Impact of Physical Disconnection on Cross-Institutional Research Collaboration Between Autonomous Universities

Mr Kenneth Tiong Boon Kiat asked the Minister for Education (a) whether the Ministry has assessed the impact of physical disconnection between Singapore's autonomous universities on cross-institutional research collaboration; (b) why does no direct transit link exist between major research campuses despite Singapore being less than 50 kilometres across; and (c) whether this fragmentation undermines the Government's stated ambition to build a globally competitive research ecosystem.

Mr Desmond Lee: In our compact city, our autonomous universities (AUs) are able to collaborate meaningfully and effectively without direct transit links between campuses. For example, the AUs have joint research programmes and projects, and also share high-value research equipment and facilities. These collaborations support Singapore's efforts to build a globally competitive research ecosystem.