MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT Innovation remains a core part of SUTD’s mission, and this year the University introduced the Baby Shark Fund to support student-led projects that drive creativity and the entrepreneurial spirit. research and education. This synergy between design, technology, and healthcare will lead to innovative solutions that will improve patient outcomes and healthcare delivery. SUTD also partnered Toll Group to focus on developing supply chain optimisation and simulation technology. The Tote Board has committed $6 million in partnership with SUTD’s Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities and the Institute of Policy Studies for the “Future-Ready Society Impact Fund”, which will drive impactful research and initiatives that address societal needs and future challenges. On the education front, SUTD’s lifelong learning arm, SUTD Academy, introduced its latest industry-driven postgraduate degree courses with the launch of the Master of Science in Technology and Design (MTD) programme in September 2023. The inaugural cohort of 44 full-time students is enrolled in two pioneering specialisations: Cybersecurity and Sustainable Product Design. There are plans to roll out another six new MTD programmes to further expand SUTD’s offerings and meet the evolving needs of industry. Innovation remains a core part of SUTD’s mission, and this year the University introduced the Baby Shark Fund to support student-led projects that drive creativity and the entrepreneurial spirit. The Baby Shark Fund aims to provide students with the opportunity to engage in bottomup innovation by experimenting continuously. We hope to encourage every SUTD student to incubate new ideas, innovate through design and have the courage to venture into uncharted grounds beyond the classroom. The University further reinforced its commitment to sustainability by setting up a new Office of Sustainability. This office will lead the University’s efforts in sustainable research and education. In addition, SUTD’s partnership with Tianjin Eco-City has led to the establishment of the SUTD Eco-City Research and Innovation Centre. The Centre will nurture talents and coinnovate solutions for sustainable and low-carbon development, in partnership with the government, academia and industry players in Singapore and China, as well as explore joint programmes for research development, education and training, and enterprise development between Singapore and Tianjin. As I close, I would like to take a moment to reflect on my time at SUTD. Having spent a decade and a half as the founding provost and president of the University, I am blessed and honoured to have witnessed the remarkable growth of the University from scratch – much like a parent watching the growth of his child. We started with no curriculum, no faculty, no students and no campus, but look at what we have achieved. Today, we have a beautiful East Coast campus, about 85 tenuretrack faculty, over 1,900 students, more than 1,400 industry partnerships and over 8,000 research papers published. We have also enabled about 90 teams to explore their ideas and work towards turning them into reality. There are also some plans for the campus expansion. These accomplishments are no small feat for a university just 15 years young, and I am deeply grateful for all the hard work and tenacity of the entire SUTD community that made this possible. Additionally, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to our donors and benefactors as what we have achieved would not have been possible without their generosity. Their support has been instrumental in enabling us to achieve our goals and provide exceptional opportunities for our students. We would also not have come so far without the unwavering support of the Ministry of Education as well as our Board of Trustees over all these years, so a big thank you to them. I believe that SUTD will be in good hands with provost Professor Phoon Kok Kwang taking over as SUTD’s third president. I am confident he and his team will lead the University to stay ahead of the curve, even as we continue our mission of trailblazing a better world by design. Thank you. PROFESSOR CHONG TOW CHONG SUTD President p. 08 SINGAPORE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND DESIGN
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