22 November 2019
The Singapore University of Social Sciences recently organized a conference entitled Univer-Cities, which brought together 200 participants to discuss the role of universities in a time of increasing technological disruption and emerging social issues like ageing populations.
The consensus among local and foreign academics and industry leaders was that universities must keep up with changing times and prepare people for possibly longer careers by helping them learn new skills throughout their lifetime.
Retraining adults, work stints, online learning and rethinking the typical four-year undergraduate course are some ways universities are trying to re-invent higher education.
SUSS president Cheong Hee Kiat said the bulk of its students are working adults who learn on a part-time basis. Of its nearly 15,000 students now enrolled, some 13,000 are in part-time programmes and 2,000 are in full-time programmes.
National University of Singapore ) president Tan Eng Chye, who also spoke at the event, said his university is encouraging students to be trained in more than one discipline, and preferably in fields that are contrasting.