Lianhe Zaobao, 新科大校长受委 出任国际工程技术科学院理事会董事会成员

(Translation)

Professor Phoon Kok Kwang, president of the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), has been appointed to the Board of the International Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences (CAETS), becoming the first board member from Singapore.

In a statement on Monday (Dec 1), SUTD announced that Professor Phoon was appointed to the CAETS Board as the representative of the Singapore Academy of Engineering (SAEng).

Professor Phoon is a Fellow and Treasurer of SAEng. His two-year term on the CAETS Board will begin on 1 January 2026. This marks the first time a Singaporean has joined the Board since Singapore became a CAETS member in 2023.

Established in 1978, CAETS is an independent international organisation comprising more than 30 engineering academies worldwide, including those from the United States, China, the United Kingdom, Japan and Germany. It serves as a global forum for engineering leaders to collaborate and advise on critical issues in science, technology and innovation. The Board is responsible for driving and implementing the policies and actions approved by the Council.

The statement noted that Professor Phoon’s appointment underscores Singapore’s growing influence in the global engineering community and reflects SUTD’s continued contributions to technological and design innovation, as well as international collaboration.

Professor Phoon said he was honoured by the appointment and expressed his commitment to representing Singapore in global engineering dialogues. “This appointment reflects the growing stature of Singapore’s engineering and technology community, and our collective commitment to harnessing innovation for societal progress.”

He added that SUTD is actively redefining the future of engineering through Design AI, by integrating AI with design to address complex social and engineering challenges with a human-centric approach, enabling future engineering innovations to make a meaningful difference in communities.

Professor Phoon is an accomplished civil engineer and academic leader known internationally for his pioneering research in statistical and machine-learning methods for geotechnical engineering. He currently serves as Deputy Executive Chairman (Research) of AI Singapore and is a Fellow of the Singapore National Academy of Science, the Institution of Engineers Singapore, and the American Society of Civil Engineers.