Nanyang Technological University (NTU) set up the Nanyang Centre for Public Administration (NCPA) in December 2009 under its College of Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences (HASS). The Centre aims to enhance the training of Chinese officials and public administrators and spearhead China-related research on public administration and economic management.
Building on NTU’s strengths and expertise in delivering high quality education programmes for Chinese officials and senior administrators, NCPA taps on the university’s rich interdisciplinary resources by bringing together eminent scholars from the different colleges and schools within NTU for programme development, teaching and research.
The centre also engages acclaimed public administration industry practitioners, who specialise in the research and teaching of China’s sociology, economy, politics, public administration and environmental issues, to share their valuable insights on Singapore’s model of public governance.
The Mayors’ Class
NCPA offers two Master’s programmes catering to Chinese government officials, namely the Master of Science in Managerial Economics (MME) and the Master of Public Administration (MPA) programmes, commonly known as “The Mayors’ Class”.
Launched in 1998, the Master in Science in Managerial Economics (MME) programme targets high-potential mainland Chinese mayors and senior executives of large state-owned enterprises. The success of the MME programme encouraged NTU to start the Master of Public Administration (MPA) programme in March 2005 with an inaugural batch of 55 students, who were senior government officials groomed to be the next generation of leaders.
To date, more than 1,000 local and international government leaders from China have graduated from the MME and MPA programmes. Many of these graduates have been promoted from mayor to governor or from deputy heads to heads of their organisations.
Some alumni of the Mayors’ Class include the Deputy Governor of Shandong, Cai Li Ming; the Party Secretary of Shijiazhuang City, Wu Xianguo; the Mayor of Hulunbeier City, Luo Zhihu and the Mayor of Hechi City, Lan Tianli. They form an influential group of decision-makers, gate-keepers and key officials in China. Besides the Master’s programmes, NCPA also offers short-term executive training programmes in public administration, economic management, urban planning, human resource management and community management.
Focus on Research
In addition to offering courses, the centre conducts and facilitates interdisciplinary research focusing on China’s public administration, economic policies, environmental issues, health care and social welfare policies, economic development and new media politics. It also seeks to promote interdisciplinary collaborations in social sciences, engineering, business, and humanities within NTU. To further promote research activities, the centre collaborates with other institutions on research projects and hosts outreach events including seminars, industry visits and conferences. It has also developed a case-writing programme on public administration and published a series of research papers. To strengthen NTU’s ties with its China-based alumni, NCPA organises networking activities such as alumni forums and convocation ceremonies in different parts of China.
Please see: www.ncpa.ntu.edu.sg
