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Founded Year: 2009
Student Population: 500 per yearly intake (full intake capacity)
Partner Universities:
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
- Zhejiang University (ZJU)
- Singapore Management University (SMU)
Types of Courses:
Architecture and Sustainable Design (ASD)
Engineering Product Development (EPD)
Engineering Systems and Design (EPD),
Humanities Arts And Social Sciences (HASS),
Information Systems Technology And Design (ISTD).
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Co-curriculum Activities:
Arts and Culture
- Dance: Ballroom Dancing, Dance DerivativeZ, Fluence (Contemp), Indian Dance
- Singing/Musical: Wind Ensemble, Vocomotives (Acapella), SUTD Bands, Scratch (DJ), Livfesync (show choir), Choir, Chinese Orchestra, Chamber Ensemble
- Faith: Refuge Catholic Community, Christian Fellowship
- Design: Everposter, Origami
- Photography/Production/Media: Productions, Photographic Circle, Modern Visual Media Circle
- Culture/Interests: NihonGo!, Namaste Indian Cultural Club, Korean Language Enrichment Club, Indonesian Cultural Club, French Connection, Chinese Culture Club,
- Pillar Club: SUTDio (Architecture and Sustainable Design)
Specialist
- Multi-Rotor Society, SUTD Organisation of Autonomous Robotics, Greenprint, Habitat for Humanity, Red Cross Youth SUTD Chapter, Rotaract@SUTD, Social Innovation Club, Y Community Service Club, Ambassadors, Brewery Club, Grub Club, Marketwatch, Mindsports, Speech and Debate Club, Startups
Sports
- Ball Sports: Badminton@SUTD, Baseball, Basketball, Floorball, Netball, Rugby, Soccer, Table-Tennis, Tchoukball, Tennis, Volleyball,
- Recreational: Billiards, Bowling, Ultimate (Frisbee), Yoga
- Water-based Sports: Diving, Windsurfing
- Combat Sports/Martial Arts: Boxing, Judo, Systema (Russian Martial Art), Taekwondo, Wushu
- Others: Climbers, Outdoor Activities Club, Sports Core, Trailblazers, Vertex (cheerleading)
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Accreditation & Awards:
The Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), Singapore’s fourth public university, has been awarded provisional accreditation for all its three undergraduate engineering degree programmes by the Institution of Engineers Singapore (IES), through its engineering Accreditation Board (EAB).
A recent study commissioned by MIT (March 2018, The global state of the art in engineering education), has named SUTD as one of the top 10 emerging engineering schools globally. It is also the most cited university by international experts as an emerging leader in engineering education.
Description & Review:
- Education and environment
“I was also contemplating doing a mechanical en gineering degree with a minor in business at NTU. However, I decided to head to SUTD as NUS and NTU’s courses did not have the design elements within an engineering programme, which I was looking for.”
–Ken Chua, on why he chose SUTD
The Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) is Singapore’s fourth publicly-funded university and one of the first universities in the world to incorporate the art and science of design and technology into a multi-disciplinary curriculum.
Established in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), SUTD seeks to nurture technically-grounded leaders and innovators in engineering product development, engineering systems and design, information systems technology and design, and architecture and sustainable design, to serve societal needs.
Over 90% of SUTD’s curriculum was developed by MIT, with certain electives developed /taught by faculty from Zhejiang University and SMU. Offerings include the newly launched SUTD-Duke-NUS Special Track.
SUTD adopts a cohort-based learning approach. In their freshmore terms* (before they choose a ‘pillar’, which will further branch out into several ‘tracks’, e.g: the Financial Services Track in the Engineering Systems and Design (ESD) pillar), undergrads are assigned a fixed classroom and class. The school’s teacher to student ratio currently stands at 1:11, with lecturers and profs coming from all over the world. Approximately 57% hail from international backgrounds (the Asia Pacific, US & Europe) and the rest from Singapore.
(*SUTD runs on a different academic calendar, with 4 academic years split into 8 terms, of which 3 terms are freshmore terms. School terms start in mid may, Jan, or sept.)
To produce well-rounded graduates with a deeper understanding of the world they are designing and creating solutions for, SUTD undergrads read a curriculum that’s interdisciplinary: a wide range of humanities, arts, and social sciences electives are available for choosing. Examples include Global Shakespeare, Technology and Self, as well as Magic, Science and Religion (anthropology). This is also aided by opportunities to go on immersion programmes: according to the school, >75% have a chance to go overseas, whether it be for internships, or summer/exchange programmes. Design thinking also plays a big part in this endeavour.
Student life is vibrant and encouraged: SUTD might be smaller than the other autonomous universities, but over 90 Fifth Row (CCA) clubs/student groups have been established! The university encourages participation in passions and exploring new things: two afternoons are free of classes so that students can freely pursue their interests and work on independent projects. The school is also home to a Sports and Recreation Centre, with facilities such as music rooms and Olympic-sized swimming and training pools for staff and student use.
All SUTD undergrads are required to stay on campus for the first three terms. According to our reporter’s encounter with an SUTD student, “it’s a close-knit community”, with students often hanging out with each other as the day winds down.
Being a tech-centric school, SUTD has a strong entrepreneurship culture: students have gone on to set up their own start-ups, and the university can choose to undertake the SUTD Technology Entrepreneurship Programme (STEP), a 4.5 integrated programme revolving around experiential learning—coupled with an innovation immersion programme that takes students to the US and China. The school also provides startups with incubation spaces (facilities and co-working space).
- Life after graduation
“…[SUTD STudents ] have sustainable design in their DNA”
– Director of DP Architects, Chan Hui Min, during SUTD’s 2018 Open House
SUTD grads, according to their Graduate Employment Surveys (GES), have been consistently commanding higher starting salaries and employment rates (as compared to peers from other schools and previous years). Many of their students (25%) have also been noted to receive return job offers from their internship companies. (All SUTD students will undertake at least one internship throughout their course of study).
According to the school, sectors seeking their graduates include:
- Infocomms
- Scientific Research and Development (R&D)
- Financial and Insurance
SUTD graduates can be found in 70% of Singapore’s key industries (based on the list from the Economic Development Board). Many (especially in architecture) go on to pursue a Masters to further their knowledge and careers.
Roles and capacities they have filled include software engineers, startup entrepreneurs (E.g: Ring Theory’s founders, creators of a wearable metro pass), researchers, architectural associates, amongst others.
Interested to find out more? Discover SUTD through their publications and Facebook page!
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Learn more about our reporter’s experience at SUTD’s open house.
Learn about Kinetikos – SUTD Game Lab’s fun and challenging brainchild