EPFL and A*Star of Singapore Will Collaborate For Doctoral Research
Fusionopolis, Singapour location of A*Star
EPFL and A*Star of Singapore signed an agreement yesterday that enables collaboration between the two institutions at the doctoral level. Young researchers in life sciences, engineering, physics and mathematics will have the possibility to complete half of their courses at a research facility in Asia.
In a few years, A*Star of Singapore has become a cutting-edge scientific institution, and from now on, it will be a possible destination for doctoral students who opt to continue their studies abroad. A*Star is not a school or university in the traditional sense. It is made up of various institutes that host the elite researchers of Singapore, and the agreement signed yesterday with EPFL will soon allow students to follow a doctoral curriculum at the institution.
This program was initiated in the life sciences department because of well-established links between professors at both institutions and their research, but the partnership will not stop there. The possibility to study two of the four years necessary for a doctorate in Singapore will also be available to students studying engineering, physics and mathematics.
The number of participants, either employees of EPFL or grant recipients at A*Star, will depend upon the desire of the students and their professors to take advantage of the program. A professor at each institution will correct the doctoral dissertations and the school will award the diploma.
“It’s an occasion for EPFL to be noticed by the excellent local students who, for now, are more likely to go off to the big universities in England and the United States,” states Didier Trono, a professor of virology who participated in the development of the curriculum. This link will also create synergy between the research teams that supervise the doctoral students.