When Professor Chong Tow Chong needs a short break from meetings and emails, he’s out walking around the campus and chatting with his students. Ask him what is the one thing he likes most about Dover Campus and his answer is warm and to the point, “A close-knit family environment.”
“I was excited about the opportunity to be able to play a meaningful role in building this university from scratch to nurture a new generation of leaders who will make a difference to the world.”
— Professor Chong
We are now living in a world where, perhaps more so than ever before, technological innovation is urgently needed to tackle increasingly multi-faceted challenges brought about by rapid urbanisation, climate change, and an ageing society, to name a few.
“In this dynamic and evolving landscape, are existing institutions of higher learning keeping in pace to respond to these new challenges in educating a new breed of graduates with new mindsets and skills who are capable of providing practical, sustainable solutions that cut across traditional boundaries?”
— Professor Chong
What is the achievement that Professor Chong is most proud of as the founding Provost?
“To matriculate and welcome the first batch of students into SUTD! 340 freshmen believing in SUTD and walking this new journey together with all of us; getting ready the faculty, the curriculum and the facilities to implement our unique pedagogy.”
— Professor Chong
How about his most unforgettable experience as a Provost? In his words: “Organising the first Open House at the Dover Campus where we truly experienced the teamwork exhibited by the entire university, with students, faculty and staff working together to achieve a common goal.”
It is individuals with no fear of failure towards life that Professor Chong wants to nurture at SUTD. He sees SUTD as an institution that is dedicated to engineering solutions and better lives for the 21st Century. Equipping young minds with a critical flexibility and exposure to relevant technologies and global issues is what Professor Chong hopes to be the educational footprint at SUTD.
