"We have to look at the individual programs and ask whether they have been effective," begins Professor Tan Tai Yong, President of the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), framing the 35-year educational partnership between Singapore and China as a dynamic project in need of constant evaluation.
Tan Tai Yong, President of the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), sits down for an interview with South (Photo: Guo Zedong)
In a recent interview with South, the veteran academic, whose career includes 35 years at the National University of Singapore (NUS), moved beyond generalities to assess the tangible outcomes of a relationship he has helped shape for decades. "In those years, we have always worked with Chinese universities in terms of research collaboration, developing joint projects and hosting joint conferences," he shared, reflecting on the deep institutional ties formed at NUS. Now at SUSS, a younger institution, he is actively building new bridges, "looking across China and talking to like-minded universities" to find common ground in research, teaching, and student exchange.
As the two nations celebrate 35 years of diplomatic relations, the focus, he suggests, must shift from the sheer number of exchanges to the substance and outcomes they produce. Reflecting on the myriad initiatives, from joint research centers and campuses to student mobility, he poses critical questions: Are these platforms fostering the intended deeper knowledge? Are students truly benefiting? "Maybe at some point," he notes, "there could be a study done on the effects of this deepening educational relationship," pointing to a need for a systematic assessment of this long-standing partnership.
At the heart of meaningful educational cooperation, Professor Tan argues, is the irreplaceable value of lived experience—an area where technology serves as a tool but never a substitute. "Technology cannot substitute experience," he asserts. A student can gather endless information about another country through digital means, but this remains just that—information. True understanding and the capacity to bridge cultures come only from "going to these places, meeting people, observing, and experiencing." This belief directly informs the ongoing efforts at SUSS to build new partnerships with Chinese universities, fostering exchanges that move beyond the transactional to the transformative for students on both sides.
The foundation of Singapore's own educational success, Professor Tan explains, lies in pragmatic, long-term planning born of necessity. "When we gained independence in 1965, education was regarded as one of the key factors of success because we only had people," he states. This philosophy of adaptive, forward-looking development, constantly refined to meet national needs, has shaped a system now recognized globally. Yet, he is quick to highlight that the learning between the two nations is decisively mutual. Singapore observes with admiration China's rapid advances in targeted fields like drone technology and green energy, seeing in them powerful lessons on focused resource allocation and talent mobilization. "This is an example of how proper planning can produce very good results," he remarks.
As for the future trajectory of bilateral ties, Professor Tan envisions a partnership built on a robust foundation of practical cooperation in trade, investment, and increasingly, in education. The path forward, he concludes, must be mutually beneficial and ascendant. "It must benefit you and must benefit me," he says, emphasizing the core principle of reciprocity. With strong fundamentals in place, the focus now turns to ensuring that the next phase of collaboration yields ever deeper and more substantive outcomes, fostering shared progress that honors 35 years of diplomatic relations and lays a wiser groundwork for the decades to come.
Author: Guo Zedong
Photo: Guo Zedong
Editor: Yuan Zixiang, James Campion, Shen He
