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Emerging education hubs: the case of Singapore

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Abstract

In anticipation of a globalising post-Fordist political economy, countries and universities are increasingly pursuing strategic transnational education and research alliances. This article analyses the Global Schoolhouse, a key education policy platform that aims to transform Singapore into a knowledge and innovation hub by establishing networks and collaborations with foreign universities. Two Global Schoolhouse initiatives are examined—the alliance between Singapore and MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), and the institutional restructuring aimed at re-modelling the National University of Singapore into a ‘leading global university centred in Asia’. We outline some of the complexities and unanticipated outcomes which emerge when nations and their education institutions seek to globalise.

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Notes

  1. The analysis of SMA is based on interviews conducted in 2007 with eight staff, three with executive and managerial responsibilities and five who were involved in SMA related research, five doctoral students and eleven alumni of the Singapore-MIT Alliance. Data from a small-scale survey conducted through mit bbs a bulletin board frequented by MIT students of Chinese nationality was also used in addition to insights from interviewees from government officials and senior staff from other Global Schoolhouse initiatives. Interview accounts of some 30 research subjects were used along with analyses of policy documents and media and institutional discourses such as annual reports of universities, and staff newsletters.

  2. Assessed 2 August 2008: http://www.nus.edu.sg/iro/aboutus/index.html.

  3. Coolie—a term used to describe unskilled labour in East and South Asia.

  4. Taukeh—a term describing the merchant class in Singapore and Malaysia.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all those who participated in this research for sharing their insights and providing information. The research which informed this paper was funded by the following sources: Dept of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (Australia, Endeavour Award) Project Title: Emerging Knowledge Economies & the Enterprise of Transnational Education, Ministry of Education (Singapore) Project Title: Globalising Universities and International Student Mobilities in East Asia, National University of Singapore (Grant: R111-000-069-112).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Ravinder Sidhu

  2. Department of Sociology, National University of Singapore, Kent Ridge, Singapore

    K.-C. Ho

  3. Department of Geography, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, National University of Singapore, Kent Ridge, Singapore

    Brenda Yeoh

Authors
  1. Ravinder Sidhu
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  2. K.-C. Ho
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  3. Brenda Yeoh
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Correspondence to Ravinder Sidhu.

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Sidhu, R., Ho, KC. & Yeoh, B. Emerging education hubs: the case of Singapore. High Educ 61, 23–40 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-010-9323-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-010-9323-9

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