Building a world class university prof. barry halliwell
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Transcript of Building a world class university prof. barry halliwell
BUILDING A
WORLD CLASS UNIVERSITY
Elsevier Forum on Accelerating Research Excellence
New Delhi, India
23 September 2011
Professor Barry HalliwellTan Chin Tuan Centennial Professor
Deputy President (Research & Technology)
National University of Singapore
NUS Research is good and has
improved fast in recent years
Evidence for Impact
• Bibliometic indices and league tables
• Success in grant competition (e.g. 3.5/5 Research Centres of Excellence)
• Growing new industries for Singapore and developing existing ones.
Extensive EDB investment in NUS and visits by foreign companies.
• Consultancies and other advisory positions to industry and government
bodies
• The investment by government, charities, industry etc into NUS to create
“think tanks”, such as Risk Management Institute, Centre for International
Law, VISA, Real Estate Studies, Centre for Maritime Studies, LKY School of
Public Policy etc
• Location of selected high-level industries at NUS, e.g. Siemens, GE, SDWA
THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE
DO RANKINGS MATTER?
THEY ARE FLAWED BUT PEOPLE DO NOTICE THEM
(including prospective staff and students)
Field Cites per Paper Rank (% above / below world average)
(This measures the % by which the research impact is above the world average)
Field
NUS
2000-20102006-
2010
Materials Science +101 +132
Agricultural Sciences +69 +104
Mathematics +48 +42
Engineering +35 +50
Pharmacology & Toxicology +33 +44
Chemistry +26 +34
Computer Science +8 +27
Environment/Ecology +6 +32
Biology & Biochemistry +5 +22
Clinical Medicine -7 +12
Circles represent where impact
has grown significantly over the
past 5 years as opposed to 10
years.
Source: Thomson
Reuters/Essential Science
Indicators
Times Higher Education
(THE) World University
Ranking 2010
NUS QS World University
Ranking
NUS
2010 2011
World Rank 34 World Rank 31 28
Ranking in Asia Region 4 Ranking in Asia Region 3 3
Overall Score 72.9 Ranking by Discipline
Teaching 65.5 Engineering and IT 9 NA
International Mix 97.8 Life Sciences and
Biomedicine
13 NA
Industry Income 40.5 Social Sciences 16 NA
Research 72.6 Arts and Humanities 23 NA
Citations 78.7 Natural Sciences 25 NA
Source :
http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings
http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/asian-university-rankings
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/
World University Ranking 2010
THE vs QS
• Bibliometric indices and league tables
• Success in grant competition (e.g. 3.5/5 Research Centres of Excellence)
• Growing new industries for Singapore and developing existing ones. Extensive EDB investment in
NUS and visits by foreign companies.
• Consultancies and other advisory positions to industry and government bodies
• The investment by government, charities, industry etc into NUS to create “think tanks”, such as
Risk Management Institute, Centre for International Law, VISA, Real Estate Studies, Centre for
Maritime Studies, LKY School of Public Policy etc
• Location of selected high-level industries at NUS, e.g. Siemens, SDWA, Agilent, Zeiss
Comments from the External Review Panel for the Quality Assurance Framework
for Universities 2010
• The ERP commends NUS for the progress made in research since 2004 in terms of obtaining a
head start in developing peaks of excellence, getting more funding and producing more and
higher impact publications.
• They HELP to tell us that NUS Research is good and has
improved fast in recent years
(but we don’t judge this only by ranks and citations)
• They HELP us to identify up and coming researchers and successful research
fields (“peaks of excellence”), as well as under-performing areas
• They can help identify productive collaborations with other Institutions.
WHY DO WE STUDY RANKINGS?
China
South Korea
TaiwanHong Kong
Thailand
BangladeshIndia
Indonesia
Europe
Vietnam
Middle East
Japan
Sri Lanka
Australia
Brunei
Philippines
New Zealand
Malaysia
USA
Singapore
Singapore: Transportation Hub and Entry to Asia
(Planes and Ships)
• No energy (except some solar)
• Little food
• Little space
• No oil or mineral resources
• Water-constrained
• Climate change
• Very small, minute domestic market
• Rapidly ageing population
Advantages
• Location
• Political / social stability
• Good government
• People
• Lord Krebs in his evidence to the House of Commons Innovation, Universities,
Science and Skills Committee (2008-9) pointed to a study in which ten key
advances in cardiovascular medicine were traced back to about 600 papers
from 400 different disciplines which provided the basis for the advances. Over
40% of them had nothing to do with cardiovascular medicine at all and many of
them were not carried out in medical departments but in departments of
chemistry, engineering, physics, botany, agriculture, zoology etc.
A vision for UK Research, Council for Science and Technology (2010)
NUS: Singapore’s National and Only
Comprehensive UniversityA KEY FUNCTION OF NUS IN SINGAPORE IS TO PROVIDE A
STRONG AND BROAD (YET RELEVANT) RESEARCH BASE
• Several Agency for Science, Technology and
Research (A*STAR) RICs had their origins in NUS.
Faculties and Schools
(Undergraduate and Graduate education)
1. Arts and Social Sciences 7. Law
2. Business 8. Medicine
3. Computing 9. Music
4. Dentistry 10. Science
5. Design and Environment 11. University Scholars Programme
(for Undergraduate only)
6. Engineering
Graduate Schools
1. Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School
2. Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
3. NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences
and Engineering
Research is conducted in All Major Disciplines
Engineering
National University
Hospital
Temasek Life
Sciences
Laboratory
Science
Medicine
Dentistry
DMERI
Centre for Life
Sciences
Nursing
Computing
Comprehensive Infrastructure & Proximity
Humanities /
Social
Sciences
Singapore-
Delft Water
Alliance
SIEMENS
LILLY
GE Water
KENT RIDGE CAMPUS
New MRT
Zeiss
Agilent
ADVANTAGES OF NUS
11
one-north
Biopolis
Fusionopolis
Singapore
Science Parks
National
University
Hospital
Map courtesy of
JTC Corporation
SMART /
CREATE
/ NRF*
*Occupants
MIT
ETH Zurich
TUM Munich
Imperial College
Hebrew University
Technion Israel
Berkeley
Peking University
NUS
NTU
Others
NEW
MRT!
SICS
SICS – Singapore Institute for Clinical
Science (A*STAR)
SINGAPORE’S NATIONAL AND ONLY
COMPREHENSIVE UNIVERSITY
Synergy in Proximity
ADVANTAGES OF NUS
Graduate Students
10,548 (<50% local)Undergraduate
Students
26,418
(80% local)
Students Enrolled – Type (AY 2010-11)
Total
36,966
Research in honours year
Research in junior years
(UROP)
28.5%
71.5%
Type of Graduate
Programmes
Total
Coursework -
Masters
4721
Coursework –
Grad. Diploma
281
Coursework –
Doctoral
196
Research –
Masters
1052
Research – PhD 4298
Total 10548
Number of PhD Students is increasing fast
No Large Rise in Numbers Planned
A Problem NUS has
Type of research Typical quantum
1. Investigator-led project based 50k – 1 million*
2. Programme 5-25 million
3. University-level institute / centre Variable, often
3-50 million
4. Research Centre of Excellence 150 million
*The backbone and enabler that allows a PI to build research
programmes and prepares them to eventually participate in bigger
programmes
BUT RESEARCH NEEDS MONEY!
92% OF NUS RESEARCH IS
EXTERNALLY-FUNDED
NUS STRATEGY
1. High-level (yet relevant) research over a
reasonably broad base from which “peaks of
excellence” grow (BUT HOW DO WE IDENTIFY
THEM?)
2. Synergy across boundaries to achieve research
impact and bid for strategic funding
3. Work with agencies in Singapore to utilise NUS
research to address real-world questions
4. Partner strategically with overseas institutions
for the same reason
5. Work closely with industry for mutual benefit
RESEARCH AT NUSInterdisciplinarity is strongly encouraged
- Department / Faculty based
- Faculty Research Centres
- Cross-Faculty Clusters
- Research Centres of Excellence
- Cross Institution Clusters
HOW DO WE ENCOURAGE THIS?
1. Dialogue
2. Space
3. Resources (a little money, some space,
allocation of scholarships for graduate students)
University Level RICs24½ University-level Research Institutes or Centres
• Asia Research Institute
• Centre for International Law
• Centre for Maritime Studies
• Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing &
Processing
• East Asian Institute
• Energy Studies Institute
• NUS Global Asia Institute
• Institute for Mathematical Sciences
• Institute of Real Estate Studies
• Institute of South Asian Studies
• Interactive & Digital Media Institute
• Life Sciences Institute
• Middle East Institute
• NUS Environmental Research Institute
• NUS Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Initiative
• Risk Management Institute
• Singapore Synchrotron Light Source
• Solar Energy Research Institute of
Singapore
• Temasek Laboratories
• The Logistics Institute-Asia Pacific
• Tropical Marine Science Institute
ADVANTAGES OF NUS
Advantages
Status, access to resources (seed funding), SPACE, ability to bid for
large external grants
Centre for Quantum Technologies
• Singapore’s first RCE established in 2007
• Conducts interdisciplinary theoretical and experimental research into the fundamental limits of
information processing
• $158 million over 10 years from National Research Foundation (NRF) and the Ministry of
Education (MOE)
Singapore Centre on Environmental and Life Sciences Engineering
• NTU-led RCE with substantial NUS input; to be operational by January 2011
• Conducts cutting edge research on microbial biofilm communities for water and
environmental sustainability
Cancer Science Institute of Singapore
• Set up in March 2008 to become one of the world’s leading centres for cancer research
• $172 million over 7 years from NRF and MOE
Mechanobiology Institute, Singapore
• Established in September 2009
• Work on new ways of studying diseases through the mechanisms of cell & tissue mechanics
• Funding of $150 million over 10 years from NRF and MOE
BUT HOW TO SUPPORT THEM WHEN THE MONEY RUNS OUT
AFTER 7-10 YEARS?
Research Centres of Excellence (RCEs)
3.5 / 5 (70% success rate)
L4 Control / Computational /
Cognitive Science Labs
L9 Director’s & Admin Office
L8 Seminar Rooms, Library etc.
L7 EM Materials Lab
L6 Office Space
L3 Antenna & EM Material Lab
L5 Office Space
L2 Aeroscience Lab
NORTH WING
TEMASEK LABORATORIES@NUS
L6 NUS-GE S’pore
Water Tech Centre
L11 NUSNNI-NanoCore
L9 & 10
Mechanobiology
Institute, Singapore
L7 & 8 Div of Env Sci
& Engineering
L5 Seminar Rooms,
Office Space
L2 NUS Environmental
Research Institute
SOUTH WING
T-Lab Building
L4 Data Centre
NUS STRATEGY
Synergise across boundaries / Encourage mixing
CONTROL SPACE CAREFULLY!
CLOSE LINKS WITH AGENCIES IN SINGAPORE
TO APPROACH REAL-WORLD QUESTIONS
School of Design and Environment
• More than S$12 million worth of research projects funded primarily from the Ministry of
National Development Research Fund.
• Research projects conceptualized and implemented in collaboration with agencies such as the
Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), Housing and Development Board (HDB), National
Parks Board (NParks), Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and the Land Transport
Authority.
• Projects include subjects such as BCA’s zero energy building, evaluation of Greenmark
buildings, benchmarking city sustainability, density-environment relationships, urban climate
mapping, urban greenery and urban space designs, and transport modeling.
• Research outcomes have high impact on public sector policies on land use, urban planning,
urban redevelopment, transportation, biodiversity and housing.
• Will work closely with ETH and other overseas partners
• Will link closely with VISA
STRENGTHS OF NUS
NUS Environmental Research Institute (NERI) / Tropical Marine Science Institute (TMSI)
• Close links with PUB, other public bodies, and Industry
BUT BE CAREFUL THAT YOU DO NOT BECOME TOO NARROWLY-
APPLIED
NUS ALSO STRONGLY SUPPORTS
RESEARCH IN HUMANITIES / SOCIAL
SCIENCES / LAW / BUSINESS
• Important in its own right, e.g. to develop
understanding and explanations of human
conditions and behaviour.
• Contributes to cross-disciplinary initiatives
(environment, sustainability, digital media,
ethics, risk management, ageing etc)
• Holistic education of students
The Biology of Decision Making
under Risk
• Research project headed by Prof Richard Ebstein (Psychology, NUS) and
Prof Chew Soo Hong (Economics, NUS)
• Awarded €507,000 by the AXA Research Fund.
• AXA Research Fund first grant to an Asian University
• Conventional wisdom (‘nothing ventured nothing gained’) is clear on the
importance of taking risks but the source of the individual differences
observed in risk taking remains obscure.
• The proposal aims to understand these individual differences employing
cutting edge methods from the neurosciences, psychology, experimental
economics and human genetics.
• Hypothesis : Decision making under risk, albeit a complex behavioral
phenotype, can be understood as a basic biological mechanism with
roots embedded in evolution and genetics.
ONE EXAMPLE
Centre for International Law (CIL)
History: Officially launched on 30 October 2009 by Senior Minister Prof S. Jayakumar.
Founding Director: Assoc Prof Robert C Beckman
Vision: To become a regional intellectual hub and thought leader for research on and teaching of international law
Focus areas: ASEAN Law and Policy; Ocean Law and Policy; Economic Law and Policy; Aviation Law and Policy; and International Dispute Resolution.
Promoting thought leadership through policy-relevant conferences, workshops and speaker series. Examples:
• Regional Workshop on Submarine Telecommunications Cables and Law of the Sea
• Global Conference on International Investment Arbitration
• International Conference on Air Transport, Air Law and Regulation
• The CIL ASEAN Charter Series
• Regional Workshop on International Maritime Crime (upcoming)
Research that promotes Singapore’s and Asia’s influence on International Law developments. Examples:
• ASEAN Integration Through Law (ITL) Research Project
• The CIL Documents Database (currently over 450 ASEAN and International Law documents available for easy, free download)
• Submarine Telecommunications Cables and the Law of the Sea Research Project
Capacity-building and training for government officials. Examples:
• CIL Executive Programme on the conduct of international economic disputes
• CIL Executive Programme on anti-dumping legislation for economic officials
• CIL Executive Programme on investment law for trade officials (upcoming)
• International Law training course for diplomats at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Diplomatic Academy
http://www.cil.nus.edu.sg
NUS CAN NURTURE NICHE AREAS OF HIGH
QUALITY THAT ARE NOT YET THE “FLAVOUR OF
THE MONTH”[e.g. non-medical biology, plant science, humanities and social science (e.g. Asia
Research Institute), mathematics]
One example
• Molecular basis of crop yields
(MOU signed with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) on 16
Feb 2009)
• Crop resistance to environmental change
• Nutrition, diet and health maintenance in Asians
• Biodiversity
• New competitive grants from NRF and SMF (3 grants totalling $21.2 million
were obtained in the food security area)
ONE CONSEQUENCE
HOW DOES NUS WORK?
President
Deputy President
(Academic Affairs)
& Provost
Deputy President
(Administration)
Deputy President
(Research &
Technology)
CEO
NUS Enterprise
• The Provost, also a Deputy President, is responsible for all academic
matters in the University.
• The Deputy President (Research & Technology) (DPRT) oversees the
University’s research programmes and its University-level Research
Institutes and Centres, including RCEs.
• The Deputy President (Administration) is in charge of the central
administrative departments of the University.
• NUS Enterprise was established to promote enterprise at NUS. The CEO
of NUS Enterprise works closely with DP(R&T) and oversees all
entrepreneurial and commercial activities of the University.
THE GANG OF FIVE
Duties of DP(R&T) Office- Administration and Compliance
- Facilitation
Recognition &
Reward of Research
Excellence
Establish International
Research NetworksResearch
Spin Off
Facilitate Commercialisation
of Research Outcomes
High Impact
Research
Identify Areas of
Strategic
Importance
Grant Seed
Funding
Promote Multidisciplinary
Research Programmes
Growing
the Pie
Promote NUS-Industry
Exchange
Build solid base of high-quality research
across a reasonably-broad range of
disciplines
Establish Research Centres of Excellence
& other Peaks of International Research
Excellence in selected areas
Strong Global
Profile
Research
Benchmarking
Attract & Retain
Talent
Matching Grant
Scheme
Publicise Achievements
Prestigious Research Awards
IP Protection
Review within NUS
and relative to peer
universities
(research
benchmarking)
Grant
Administration Dialogue with
Funders
Protection of Research
Integrity Animal Welfare
Institutional Review Board (IACUC)
How to Grow Research Quality?
• Quality staff (its all about people)
• Give them the conditions they need to excel
• Accurate and fair (real and perceived) assessment of
performance
• NUS operates performance based pay (salary rises,
performance bonuses)
• Criteria for promotion and tenure require performance in
teaching and research (excellent in one, good in the other)
• Quality graduate students allocated to the best people
• Taking advantage of funding opportunities
• Selective allocation of NUS resources to support excellence
Money
Students
Space
Supporting NEW Ideas and
NEW People
• Light teaching loads for new staff
• Young Investigator award (substantial
additional start-up package)
• Cross-Faculty rapid grant award
• Research fund for Arts and Social Sciences
• Assistance with grant-writing
NUS Young Investigator Award
(NUS YIA)
Grant: ≤ S$500k in addition to usual start-up packages
Duration: ≤ 3 years
Aim:
Support early career development of young faculty members likely to
make significant contributions to the development of research at NUS
Encourages projects that cross traditional disciplinary boundaries or
break new ground
Criteria:
PI must be a full-time academic staff at an NUS Faculty/School
PI must have joined NUS within the past 3 years
PI must be less than 40 years old
SMF-NUS Research Horizons Award
• Co-funded by NUS and the Singapore Millennium
Foundation (SMF)
• Seeks to accelerate the development of paradigm-
changing research ideas from conception to
implementation.
• Winners will have one year and funding of up to
S$100,000 each to carry out their investigations.
• At the end of the term, they will compete for the Phase
II funding of up to S$1 million over two years if their
ideas show promise.
(based on Bill and Melinda Gates award scheme)
Expanding Cross-Disciplinary Research
• To seed the “programmes of the future” and
encourage interactions
• Investigators from two different
Faculties/Schools (junior staff preferred as PIs)
• One year funding of up to S$35,000
• Not restricted to strategic areas (quality of
project, quality of staff, innovation are key
parameters)
• Rapid decision process
• Special allocation for research in ageing
A POTENTIAL PROBLEMClose to 92% of NUS Research Funds come from External Competitive Grant
Funds, often for 2-3 year projects (Data for Y2009)
Note:
(i) MOE also provides a research scholarship block but graduate students require research support in order to be trained. If this is included as
external grant income the % rises to 93.5%.
(ii) NUS-funded Research Programmes refer to NUS Young Investigator Award, Cross Faculty Grant, Humanities & Social Sciences-funded
projects, Start-up Fund and other programmes funded from ODPRT.
NUS-funded Research
Programmes
4%
RCEs (Cancer, CQT,
Mechanobiology)
18%A*STAR
15%MOH
15%
Others (Other Min/Stat
Boards/Industry/
Foundations/ Individuals)
28%
MOE Competitive Grants
(Tier 2)
7%
NRF (Projects)
9%
MOE Block Grant for
Research (Tier 1)
4%
Others (Other Min/Stat
Boards/Industry/
Foundations/
Individuals)RCEs (Cancer, CQT,
Mechanobiology)
MOH
A*STAR
MOE Competitive Grants
(Tier 2)
NRF (other than RCE
funding)
MOE Block Grant for
Research (Tier 1)
NUS-funded Research
Programmes
TOTAL
$402m
THIS MAKES US VERY VULNERABLE TO CHANGES IN THE
FUNDING LANDSCAPE.
SOME COMING THREATS
• Inappropriate metrics (e.g. immediate
application, number of patents, licensing
income)
• Insufficient funds for investigator-led
research
• Insufficient indirect cost support (or
equivalent)
International Alliance of Research
Universities (IARU)
IARU members are leading research universities that share a global
vision, similar values and a commitment to educating future world
leaders.
The 10 members are:
• Australian National University
• ETH Zurich
• National University of Singapore
• Peking University
• University of California, Berkeley
• University of Cambridge
• University of Copenhagen
• University of Oxford
• The University of Tokyo
• Yale University
Research at NUS addresses
Singapore Problems
Challenges Facing Singapore
Energy (more efficient usage, securing supply)
Environmental management / global warming
Risk of infectious diseases
Securing the food supply / human nutrition
Ageing and age-related disease
World insecurity / financial risks in Asia
Sustainable cities
LOOKING FORWARD - be ahead of the pack
NUS AND SINGAPORE AS TEST-BEDS FOR
SUSTAINABLE URBAN SOLUTIONS
REUTERS/CORBIS
Centenarians now constitute the
fastest-growing age group owing to
advances in health care.
Source – Nature 467 (2010), 274-
275
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
CH
JP
SG
AUST
DK
UK
2030
2005
1980
Proportion of population aged 65+ in
selected IARU countries
Slide by courtesy of Dr Kenneth Howse, Oxford
University
Source: UN Population databaseThe International Alliance of Research Universities
(IARU) is a collaboration between ten of the world’s
leading research-intensive universities who share
similar visions for higher education, in particular the
education of future leaders. IARU comprises ANU,
ETH Zurich, NUS, Peking, Berkeley, Cambridge,
University of Copenhagen, Oxford, University of Tokyo
and Yale University.
A COMING PROBLEM FOR SINGAPORE
(Virtual) Institute for the Study of Ageing (VISA) Anti-aging medicine (ethical)
Health care delivery / outcomes
Social aspects (e.g. community support)
Public policy (e.g. pensions)
Dementia centre
Gerontology group
Basic aging / Neurobiology research
Ageing & Lifestyle (nutrition, exercise etc)
Housing for the aged
Products for the aged
City design (e.g. public transport)
VISA
Lifestyle and disease
prevention
Optimal environment
(ageing in place)
Thought leadership
for Government and
charities
Singapore Institute
for Clinical
Sciences
Human studies
Industry liaison
Translational medicine/
nutritional products
Social sciences
Humanities
Public policy
Tsao Foundation
Duke-GMS
LKY SPP
Financial / risk
management
Global Asia
Institute
Exploring the identity
of the 21st century
Asia city
Healthcare policies
Financing the elderly
Basic Science
Disease-related
research
Cognitive assessment
(NUHS)
Dementia Centre
Human studies
Subject cohorts
Mild cognitive impairment
(NUHS)
NUS Schools
and Faculties /
Research
Institutes/
Centres
What does VISA aim to do?
• Biological determinants of ageing well
• Environments that best support ageing well
• Fiscal, medical & other policy issues that can be optimised
to better support Singaporean ageing population
Interdisciplinary Research,
the Sustainability Cluster
Major Research Directions
(1) Water, Air & Land;
(2) Human & Environmental Health.
(3) Energy Systems
NUS Environmental Research Institute (NERI)
Formed to harnass our multiple ongoing research programmes in
several Schools/Faculties to address major issues.
Centre for Sustainable Asian Cities
(School of Design and Environment)
To maintain Singapore as an excellent and functional liveable city
NUS Global Asia Institute
Centre for Sustainable Asian Cities
Energy Studies Institute
Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore
Energy @ NUS Initiative
Centre for Total Building Performance
Energy Sustainability Unit
Asia-Pacific Centre for Environmental Law
Institute of Water Policy / Other aspects of public policy (LKYSPP)
NUS Environmental Research Institute
Tropical Marine Science Institute
Centre for Offshore Research and Engineering
Minerals, Metals & Materials Technology Centre
Sustainable Energy Materials and Systems
Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research
Biodiversity programme
Centre for Hazards Research
NUS Schools and Faculties
40
Sustainability Cluster (Profs Tan Thiam Soon, Ong Choon Nam, Peter Ng)
Powerful cluster : good dialogue with funding agencies
41
Exploratory
Science
Future
Technology
Energy Office @ NUS
NUS Global Asia Institute (GAI)
Energy Studies Institute (ESI)
NUSNNI / FOE / FOS
Sustainable Energy Materials & Systems
Centre for Total Building Performance (CTBP)
A BCA-NUS Centre for Tropical Building
Research
Energy Sustainability Unit (ESU)
NUS Environmental Research Institute (NERI)
Office of Environmental Sustainability (OES)
Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
(LKYSPP)
Singapore Institute of Nuclear Science &
Engineering Research (SINSER)
Policy
Implementation
Energy
Sustainability
One-stop office on Energy Research, Energy
Directions, and Energy Education in NUS
NUS President’s initiative on Research and
Scholarship directed at topics pivotal to Asia’s future
Singapore’s national institute for Applied Energy
ResearchSolar Energy Research Institute of Singapore
(SERIS)
A national policy-research institute in Energy
policies (economics, security and the environment)
Research in areas of Solar Energy, Li-ion Batteries,
Hydrogen Production & Storage and Fuel Cells
Research in Tropical Building Design, Construction,
Maintenance and Management
Centre for Behavioural Economics
To develop course structure and training syllabus for
the Singapore Certified Energy Manager (SCEM)
training programme
Interdisciplinary research, education and expertise
in the environment affecting Singapore and Asia
To effect a total shift to Environmental Sustainability
in all aspects of campus life
Areas of focus include Asian Energy Security and
Energy Governance
An initiative on Nuclear Science and Engineering
programme
To understand and improve Energy Usage
Behaviours
Energy and Environment Cluster Powerful cluster : Energy Office now
(Prof Tan Thiam Soon)
NUS and SINGAPORE EXCEL IN MATERIALS
SCIENCE
NUS NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE
(NUSNNII) / NANOCORE / SYNCHROTON LIGHT SOURCE /
GRAPHENE RESEARCH CENTRE
Research themes
• Oxide Electronics
• Spintronic materials
• Graphenes
• High density memories
• Nm scale imaging and patterning
• Charge transport in mesoscopic systems
• Materials for sustainable energy
• Nano drug delivery and diagnostics
• Active plasmonics
• Nanowire based device architectures
• New imaging technologies
NUS Centre for Life Sciences (CeLS)
How to make a gobal impact in a fiercely-competitive area?NUS Life Sciences Institute (LSI)
LIFE AND BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES CLUSTER
Competitive Space for Integrated Life Science Programmes
STRENGTHS OF NUS
What is our Translational
Medicine niche?• Preferred site in Asia for validation & testing of new
diagnostics, drugs & devices in man for Asian diseases*
• Deep expertise in disease biology and world-class Proof –of-
Concept & early phase clinical trial capability with
international accreditation
• Close link of basic biomedical research, engineering, and
computing with clinical medicine
*Diseases more common in Asia, or
diseases where symptoms, outcome,
and pathology are different, as
compared to the rest of the world.
Research Programmes in
Life Sciences
Cancer
Neurodegenerative disease
Vascular Diseases
Infectious Diseases
Underpinning Science & Technology
Molecular Epidemiology / Genetics
Bioinformatics / Tissue Respository
Bioengineering/ Neuroengineering /
Tissue Engineering
Medicinal Chemistry / Toxicology /
Clinical Trials
Structural Biology
Immunology
Psychology / human cognition
ALL CROSS-FACULTY, CROSS-DISCIPLINARY
Human nutrition / disease
revention
Healthy ageing
Environmental microbiology
Lipidomics
Neuroscience, neuroengineering
and cognition
Disease-related themes
Links to National University Hospital
Tissue Repositories
Experimental Surgery
Medical Imaging
Molecular Pathology
Investigational Medical Unit
Bioengineering / Tissue Engineering / Neuroengineering
Duke-GMS partnership
Medical Ethics
NUS Translational
Research
National
University
Health
System
BIOPOLIS
Translational
Medical Centre
NUS
Faculties of Engineering and Science,
School of Computing
A*STAR Physical & Computing
Sciences
Life Sciences
Institute / CeLS
Schools / Faculties
Research goals
• Generate multi-disciplinary, theme-based research
• Establish proof-of-concept and efficacy in humans
• Investigate the Asian phenotype
• Implement health services research
National University Health System
(NUHS)• NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine
• Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies
• NUS Faculty of Dentistry
• National University Hospital
Examples
• Early diagnosis of gastric cancer
• Translational research in eye surgery
• Metabolic medicine and diabetes in Asians
• Stroke types more common in Asia
Centre for Translational
Medicine (MD6)
Translational Research at the
Centre for Translational Medicine (MD6)
• 41,000 sqm
• 15 floors: 9 floors for Research, 6
floors for Education
• Clinical Imaging Research Centre
• A BSL3 lab for complex work in
Infectious Diseases
• Investigational Medicine Unit
• Cancer Science Institute, Singapore
• Other major programmes, including
cardiovascular medicine, neuro-
cognition, immunology, and metabolic
medicine (diabetes and obesity)
Isolation (Illinois)
Cubicle and Large
Animal Housing
Sterile Storage: 9000L
Bulk Autoclave
Dedicated Necropsy
Room with
Ergonomic
Equipment
Large Holding Room for
Small Animals
Dirty Side Cage
Wash: Rack and
Tunnel Washers
Large Animal Operating
Room
Opening of the MD2 Vivarium, a “state of the art”
Green building
MAJOR NEW DEVELOPMENTS, INFRASTRUCTURE
AAALAC (Association for Assessment and Accreditation of
Laboratory Animal Care – International)
• A private, nonprofit organization promoting the humane treatment of animals in science
through a voluntary accreditation program, a program status evaluation service, and
educational programs.
• Comprised of professional life science societies and is not a governmental agency.
• AAALAC is a voluntary peer-review process and certifies whether standards of
excellence in institutional animal care programs are attained and maintained.
• While 90% of the top 100 institutions receiving NIH funding are AAALAC accredited, only
45% of the institutions in Times Higher Education (THE) top 30 are AAALAC accredited.
Seventy-five percent of the top 15 THE institutions are AAALAC accredited.
MAJOR NEW DEVELOPMENTS, INFRASTRUCTURE
BREAST CANCER RESEARCH PROGRAMME
Centre for Molecular Epidemiology
Profound changes in breast cancer incidence may reflect changes into a
Westernized lifestyle: a comparative population-based study in Singapore
and Sweden. Int J Cancer. 2005 Jan 10;113(2):302-6.
Variation in the seasonal diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia:
Evidence from Singapore, the United States, and Sweden. Am J Epi. 2005;
162(8): 753-763
Do Asian breast cancer patients have poorer survival than their western
counterparts? A comparison between Singapore and Stockholm. Breast
Cancer Res. 2009;11(1):R4.
JOINT INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH (THE KI EXAMPLE)
Singapore Peking Oxford Research Enterprise(SPORE)
SPORE-D
Disciplinary
Development
• Master’s andPh.Dprogrammes• Executivetrainingprogramme
SPORE is a S$63 million
initiative supported by the
National Research Foundation
through the Environment and
Water Industry programme
office, NUS, Peking University,
the University of Oxford,
competitive research grants
and industry partnerships.
SPORE-T
Technology
Transfer
• Reduce,Reuse andrecycle (3R)• Highlyconcentratedorganicwastewater(HCOW)• Riverecologicalrehabilitation
SPORE-M
Market-
oriented
technology
exploitation
• Green technologies• Ecocityplanning (Sinomentechnologies Ltd)
Slide by courtesy of Prof Ong Choon Nam
WHY IS ACCURATE ASSESSMENT
NEEDED?
• NUS OPERATES PERFORMANCE BASED PAY
(salary rises, performance bonuses)
• CRITERIA FOR PROMOTION AND TENURE REQUIRE PERFORMANCE IN
TEACHING AND RESEARCH (Excellent in one, good in the other)
• MINISTRY OF EDUCATION FUNDING INCREASINGLY HAS A “QUALITY
FACTOR”
• DECIDING WHERE TO INVEST CENTRAL RESOURCES TO CONVERT GOOD
TO EXCELLENT TO ALLOW US TO BID FOR SUBSTANTIAL COMPETITIVE
FUNDING
ASSESSING RESEARCH
WHICH PEAKS OF
EXCELLENCE TO GROW?
RESEARCH ASSESSMENT
• Grant Income
• Count Papers
• Citations
• Journal Tiering (Tier 1 and 2 papers)
• Counting Patents / Licensing Income
Previously a 6-page form had to be completed.
Assessing
Research Impact
What research are you doing
and
why is it important?
NUS SEEKS TO CONDUCT IMPACTFUL
RESEARCH
• Outstanding fundamental research of high intellectual impact that attracts
attention to Singapore as a country capable of performing such research and
grows NUS’ global reputation
• Research which helps to grow new industries for Singapore and to develop
existing ones, e.g. by spin-offs and licensing of Intellectual Property (IP)
• Research that helps to attract high-level foreign industry to locate in Singapore
• Research that makes Singapore a better place to live and improves the health
and welfare of the population
• Research that expands intellectual breadth and develops ideas and discourses
about human experiences which will prepare us more effectively for an
increasingly global and cosmopolitan world
• Research that influences and informs government policy
• Research that enhances the security of Singapore (e.g. defence, food, energy
supply)
Note that the best research programmes often contribute in several of these areas.
WHAT IS IMPACT OF RESEARCH?
Journal Tiering• Introduced in 2001 by Provost Office
• Benchmarking tool for institutional performance
• Benchmarking tool to evaluate Dept/faculty performance against
external institutions.
• Reference list for academics seeking advice about quality journals
to publish in.
• Four categories
Premium (Tier 1) – 10%
Leading (Tier 2) – 20%
Reputable (Tier 3) – 25%
Others (Tier 4) – 45%
• The default is to list by subject-related impact factor plus “special
factors”.*
HERE LIES THE DEVIL!
Background of Journal Tiering
Past Exercises
Phase I (2001 - 2002) Fac/Sch tiered journals according to percentages
External review conducted
A total of 10,152 journals were assigned tiers
2 separate lists maintained – Faculty list and University Consolidated List – to deal with journals assigned different tiers by different Fac/Sch
Phase II (2003 – 2005) Fac/Sch updated journals tiered
Additions not to exceed 5% of the total number of journals tiered in Phase I
No external review but replaced by a suitable report that included reasonable statistical calibration data
A total of 10,439 journals were assigned tiers
Phase III (2007 – 2008) Proposed new model consisting Super Tier, Tier 1 and Tier 2
Science and Medicine adopted
Not adopted generally
Do we continue with Journal
Tiering?
No,
not at the University level
• Tiering still of value in some Schools/Faculties (e.g.
super-tier)
• Tier 1 numbers of journals should be decreased
• Less reliance on tier 1 for evaluation
• How should we deal with interdisciplinary research?
BUT THEN SEE WHAT HAPPENED!
End of an ERA: journal rankings dropped
Jill Rowbotham , From: The Australian , May 30, 2011 5:51PM
JOURNALS will no longer be assigned rankings in a radical shake up of
the Excellence in Research for Australia initiative, announced by
Innovation, Industry, Science and Research Minister Kim Carr today.
JOURNALS will no longer be assigned rankings in a radical shake up of
the Excellence in Research for Australia initiative, announced by
Innovation, Industry, Science and Research Minister Kim Carr today.
The ranking of journals as A*, A, B and C was the most contentious
aspect of the ERA exercise devised and administered by the Australian
Research Council, with the first results published in January.
“I wished to explore ways in which we could improve ERA so the aspects
of the exercise causing sector disquiet, especially issues around the
ranked journals list, could be minimised or even overcome,” Senator Carr
said in a ministerial statement.
EVALUATING RESEARCH, The NATIONAL
RESEARCH FOUNDATION VIEW
• High impact research (innovative, cutting edge, top-class local
researchers, outstanding new recruits, and collaborators)
• Building up manpower in Singapore (evaluation criterion for
Deans and Heads at NUS)
• Excellent execution (strong management team, good governance)
• Potential economic benefits (including good procedures to
“exploit” IP)
Other measures
• Quality of PhDs and post-docs trained
• Integration of research, teaching and industrial development?
THE MILLION DOLLAR QUE$TION
How to evaluate interdisciplinary research
(IR) and correct misconceptions about
- what is IR
- the different types of IR
- who should do IR
SINGAPORE IS A SMALL PLACE
• International peer review of all major
grants/programmes is pre-eminent but NOT
SUFFICIENT
• Benchmark against:
Other Universities with similar constraints, e.g. UC
Berkeley & UCSD (large teaching commitment)
Other smaller countries that do very well in
research e.g. Sweden, Switzerland, Israel
But also develop the (unique?) NUS view
Study failures as well as successes
Collaborations with Industry, NUS Enterprise
1. Education of NUS graduates as entrepreneurial leaders
experiential education programs in entrepreneurship in Singapore
and globally
supporting NUS student and alumni initiatives & networks related
to learning entrepreneurship
2. Facilitating the commercialization of NUS research
Through a professionally-run industry liaison office services
3. Nurturing the creation of successful NUS spin-offs
Through a professionally-run Incubator, seed-funding and
mentoring system
Through leveraging NUS alumni network in business and
enterprise
4. Cooperation in graduate education
NUS Overseas Colleges
Experiential entrepreneurship education
immersing NUS students in leading entrepreneurial hubs
around the world
• ONE year
• Full-time interns in high-tech
startup/innovative companies
• Learn from the founders and
entrepreneurs
• Take courses at partner
universities
NUS Overseas Colleges(2002) NUS College in Silicon Valley, USA
Study at Stanford & work in the innovation “habitat”
≈
(2003) NUS College in Bio Valley, USA
Study at UPenn & work in the US’ pharma hotbed
≈
(2004) NUS College in Shanghai, China
Study at Fudan & work in China’s commercial hub
≈
(2005) NUS College in Stockholm, Europe
Study at KTH/SSE & work in Europe’s No.1 IT hub
≈
(2008) NUS College in India – Experience India!
Attend Entrepreneurship workshops and work in India’s high-
tech hub
≈
(2008) iLEAD, Singapore
Study in NUS & work in Singapore’s knowledge- intensive
enterprises
≈
(2009) NUS College in Beijing, China
Study at Tsinghua & work in China’s high-tech hub
≈
(2011) NUS College in Israel
6 months internship in Tel Aviv/Haifa
NUS AND INDUSTRY
• Spawn new IP
• Support and help grow exciting
industry (Both “hard” and “soft”)
• Consultancy
• Attract high-level overseas industry
to Singapore
Interdisciplinary Research,
the Finance Cluster• Risk Management Institute
• Institute of Real Estate Studies
• School of Business
• Asian Studies (e.g. demographics)
• LKY School of Public Policy
• Financial Mathematics
• Applied Economics
• Saw Centre for Quantitative FinanceProf HO Teck Hua
Vice-President
(Research Strategy)
Professor Ho Teck Hua is in charge of overseeing and building the University's Finance and Risk Management integrative research cluster. He
concurrently holds the Tan Chin Tuan Centennial Professorship. Prof Ho has been a consulting professor to the NUS Overseas College in Silicon
Valley since 2002.
He received a B.S. with first-class honours in Electrical Engineering (1985) as well as an M.S. in Computer and Information Sciences (1989) from the
National University of Singapore. Additionally, from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, he received an M.A. (1991) and a Ph.D. (1993)
in Decision Sciences.
Prof Ho is currently the William Halford Jr. Family Professor of Marketing, and the Chair of the Marketing Department at the Haas School of Business
at the University of California, Berkeley. Ho has been a chaired professor at U.C. Berkeley's Haas School of Business from 2002, and is also the
Director of the Asia Business Center at the Haas School of Business from October 2007. Ho earned his tenure at The Wharton School, University of
Pennsylvania in 1999. He was Assistant Professor of Operations and Technology Management at the UCLA Anderson School of Management from
1994-1997.
WHY INDUSTRIAL LABORATORIES /
FACILITIES ON CAMPUS?
• High level, innovative, cutting edge, high
global reputation
• Access to facilities
• Joint participation in education
(undergraduate/graduate)
• Mutual benefit
• Spin-offs from NUS graduates / alumni
NUS works closely with Industry for
mutual benefit
Clinical Imaging Research Centre (CIRC)
• Partnership between NUS, A*STAR, and Siemens Medical
Solutions
• One of the first research sites in the world to use the Siemens’
MR-PET system
• Application to clinical and cognitive problems
CIRC@CeLS
Siemens Magnetom
Trio 3 Tesla MRI
• Research Cyclotron for Radio-labeling new
and novel compounds
• MRI-PET Soft Tissue Functional Imaging
• PET-CT High Resolution Functional Imaging
• SPECT CT Single Photon Imaging
Phase II: Planned Imaging Assets in 2011
Slides courtesy of NUHS
NUS-GE Singapore Water Technology Centre A unique Industry-University laboratory collaboration
GE-NUS partnership contributes to
Singapore as “global hydrohub”
Key Research Areas
- Water Quality & Sensors
- Sustainable Water Systems
- Membrane Innovation
- Water & Wastewater Reclamation
Projects are carried out in collaboration
with NUS Environmental Research
Institute
Analytical Services Laboratory at T-Lab
provides cost effective and timely
analyses
GE InfrastructureWater & Process
Technologies
NUS works closely with Industry for
mutual benefit
Research and Development with Carl Zeiss SMT
NUS works closely with Industry for
mutual benefit
• A joint R&D Agreement was signed with Carl Zeiss SMT to advance the microscope
facilities and research activities at NUSNNI in September 2009.
• NUS first in Asia to house the Helium Ion Microscope
• Novel advances made using the microscope will benefit the NUSNNI researchers,
while new applications of the technique discovered by the e researchers will, in turn,
enable Zeiss to further enhance the tool’s capactiy.
NERI-Agilent Environmental Research Alliance
(NAERA)
NUS works closely with Industry for
mutual benefit
• The research alliance involves installing state of the art instrumentation
for environmental research in the NERI laboratory
• The alliance is expected to drive NERI’s environmental research
programmes with access to new Agilent instrumentation
• In collaboration with NERI, Agilent will
showcase its instruments for a wide
range of environmental applications,
as well as develop new
instrumentation and software for
environmental applications
Conclusion
• All research in NUS should be excellent, mediocrity wastes
money and time, scarce resources in a small country.
• We should have several peaks of excellence competitive
for substantial external funding, in addition to quality
research in a range of areas.
• The mission of a global University is fundamental cutting
edge research and excellent education of the next
generation.
• But never forget what the Customer wants!
Thank YOUQuestions & Answers
MISSION
To transform the way people
think and do things through
education, research and
service