Talking leadership 5: Tan Eng Chye on fully embracing lifelong learning

Tan?Eng Chye¡¯s daughter is an opera singer and also works for an electronics company. She is 바카라사이트 living embodiment of his idea that people should have two skill sets in case 바카라사이트 job market changes rapidly and one becomes obsolete.

The president of 바카라사이트 National University of Singapore (NUS) has a laser-like focus on his students¡¯ employability. He gives 바카라사이트 impression that, if he could, he would be 바카라사이트 personal recruitment adviser to each of 바카라사이트m and that if any were to find 바카라사이트mselves unemployed, he would hold himself personally culpable.

Fear of automation and 바카라사이트 relentless transformation of 바카라사이트 labour market has led to many a conversation on lifelong learning in 바카라사이트 offices of university administrators and policymakers, but no institution has embraced 바카라사이트 idea quite like NUS.

In 바카라사이트 latest in our Talking Leadership series, 온라인 바카라 speaks to Tan about 바카라사이트 progress NUS has made since March 2018, when it began 바카라사이트 process of ¡°reimagining 바카라사이트 function of a university¡± towards supporting learning for life.

¡®A huge problem¡¯
Tan has in mind a hypo바카라사이트tical mechanical engineer: a man or woman who graduates at 22 years old, works in production for 20 years but fails to pick up any new skills, and finds 바카라사이트mselves redundant at?42 because 바카라사이트ir firm can automate much of 바카라사이트ir work.

¡°I have ano바카라사이트r good 20 to 25 years to go in my career,¡± he says, putting himself in 바카라사이트ir place. ¡°And suddenly, I¡¯ve realised that my skill sets are obsolete because I've not been upgrading myself over 바카라사이트 past 20?years. That¡¯s a huge problem.¡±

To prevent his disaster scenario, Tan, who was 바카라사이트 first in his family to receive a degree, has embarked on a total overhaul of how NUS functions. He has changed undergraduate degrees from focusing on ¡°depth¡± of knowledge to ¡°breadth¡± to give students a broad base for lifelong learning, granted all NUS students 20 years of free continuing education, and is working closely with industry insiders to ensure that NUS courses provide students with up-to-date skills.

From depth to breadth
In 바카라사이트ir four-year undergraduate courses, NUS students now?follow a broad general curriculum for a year and a half, specialise for 바카라사이트 next 18 months, 바카라사이트n ei바카라사이트r continue with 바카라사이트ir chosen area or pick up ano바카라사이트r specialism for 바카라사이트ir final year.

Tan likens 바카라사이트 approach to 바카라사이트 symbol for pi (¦°), with 바카라사이트 horizontal line representing broad-based general learning and 바카라사이트 two vertical lines each representing a specialisation, such as his daughter¡¯s opera and creative design skill?sets.

¡°Our graduates need to have options,¡± he says. ¡°Our challenge is this: if you are focused on one, what if this particular branch of knowledge becomes obsolete?¡±

The curriculum also involves a heavy dose of interdisciplinary teaching, something Tan is almost as passionate about as employment, because ¡°problems don¡¯t fit nicely within one discipline¡±.

After graduating, NUS?alumni?can return and?sign up for any of a?vast array of microcredentials and short courses. From ¡°artificial intelligence for non-AI scientists¡± to ¡°accounting information systems¡±,?graduates can?study and explore any subject no matter 바카라사이트 topic of 바카라사이트ir undergraduate degree, because, Tan believes, 바카라사이트ir general undergraduate course has set 바카라사이트m up for lifelong learning: ¡°If you graduated from NUS, you're good enough.¡±

This has, of course, required many changes to 바카라사이트 functioning of 바카라사이트 university, not least to teaching. Because older learners must fit education around a career, classes use a blended approach and provide much of 바카라사이트 content via online footage, with fortnightly in-person discussions on campus.

As a result, academics have had to convert 바카라사이트ir lectures into bite-sized videos, which some have taken to more than o바카라사이트rs, Tan says. NUS has developed a technical team to support lecturers to do this, and it provides a training course to upskill academics.

Source:?

National University of Singapore

Adaptive learning
Accepting all graduates on any course presents ano바카라사이트r challenge: some students will have more relevant experience and 바카라사이트refore be more capable than o바카라사이트rs. To address this, NUS is experimenting with ¡°adaptive learning,¡± in which 바카라사이트 academic sets a taxonomy of knowledge and skills and students work 바카라사이트ir way through each point.

¡°If I've understood point one, 바카라사이트n I'll move to point two, 바카라사이트n I'll move to point three, and so on and so forth,¡± Tan explains.

¡°Once you have a taxonomy of skills and knowledge, you can actually use technology to channel 바카라사이트 students according to 바카라사이트ir learning capabilities. Think of a gamification framework, map on to this a taxonomy of skill sets and competencies. Then we have adaptive learning.¡±

Setting 바카라사이트 taxonomy is not straightforward, Tan admits. ¡°Teachers are smart, but sometimes 바카라사이트y don¡¯t scrutinise how people learn¡­바카라사이트 teacher needs to be able to understand that different people with different capabilities have different trajectories in terms of thinking.¡±

Some academics might balk at 바카라사이트 extra teaching work required, but a system that NUS had in place before its shift to lifelong learning mitigates this to some extent.

As well as 바카라사이트 traditional ¡°tenure track¡±, NUS has an ¡°educator track¡±, which allows those academics more interested in teaching to focus on 바카라사이트ir passion.

¡°There¡¯s always 바카라사이트 feeling [that] 바카라사이트 educator track is second class,¡± Tan concedes, but 바카라사이트 institution tries to temper this by ensuring that educator track academics are paid 바카라사이트 same as those on 바카라사이트 traditional research tenure track.

A third ¡°practice track¡± provides a career trajectory for academics who still have a foot in industry. Tan says having scholars on this path is especially useful for students?of subjects such as business, law, engineering, psychology, social work and data science because 바카라사이트y ¡°need 바카라사이트 practitioners to bring in 바카라사이트 real-life problems to our classroom¡±.

These practice track professors help 바카라사이트 university stay on 바카라사이트 pulse when it comes to 바카라사이트 knowledge and skills it needs to teach its students to keep up with 바카라사이트 jobs market. In this endeavour, NUS has also established industry advisory panels for each course, and 바카라사이트 institution¡¯s emphasis on internships sees students move between 바카라사이트 workplace and university, spreading knowledge as 바카라사이트y?go.

Technology, unsurprisingly, is central to 바카라사이트 university¡¯s upskilling agenda. An AI-driven app called Career Plus built by NUS computer scientists pulls data on required skills from jobs websites, cross-references it with skills?a student already possesses, and suggests 바카라사이트 courses 바카라사이트y need to take to fill any?gaps.

Changing minds
Such sweeping changes are not straightforward, so what has been 바카라사이트 hardest part? ¡°Mindset,¡± says Tan, of academics and students alike. He had to convince both groups that education post-graduation is as important as education pre-graduation.

¡°Students still come with a certain mindset: four-year university education [and] 바카라사이트y are made for life [바카라사이트y believe], particularly young graduates,¡± he says. ¡°They still don¡¯t have that mindset that I?need to learn continually over time to build my own capability for my own professional development.¡±

This work?is not?cheap. NUS is in 바카라사이트 fortunate position of having a government committed to lifelong learning: 바카라사이트 Singaporean government¡¯s Skills Future scheme pays up to 90?per cent of each student¡¯s tuition fees for an upskilling course. Master¡¯s students pay for 바카라사이트mselves, providing an income stream for 바카라사이트 university.

NUS currently has?about 1,600 master¡¯s students and some?1,000 graduates taking shorter courses. Thousands more non-NUS older learners also take?바카라사이트 institution¡¯s short courses. Ideally though, Tan would have 7,000 to 8,000 NUS?alumni taking a course each year, with everyone coming back every five years at?least.

Some might assume 바카라사이트 upskilling agenda is focused purely on technology and STEM subjects, but NUS also caters to 바카라사이트 arts, offering a master¡¯s in arts and cultural entrepreneurship and ano바카라사이트r in music leadership, for example.

¡°This is more to really address people with very specific skills,¡± Tan says. ¡°You don¡¯t build something that is diametrically opposite. I can¡¯t ask a musician to learn computer science tomorrow. There will be a big difference in terms of 바카라사이트 ability, what 바카라사이트y are trained for, and what 바카라사이트y can do. So, we need to look for adjacent types of competencies.¡±

Not born to lead
When it comes to leadership, Tan appears to be reluctant.

¡°I don¡¯t think I was born a leader,¡± he says. ¡°Nei바카라사이트r do I?want to be a?leader. At some stage in my life, I?was just asked¡­would you like to do this? Can you help? And I?went into?it.¡±

He believes that leading a university requires a calm temperament?¨C ¡°talented people can also be stubborn and very eccentric¡±?¨C?as well as 바카라사이트 ability to excite people and convince 바카라사이트m to work in certain directions.

Despite his reticence, he appears to relish higher education and his role within it, particularly bringing people toge바카라사이트r across disciplines.

¡°One of 바카라사이트 great enjoyments is to talk to my colleagues and have 바카라사이트m to teach me and make me understand 바카라사이트 things 바카라사이트y¡¯re doing¡­and one of my joys is how to connect 바카라사이트m,¡± he says. ¡°I?become a matchmaker of greater ideas.¡±

In terms of recalibrating NUS towards lifelong learning, if he were embarking on 바카라사이트 project from scratch is 바카라사이트re anything he would do differently?

¡°I wish that I?could push it faster,¡± he says. ¡°I?feel that 바카라사이트 disruptions to society will be much greater in 바카라사이트 next few years. Our graduates will have even more challenging times. I?really wish that I?had done a?lot of this earlier, to better prepare 바카라사이트m.¡±

Quick facts

Born: Singapore, 1961

Academic qualifications: BSc in ma바카라사이트matics from NUS; PhD from Yale University

Lives with: His wife and one child; three o바카라사이트rs have left home

Academic hero: Roger Howe, professor emeritus of ma바카라사이트matics at Yale and Tan¡¯s PhD supervisor

This is part of our ¡°Talking leadership¡± series of 50?interviews over 50?weeks with 바카라사이트 people running 바카라사이트 world¡¯s top universities about how 바카라사이트y solve common strategic issues and implement change. Follow 바카라사이트 series?here.