SINGAPORE – Designing for a world that is grappling with centuries of industrial pollution, fast-depleting natural reserves and climate change demands a major mindset shift.
Design and architecture today has to go beyond shapes or forms.
It has to put humans at the centre of every project by creating circular systems in society that are innovative and sustainable, says Professor Chong Tow Chong, president of the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD).
The role of IHLs
That is where institutes of higher learning (IHLs) come in.
“Institutes of higher learning have a big role to play in facilitating sustainable production and responsible consumption,” Prof Chong tells The Straits Times in an interview at the university, situated off Upper Changi Road.
Sustainable production refers to mass production that is not harmful to the planet and is driven by circular systems.
A circular system is sustainable from concept to finished product, unlike linear systems which are still adopted globally where products are made using toxic materials that end up as pollutants that leave a considerable carbon footprint.
Circular systems, which are powered by clean energy and made using only recyclable and biodegradable products, go back to nature and nourish the earth at the end of their life cycle.
Responsible consumption refers to the practice of making informed and ethical choices about what we buy and consume, with the aim of reducing our impact on the environment and society.
IHLs are well placed to educate people and nudge behavioural changes in the early stages of students’ lives, says Prof Chong.
This creates a sustainable circular economy which puts humans at the centre of the frame, as this new way of doing things eliminates waste and harmful emissions as well as stops individuals and companies from engaging in economic activity that depletes precious and finite natural resources.
Embracing circular systems
In linear systems, Prof Chong says that goods are produced with little regard for the health of the planet.
For instance, when raw materials such as rare earth metals are mined, they deplete the earth’s supply of precious resources. This has been going on since the Industrial Revolution of the late 1700s in Britain and Europe when machines were created for mass production to fuel economic activity.
The rise of industrial manufacturing around the world resulted in metals such as iron and copper being mined to make machinery, resulting in pollutive production processes which caused carbon dioxide emissions to skyrocket.
However, in a circular economy, production and consumption can be sustained over the long haul, as only eco-friendly materials are used right from the beginning.
By the time these products are due for the bin, they can be recycled.
A Better World by Design
SUTD’s tagline – A Better World by Design – hinges on developing sustainably innovative ways to do things, says Prof Chong.
“We define a ‘better world’ as one that is not dependent on the old ways of production where fossil fuels are burned for energy and wasteful consumption involving toxic materials such as plastic damages our environment,” says Prof Chong.
“People are at the heart of everything we do at SUTD. When we design for communities, we are also creating a happier world,” he adds.
Circularity is also at the crux of SUTD’s four-year degree programmes.
“As far back as 2009, when SUTD was established, we had been thinking about ways to craft curricula that incorporated sustainable design innovation,” Prof Chong recounts.
“You cannot teach design innovation through books nor can it be easily learnt in the classroom.”
SUTD nurtured partnerships with more than 1,300 companies in the private sector as well as more than 64 global IHLs in the last 14 years for its degree programmes so that students could benefit from industry exposure and gain experience in real-world settings, outside the confines of a classroom.
SUTD graduates are not just engineers or architects.
“We prefer to call them technically grounded leaders and innovators who will impact the world,” says Prof Chong, who adds that there are currently more than 60 start-ups in Singapore founded by SUTD alumni.
“Sustainable design innovation is ingrained in our students’ DNA.”
In a Straits Times report in early April, nine out of 10 SUTD graduates found jobs within six months of completing their final examinations, based on the school’s 2023 graduate employment survey of 300 new graduates.
More than half of SUTD graduates secured full-time permanent employment in the sectors of information and communications, financial and insurance, and scientific research and development.
The university offers four interdisciplinary engineering degree programmes – engineering product development, engineering systems and design, design and artificial intelligence and computer science and design. These are not the usual electrical or mechanical engineering degrees offered by other IHLs.
There is also the architecture and sustainable design degree programme.
As part of its Freshmore Asian Cross-curricular Trips (Fact) programme, first-year undergraduates travel to South-east Asia and China to work on sustainable projects that help solve real-world problems.
“In 2024, we will launch Fact-Plus to add the humanities, arts and social sciences to the Freshmore tech discipline to create greater immersion in circularity,” says Prof Chong.
The SUTD Capstone project is a collaboration between companies and final-year students.
Students of different majors work in teams and contribute their technology and design expertise to deal with real-world challenges faced by companies to come up with innovative, interdisciplinary solutions focused on contributing to a better world.
Some of them also develop their self-initiated Capstone Entrepreneurship projects that may lead to creating start-ups after graduation.
Designing for the community
Making circular systems impact the man in the street is a priority for the school.
In November 2021, seven students from the Architecture and Sustainable Design Pillar helped repurpose retired MRT train parts donated by the Land Transport Authority for the Green Library in North West Community Development Council (CDC).
The students created box modules and lighting for the library using retired MRT seats and train handle bars to show how these old items can find a new lease of life through design.
The pilot box module for the Green Library, a joint project between the CDC and SUTD, was built by SUTD students for the void deck of Block 413 in Bukit Panjang to create an interesting and lively space for residents to interact through the exchange of books.
“Beyond the hardware, SUTD is also focused on the ‘heart-ware’ of design and technology,” adds Prof Chong.
“This is possible when little actions from the community help shape the future together with our students, faculty and staff through club activities, overseas exposure and making sustainability a vital part of one’s lifestyle.”
About Prof Chong Tow Chong
Professor Chong Tow Chong, 69, was the founding provost and has been the president of the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) since April 2018.
Before joining SUTD, he was executive director of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research’s Science and Engineering Research Council and Data Storage Institute for 15 years.
He also had a 30-year academic career with the National University of Singapore (NUS) as professor of electrical and computer engineering.
A President’s Scholar, Prof Chong has spent much of his professional career teaching and conducting research in advanced semiconductor materials and optoelectronics. He has authored and co-authored more than 400 publications in global, peer-reviewed journals, given more than 35 invited talks and registered 25 patents.
He was conferred the Public Administration Medal in 2004 (Silver) and 2021 (Gold), and was also the recipient of the President’s Science and Technology Medal in 2010.
Prof Chong has received numerous research awards, such as the Joint Medal of Excellence Award in 2013 from the Institution of Engineers, Singapore and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and the ISPS Division Leadership in Research and Development Award in 2014 from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
He obtained his bachelor’s degree from the Tokyo Institute of Technology; a master’s from NUS; and a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – all in electrical engineering.
SUTD Design Innovation Forum 2023
Register to attend the Design Innovation Forum by the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), in partnership with The Straits Times.
Registration is free and closes on May 21. Limited seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
When: Friday, May 26, 3pm to 5.30pm
Where: SUTD Auditorium, 8 Somapah Road, Singapore 487372
Keynote speakers/panellists
· Mr Heng Swee Keat, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies
· Professor Chong Tow Chong, President of SUTD
· Professor Nathalie de Vries, Founding Partner of MVRDV
· Ms Roxanne Ong, Global Head of Strategy, Innovations and Education, Digital Transformation Office, Shiseido
Moderator
Professor Tai Lee Siang, Head of Pillar (Architecture and Sustainable Design), Centre Director (DesignZ) and Programme Director (Design and Artificial Intelligence), SUTD
To register and find out more, go to str.sg/SUTDforum23.
