Collaborations between Singapore and Overseas Universities

Asst Prof Tan Kheng Boon Eugene asked the Minister for Education what is the total amount of partnership and related fees expended or contractually agreed to for past and ongoing collaborations between (i) Singapore Management University and Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania; (ii) Singapore University of Technology and Design and Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Zhejiang University; and (iii) National University of Singapore and Yale University.

The scope of collaboration between our Autonomous Universities (AUs) and their overseas partners varies significantly.

Our AUs tap on the expertise of their overseas partners to develop new models of undergraduate education in Singapore. The range of activities covered by the partnerships includes curriculum and pedagogical development, advice on governance and organisational structures, faculty immersion programmes, and research collaborations. The collaboration fees pay for the resources committed by the overseas partners towards such efforts, and therefore vary according to the different models of partnerships between our AUs and the overseas partners. They also decrease significantly after the start-up phase of such collaborations.

As these agreements are covered by confidentiality clauses, MOE is not at liberty to divulge the collaboration fees. However, MOE closely scrutinizes the amount of funding required by AUs to enter into such partnerships, and ensures that such collaborations provide quality university education opportunities for Singaporeans, and positions us well for the future.