Alumni on the World Stage - Professor Chong Tow Chong, Provost of SUTD

Professor Chong (back row, far right) with members of Suematsu Lab

I grew up in Singapore watching Japan rapidly producing new technologies. It was the country of advanced technology in Asia. Like many other boys, I was quite interested in science and technology, and as a student I aspired to be at the forefront of this field, focusing eventually on electric and electronic engineering. Given the situation, it was not a difficult decision to choose Japan for my undergraduate study, and being selected for a Japanese government scholarship was an added incentive for pursuing my interests. From the many options available in Japan, I chose Tokyo Tech as it seemed to serve my interests best with its strong focus on technology. It also offered the opportunity to study electrical engineering from the very first year of study, which sounded very attractive. With this, I joined the Institute in 1974.

Needless to say, I cannot even begin to talk about my life at Tokyo Tech without referring to my professors. I gained so many things from them beyond technical knowledge. The first person that comes to mind is Professor Yasuharu Suematsu, who later became president at Tokyo Tech. He taught me the importance of technology in improving people's lives. He showed how our lives would improve if we could call someone on the other side of the world without worrying about the speed of transmission. His vision of state-of-the-art optical fiber communications greatly influenced me, but more importantly, he showed me how to be a better person.

We need products such as mobile phones and big jet engines in our daily lives and therefore we need to be able to engineer these products. We live in a very complex environment. Therefore, we need systems like transportation and health care. Society as a system itself has led to challenges such as global warming and aging population, and I believe we need a new generation of engineers and architects with different approaches to solve these problems. We also need services such as those provided by information technology that allow us to connect with anyone in the world. When creating new technology, it is important to consider the architecture behind it, its fundamental design, as this is what determines whether the technology works as we want it to. Therefore, we want to focus on both technology and design, and that is why we take a multi-disciplinary approach at SUTD.

Design projects are spread throughout the curriculum to enable our students to apply theory to design. Ultimately, we want our students to think outside the box without overlooking the curriculum. We put this pedagogy into action by giving students time and space to nurture their creativity in different ways two afternoons a week. No classes are taught during these afternoons. These approaches make SUTD very unique. Students need to learn more than just textbook knowledge at the university. We aim to provide an environment where students can think creatively, and more importantly, enhance their problem-solving skills so they can deliver sound solutions. As SUTD is a new university, we may have to wait a few years before we see the outcome of our education model, but we believe in our mission and think this is the right approach to education for the 21st century.