ST Education Forum: Lawrence Wong on 3 ways in which S’pore universities can transform themselves

SINGAPORE - As Covid-19 pushes learning institutes to transform, universities in Singapore must disrupt themselves or be forced to do so.

Education Minister Lawrence Wong stressed this on Friday (Feb 5) as he laid out three areas in which Singapore universities can do better.

Even before Covid-19, there was talk that the university sector would be completely disrupted by technology. The pandemic has prompted more questions about such trends, and there are now further predictions in some countries that there will be so much disruption that some universities may have to close, said Mr Wong.

"We are not immune to these trends... But our approach has been not to allow external forces to disrupt us, but to proactively disrupt ourselves instead."

There are, therefore, three ways in which universities in Singapore can do better - in teaching and learning, embracing lifelong learning, and collaborating with industry, he noted.

He was speaking at The Straits Times Education Forum 2021 on reimagining universities post-Covid-19, held in partnership with the Singapore Management University (SMU).

The forum, held online this year, examined the ripple effects of the coronavirus pandemic on higher education and the changes that it will forge.

Doing better in teaching and learning

The criticism that universities prioritise research over teaching is not new, but is not always fair, said Mr Wong.

"In my experience, some of the best researchers are also excellent and most inspiring teachers. But this criticism exists, and we are aware of it."

Globally, there are also criticisms that the university curriculum has not changed much.

"But in Singapore, we've continually been looking at ways to refresh and update the quality of teaching and learning in our universities. So the university course in Singapore today is quite different from what it was 100 years ago - even 10, five years ago," he said.

Students also get opportunities to learn outside of lectures - seminars, collaborative projects, overseas opportunities, service-based learning, internships and capstone projects.

"More recently, all our universities are looking at ways to provide more holistic learning... We are also looking at greater breadth, and more interdisciplinary and cross domain knowledge, for example, in areas like digital literacy, innovation, entrepreneurship and communication," the minister said.

This article first appeared in https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/parenting-education/spore-universities-must-do-more-to-transform-themselves-says-lawrence