aircraft concepts (improving performance of conventional aircraft as well as intensive flight surveillance, intelligence and recognizance); and for Singapore's Port Authority, in an ongoing attempt to optimize container loading operations. "Globalization has altered the logistics of transportation dramatically," said Professor Boo Cheong Khoo of NUS. "Our research for the Port Authority focuses on new deployment strategies to meet the rising demand for container shipping, both in and out of Singapore. The HPCES Rapid Response and Algorithms Research tools are making these research endeavors highly successful."
MIT Professor Carl Thompson introduced one of his SMA research students who has worked extensively on the reliability of aluminum versus copper. Gan Chee Lip designed a copper test structure which has brought significant insight to the integrated circuit industry. "Chee Lip has made a large impact on industry early in his research career due to both his brightness and the SMA programme infrastructure," Thompson said. "Students and industry have benefited from this remarkable student, and the remarkable SMA programme where it all happened."
MIT Professor Jesus del Alamo shared the excitement of the Weblab , an MIT micro-electronic research lab partly funded by SMA, and now accessible to students via computer, 24/7. Professor del Alamo spoke of the enormous educational value of hands-on experimentation, as opposed to the expensive, complex logistics and safety concerns of traditional laboratories. In a live demonstration using MIT equipment from Singapore via internet, Professor del Alamo explained how students might measure characteristics with theoretical predictions, and reflect on discrepancies and mutations. Weblab is accessible through conventional web browsers, allows for multiple users, and promotes curiosity-driven exploration. With no geographic constraints, Weblab's opportunities for global research and collaboration are limitless. Professor del Alamo addressed future plans which include a platform that will integrate tools for simulation, the ability to perform educational experiments and assessments in developing countries, and the establishment of licensing agreements with other universities.
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| Engineering Frontiers and the New Engineering Leader:
Perspectives on SMA and the MIT School of Engineering
Professor Thomas Magnanti - Dean, School of Engineering, MIT
Professor Magnanti opened his remarks by asking the audience for the 20 greatest engineering achievements of the 20th century. Participants offered microelectronics, the jet engine, electricity, aeronautics, and the hamburger. Professor Magnanti offered electrification, automobile, airplane, water supply and distribution, electronics, radio & television, agricultural mechanization, computers, telephone, air conditioning & refrigeration, highways, spacecraft, internet, imaging, household appliances, health technologies, petroleum, laser and fiber optics, nuclear technologies, and high-performance materials.
In reference to the largest structural shift in U.S. universities since computer science was introduced 40 years ago, Professor Magnanti spoke of the "Big O's": bio, nano, and info. "As one of the most outstanding schools of engineering in the world, MIT sets the direction and creates new models for engineering education and research," Magnanti said. "We want to be there to make the next 20 greatest achievements possible."
Professor Magnanti outlined some of MIT's goals for the SMA programme. He spoke of the development of professional master's programs, and further emphasis on entrepreneurship. He talked of establishing a community of educators where the technologies that link professionals and institutions become more global. He also addressed the goal of increased collaboration with industry, and the fact that 20% of the research volume at MIT currently comes from industry partners.
Magnanti envisions a broadening of undergraduate education and pedagogical reform in engineering, as exemplified by SMA. "MIT is all about meeting societal needs through engineering," Magnanti said. "We look toward greater collaboration between schools of engineering and schools of management and science."
Magnanti spoke of the strategic initiative of the School of Engineering, and its seven programmatic themes: Bioengineering; information engineering (information, computation, and communication); engineering systems; tiny technologies (miniaturization, microtechnologies, and nanotechnologies); next generation technologies; educational innovations (using new technologies); and a more diverse faculty (gender and race).
Magnanti praised the SMA programme as a noble and ambitious experiment. He outlined the following achievements:
SMA has also allowed for exciting content development - crafted by the needs of the Singaporean economy - and the ability to foster collaborations across traditional academic boundaries. This has lead to great improvements in the teaching landscape.
Professor Magnanti shared the following data:
MIT students polled
Singaporean students polled
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| SMA & NTU
Professor Mong King Lim - Deputy President, NTU, Singapore
Professor Lim shared a brief history of NTU, and spoke of SMA's recent impact on the University. The University, being 20 years old, has a primary strength in engineering and business. In the early 90's, an international relations office was established, and a fellowship exchange programme quickly developed. In 1993, NTU began to emulate the U.S. education system by introducing academic units, and in 1999, the SMA IMST programme was launched. With the goal of continued internationalization, NTU recently launched an EMBA programme with China's Shaghai Jiao Tong University. NTU is also launching a Technopreneurship & Innovation Programme (TIP) with the University of Washington.
NTU's vision to become a university of global significance and excellence involves educating, inspiring and creating new knowledge. The University hopes to continue to breach the frontiers of the known and unknown through research, innovation and enterprise.
Professor Lim explained that SMA's impact on NTU has been extensive. It has allowed for curriculum development, and broader coverage of engineering fundamentals. SMA has introduced courses beyond the technical disciplines, with the hope of building on Dr. Chang's Group B qualities. It has allowed NTU to continue an emphasis on leadership. "Our goal is to educate young engineers to be leaders of Singapore's future technologically-advanced economy," Lim said. "To create cohorts of excellent students and faculty with the intensity, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit that characterizes the core of MIT's excellence."
Professor Lim voiced NTU's emphasis on the fundamental shift from a teaching-centric mode to a learning-centric mode in order to prepare students for lifelong learning. "We believe that the pervasive application of state-of-the-art IT facilities and methodologies will create a vibrant lifelong learning community," he said. Continued collaboration with MIT promotes creativity and entrepreneurship for NTU, and allows for joint Ph.D. and research programmes that enhance NTU's future goals. Thirteen faculty members from NTU now participate in all five SMA programmes.
Professor Lim spoke of future plans for NTU. "We will continue to create innovative programmes to promote and nurture entrepreneurial spirit, and to further establish and refine "best practices" through organizational learning," he stated. "We hope to achieve worldwide recognition for excellence in education and research through SMA."
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SMA: Perspectives from the National University of Singapore
Professor Ivan Png - Vice Provost, Graduate and Undergraduate Education,
NUS, Singapore
Professor Png opened his remarks by acknowledging that MIT has been involved in Asia for the last 4 decades - with programmes at the Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta, Nanyang Business School, and Tsinghua and Fudan Universities. "Now, with SMA, there is a discrete change," he said. "A quantum leap has occurred, emphasizing global cooperation and joint research. There is a deeper level of interaction and commitment, and participation is now a two-way street."
NUS's strategic vision includes becoming a knowledge hub of Southeast Asia, and providing an environment - both intellectually and culturally vibrant - where students and faculty members achieve their fullest potential. "20% of our undergraduates today are from foreign countries," Pgn said, "and more than 20% of graduate students and faculty are from foreign countries." With plans for innovative curricula, global prominence in research, and the establishment of an entrepreneurial ecosystem to provide dimensional education, NUS will continue to partner with internationally renowned institutions. Goals for undergraduate education include 25% of curriculum to be of general education (similar to the U.S. model), and multi-disciplinary niches such as life sciences and information technology. Graduate education will emphasize research excellence.
With 30,000 students, the NUS challenges associated with the SMA programme focus around ways to provide an MIT-quality education within a comprehensive public university. "We want to make SMA an honors graduate programme," Png explained. "We envision faculty research based on a commonality of interest, a double Master's degree programme, adjunct/visiting faculty appointments and student exchange programmes."
"SMA has allowed NUS to attract regional talent and to add soft skills in academic management," Png said. "SMA is definitely an NUS recruiting advantage."
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