SINGAPORE, March 26, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) launched the book Univer-Cities: Strategic Dilemmas of Medical Origins and Selected Modalities (Water, Quantum Leap & New Models), edited by Anthony SC Teo, at a ceremony on 26 March 2018. "Univer-Cities" is a combination of two words - Universities and Cities. The book is the third volume of the Univer-Cities series and based on the 2016 Univer-Cities Conference hosted by the University of Newcastle (UoN), Australia.

It comprises 12 chapters of sharing from academic leaders, urban architects, policy planners and public office holders in these exciting times of dynamic changes. It also highlights the opportunities and threats faced by these institutes of higher learning.  The universities featured include SUSS, UoN, Cambridge University, Nanyang Technological University, University of California, University of Zurich and University of Hong Kong, among others.

SUSS President Professor Cheong Hee Kiat penned the final chapter of the book. Titled "A Singapore University Catering to the Needs of a Population Amidst a Volatile and Changing Economy", Professor Cheong traced the interesting journey of the university from its inception in 2005 when it was known as SIM University to becoming the newest Autonomous University with multiple pathway of admissions in 2017.

"This is the story of a university which is geared to meet continuing learning needs in a rapidly changing socio-economic and demographic landscape of Singapore, and its transition from a private to a publicly-funded university," wrote Professor Cheong in his chapter.

He also stressed the role that SUSS plays as the university of lifelong learning against a backdrop of multiple disruptions. These include rapidly ageing demographics, jobs threatened by technological and other changes, the uncertainty of the nature of future jobs, social dislocations and disruptions arising from the changes mentioned, increasing social/religious tensions, and on top of it, the increasing cost of higher education and greater need to prepare graduates with the right skills for the workplace. 

SUSS will be the organiser of UniverCities Conference 2019, from 17 to 18 November 2019, in Singapore. The Conference will focus on the theme of aligning univer-cities to mid-career up-skilling and tertiary lifelong learning. The discussion will be set against a back drop of the continual economic restructuring and disruption through globalisation and presenters will also touch on unsustainable rising inequality and the need to re-model a third millennium social contract. For more information, please contact:

Nicole Ng (Ms)
Senior Executive
External Relations
Singapore University of Social Sciences
DID: +65-6248-9226
Email: external_relations@suss.edu.sg

Background Information

Volume I Univer-cities: Strategic Implications for Asia -- Readings from Cambridge and Berkeley to Singapore was also edited by Anthony SC Teo and published in 2013. The early discussions on the topic "univer-cities" sparked considerable interest, leading to the Inaugural Univer-Cities Conference 2013.

Volume II Univer-Cities: Strategic View of the Future -- From Berkeley and Cambridge to Singapore and Rising Asia is the result of papers presented at the Inaugural Univer-Cities Conference 2013. Founded by Anthony SC Teo, the Conference was held under the auspices of Nanyang Technological University and the Lee Foundation in Singapore.

Mr Anthony Teo Soon Chye is Adjunct Professor at Singapore University of Social Sciences. He is a Harvard-trained banker, consultant, business and entrepreneur turned educator and an Emeritus visiting fellow at the University of Cambridge, Wolfson College.

(The contents of "Univer-Cities: Strategic Dilemmas of Medical Origins and Selected Modalities" are included in Appendix A.)

About the Singapore University of Social Sciences

Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) is one of Singapore's six autonomous universities and its mission is to provide lifelong education that equips learners to serve society. Home to more than 15,000 students, SUSS provides an applied education that targets both fresh school leavers and adult learners, with a focus on the social sciences. It adopts a flexible and practice-focused learning approach and offers more than 70 degree programmes in various disciplines. Eligible students taking SUSS undergraduate programmes enjoy government subsidies and access to government bursaries, tuition fee loans and study loans. For more information on Singapore University of Social Sciences, please visit www.suss.edu.sg.

Appendix A

Contents:

• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• About the Authors
• Welcome Address (Caroline McMillen)
• Keynote Address (Leszek Borysiewicz)
• Univer-Cities: Strategic Dilemmas of Strategy & Leadership -- Medical Origins & Select Modalities (Anthony SC Teo)
• The Trans-Disciplinary Impact on Academic Evolution: From Medicine to Global Univer-Cities:
• Dilemma & Strategy: Shaping the University of Newcastle, Australia (R J Aitken and H Le Gresley)
• Medicine in Cambridge (Gordon Johnson)
• Meeting Societal Challenges Through Medical Education and Research: LKC Medicine, NTU-ICL Singapore (Bertil Andersson)
• Univer-City of Zurich: An Evolutionary-Medical Perspective (Frank Ruhli and Maciej Henneberg)
• Univer-Cities 2013 Updates: Berkeley, Ottawa, Hong Kong:
• University of California, Berkeley in the Bay Region: The Present and Future of a Public Research University (Emily B Marthinsen and John J Parman)
• An Architecture of Light: Ottawa, the City of Light (Roseann O'Reilly Runte)
• Re-Inventing the University of Hong Kong in Both Mortar and Spirit: Building the Centennial Campus (John Malpas)
• Ecosystems of Globalizing Univer-Cities: Strategic and Evolving Implications:
• Safe Water for the Developing World: Rhetoric and Reality (Asit K Biswas and Cecilia Tortajada)
• On Strategy for Developing an Innovative University:  S-Factor, S-Gap and Vector Delta (Nam P Suh)
• Multi-Campus Internationalisation of Higher Education Institutions (Gabriel Hawawini)
• A Singapore University Catering to the Needs of a Population Amidst a Volatile and Changing Economy (Cheong Hee Kiat)
• Appendices
• Index