When INSEAD first came to Singapore a decade ago, it wondered if it had calculated the risks properly. This was after all, the only second campus for the renowned Fontainebleau-based tertiary institution. And no other schools around have two full-fledged campuses offering an MBA programme.

Professor Ilian Mihov, Dean of Research at INSEAD’s Singapore campus, recalled, “When you start a big project like this one, you realised that many people are risk averse. They worry about what will happen if they don’t succeed.”

INSEAD was considering four cities – Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Tokyo – before it finally decided on Singapore. In addition to the strong government support, it found that the Republic had an environment that was more conducive to starting educational institutions.

“The city had a critical mass of talent here attracted to the type of education that we offered, and Singapore being a gateway city, is easily accessible to people from all over the world. It’s such a cosmopolitan city.”

“The nice thing about Singapore is that here, it is very international, our classes are very international and this exposure is very useful. Diversity is what INSEAD is all about,” Prof Mihov said.

Some 420 students graduate from its Singapore campus every year, just over 40% of the total cohort, including those who graduate from the Fontainebleau campus. The number has jumped almost eight times its first batch of 53 students.

Classes in Singapore now resemble a United Nations, with students coming from the Americas, Europe and Africa. Significantly, almost one in five of them – remained in Singapore after graduation to work for one of more than 7,000 MNCs based here.

INSEAD’s success has attracted other tertiary institutions to set up here, making Singapore a regional education hub. Today, renowned institutions such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Chicago Business School, Georgia Institute of Technology, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Duke University and UK’s Imperial College, have all established a presence in Singapore.

These tertiary institutions help groom the talent pool comprising well-trained locals and foreigners who stayed behind when they found jobs in Singapore.

They also create a vibrant intellectual environment which in turn attracts more academic and research talents for the education and R&D sectors.

INSEAD’s experience is a case in point. Prof Mihov explained that one of the biggest challenges for a new university is building the faculty base. “Academics tend to stick together .You want to get an intellectual environment, have people around you that share your interest, your research agenda and we had problems when we first came to Singapore.

“There were only six people in the beginning. I came in 2002 and it took us eight years to get to this level; once we got to 40, all of a sudden, attracting more faculty members became easier.”

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INSEAD Singapore’s problem now is not attracting more professors but finding more space for its burgeoning faculty, 54 members at the last count. It recently announced plans to increase the size of its current Buona Vista campus by building on the empty site adjacent to it.

Today’s universities are no longer Ivory Towers. They collaborate closely with the industries for research and training. INSEAD is cooperating with financial institutions on a research project on setting up family offices, and its professors who are well versed in subjects like advertising and branding, plan to start a Centre for Consumer Research to provide a research platform that will cater to the needs of MNCs in such industries as consumer goods manufacturing and financial services.

INSEAD has also set up the Global Private Equity Initiative (GPEI), based at its Asia campus in Singapore. The GPEI is part of its dedicated commitment to Asia and to the growth of private equity in emerging markets.

Aside from joint research work, INSEAD also collaborates with MNCs to conduct customised executive courses. This works out well for the MNCs wishing to set up their base in Singapore as they now have a globally-recognised institution to educate their top leaders and management.

“It’s not just for the management that are based here, we have had companies flying their executives from all over the world to participate in our courses. At the same time, these executives also spend time with their Singapore office to learn more about the business here,” related Prof Mihov of his experience working with some MNCs based in Singapore.

At the personal level, Prof Mihov and his family are drawn to the safe environment and first-class education that Singapore offers.

“The education for the kids, it’s absolutely marvelous. There are many different schools that you can choose from and all of them are very high quality.”

“It’s also a very safe city. I used to live in Manhattan and with two kids in Manhattan, it’s sometimes a challenge – which street to take, what time do they come home, and so on. Having lived here, you realise how valuable this safety is, this security,” elaborated Prof Mihov.

With strong support from the Singapore government and a conducive environment, INSEAD has quickly established itself in the gateway city to the world. As a safe and liveable city, Singapore is able to give its residents, like Prof. Mihov, a peace of mind at the end of a busy day.

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