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To education minister Chan Chun Sing, a National University of Singapore (NUS) student who is "successful" should have done well "beyond themselves".

In Parliament today (Sep. 13), Chan addressed the decision to merge Yale-NUS with the University Scholars Programme.

He also responded to several supplementary questions, one of which submitted was by NMP Raj Joshua Thomas asking Chan about his definition of "success" for NUS and NUS students, given NUS' vision for interdisciplinary education.

Success "beyond themselves"

"I do not measure NUS students' success by how well they do for themselves, in the type of income that they earn, or the type of jobs that they get," Chan said.

Speaking about how NUS takes in "the best" from every cohort, he says it is "to be expected" for NUS students to perform above average, or even well, in society.

His vision for a "successful" NUS student is defined by three parts: Success beyond themselves, for their country, for their people, and for their future.

It's not just about doing well individually.

To Chan, it's about how these graduates go beyond themselves to help Singapore continue to defy the odds of history and become "a shining beacon" across the world, not just in Southeast Asia.

Next, a "successful" NUS graduate should be defined by how well they uplift the less privileged, and perhaps less talented, in order to forge solidarity in the face of forces that threaten to divide people.

Finally, he also considers success in terms of how they are able to enable the next generation to surpass previous generations.

"If NUS students can embody this spirit of being successful beyond themselves, for the country, for our people, and for our future, I think NUS and NUS students would have done Singapore a great service for many generations to come."

A successful NUS

But what would it mean for the university to be successful?

When responding to an earlier supplementary question by Workers' Party's He Tingru, Chan also offered his take on university rankings:

"I'm personally not very taken by ranking per se, because even if a university is ranked high or low, there are elements in the universities that we can learn from.

[...] I think we must take a very open approach to consider partnerships with others to make sure that we continue to learn from them, and to take the best aspects from these partnerships."

In his reply to Thomas, Chan explained that he would consider it a success if NUS is able to produce "quality graduates" with a much more global perspective. Students who are able to make connections between the East and West will be well-placed to provide "unique solutions" and become an "integrative force for the world", he said.

His next point was on how NUS should remain humble and continue to not only learn from the best in the world, but also chart out its own way forward by creating something new instead of just "copying from the best". This is so it can be a "value[d] partner to the rest of the world".

Finally, a successful NUS would help to strengthen Singapore's standing in the world, by standing for values such as openness, integration and inclusivity, as well as providing solutions in context for the world.

Top photo via MCI, NUS.