- NUS and U.S. Naval Postgraduate School launch joint degree, reinforcing a 50-year defense education partnership focused on interdisciplinary learning, systems thinking, and emerging tech.
- Ceremony in Singapore attended by top defense leaders, including Minister Chan Chun Sing and NPS President Vice Admiral (Ret.) Ann Rondeau, celebrating expanded academic and operational ties.
- Over 1,000 officers trained through earlier programs, with the new initiative aiming to shape future-ready defense professionals for today’s complex global security landscape.
In a first for global defense education and cooperation, the Temasek Defence Systems Institute (TDSI) of the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in the United States have introduced a joint new degree program, further reinforcing an established partnership based on common strategic objectives and mutual confidence. The deal was sealed on July 23 at a ceremony in Singapore, with NUS President Tan Eng Chye and NPS President, retired U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Ann E. Rondeau, Ed.D., signing the accord.
The activity was joined by top defense and academic officials, such as Singapore's Minister of Defence Chan Chun Sing, Permanent Secretary for Defence Development Melvyn Ong, Chief Defence Scientist and TDSI Board Chairman Tan Peng Yam, NUS College of Design and Engineering Dean Professor Teo Kie Leong, U.S. Embassy Charge d'Affaires Lisa S. Liao, and U.S. Navy Capt. Manuel Picon, Defense Attache.
Minister Chan praised the Naval Postgraduate School as a key component of Singapore's defense education ecosystem, remembering how successive generations of Singapore defense professionals studied there and came back with useful knowledge and international networks that added to the country's defense capabilities. The new program is meant to equip defense professionals with the capability to deal with the intricacies of contemporary warfare by promoting interdisciplinary know-how, systems thinking, digital systems engineering, and breakthrough technologies. Both institutions highlighted the growing need to adapt defense education to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving technological and strategic environment.
Rondeau emphasized the significance of the joint degree, describing it as a symbol of the strong and enduring relationship between NPS and TDSI. She noted that the collaboration is not just about curriculum, but about fostering a shared ethos of integration, mutual respect, and problem-solving. The new program is on the foundation established more than five decades ago, when Singaporean students initially joined NPS in the early 1970s. Over 700 Singaporeans graduated since then, among them Lui Pao Chuen, a 1973 operations research graduate who rose to become Singapore's Chief Defence Scientist and was inducted to the NPS Hall of Fame in 2002.
In 2001, TDSI and NPS had already implemented a double degree program that had graduated more than 300 Singaporean officer graduates in the military and 68 U.S. officers. The success of such collaboration opened the door to this newly strengthened academic venture aimed at strengthening operational ties and knowledge transfer.
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Tan Eng Chye commented that the joint degree reflects a dedication to defense excellence and research, highlighting the standing of both institutions in strategic studies and military affairs. Admiral Samuel J. Paparo, US Indo-Pacific Command Commander and NPS graduate, welcomed the inauguration, declaring success in today's contested environment rests with people. He indicated that this initiative will prepare next-generation leaders with the skill to critically examine complicated issues and work transnationally to promote regional security and prosperity.
The initiative is likely to enhance ties between Singapore and the US, not just through scholarly cooperation but by cementing a common dedication to peace, stability, and technological progress. Rondeau referred to the partnership as one of NPS's finest traditions, noting its ability to promote long-term, cross-cultural relationships between defense professionals. NPS' International Graduate Programs Office, which manages educational partnership with allied countries, has an alumni network of more than 7,000 military graduates from 128 nations. Deputy Director Mowafiq W. Alanazi termed the NUS partnership a beacon of the school's international outreach in military education.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, Minister Chan looked to the future and said that the joint degree would further enable engineers to make a greater contribution to national defense. With this achievement, NUS and NPS re-commit to their mutual vision of developing defense leaders who can innovate and collaborate in a knowledge-intensive and interconnected world.
