In order to explore ways to create greater access for Singaporeans to a university education, the Singapore government set up the “Committee to Review University Education Pathways Beyond 2015” in August 2011.

With a national target of providing places at publicly funded universities to 30 per cent of each cohort (currently 25 per cent) by 2015, the aim of the committee, according to the Ministry of Education, is to propose ways for the expansion to “meet the aspirations of students and the needs of the economy”. 

While the Committee is expected to submit their recommendations only by end of this year, one idea they have recently surfaced in March 2012 is that of developing a new university model – one that is “teaching-focused and practice-oriented, with close industry ties”.  

According to Singapore’s Minister for State, Education, Lawrence Wong, the proposed university model “will include elements of co-operative education, where academic studies are fully integrated with practical, hands-on work experience, and where students alternate between semesters of full-time study and relevant paid work.” 

Singapore’s current public universities, such as the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University, are largely research-intensive. With this new model, he postulates that it should diversify the types of institutions in our tertiary sector, thus providing a more balanced mix.  For students, it means increased routes and option of choosing a university experience that allows them to combine theory with real work experiences before graduation