Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q) and the National University of Singapore (NUS) are aiming for co-operation and partnership in the areas of research projects, faculty collaboration and exchange and study-abroad programmes.
Dr Gerd Nonneman, dean of GU-Q recently met the NUS president Dr Tan Chorh Chuan, who was in Doha to receive this year’s Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah International Energy Award for lifetime achievement, and the two explored possibilities of potential ties between their universities.
“As a leading global university with a campus in the Middle East, Georgetown is well placed to build educational linkages between Qatar and Singapore, two states with great vision and geo-strategic importance,” said Nonneman.
“NUS is one of Asia’s top two universities, as well as ranking in the global top-25, so we hope immediately to start the process of connecting faculty from both institutions for possible partnerships on joint research proposals and projects. We also hope to foster student exchange through service learning trips or summer school courses.”
Dr John Crist, the director of research at GU-Q, stressed the significance of the central role of universities in both countries.
“Not only are we one of the top-ranked liberal arts institutions in the world, Georgetown is among the world’s foremost research-intensive universities. Both Qatar and Singapore are small states that pursue a common strategy for national development built on educational and research hubs that are paving the way to a knowledge economy,” he said
Discussions began a year ago when a team from GU-Q visited NUS, with the aim of establishing initial introduction with their Singapore counterparts and to begin discussions on possible areas of mutual co-operation.
The trip also included discussions of possible student exchange with Yale-NUS College, Singapore’s first liberal arts college established in 2011 as a collaboration between Yale University and NUS, and a visit to Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to discuss student enrolment at Georgetown through the Singapore government’s annual study abroad scholarship for top students.
