A Better World by Design:Educating Technically-grounded Leaders

and Innovators for the 21th Century

Chong Tow ChongProvost, Singapore University of Technology and Design

What are Engineering’s Greatest Achievements of the 20th Century?

US National Academy of Engineering

NAE Greatest Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century

1. Electrification

2. Automobile

3. Airplane

4. Water Supply & Distribution

5. Electronics

6. Radio and Television

7. Agricultural Mechanization

8. Computers

9. Telephone

10. Air Conditioning & Refrigeration

11. Highways

12. Spacecraft

13. Internet

14. Imaging

15. Household Appliances

16. Health Technologies

17. Petroleum & Petrochemical

Technologies

18. Laser and Fiber Optics

19. Nuclear Technologies

20. High-performance Materials

Observations

• Engineering has changed the very fabric of society

• Innovation occurs through a pipeline

Education

Research

Inventors/entrepreneurs

Companies/government

Education has played a central role

Technical education has evolved and generally focuses on: • Specific disciplines

Civil engineering Mechanical engineering Electrical engineering etc…

• Specific industrial segments Aeronautical engineering Chemical & Petroleum engineering Nuclear engineering etc…

But could or should we do more, given new society’s challenges in the

21th century?

15 Global Challengesfacing humanity in the 21th Century

Make solar energy economical

Provide energy from fusion

Develop carbon sequestration methods

Manage the nitrogen cycle

Provide access to clean water

Restore and improve urban infrastructure

Advance health informatics

Engineer better medicines

Reverse-engineer the brain

Prevent nuclear terror

Secure cyberspace

Enhance virtual reality

Advance personalized learning

Engineer the tools of scientific discovery

Engineering Grand Challenges of the 21st Century

Source: US National Academy of Engineering

Are today universities keeping in pace to respond to these new challenges?

Are they educating graduates with new mindsets and skills who are capable of providing practical, sustainable solutions that cut across traditional boundaries?

How do 21st Century universities prepare students to lead in this

environment?

SINGAPORE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND DESIGN

A Better World by Design

BIG Questions

If you were to create a world class university from scratch for these and future times, what would you do?

Guiding Premises

• Technology and design are pervasive and essential for a vibrant society

• Common design knowledge, principles, practice and skills cut across many fields

• Successful technology-based design requires

– strong foundations in basic mathematics, sciences and technology

– grounding in the arts, humanities and social sciences

– coupled effectively with hands-on experiential learning

• Technology leaders (innovators, engineers) are in short supply

Products Systems

Services

Defining the intellectual footprint: What the world needs?

Multi-faceted Multi-disciplinary

Design-DrivenInnovation

Do away with the traditional disciplines

• Specific disciplines

Civil engineering

Mechanical engineering

Electrical engineering

etc…

• Specific industrial segments

Aeronautical engineering

Chemical & Petroleum engineering

Nuclear engineering

etc…

Unique Proposition

SUTD’s Unique Value Proposition

Distinctiveness

o Innovative education for science & engineering talents

o Emphasis on Technology, Innovation, Entrepreneurship

o Develop graduates with ideas and solutions that have real-world impact and use

Strategic Collaborations

Mission

o To advance knowledge and nurture technically grounded leaders and innovators to improve lives

o Focus on Design through integrated multi-disciplinary curriculum and multi-disciplinary research

ValuesLeadership • Integrity • Passion

Collaboration • Creativity

MIT Zhejiang University SMU

Interdisciplinary & Multidisciplinary

Curriculum

What do we need to build the heart/lung machine that keeps the smallest of premature babies alive?

Biology? Physics? Chemistry?

Materials? Mathematics?

Engineering? Medicine?

Business? Ethics?

“It’s in Apple’s DNA that technology alone is not enough. It’s technology married with liberal arts, married

with the humanities that yields the results that makes our hearts sing.”

(Steve Jobs, 2011)

Across subjects. Across disciplines. Across boundaries.Not constrained by departmental or faculty walls.

An Outside-In Curriculum

Design projects Electives

Architecture &

Sustainable

Design

Engineering

Product

Development

Engineering

Systems &

Design

Information

Systems

Technology &

Design

Senior

Junior

Sophomore

Freshmore

Statistical Reasoning and Optimization

Archi-tecture

Core

ProductDesignCore

SystemDesignCore

InfoDesignCore

Entrepreneurship, Management, Social Science, Economics, Humanities, Arts

Energy &Structures

Dynamics& Control

LinearSignals &Systems

Capstone: Integrated Design Experience

Information, Computation, Materials and Systems

FOUNDATIONSMathematics, Science, Introductory Humanities, Social Sciences

in the context of Design

• Four 12-unit subjects per semester ( x 8 semesters) 22% humanities courses

Digital World Physical World Systems World

BIGDesignEvery

oneclassterm

Acrosssubjectsdisciplinesyears

QUALITY CURRICULUM

• 103 MIT modules: architectureengineering science & math humanities, arts and social sciences

• 5 ZJU electives: Chinese culture Chinese design

• 5 SMU electives:entrepreneurshiporganizational behaviourdesign management

HOW?

TO BE CREATIVE

FUNDAMENTALS

BREATH

TO SOLVE PROBLEMS

Technically-grounded innovator

SPECIALIZATIONS

TO THINK

TO DESIGN

TO CREATE SOLUTIONS

Retention: 1st 10 mins: 70% : last 10 mins: 20%

(McKeachie, 1986)

Paying attention: 40%(Pollio 1984)

Lecture Hall Style TeachingPassive and Impersonal

Drinking From the Fire Hose

No life outside the classroom

Overloading

Cohort-based, Active and Collaborative Learning

Time and Space for Self

Active and Collaborative Learning• Student-faculty ratio of 11:1

• Nurturing faculty

• Integrating lectures, recitations and laboratory sessions (Learn, Engage and Apply)

• Group learning & peer support

• Ready access to fabrication equipment

“I have not left my classes with a single

doubt.”

“I feel like a more mature thinker! And I’m better able to see the bigger picture.”

“I really appreciate [the faculty’s] commitment

to teaching!”

What students say:

11:1 student-faculty ratio. Cohort-based. Dedicated classroom.Not in big and impersonal lecture halls.

Nurturing faculty. International diversity. MIT standards.Not lacking in good mentors and diversity.

Global Faculty: US & Europe – 31.5%;

Asia Pacific – 31.5%; Singapore – 37.0%

70 SUTD faculty to undergo year-long training

in MIT

Group Learning in Cohort-based Classrooms

Peer support. Hands-on. Active learning.Not working alone in disconnected lectures, recitations and laboratory sessions.

On-campus living @ 6⁰ Student Activities through the Fifth Row

Outside-in curriculum4 courses per semesterFifth Row. 6o Residential Stay. Time and Space for Self.

Not an afterthought.

• Independent activity period (every January)

• Free every Wednesday and Friday afternoon

• Self-initiated clubs/societies, UROP*

*UROP: Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program

FIFTH ROW- More than 60 student organisations ranging from

Performing Arts, Culture and Language, Engineering and Design to Community Service, the Arts, and Sports

Building a communityHostel for everyone in first 3 terms

Hostel @ Dover Hostel @ East Coast

SUTD-MIT GLOBAL LEADERSHIP PROGRAMME

• 28 students• LeaderShape• Electric vehicles construction• Student clubs• Talks by start-up companies• Research and game design

SUTD-ZJU ASIAN LEADERSHIP PROGRAMME

• 103 students• Design workshops organised

by ZJU• Internships at China-based

companies• Chinese history and culture

and how things work in the economic powerhouse

Over 250 companies in partnership with SUTD

GREAT TALENTS. GREAT INTERNSHIPS. GREAT CAREERS .

Not just a disjointed part of the university curriculum.

Conclusion

Conclusion

1. We need a new, innovative pathway for a changing world

2. SUTD has opted to try a different model of staying on the global front and staying relevant

3. SUTD is into its 2nd year – we are making good progress

4. Will the SUTD model turn out to be an innovative and timely response to create a better world by design?

“The quality of our expectations determines the quality of our actions”- Andre Godin..

Think Big , Think Far….

Nurturing Technically-gounded Leaders and InnovatorsCreative Passion for technology and design Multi-disciplined Risk-takers

“Someone with passion, ability and dreams to go and do something that is going to change the world.”

Thank You