UNSW Asia
Encyclopedia
The University of New South Wales Asia (Abbreviation
: UNSW Asia; Chinese:
亚洲新南威尔斯大学) was the first international university campus for the University of New South Wales
in Singapore
which opened on 12 March 2007. UNSW Asia was the first foreign university, fifth university and the third to be privately funded and operated after the Singapore Management University
(2000) and SIM University
(2005).
On 23 May 2007, UNSW Asia Singapore campus announced its planned closure on 28 June 2007, at the end of the first semester due to financial issues and lower than expected student numbers. As a result of the sudden closure, rifts within the UNSW management were publicised, and accusations were exchanged between the University and the Economic Development Board
. Questions were raised over the Economic Development Board
's role in bringing in potentially over-ambitious business plans. The Singapore government's total loans to the university amounting to S$32 million was also revealed. The University is expected to repay all loans, and will have to restore the land for its campus to its original state, potentially incurring further costs.
17.5 million) in its Singapore campus. Students who are currently enrolled at UNSW Asia will be offered a place in an equivalent programme at UNSW Sydney.
The students of the university are petitioning against the closure of the Singapore campus. Together with the petition
, they are asking for the S$
140 million campus project at Changi
to be abandoned to cut costs. They added they were happy with their current Kay Siang Road campus. Some said they did not mind paying their tuition fees in full to help the situation from the loss making campus. The petition will be sent to the UNSW management in Sydney
as well as the Ministry of Education and the Economic Development Board. Students felt the university should be given a chance and the university has a lot of potential in Singapore as well as being a force in the Asia
n education system. Some students have plans to sue the university if their petition is unsuccessful, whereas others want the government to give them a place in the three local universities. Local universities said they will admit the students on a case-by-case basis. Scholarships are given to students to study in its Sydney campus with S$12,000 given to foreign students and S$22,000 to local students. Staff also do not have a guaranteed job at its Sydney campus and no compensation
package has since been announced.
Six bachelor degree programs were to be offered for undergraduates, namely those in science
, engineering
, commerce
, international studies
, design
and media
, and were to have corresponding honours courses. Undergraduates were to be able to pursue a single major or a double major program, which includes Science/Commerce, Science/Media, Science/International Studies, Commerce/International Studies, Commerce/Media, International Studies/Media, Engineering/Commerce and Engineering/International Studies. Other programs could have been added by the university in due course, such as those in medical sciences and health administration
.
Emphasis was to be made on research work with the establishment of research centres, and would have involved research programs funded and conducted by members of both the Asian and Australian campuses. UNSW Asia was to specialise in research relevant to the Asian region, however, and work closely with research and industry trends in Singapore.
All degrees conferred by UNSW Asia were to be awarded by the University of New South Wales
, and all academic programs of the Asian campus will be governed and treated on equal standing with those in the Australian campuses under the UNSW Council.
. Open to both Singaporeans and international students - though Singaporeans have to be above 18 and males need to complete National Service before enrolling, it initially offered courses in commerce
and the physical science
s. Singaporean Students needed to have an aggregate score of below 20 for GCE 'O' Levels and a minimum of C6 for English Language. Successful completion of the course would guarantee a place in UNSW Asia, although they may also apply to enter the Australian campuses.
The university expected to have a full student population of about 15,000 after 15 to 20 years.
http://sg.pagenation.com/sin/UNSW%20Asia%20Changi%20Campus_103.9618_1.3387.map was allocated for the building of the university's permanent campus. The only university to be sited in the eastern part of Singapore, it is located between Upper Changi Road East and Changi South Avenue 1, sited next to the Changi Business Park
and about 400 metres away from the Expo MRT Station
http://sg.pagenation.com/sin/Cg1%20Expo_103.9617_1.3347.map. The Campus can be seen on Google Maps below in the External Links.
An international design competition was held to design the campus masterplan http://www.unsw.edu.au/images/UNSWAsia/MasterPlan_bigweb.jpg and the library building, with acclaimed Singapore-based Kerry Hill Architects winning the competition in an announcement on 28 June 2005 http://www.unsw.edu.au/news/pad/articles/2005/jun/UNSW_Asia1.html. Other finalists in the competition were Singapore-based WOHA
, and three Australia-Singapore partnerships of FJMT/Architects 61; BVN
/RSP Architects; and CM+/Geoff Malone International.
Construction of the campus began in 2006, and the first buildings would be ready for occupation in late 2008, which would include the library
, science/engineering building, academic/administrative building, teaching suites, research laboratories and sports facilities. While the campus was being built, the university commenced classes in 2007 at the former campus of the Republic Polytechnic
at 1 Kay Siang Road in Tanglin
http://sg.pagenation.com/sin/UNSW%20Asia%20Tanglin%20Campus_103.8151_1.2954.map. However, with the news of the university's closure, the premises of the new campus is now open to any other tender that wants it.
The land was later allocated for Singapore's fourth publicly funded university, the new campus is to be ready by 2013, two years after the university opens at a temporary location.
Abbreviation
An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase. Usually, but not always, it consists of a letter or group of letters taken from the word or phrase...
: UNSW Asia; Chinese:
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
亚洲新南威尔斯大学) was the first international university campus for the University of New South Wales
University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales , is a research-focused university based in Kensington, a suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
which opened on 12 March 2007. UNSW Asia was the first foreign university, fifth university and the third to be privately funded and operated after the Singapore Management University
Singapore Management University
The Singapore Management University was officially incorporated on January 12, 2000, and was Singapore's first private university funded by the government...
(2000) and SIM University
SIM University
SIM University is a private university in Singapore. Established in 2005, UniSIM is approved by Singapore's Ministry of Education to award recognised Singapore degrees. The university is part of the Singapore Institute of Management Group...
(2005).
On 23 May 2007, UNSW Asia Singapore campus announced its planned closure on 28 June 2007, at the end of the first semester due to financial issues and lower than expected student numbers. As a result of the sudden closure, rifts within the UNSW management were publicised, and accusations were exchanged between the University and the Economic Development Board
Economic Development Board
-Overview:The Economic Development Board is a statutory board of the Government of Singapore that plans and executes strategies to sustain Singapore as a leading global hub for business and investment....
. Questions were raised over the Economic Development Board
Economic Development Board
-Overview:The Economic Development Board is a statutory board of the Government of Singapore that plans and executes strategies to sustain Singapore as a leading global hub for business and investment....
's role in bringing in potentially over-ambitious business plans. The Singapore government's total loans to the university amounting to S$32 million was also revealed. The University is expected to repay all loans, and will have to restore the land for its campus to its original state, potentially incurring further costs.
Announcement on Closure
UNSW announced its closure on 23 May 2007. It was reported that the closure was due to its low student enrolment, causing the school to run into financial problems. The closure comes despite the fact that UNSW has already invested over S$22 million (A$Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
17.5 million) in its Singapore campus. Students who are currently enrolled at UNSW Asia will be offered a place in an equivalent programme at UNSW Sydney.
The students of the university are petitioning against the closure of the Singapore campus. Together with the petition
Petition
A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer....
, they are asking for the S$
Singapore dollar
The Singapore dollar or Dollar is the official currency of Singapore. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively S$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
140 million campus project at Changi
Changi
Changi is an area at the eastern end of Singapore. It is now the site of Singapore Changi Airport/Changi Air Base, Changi Naval Base and is also home to Changi Prison, site of the former Japanese Prisoner of War Camp during World War II which held Allied prisoners captured in Singapore and Malaysia...
to be abandoned to cut costs. They added they were happy with their current Kay Siang Road campus. Some said they did not mind paying their tuition fees in full to help the situation from the loss making campus. The petition will be sent to the UNSW management in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
as well as the Ministry of Education and the Economic Development Board. Students felt the university should be given a chance and the university has a lot of potential in Singapore as well as being a force in the Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n education system. Some students have plans to sue the university if their petition is unsuccessful, whereas others want the government to give them a place in the three local universities. Local universities said they will admit the students on a case-by-case basis. Scholarships are given to students to study in its Sydney campus with S$12,000 given to foreign students and S$22,000 to local students. Staff also do not have a guaranteed job at its Sydney campus and no compensation
Remuneration
Remuneration is the total compensation that an employee receives in exchange for the service they perform for their employer. Typically, this consists of monetary rewards, also referred to as wage or salary...
package has since been announced.
Programs and research
As a full university, UNSW Asia was to be an English-medium institution offering undergraduate, postgraduate and research programs across multiple disciplines grouped into the two clusters, namely science, engineering and health; and commerce and humanities.Six bachelor degree programs were to be offered for undergraduates, namely those in science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
, engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
, commerce
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
, international studies
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
, design
Design
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
and media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
, and were to have corresponding honours courses. Undergraduates were to be able to pursue a single major or a double major program, which includes Science/Commerce, Science/Media, Science/International Studies, Commerce/International Studies, Commerce/Media, International Studies/Media, Engineering/Commerce and Engineering/International Studies. Other programs could have been added by the university in due course, such as those in medical sciences and health administration
Health administration
Health administration or healthcare administration is the field relating to leadership, management, and administration of hospitals, hospital networks, health care systems, and public health systems...
.
Emphasis was to be made on research work with the establishment of research centres, and would have involved research programs funded and conducted by members of both the Asian and Australian campuses. UNSW Asia was to specialise in research relevant to the Asian region, however, and work closely with research and industry trends in Singapore.
All degrees conferred by UNSW Asia were to be awarded by the University of New South Wales
University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales , is a research-focused university based in Kensington, a suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
, and all academic programs of the Asian campus will be governed and treated on equal standing with those in the Australian campuses under the UNSW Council.
Students
UNSW Asia aimed to establish a high international profile by allocating at least 70% of its intake to non-Singaporeans. Applications open in January 2006 for the pioneering batch of about 500 to 600 students, and UNSW Asia began classes in March 2007. However, only 148 students were enrolled successfully. Prior to that, however, the university commenced a 40-week Foundation Studies program http://www.ufy.unsw.edu.au/ in January 2006 as an independent pre-university course for prospective students, including a course in the English languageEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. Open to both Singaporeans and international students - though Singaporeans have to be above 18 and males need to complete National Service before enrolling, it initially offered courses in commerce
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
and the physical science
Physical science
Physical science is an encompassing term for the branches of natural science and science that study non-living systems, in contrast to the life sciences...
s. Singaporean Students needed to have an aggregate score of below 20 for GCE 'O' Levels and a minimum of C6 for English Language. Successful completion of the course would guarantee a place in UNSW Asia, although they may also apply to enter the Australian campuses.
The university expected to have a full student population of about 15,000 after 15 to 20 years.
Campus
A site in ChangiChangi
Changi is an area at the eastern end of Singapore. It is now the site of Singapore Changi Airport/Changi Air Base, Changi Naval Base and is also home to Changi Prison, site of the former Japanese Prisoner of War Camp during World War II which held Allied prisoners captured in Singapore and Malaysia...
http://sg.pagenation.com/sin/UNSW%20Asia%20Changi%20Campus_103.9618_1.3387.map was allocated for the building of the university's permanent campus. The only university to be sited in the eastern part of Singapore, it is located between Upper Changi Road East and Changi South Avenue 1, sited next to the Changi Business Park
Changi Business Park
The Changi Business Park is a business park located in Changi South, in the eastern part of Singapore....
and about 400 metres away from the Expo MRT Station
Expo MRT Station
The Expo MRT Station ' was opened on 10 January 2001, and is part of the Singapore MRT Changi Airport Extension to the existing East West Line. It sports a space age architecture designed by world renowned architect Sir Norman Foster...
http://sg.pagenation.com/sin/Cg1%20Expo_103.9617_1.3347.map. The Campus can be seen on Google Maps below in the External Links.
An international design competition was held to design the campus masterplan http://www.unsw.edu.au/images/UNSWAsia/MasterPlan_bigweb.jpg and the library building, with acclaimed Singapore-based Kerry Hill Architects winning the competition in an announcement on 28 June 2005 http://www.unsw.edu.au/news/pad/articles/2005/jun/UNSW_Asia1.html. Other finalists in the competition were Singapore-based WOHA
WOHA
WOHA is a Singapore based multidisciplinary design and architecture firm, founded by Wong Mun Summ & Richard Hassell in 1994. The firm has been said not to have a fixed language or style, and, instead, to let each project evolve around a set of objectives and strategies that emerge from within the...
, and three Australia-Singapore partnerships of FJMT/Architects 61; BVN
BVN
BVN which is the abbreviation of Het beste van Vlaanderen en Nederland is a satellite and cable television channel – a joint venture by Radio Netherlands Worldwide , the Flemish and Dutch public broadcasting organizations Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroep and Nederlandse Publieke Omroep ...
/RSP Architects; and CM+/Geoff Malone International.
Construction of the campus began in 2006, and the first buildings would be ready for occupation in late 2008, which would include the library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
, science/engineering building, academic/administrative building, teaching suites, research laboratories and sports facilities. While the campus was being built, the university commenced classes in 2007 at the former campus of the Republic Polytechnic
Republic Polytechnic
Republic Polytechnic , commonly abbreviated to RP, is a tertiary institution located in Singapore. It was the first school system in Singapore to use Problem-based learning pedagogy for all its diplomas....
at 1 Kay Siang Road in Tanglin
Tanglin
Tanglin is the name of an urban planning area within the Central Region in Singapore.The Tanglin Planning Area is defined by the region bounded by Bukit Timah Road to the north, Farrer Road and Queensway to the west, Kay Siang Road, Tanglin Road and a section of the Alexandra Canal to the south,...
http://sg.pagenation.com/sin/UNSW%20Asia%20Tanglin%20Campus_103.8151_1.2954.map. However, with the news of the university's closure, the premises of the new campus is now open to any other tender that wants it.
The land was later allocated for Singapore's fourth publicly funded university, the new campus is to be ready by 2013, two years after the university opens at a temporary location.
Further reading
- "The day the university dropped out", Sandra Davie et. ali, The Straits TimesThe Straits TimesThe Straits Times is an English language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore currently owned by Singapore Press Holdings . It is the country's highest-selling paper, with a current daily circulation of nearly 400,000...
(Saturday Insight Special), 26 May 2007, p. S1 - S11