SUTD Launches New Innovation Pathway to a PhD

Lianhe Zaobao, 新科大推出新计划 通过创新路径攻读博士学位

(Summarised translation)

SUTD’s PhD by Innovation pathway enables candidates across disciplines to conduct rigorous doctoral research while developing and validating innovative solutions to real-world problems. Innovation may take different forms depending on the field, ranging from new technologies and systems to new methods, processes, economic mechanisms or policy interventions. Candidates may propose their own research project based on a genuine problem in their field or select from designated projects. Throughout the programme, they will work with academic supervisors, who ensure the depth and rigour of the research, and experienced industry experts, who provide perspectives on the relevance and practical value of the innovation. Candidates must make an original doctoral-level contribution, document the research and development process in a thesis, and provide evidence that their solution has been validated in practice. Their thesis and innovation will be assessed by both academic examiners and industry practitioners.

SUTD Provost Professor Chee Yeow Meng shared that the PhD by Innovation pathway combines rigorous doctoral research with the development of solutions to real-world problems, saying: “Research asks us to understand the world more deeply. Innovation asks us to use that understanding to build something that makes a difference. The PhD by Innovation brings the two together.”

The pathway has a minimum candidature of three years and is expected to welcome its first cohort in Academic Year 2027.