UNSW wins race to open Singapore university
By Linda Doherty, Education Editor
April 21, 2004
The University of NSW has beaten 15 rivals to establish the first foreign university in Singapore as the island state implements its vision of becoming Asia's education hub.
The $S120 million ($96 million) venture by UNSW to build a private teaching and research university in South Changi will have capacity for 15,000 students and tap into the booming demand for higher education in Asia.
UNSW will be the first of possibly three foreign universities allowed into Singapore, and will benefit from government and private research dollars, as well as financial help to set up from the Singaporean Government.
The UNSW deputy vice-chancellor (international), John Ingleson, who announced the deal yesterday, said the University of NSW Singapore would open in 2007 and be owned and operated by the Kensington-based university.
It will offer undergraduate, postgraduate and research studies initially to 3500 students - including 30 per cent from Singapore. The remainder are expected to come from China, India, Indonesia and Malaysia for combined degrees that will concentrate on science, engineering, technology and telecommunications.
"The university's exceptionally strong regional reputation is a key factor that influenced the [Singapore] Government's decision to invite UNSW, ahead of a range of other world-class universities, to establish a campus on its shores," he said.
UNSW has the largest proportion of international students - 24 per cent of its 40,000 students - of any Australian university. Its association with Asian students dates to the 1950s, when it accepted students on Colombo Plan scholarships.
The Education Development Board of Singapore said UNSW Singapore would "probably be the world's first foreign private university operating on such a large scale and reach" - bigger even than offshore campuses of Yale and Princeton universities.
"UNSW Singapore is truly unique because of its sheer size of the campus, complete ownership by UNSW, its science and technology focus with strong R&D and extensive international reach," the board's managing director, Ko Kheng Hwa, said.
Professor Ingleson said the venture would position UNSW between the two largest growth markets for international students - China and India. These countries and their neighbours are driving the demand for English-language teaching, partly due to the rise in the size of their middle classes and the cultural value placed on education.
"The demand for trans- national English-language education is phenomenal," Professor Ingleson said.
"It's anticipated that demand for Australian higher education by 2025 will be half a million students in Australia and another half a million offshore. Australia can only satisfy half that demand."
Professor Ingleson said the Singapore university would take five years to break even and would initially take 3500 students paying fees similar to those for international students in Australia - from $A16,000 to $22,000 a year.
"I'm hopeful that we might get to 15,000 students within 15 years, but our business plan is worked out on a minimum figure of 3500 students [a year] over 10 years," he said.
The UNSW incursion into Asia follows other Australian universities such as the Monash campus in Malaysia, RMIT International University in Vietnam and the Curtin University in Sarawak, Malaysia.
UNSW will be granted an operating licence from the Singaporean Government, sign a 60-year lease for the greenfields site in South Changi, and be able to compete for government and private research funding, which is substantially higher in Singapore as a percentage of GDP than in Australia.
The new site is near the central business district, and one train stop from Changi airport.
"We all feel at home, because there's an airport in the background," Professor Ingleson said. "What we need is a racecourse and we'll be right."
By Linda Doherty, Education Editor
April 21, 2004
The University of NSW has beaten 15 rivals to establish the first foreign university in Singapore as the island state implements its vision of becoming Asia's education hub.
The $S120 million ($96 million) venture by UNSW to build a private teaching and research university in South Changi will have capacity for 15,000 students and tap into the booming demand for higher education in Asia.
UNSW will be the first of possibly three foreign universities allowed into Singapore, and will benefit from government and private research dollars, as well as financial help to set up from the Singaporean Government.
The UNSW deputy vice-chancellor (international), John Ingleson, who announced the deal yesterday, said the University of NSW Singapore would open in 2007 and be owned and operated by the Kensington-based university.
It will offer undergraduate, postgraduate and research studies initially to 3500 students - including 30 per cent from Singapore. The remainder are expected to come from China, India, Indonesia and Malaysia for combined degrees that will concentrate on science, engineering, technology and telecommunications.
"The university's exceptionally strong regional reputation is a key factor that influenced the [Singapore] Government's decision to invite UNSW, ahead of a range of other world-class universities, to establish a campus on its shores," he said.
UNSW has the largest proportion of international students - 24 per cent of its 40,000 students - of any Australian university. Its association with Asian students dates to the 1950s, when it accepted students on Colombo Plan scholarships.
The Education Development Board of Singapore said UNSW Singapore would "probably be the world's first foreign private university operating on such a large scale and reach" - bigger even than offshore campuses of Yale and Princeton universities.
"UNSW Singapore is truly unique because of its sheer size of the campus, complete ownership by UNSW, its science and technology focus with strong R&D and extensive international reach," the board's managing director, Ko Kheng Hwa, said.
Professor Ingleson said the venture would position UNSW between the two largest growth markets for international students - China and India. These countries and their neighbours are driving the demand for English-language teaching, partly due to the rise in the size of their middle classes and the cultural value placed on education.
"The demand for trans- national English-language education is phenomenal," Professor Ingleson said.
"It's anticipated that demand for Australian higher education by 2025 will be half a million students in Australia and another half a million offshore. Australia can only satisfy half that demand."
Professor Ingleson said the Singapore university would take five years to break even and would initially take 3500 students paying fees similar to those for international students in Australia - from $A16,000 to $22,000 a year.
"I'm hopeful that we might get to 15,000 students within 15 years, but our business plan is worked out on a minimum figure of 3500 students [a year] over 10 years," he said.
The UNSW incursion into Asia follows other Australian universities such as the Monash campus in Malaysia, RMIT International University in Vietnam and the Curtin University in Sarawak, Malaysia.
UNSW will be granted an operating licence from the Singaporean Government, sign a 60-year lease for the greenfields site in South Changi, and be able to compete for government and private research funding, which is substantially higher in Singapore as a percentage of GDP than in Australia.
The new site is near the central business district, and one train stop from Changi airport.
"We all feel at home, because there's an airport in the background," Professor Ingleson said. "What we need is a racecourse and we'll be right."
