Singapore University of Technology and Design


The Singapore University of Technology and Design is the fourth autonomous university in Singapore, next to Upper Changi MRT station.

History

The founding president is Thomas L. Magnanti, who is a Professor associated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
SUTD's collaboration with MIT covers:
SUTD and Zhejiang University also jointly partake in research collaborations to address challenges associated with the world today, in areas such as healthcare, transportation, clean energy, and the environment.

Campuses

SUTD's interim campus was situated at the former ITE College Dover campus in Dover from its founding in April 2012 until December 2014. Its permanent campus, which opened in January 2015, is located near the Changi Business Park, and is served by Upper Changi Station on the Downtown MRT Line. As of 2018, it is the only university to be located in the eastern part of Singapore. Through an open selection process, SUTD appointed DP Architects Pte. Ltd., in collaboration with UNStudio from Amsterdam, to design the academic cluster of its permanent campus in Upper Changi.

Academics

Undergraduate programmes

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been developing an undergraduate curriculum suited to the local context since the two universities signed the collaboration agreement in January 2010. The curriculum offers a modern engineering and architecture education that crosses traditional departments enabling students to finish eight terms in three and a half years, which is faster than other Singapore autonomous universities. SUTD provides a common curriculum for all students in the first three terms. This foundation curriculum requires students to take mandatory classes in the Sciences, Mathematics, Design Thinking, Programming, and Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. The Sciences requirement in the common curriculum comprises two semesters of physics, two semesters of calculus, one semester of chemistry, and one semester of biology. The Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences requirement consist of eight semesters of classes in the humanities, arts, and social sciences, including three semesters of common HASS classes. From term 4 onwards, students specialize in one of the four pillars of study: Architecture and Sustainable Design, Engineering Product Development, Engineering Systems and Design or Information Systems Technology and Design. Beyond the core subjects, all students have to undertake two 16-week internships, which could include exchange trips to MIT or ZJU.
In their final two semesters, students will also have to complete a capstone project that is a confluence of multiple SUTD pillars. In an actual design situation, crucial projects span multiple disciplines and are too large to be completed by one person. It is with this in mind that students are required to participate in an integrative capstone project in the senior year.

Graduate programmes

A two-year full-time MIT–SUTD Dual master's degree programme will be offered in collaboration with MIT to talented graduates with a keen interest in research in one of the following areas: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Supply Chain Management, or Engineering in Manufacturing. Graduate opportunities also include the SUTD PhD Programme. Candidates will spend up to one year in the United States, and the other year in Singapore, receiving master's degrees from both MIT and SUTD.
With MIT, SUTD has launched joint postgraduate programmes to jump-start research at the university. The PhD programme has a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary and collaborative research and is enhanced by opportunities for industry internships, overseas research attachments, and teaching experience. The initial intake in 2012 included ten post-doctoral researchers. Post-doctorate fellows spend one year at MIT and then another year at SUTD where they conduct research and teach.

Academic pillars

Research initiatives

SUTD–MIT International Design Centre

The International Design Centre is based both in Singapore at SUTD, and in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at MIT, with academic and industrial partners from around the world. The IDC has more than a hundred projects that involve approximately 270 faculty, researchers and students.
IDC is part of a collaboration agreement between SUTD and MIT.
, Lee Kuan Yew, at the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities

Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities

The Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities is one of the research centers in SUTD.

SUTD–JTC Industrial Infrastructure Innovation Centre

The SUTD–JTC Industrial Infrastructure Innovation Centre was set up to spearhead research efforts in design, architecture, engineering, and social science.

iTrust Research Centre

iTrust is a multidisciplinary research center which was established collaboratively by SUTD and the Ministry of Defence. The focus of iTrust is on cybersecurity. Systems of interest include large infrastructure of national importance as well as cyber-devices used in healthcare, including pacemakers, defibrillators, insulin pumps and vagus nerve stimulation implants.

O-Lab

O-Lab comprises academics and practitioners interested in understanding and enhancing design practices.

Temasek Labs at SUTD

Temasek Labs at SUTD undertakes research and development. The current focus is on areas of defense system design and development, such as unmanned systems, information systems, soldier systems, and engineering systems.
TL@SUTD complements the work that is currently undertaken at the DSO National Laboratories, NUS, NTU, and other research establishments.

City Form Lab

The City Form Lab is an urban design research group led by a group of architects, city planners, spatial analysts, programmers, sociologists, and artists. It was founded by Andres Sevtsuk at MIT in 2010 as the City Form Research Group, and moved to SUTD in fall 2011. The lab develops software tools for researching urban form and land use patterns.
was the site of the interim campus for SUTD
CFL's recent projects include the open-source Urban Network Analysis Toolbox for ArcGIS, the SUTD Gridshell Pavilion, samples of urban fabric in Bugis and Punggol in Singapore, and the exhibit at the 2013 Tallinn Architecture Biennale.