Today we visited NTU (Nanyang Technological University)
Starting as a private college with teaching in Chinese, NTU has grown into a najor technical university with scope extending to Design, Arts and Media. The campus is truly a garden that is a treat to one’s eyes. With 18,000 students the campus ib bubbling with energy that too with a truly globally attractive place for the best of the students from every corner of the globe. The building of the Arts, Design and New Media with a longish dome like structure with lawns on the top is a truly “out of the world” experience. Attention to details – with every building connected by a pathway that is protected from rains (and heat, thanks to Singapore having 30 degrees celsius temperature for nearly 360 days) and well-lit for use in the nights – is one example. The School’s ratings are going up year after year. With focus on Science-based Engineering, inviting 11 Nobel Laureates to visit the School regularly are clear signs that NTU is poised for something much bigger in the years to come.
Will we in India learn from “best practices” of NTU? May be not, till we change our “mindset” of “we know it all” and the powers-that-be hell bent on systematically finishing off excellence through excessive control.
