15 December 2018
Academics at the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University have said that there is an “escalating arms race”, with the two universities pursuing research talents who will help them reach greater heights in university league tables.
Rankings like those by Times Higher Education and Quacquarelli Symonds are heavily based on the number of research publications in highly ranked academic journals.
Singapore academics lament that this pursuit of rankings has led to the marginalisation of teaching in favour of research.
NTU’s assistant professor in the Public Policy and Global Affairs Programme Woo Jun Jie, said “both NUS and NTU’s schemes signal a strong focus on research and, by implication, rankings”.
Additionally, foreign academics are perceived to be more valuable for universities’ research and rankings.
Two young professors, one from NUS and the other from NTU, who are scouting for positions outside of Singapore, said this has affected morale and camaraderie among the faculty.