S’pore students will still be top priority: NTU official
Nanyang Technological University (NTU) will still make Singaporean students its top priority even though successful universities around the world are becoming more cosmopolitan by admitting more international students to their halls, a senior school official said.
Referring to the changing political landscape after the recent general election, NTU deputy president and provost Freddy Boey said that if society is pushing a trend which the government accepts, then state-funded universities here will follow suit.
“We will always have to have international students because it enriches the universities. We’ll be at a loss if we don’t. But having said that, overall, if society and the government feel that maybe we should be less exuberant and enthusiastic then we will still have an international exposure, but in a more circumscribed way,” said Boey.
Boey said that NTU’s international student enrollment is at its peak at the moment with about 18 per cent of students coming from overseas. He said it’s unlikely that this number will increase.
More than 50 per cent of NTU’s funding comes from the government.
He was speaking to reporters after a lecture on the future of universities by the vice chancellor of Warwick University, professor Nigel Thrift, at the NTU Auditorium at One-North on Friday.
According to Thrift, internationalisation will be one of the key elements needed for successful future university models.
He added that the next biggest challenge for Singapore universities will be handling the high level of competition around the world when it comes to recruiting the best international students.
“It’s going to become more intense. And that’s something all universities have to think about. The best students will be in short supply even as there are more and more students around the world.”
Universities here have had to perform a delicate dance when it comes to recruiting bright overseas students. There’ve been complaints from some over the years regarding the number of international students and the number of admission seats for the local student cohort.
Boey said despite not having very high international numbers like in other universities, both NTU and NUS have done very well.
But he added that there are plans in the pipeline to help more Singaporeans qualify for programmes at NTU, citing the university’s new courses in earth sciences launched in 2010 as an example.
