Frequently Asked Questions

• Background
• Opportunities for Imperial staff
• Opportunities for Imperial College London students
• About the new medical school
• Next steps

What is the Singapore Medical School project?

Imperial College London was approached by the Singapore Ministries of Education and Health in 2009 for assistance in setting up a new medical school in Singapore. Their objective was to ensure that the supply of highly qualified and suitably skilled doctors in Singapore was sufficient for future needs. In particular they recognised that their aging population will have an increased need for healthcare when living with long term medical conditions, which require specialist approaches.

Nanyang Technological University (NTU), a publicly funded university, will be funding the joint venture with Imperial College London to found the new medical school. The medical school will operate as an autonomous school within NTU and with Imperial leadership at its highest academic and executive levels. The school will admit its first students in 2013.

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Why is Imperial College London getting involved in the collaboration with NTU to develop and operate a medical school in Singapore?

Imperial College London will have the unique opportunity to work with Nanyang Technological University to develop and implement the curriculum for a 5 year medical degree, incorporating the best from the current Imperial course and adapting it for the Singapore healthcare system. NTU will fund the development of innovative methods for teaching medicine, building on Imperial’s existing experience and models, that could be incorporated into the College’s UK medicine course.

Only a few prospective Singaporean medical students are able to be admitted to study at Imperial College London or other UK medical schools due to a General Medical Council cap of 7.5% on international students attending the UK’s schools. The new venture with Nanyang Technological University will allow Imperial to teach medicine to Singapore’s talented students.

To undertake the work required to develop the curriculum and manage the new school, new jobs and new opportunities for current Imperial staff, funded by Singapore, will result.

The medical school is likely to open up further opportunities to Imperial for academic collaborations in Singapore and will offer academic employees of the new School access to new research funds.

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What is the background on Nanyang Technological University?

Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is a research-intensive university with globally acknowledged strengths in science and engineering. The university has roots that go back to 1955 when Nanyang University was set up. Today, NTU has four colleges with 12 schools, and three autonomous entities, the National Institute of Education, the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, and the Earth Observatory of Singapore.

NTU provides a high-quality global education to more than 23,000 undergraduates and 10,000 graduate students. The student body includes top scholars and international olympiad medallists from the region and beyond. Hailing from 67 countries, the university's 3,000-strong teaching and research staff bring dynamic international perspectives and years of solid industry experience.

Imperial CollegeLondon already delivers joint PhD programmes in bioengineering and chemical and biomolecular engineering with NTU.

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Is the Nanyang Technological University a suitable partner for Imperial College London?

Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has always shared the vision that Imperial College London has followed since the 1990s to bring together technological, scientific and engineering disciplines with medicine. NTU, like Imperial, is recognised for its excellence in science and engineering and the two universities have already collaborated successfully, for example in the delivery of joint PhD programmes in bioengineering and chemical and biomolecular engineering, following an agreement signed in April 2009. A number of Imperial alumni hold senior academic positions at NTU.

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What are the funding arrangements for the new medical school?

The new medical school will be funded primarily by Nanyang Technological University, a publicly-funded university. As well as tuition fees from students, the medical school will attract additional monies from other donors and research funders in the same way as other medical schools and universities.

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Is the College putting money into this venture?

The medical school will be delivered at no cost to Imperial College London. Funding to Imperial from the venture covers a mixture of staff costs and shared development costs.

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How will the new medical school be governed?

The new school will have a Governing Board, whose membership will include two representatives each from Imperial College London and NTU plus representatives from the Ministries of Health and Education and the primary clinical training partner, the National Healthcare Group.

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Is this the first step to Imperial opening a fully-fledged campus overseas?

Like most universities, Imperial has multiple overseas links through its research and education activities and will continue to foster these. While it is an exciting step for Imperial to contribute to the development of an undergraduate medicine course that will be delivered overseas, there are no plans to open a campus outside the UK.

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How is the College’s collaboration with NTU in the run-up to the admission of the first students to the new medical school being managed?

The Project is being overseen by a Project Board, which comprises of senior academics and executives from the College and the Faculty of Medicine. The Board is chaired by the Faculty of Medicine’s Director of Education, Professor Jenny Higham, who has oversight of all educational matters relating to the project. A small Project office, which will work day-to-day on Imperial College London’s development of the Singapore medical school will be established on the South Kensington Campus. Professor Martyn Partridge, who will work full time in the UK and Singapore, will be responsible for all aspects of the medical school which Imperial has committed to deliver.

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Can Imperial College London withdraw from the agreement with Nanyang Technological University?

This is a long term strategic arrangement and both parties look forward to their involvement in developing and delivering the new medical school. The collaboration agreement does allow either party to terminate the agreement based on a key set of possible actions and agreed consequences. The new school will be subject to robust quality assurance measures.

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I’m a member of staff in the Faculty of Medicine – what opportunities would be available to me in the new medical school in Singapore?

Existing Imperial employees within the Faculty of Medicine, and especially the Faculty Education Office, both administrative and academic, will be involved in developing the medical school. This exciting prospect will involve ensuring that relevant parts of Imperial’s undergraduate medicine course are incorporated into the curriculum at the new medical school and are adapted for Singapore in collaboration with NTU and clinical colleagues in that country.

For those undertaking this work during the initial three year curriculum development phase, there will be backfilling of some posts to ensure that Imperial’s educational efforts in the UK are not compromised. Staff involved may have the opportunity to make short term visits to Singapore or to have slightly longer periods of secondment to Singapore. There will also be new positions advertised within the new medical school and it is envisaged that these will attract international interest, including possibly from existing staff at Imperial.

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Will there be opportunities for support staff and staff outside the Faculty of Medicine?

There will certainly be opportunities in London for support staff and staff outside of the Faculty to become involved in the new medical school. The school is being developed from scratch - from curriculum development to facilities and infrastructure - so it is highly likely that the Project Board will call on a variety of expertise of individuals from across the College.

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Could the College require me to work in the new medical school out in Singapore?

It will not be compulsory to work in the new medical school in Singapore. While input will be required from a number of areas across the College to assist with developing the medical school, this will not be permitted to compromise Imperial’s normal activities and extra staff will be employed as appropriate.

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If I were permitted to undertake a secondment in the new medical school, would UK or Singapore employment laws apply?

Employees electing to visit Singapore as part of the project or to undertake a short secondment in the new medical school will remain employed by Imperial, be bound by their regulations and will return to their existing positions. Clearly, however, they will need to abide by the laws and regulations of Singapore when working there.

Current Imperial employees who are successful in applying for full time employment in the new medical school will in the future be employed by NTU in Singapore.

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Will the foundation of the new medical school in Singapore create new research opportunities?

The initial thrust of Imperial’s involvement in the project is to develop and run a first class medical school, but this will provide increasing opportunities for collaborative and Singapore based research over the years. Seed funding for research in Singapore has been agreed.

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I’m a medical student – will there be opportunities for me to spend some of my course at the new medical school in Singapore?

The new school will open up an array of exciting opportunities for both students and staff. The primary aims over the first phase will be to develop the curriculum for the new undergraduate course and employ the staff required to ensure that the new medical school is ready for business when the first students start in 2013. However it is hoped that there will be an opportunity for exchange of students in subsequent years and opportunities for some Imperial students to spend elective periods in the new medical school and its associated hospitals.

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Will the new medical school in Singapore offer any opportunities for postgraduate study?

The emphasis of the new medical school initially is on undergraduate education. However, there may be scope in the future for the postgraduate collaborative arrangements, which are already in place with Nanyang Technological University and with other academic and research institutions and universities in Singapore, to grow as a result of Imperial’s involvement in the medical school.

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When will the first students be admitted?

The Singapore academic year starts in August and the first cohort of students will be admitted just prior to that in 2013.

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Who will be responsible for admissions processes and what admissions criteria will be used?

The new school will be responsible for the admissions process, taking advice from Imperial and will be governed by Imperial's Senate regulations and those pertaining at Nanyang Technological University.

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How many students will be admitted each year to the new medical school?

The inaugural cohort will comprise 50 students but this will incrementally rise over the first five to eight years to a minimum of 150 new students per annum.

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What will be the curriculum for the undergraduate medicine course?

The five year course will teach students the scientific basis of medicine, how to handle the doctor-patient relationship and offer clinical experience. The basic science of medicine will be taught where possible by clinicians and the clinical experience will emphasise the important role of primary care. Students will be taught management skills and will develop understanding of the role of technology and IT in the future practice of medicine, benefitting from interdisciplinary working with the NTU Business School and NTU’s technological expertise. As in the courses taught by Imperial College London in the UK, the curriculum of the new medical school in Singapore will be delivered using a breadth of methods, including e-learning modules, simulations, lectures, seminars, apprenticeships, and problem based learning.

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What will the new medical school be called?

The ultimate name of the new medical school is still to be decided by the new Governing Board - Imperial has a say in the final decision. The strapline of the new medical school will be: A Joint Medical School by Imperial College London and Nanyang Technological University.

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Will students be registered with Imperial College London or with Nanyang Technological University?

Students will be registered with NTU for admission to the new medical school and will receive a joint degree from both universities upon successful completion of studies. The proposed MBBS degree will be approved by the Senate of both universities and approved by the Singapore Medical Council. Singapore government rules require graduates to work for a period of time after graduation in the Singapore health system and the majority of graduates will of course wish to do so. However, it is assumed that the high quality of graduates will make them attractive to other healthcare providers and some subsequent periods of postgraduate training are likely to be undertaken overseas before the trainee doctors return to Singapore. Because the course has been undertaken outside the European Union, graduates of the new medical school will have no automatic right to practise in the EU despite this being a joint Imperial College London degree.

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Will the course be open to students outside of Singapore?

Whilst a very small number of places may be open to school leavers from other countries the overwhelming majority of students will be Singaporeans.

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Will the students of the new medical school spend time at Imperial?

It is hoped that in the future there will be an opportunity for an exchange programme, but it is unlikely this would occur for a number of years as we are still at a very early stage of development.

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What quality assurance processes will be in place to ensure that the course meets the standard of other Imperial College London degrees?

In addition to the close involvement of Imperial in the development and implementation of the curriculum, and the recruitment of top faculty and students, the school has signed up to Imperial’s robust quality assurance procedures. The course will also fall under the regulations of the Quality Assurance Agency, and will also have to conform to any local quality assurance requirements imposed by the Singapore Medical Council, NTU or the new medical school itself.

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What are the key milestones for the project over the coming years?

Over the coming years until students are admitted in 2013, the focus will be on developing the curriculum, employing and training the staff who will deliver the curriculum and producing new materials for use by the undergraduates. Extensive work will take place to ensure that the course is of the highest standard and satisfies the regulations of the two universities and those of the Singapore Medical Council.

Following the initial development phase, Imperial will continually advise on the renewal of the course and its implementation, will maintain a quality overview agenda and will also retain a strong voice on the highest decision making body, the governing board.

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