12 July 2019

The Singapore University of Technology and Design will be introducing a bachelor’s degree in design and artificial intelligence (AI).

This new degree programme will be launched the year 2020, with an expected annual intake of 50 students. The course will last for three and a half years.

The AI bachelor’s programme will be the first of its kind in Singapore, with a focus on the integration of design and AI.

As SUTD president Chong Tow Chong explains: “For this digital era, data is going to be the currency. AI and machine learning will be the necessary tools to capitalise on. There will be a new generation of designers that will utilise AI in many ways such as increasing efficiency.”

SUTD was ranked as the fifth-most influential scientific research institution in telecommunications by Clarivate Analytics in 2017. Last year, 94 per cent of SUTD’s fresh graduates found employment within six months.

11 July 2019

According to the Meteorological Service of Singapore, rapid urbanisation has led to the exacerbation of the urban heat island effect, meaning that Singapore heats up twice as fast as the rest of the world, at a rate of 0.25 degrees celsius per decade.

A common perception is that Singapore simply needs to pour more resources into improving technology to develop solutions. But these are ultimately changes enacted on a micro level. In order to create a truly sustainable Singapore, our communities and living spaces need to be completely redesigned from the ground up.

According to the National University of Singapore’s School of Design and Environment (NUS SDE), the right way forward is a people-centric approach. SDE calls this approach Well and Green thinking. As the name suggests, it aims to redefine the way community design is approached, by placing emphasis not just on environmentally-friendly and sustainable design, but also on the well-being of residents.

Urban design that facilitates residential interaction helps create a sense of community and civic ownership, ensuring that residents will look out for each other’s welfare. NUS SDE hopes to take this concept of the sustainable integrated development and expand it into entire districts — effectively making it the future of the whole nation.

10 July 2019

The East Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore has appointed Dutch national Bert Hofman as its fourth director.

Mr Hofman, who had previously served as chief economist for the World Bank and director of its Singapore office, takes over from Professor Zheng Yongnian.

When contacted, Mr Hofman said he was excited to join the institute, which has a strong reputation for studying China and North-east Asia.

He cited the current trade dispute between the United States and China as an issue which requires “more than ever fact-based analysis of the causes and nature of the tensions, its possible impact on the region, and development of options for possible solutions”.

Mr Hofman has an economics degree from Erasmus University Rotterdam and a master’s in economics from the University of Kiel in Germany. He has also worked as country director for the Philippines for the World Bank before his first posting in Singapore.

08 July 2019

Making donations to secure places for children in Singapore schools is forbidden today, though it did occur in the past.

Today, school admissions are conducted centrally by the Ministry of Education, which does not allow schools to solicit or accept donations from parents to secure places for admission.

An MOE spokesperson said that the schools admissions framework aims to provide students with school places according to a set of transparent criteria.

Singapore’s autonomous universities have also said that family ties and donations do not have any bearing on student admissions.

In response to queries, the Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan (SHHK) said its affiliated schools all have long histories.

“So it is possible that such practices (of donations for places) could have occurred in the past when school admission was decided purely by the school’s management,” the association said.

07 July 2019

Education Minister Ong Ye Kung recently spoke at a round table discussion during the Group of Seven (G-7) Meeting for Education Ministers. This is the first time Singapore has been invited to such a meeting.

During the G-7 Education meeting, Mr Ong spoke about Singapore’s approach to tackling inequality, which is not to cap the top and limit their potential, but to invest in the bottom to help uplift them.

Singapore’s Ministry of Education said in a statement recently that the G-7 countries have adopted a Common Declaration, reaffirming the crucial role of education in promoting equal opportunities for all and in addressing inequality in their respective societies. The G-7 countries also issued a communique on anti-bullying at school.

The 2019 G-7 Summit, which will focus on fighting inequality, will be held from Aug 24 to 26 in Biarritz, France.

In recent years, there have been many studies on inequality from organisations such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and others

05 July 2019

Singapore’s Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) are aiming to create a wider appreciation of design and incorporate more design principles and concepts into the university curriculum.

In today’s industry, the word “design” has expanded to take on new meanings. Design no longer involves only shaping how things look, such as interior design or landscaping, but also controlling how things work.

The Design Education Review Committee has laid out five recommendations to enhance existing design programmes in the IHLs and embed design in their non-design programmes.

The first of the committee’s recommendations is to set up a separate committee comprising key industry leaders and IHL representatives to strengthen industry links such as building overseas networks or introducing collaboration opportunities.

The second is to give students from disciplines such as engineering, business and infocomm media more opportunities to come together and pick up design-led creative thinking skills.

The third is to enhance training programmes to support both design professionals and educators, or trainers. This includes helping educators keep up to date with industry trends and providing more study awards for professionals and educators.