SINGAPORE — Over the next five years, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) will be embarking on an ambitious plan to woo the “best and the brightest” researchers to the varsity, as well as significantly beef up its academic team.

This was unveiled by NTU president Subra Suresh, who assumed the top post on Jan 1, at a town hall meeting on Monday (Aug 27), which was attended by more than 2,000 members of faculty and staff.

“New mechanisms” will also be used to support undergraduate internships and PhD (doctor of philosophy) scholarships. NTU anticipates an extra 400 undergraduate internship places to be created over the next five years with its industry partners, which number more than 180 on campus. The partnerships include joint laboratories with Alibaba, BMW, and Singtel.

Prof Suresh also unveiled plans to build a new 40,000sqm academic building — Asia’s largest wooden building when completed in 2021 — which will house the Nanyang Business School and the activities of several other colleges and schools.

WOOING TOP ACADEMIC TALENT

Over the next five years, NTU will roll out new schemes to attract top academic minds.

• From this year, it will support 350 new two-year post-doctoral positions in an effort to woo highly sought-after researchers. The scheme will be partly funded by two “major gifts from overseas” received in the past few months.

• Some 300 faculty members will be recruited, and up to 100 new named professorships will be created in the next five years. This will raise the number of named professorships at the varsity by ten-fold.

ASIA’S LARGEST

In 2021, the university will house Asia’s largest wooden building, sprawling over 40,000 sq m. The Nanyang Business School and the activities of several other colleges and schools will be located at the new facility situated at the former Innovation Centre along Nanyang Drive.

• The S$180 million six-storey development is designed by RSP Architects Planners Engineers, one of the firms behind Changi Airport Terminal 4, which opened last October.

• The building will be constructed using Mass-Engineered Timber, with the material procured from renewable forests and prefabricated for installation. This will make it less polluting, and require less manpower to build.

• Twenty-five smart classrooms will be fitted with the latest technology to support the university’s “flipped classroom pedagogy”, in which students pick up course content online, and devote time with professors, classmates and industry partners to collaborative learning.

OTHER KEY INITIATIVES

• 100 per cent  increase in solar energy use: NTU will double the solar energy used to power its grounds to 9.9 megawatts by next year, supplying between 7 per cent and 10 per cent of the university’s electricity needs.

• S$10 million fund to foster collaboration: The Accelerating Creativity and Excellence programme is aimed at fostering greater interdisciplinary tie-ups between its various schools and colleges to help faculty members “catalyse bold and unconventional cross-disciplinary research”, said NTU, and provide seed funding for research in new areas.

Eco-friendly, healthy-eating efforts: From Oct 1, plastic bags will no longer be distributed free at all food and retail outlets, as well as campus events. A taskforce comprising faculty, staff members and students will also identify healthier food options. The university aims to cut energy, water and waste by 35 per cent in 2021, and in half by 2025 (from 2011 levels).

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