To build a robust talent pipeline and elevate training competencies for Singapore’s land transport industry, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed with SBS Transit, formalising the academic-industry partnership. As part of the collaboration, SBS Transit will provide internship opportunities to TUM Asia students specialising in transport-related courses, including degree and master’s programmes.
To commemorate its 20 successful years in Singapore, TUM Asia lined up a series of celebrations, culminating in an exclusive visit by the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, to its Singapore campus. TUM Asia remains the only German university to have an overseas presence in Singapore, capitalising on Singapore’s innovation excellence to equip students with twin perspectives from Germany and Singapore. Since its establishment in 2002 with just 20 students in its first postgraduate programme – Master of Science in Industrial Chemistry – TUM Asia has grown with more than 2,000 graduates coming through its doors, plying their trades in top research institutes and multinationals to find respective footholds in various arenas.
The year 2021 marked a watershed point for many countries with the signing of the Paris Agreement, laying out a global framework to avoid dangerous climate change by limiting global warming to well below 2°C and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C. As a knowledge expert in sustainability, TUM Asia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Plastics Recycling Association Singapore (PRAS) to provide skills training and foster closer collaboration in the mechanical recycling of high-volume plastic wastes, the processability of quality recyclate pellets, and the achievement of a higher circularity of plastics.
The partnership between TUM and SIT was marked by another milestone – the launch of two new joint Bachelor of Engineering programmes with honours to provide students a blend of two education environments and opportunities to double their professional network. The joint bachelor’s programmes offer students greater adaptability and strengthen their industry readiness by straddling SIT’s applied learning pedagogy and TUM’s emphasis on industry relevance.
With the support of the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), TUM Asia and Festo Didactic Singapore established the Competence Centre for Digitalisation, Technologies, and Innovation (CDTI) to provide academic and industrial raise the capabilities of the workforce and address the new and emerging needs of the industry. The learning center is set to accelerate the transfer of industry best practices to the manufacturing industry around digital transformation
After one of the most successful presidencies in German university history, Prof. Wolfgang A. Herrmann has made way for his successor Prof. Thomas F. Hofmann at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), who will be helming the presidency role and bringing TUM as a force for technological change in the interests of society
TUM Asia signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with German European School Singapore (GESS) to support the academic development of GESS students and nurture their interest in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) areas.
The first cohort of the Specialist Diploma in Advanced Digital Manufacturing jointly developed by TUM Asia and Festo Didactic has successfully graduated. Following the success of its first training cycle, TUM Asia and Festo Didactic intensified their partnership by combining academic expertise from Germany augmented with practical modules supported by Festo Didactic to provide participants an immersive experience to master digital transformation successfully.
The year 2018 saw TUM’s commemoration of its 150th anniversary with more than 1,200 invited guests at Munich’s Residenz palace and the German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier as the Guest-of-Honour.
As the Fourth Industrial Revolution unfolds, many organisations and learning institutions began to think of ways to leverage its benefits by building a steady pipeline of Industry 4.0 talents. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was then signed Nanyang Polytechnic’s (NYP) School of Engineering to raise global engineering standards and deepen their research on process optimisation in 3D metal printing.
Asia and Festo Didactic SE signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop a series of workshops and masterclasses on Automation Technology and Industry 4.0 skill sets. The MOU came at an opportune time when the global manufacturing industry was ushering in the fourth industrial revolution to better equip the local workforce with the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technologies. Industry 4.0 will see smart factories and cyber-physical systems taking over the manufacturing landscape by storm.
To deepen the understanding and appreciation of the European Fourth Industrial Revolution among the workforce, its impact on Singapore, and its Smart Nation initiative, TUM Asia launched the first “INDUSTRIE 4.0: Towards the Future of Manufacturing” research symposium with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). The inaugural symposium saw more than 200 participants from 65 organisations convening in the symposium, shining the spotlight on the future of manufacturing and the transformative impact Industry 4.0 held.
With more students under its wing, TUM Asia officially moved to SIT@SP campus in which undergraduate and postgraduate students were housed in one single campus.
In commemoration of 50 years of diplomatic relations between Germany and Singapore, TUM Asia launched a series of SG50 scholarships for Singaporean students pursuing bachelor’s or master’s programmes, attesting to yet another deeper commitment of TUM Asia to empowering the future generation of leaders.
Following on the heels of a major push for more skilled labor in the Biologics Manufacturing industry, TUM Asia launched the first “Biologics and Process Technology” Masterclass in partnership with the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) e2i (Employment and Employability Institute), targeted for professionals to deepen their knowledge in the highly specialized Biologics Manufacturing Industry.
In 2014, the number of student enrolments crossed the 1,000 mark. TUM Asia marked the year 2014 with the largest cohort of students to have graduated with graduates coming from different corners of the world plying their trades in several industries from as far as South America and Africa.
With more research partnerships forged, the cooperation and exchanges within the scientific community deepened considerably. TUM Asia’s presence in Asia began to grow in prominence. TUM Asia organised the TUM Alumni Expert Seminar focusing on electromobility. The seminar saw TUM alumni residing at various corners of the globe convening in a week-long seminar, further deepening the scientific cooperation between Germany and Singapore.
TUMCREATE, a joint research collaboration between TUM and NTU, unveiled its first electric taxi prototype, EVA, at the 43rd Tokyo Motor Show. Designed as an electric taxi with super-fast charging ability and high range, the EVA is a culmination of interdisciplinary research in areas such as energy storage, battery charging, thermal management, and lightweight materials and design.
In the same year, TUM Asia launched the Manufacturing STEP Scholarship (MS2) programme, a scholarship programme worth S$1 million, with the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) to build a pipeline of management talent for the long-term needs of the manufacturing industry.
TUM Asia hosted its 10th anniversary celebration in Singapore with Professor Wolfgang A. Herrmann, President Emeritus of TUM and Academic Director of TUM Asia (former President of TUM) as the Guest-of-Honour and several dignitaries and partners in attendance. For the first time, alumni hailed from various corners of the world gathered for the “Stammtisch”, followed by a dinner.
2012 was also the first year where its student enrolment surpassed the two-hundred mark.
To mark the decade-long cooperation in Singapore, TUM and TUM Asia launched the “Building the Future” project in partnership with The Straits Times School Pocket Money fund where pre-university students from low-income families are given the opportunity to attend the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, and classes at the home campus in Germany at Munich.
The partnership between SIT and TUM deepened during the intervening years. Not long after, the Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering programme commenced – a reflection of TUM’s dedication in nurturing students beyond the European region in science and technology. The two BSc programmes conferred by TUM were the first Bachelor’s programmes outside of Europe to be conducted in English.
The provision of professional depth while nurturing their creativity and talents through a combination of research and teaching, lies at the heart of honing successful innovators. To this end, TUMCREATE was founded as a multidisciplinary research platform to foster bilateral research exchanges between TUM and world’s leading universities, local institutions, public agencies and industry partners.
Funded by the National Research Foundation, the first phase of its research focused on electromobility in megacities.
In partnership with the newly established Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), TUM Asia launched the first TUM Bachelor programme – the Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and Information Technology (EEIT).
As one of Germany’s largest and leading engineering departments, the EEIT programme of TUM combines the academic expertise of top German professors and industrial knowledge to equip students with the skill set to succeed in the manufacturing landscape in Singapore. The program offers an opportunity for undergraduate students to learn at the home campus of TUM where they travel to Munich for their bachelor’s thesis project.
TUM Asia took the next bold step, offering the first TUM-only master’s degree programme in Transport and Logistics – underscoring its commitment to delivering a world-class learning experience for students beyond Europe. At the same time, TUM Asia launched the joint Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering with the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore.
With TUM firmly entrenched in the Asian market, TUM Asia became the ideal base for the German university to pioneer new advances and exchange of knowledge in science and technology. The turn of the decade became the acceleration of scientific cooperation and development.
“The unique approach that TUM Asia offers to students and companies alike has led to a plethora of development opportunities for young Asian talents. The future of our industry will be decided in Asia. Establishing a relevant network with trusted partners like TUM Asia to draw talents from is a must for western multinational companies. Since its inception, a magnitude of talents has been developed with a high level of loyalty and commitment to their companies once employed. All enterprises which I have been working for since the establishment of TUM Asia in 2002 have chosen to engage with TUM Asia out of that very reason and it will continue to stay that way,”
Dr. Christian Kohlpaintner
Member of the Executive Committee
Clariant
TUM Asia was recognised as the second home of TUM and became the first offshore campus of TUM outside of Germany – further testifying to TUM’s unwavering commitment to honing top-class talents in the Asian region.
The global reputation of TUM forged on our TUM Asia campus has traveled far and wide as more students applied for the suite of programmes under TUM Asia. Soon, the German Centre became too small for the burgeoning TUM Asia. The same year, it moved to Pixel @ one-north to accommodate the growing student body.
Pixel @ one-north
Following the heels of the launch of the MSc in Integrated Circuit Design, TUM Asia commenced the second joint degree with NTU – Master of Science in Microelectronics.
To attune to the changing needs of the industry, the MSc Microelectronics was replaced with MSc in Green Electronics with an updated curriculum that focuses on the development of sustainable integrated circuits and microelectronics.
By 2006, the number of cohorts who graduated with a Master of Science degree in Industrial Chemistry grew to three. Various collaborations and support from industry partnerships began to pour in, opening doors of opportunities for students to engage in internships and thesis projects in Germany and Singapore. The business landscape in Singapore grew vibrant, which saw any TUM Asia’s student develop into leaders in respectable fields of expertise.
“We had smaller cohorts then, and Professors flew and still fly from Germany regularly to meet with students in person, giving them opportunities to ask questions about the topic. We would also contextualize our teachings by sharing our experience working in the field. For instance, we would share why it is important to make a chemistry compound more expensive, or how different chemical compounds are introduced and handled, which helped deepen their understanding of the topic,”
Prof. Kühn shared.
Prof. Fritz Kuehn, the Faculty Dean continues to teach today, inspiring many and more budding industrial chemists to chart their own path to success in the field of Industrial Chemistry.
Residing at the German Centre within the International Business Park, TUM Asia’s presence grew as it forged closer ties with local universities and companies through various partnerships and collaborations. In collaboration with Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore, TUM Asia inaugurated a joint master’s degree in Integrated Circuit Design.
Till today, TUM Professors continues the tradition of flying to Singapore to deliver the lectures to students.
The first cohort of TUM Asia has also graduated where they embarked on the next phase of the journey.
TUM Asia began to enter into new markets ; forging deeper collaborations with the local universities in Singapore.
In 2003, the Master of Science in Industrial and Financial Mathematics with National University of Singapore (NUS) was launched. In 2004, TUM Asia pioneered the Master of Science in Industrial Ecology with Nanyang Technological University NTU).
Inaugurated in 2002, the Technical University of Munich (TUM) Asia was established in Singapore under the Global Schoolhouse Initiative by the Economic Development Board (EDB), Singapore to bring the TUM education beyond Europe. First among German universities to venture abroad, both international and local students applied for its inaugural courses to gain the opportunity to glean from the twin perspectives of Singapore and Germany and benefit from the wealth of knowledge from lectures delivered by Nobel Laureates. Eventually, 20 students were accepted into its first joint Master of Science in Industrial Chemistry programme.
“Being the first batch of NUS-TUM Industrial Chemistry program then, it was exciting and prestigious to have been chosen among the many that applied and all of us received generous sponsorship from German companies that went on to provide us with a wonderful internship experience in Germany. The program was holistic as it covers a wide range of topics from chemistry, business management, and entrepreneurial skills, and we were kept on our toes all the time with the assessments and presentations. We even had the privilege to attend lectures by Nobel Laureates. The best memories I had were the weekend getaways with my classmates in Germany, we would catch a Bahn (train) to explore the different cities and capture these memories on camera. To this day, I am still in touch with many of my classmates via Facebook as they are located all over the world.”
Tan Wei Ling
Alumni
Industrial Chemistry (Pioneer Cohort)
