Speech by Professor Cheong Hee Kiat At The MOU Signing Between SIM And SPF

Professor Cham Tao Soon, Chancellor and Chairman, UniSIM
Mr Ng Joo Hee, Commissioner of Police;
Distinguished guests;
Ladies and gentlemen;

I am pleased to join Commissioner Ng to sign this Memorandum of Understanding between the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and SIM University (or UniSIM, in short). I always feel safer in any function with the SPF. This MOU marks the renewal of a very special and successful relationship between our institutions.

The earlier MOU signed on 17 May 2006 was the first one that UniSIM had customised for an organisation. Our unique undergraduate degree in Management and Security Studies was a first for Singapore as well as the Southeast Asian region. UniSIM is privileged to be part of this significant collaboration since 2006.

The new MOU presents several features. Firstly, the MOU envisages and operationalises the synchronous alignment between the Management and Security Studies Programme and UniSIM’s vision of serving society through excellence in flexible learning for working adults. New courses are being designed and will be offered using different e-learning strategies, techniques and modes of pedagogical delivery.

Another feature in the new MOU is the opening up of the Security Studies component to students at the University. The new "inclusivity" feature supports the growing demand for high quality university education in security studies. This feature underlines the fact that "security" is not only the responsibility of government agencies but also the responsibility of everyone who lives in Singapore. This "inclusivity" feature will enable students in other disciplines to read a Minor in Security Studies. This is a welcomed liberalisation of the range of choices afforded to our students.

The security environment has changed dramatically since the time that the first MOU was signed in 2006. The programme in Management and Security Studies has thus been revamped to present brand new courses over the next few years that account for the dynamic nature of regional and global security issues.

For example, the new course on "Economic Security and Culture" analyses cultural security that is dependent on economic growth, while "Security and Technology", also freshly served up, emphasises internet security, cybercrime, and cyber-terrorism based on "trending" issues such as Wikileaks, terrorist financing, terrorist rehabilitation, and the Stuxnet PC virus threat that emerged in 2010. This is the "Brave New World" which we live in!

The strengths of the undergraduate degree in Management and Security Studies that served well in the past will remain. These include the electives in Sociology and Psychology that have proved popular with Home Team officers.

UniSIM takes pride in ensuring that external evaluation, assessment and validation for Security Studies continues with our special relationship with RSIS at NTU. We also intend to develop greater regional expertise for the Security Studies component as our University becomes increasingly recognised as an autonomous centre for the university level study of security in this part of the world.

The university has received strong endorsement from the government. In the recent Budget 2011, our Finance Minister said: "we will increase subsidies significantly for Singaporean adults who pursue their first degree or diploma on a part-time basis at any of our polytechnics, CET centres, universities or UniSIM. They will receive the same percentage cost subsidy on their part-time courses as what a full-time student currently enjoys". With the 55% fee subsidy recently announced, up from the previous 40%, it is value-for-money taking a programme at UniSIM, never mind the demanding requirements.

UniSIM's successful partnership with the SPF exemplifies the programme's direct and practical relevance to the security industry. We are deeply honoured by the robust and genuine support and bonds that have emerged over the past five years and look forward to sincerely building on such excellence with our "Friends in Blue". We are confident that under the leadership of our new Commissioner of Police, Mr Ng Joo Hee, new security horizons will be explored and greater heights of awareness will be achieved.

I am grateful to Commissioner Ng and his team at SPF for sharing UniSIM's mission of nurturing and developing adult learners as we continue to build another five years of strong bonds. Our teams have also worked hard on this – let us all thank them.