PM Lee Hsien Loong at the Launch of YALE-NUS College

Professor Richard C. Levin, President of Yale University
Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, President of NUS
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen

I am delighted to attend the launch of the Yale-NUS College by the National University of Singapore and Yale University.

Education is one of Singapore’s top priorities. Out aim is to give all our young full opportunities to move up. We are developing a mountain range with many peaks, giving our students many ways to excel, according to their differing interests and aptitudes. Ours is an outstanding system producing excellent results. The Singapore University education system ranked 5th in the WEF Global Competitiveness report and 1st by the World Competitiveness Yearbook. We will continue improving our education system, support existing universities to build up their strengths and reputations, set up new universities and schools, e.g. Singapore Institute of Technology, Singapore University of Technology and Design with MIT, and the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine in NTU with Imperial College. We will expand and improve our Polytechnics and ITE, and upgrade NAFA and LaSalle.

Our students completing school or Polytechnic, and contemplating a university education, are sought after by the best universities in the world. A good number make it to the top universities in the world. But many top universities, especially US Ivy League, set national quotas to ensure a diverse student population. Singapore is already over-represented. So not all who qualify are able to be admitted. Yale-NUS College provides our high calibre students with one additional attractive option – to pursue a liberal arts education in Singapore, and also gives some of our best and brightest the opportunity to spend their formative years in Singapore.

Yale-NUS College will also attract top students from the region. The value of a liberal arts college also depends on the quality and diversity of the student body. Students must satisfy stringent requirements of Yale and NUS, and must be able to manage demanding curriculum. It will have good number of foreign students, to give fresh perspectives, stimulate learning process, and enhance university education for all students. We hope after graduation they will strike roots here, and if not, will form a network of friends of Singapore in their home countries. But the majority of students for the College are expected to be Singaporeans. I am confident that more Singaporeans will join when parents and students come to see value of liberal arts education.

A liberal arts education is distinct from other university programmes. Yale-NUS College will provide broad-based multi-disciplinary education for two years before choosing a major, smaller enrolment and class sizes, and an intense residential experience. The aim is to nurture graduates who can think deeply, analyse issues from first principles, generate new insights and communicate with passion and impact. We want to develop students trained to think rigorously and broadly, and able to make connections across different domains of knowledge. These graduates will be valuable for Singapore in a more complex and inter-connected world.

Yale-NUS College is the first liberal arts college in Singapore, indeed first of its kind in this part of the world. We are breaking new ground. Hence we have to get the key pieces right to deliver a successful College. Most important are the two partners – Yale and NUS – who bring critical strengths to the collaboration. Yale is widely regarded as one of the top universities in the world. The College will benefit from Yale’s longstanding leadership and deep understanding of US liberal arts education. NUS has also developed distinctive global and Asian strengths and reputation, which the College can take advantage of.

Yale-NUS College is a new venture for both sides. I am glad both universities are committed to make it succeed. Understandably, there will be some complications because Singapore is a different social and political context from America — different culture, values, norms; a different balance between rights and responsibilities, the individual and society. But among Asian countries, Singapore is probably the least dissimilar in ethos to Western societies. We are open and rational, there is a spirit of inquiry, of independent thinking. It is a society within which a liberal arts college can blossom and grow and help us evolve and adapt to the changing world.

The College also needs support from the wider community. For internships — I am glad to see many industry leaders here today. It is a strong signal that corporations value liberal arts graduates. Some international companies, like Santander Bank and Total Oil, as well as the Singapore Civil Service, have offered internships. I encourage more employers to do likewise. For donations, the Government will do its part to fund the Yale-NUS College. I hope the community will also show support through philanthropic gifts. The College hopes to build up a sizeable endowment to attain a more stable financial footing. Funds will enable the College to recruit the best faculty and pursue bold innovations in education, and especially help students who need financial aid, so that no deserving student will be denied a place because he cannot afford it.

The establishment of Yale-NUS College represents for us a big stride into the future. It is a success not just for two partner universities, but for Singapore. I wish NUS and Yale the very best as they take this endeavour forward.