“Do universities still need libraries?”: President of Singapore Institute of Technology, Prof. Tan Thiam Soon on the future of learning
When it comes to practical learning, Prof. Tan Thiam Soon, President, Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), has his eyes set on the horizon and what’s coming — a digital transformation that will shape not just how students learn in classrooms but also how they will secure jobs for their future careers. With technology disrupting the way we live, work, learn and play — how exactly should we be equipping ourselves for the future?
Prof. Tan shares insights on how SIT is preparing their students for future jobs and the impending campus move to Punggol Digital District.
Text By Yen Feng | Photos By Richard Koh
With SIT slated to move to Punggol Digital District in 2023, how are the preparations coming along?
One of the more interesting questions the move has prompted is an examination of the role of a university in these times. Today, technology disruption is upending the job market. How will students cope with that — and more importantly, how does a university educate students to cope with that future? That is going to be a journey where we will have to make some educated guesses and hope we get some of the answers right.
Another question we encountered while planning the new campus is if we should build a library. This question has resulted in some interesting conversations. Given the wave of e-books and digital information which are replacing hardcopy books, students are searching and consuming information online rather than in physical libraries. So is there still a need for a library on campus? And if so, what purpose would it serve?
I think these days, libraries have become more like social spaces — people go there to meet friends, have a cup of coffee, maybe do some reading or work. But if that’s the purpose, then it doesn’t need to be a library. It can be anywhere! This is still an ongoing discussion and I think is a good example of the kind of questions we ask ourselves about the future and how we can best create environments for students to support their learning.
Tell us more about the learning environment that you are envisioning. It’s important that we consider both the educational content and delivery in terms of preparing our students for the future.
With how fast technology is changing the job market, a student will need to think about getting his/her skills constantly upgraded to stay relevant. And they will need to engage with industry — especially the startup industry. If you’re constantly in the midst of industry activity, it will begin to shape your outlook for the future.
That’s why we are working closely with JTC to make sure both our students and the industry will be in close proximity in the Punggol Digital District. There is going to be a “collaboration loop” linking both of us so that students and industry professionals can communicate seamlessly.
Say it’s 5pm and a startup company decides to invite some students to an impromptu product-sharing session. The students cross over to the company’s premises. They bounce ideas on the technical constraints of the prototype or even add new features to it. Such engagement will help students see themselves contributing and developing a product of a future and excite them.
Proximity is certainly a factor that can facilitate greater interaction, and even spark innovation. How does SIT plan to bring people closer together at the new campus?
Unlike our peer institutions, SIT is going to be the most compact university when it moves to the Punggol Digital District, with 12,000 students packed into less than 10 hectares of land. The advantages of being so compact is that it creates stronger links between staff and faculty — especially because our academic staff work in a multi-disciplinary setting. When you have, say, an Engineering staff member seated next to a staff member from Health and Social Sciences, they can listen and contribute to each other’s projects. SIT is probably the only campus in Singapore that does not have dedicated schools physically — school of engineering, school of business, etc. and when we move to Punggol, we want to retain this compactness that brings people from various fields together and starts multi-discipline conversations. That’s the kind of environment we hope to create for our students.
We embarked on a small social experiment last year, offering secondary school students from less privileged backgrounds access to the school’s laboratories and facilities. So instead of working in fast-food chains, they can spend their after-school hours at SIT working as “laboratory assistants”. This is something that we started on a small scale and is still in its infancy stage but I believe it’s important to learn how to keep young people interested in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). More importantly, what we will learn from this experiment, we intend to apply when we move to Punggol and extend the experiment for bigger scale adoption.
We read about the multi-energy micro-grid that SIT is planning at the new campus. How will this be a key feature of the new campus?
With some of the new technologies requiring new energy strategies to cater to them — electric cars, drones etc. — our existing energy infrastructure may not be sufficient to support the testing and prototyping of such technologies. There is also a need to develop energy resilience for national needs. The micro-grid is not just about power — it is about innovation in building technology.
We want to be able to generate the energy on our own and turn this grid into a living lab for the students, professors, and companies in the Punggol Digital District. With this, SIT will have the first urban micro-grid in Southeast Asia. That’s something we are very excited about.
— Originally published in print on 31 May 2018 © JTC except where noted.
