World Class Universities

It was while watching Oppenheimer, the movie, that it struck me that in the early 1900s and up till the Second World War, the center of learning in the world, especially in the sciences and maths was actually Europe and not the US.

Of course now every well to do Chinese or Indian parent and increasingly some well to do Singaporeans are doing whatever they can to ensure that their children end up in the best universities in the US. To this end, a number of them send their kids to good boarding schools in the US as early as 14 to better their chances.

Oppenheimer was born in the US. In the 1920s, he studied chemistry at Harvard and did well. But to advance further in physics, he had to go to Europe. He initially went to Cambridge but later studied at the University of Gottingen in Germany to do his PhD in theoretical physics.

Germany then had Gottingen University, University of Berlin and University of Munich. All top class universities and then considered the best in the world. France had ENS Paris and University of Paris. Switzerland had ETH Zurich. Holland had University of Copenhagen. UK had Oxford and Cambridge. These institutions had the top names in science and mathematics working and teaching there and they were involved in cutting edge research in new fields in mathematics and physics. The Nobel prize winners then were all coming from these universities.

Of course Germany’s downfall came with the rise of Nazi Germany in 1933. Many of the leading scientists who were Jews fled Germany. Einstein was a German Jew who fled to the US. The murmurings of war in Europe and the fear of German invasion led to scientists in the other European countries to also flee Europe.

US realised the importance of high level research in sciences and in particular in mathematics and physics by 1920s. They accepted that they were far behind advancements in Europe and in particular Germany. Princeton and Caltech started attracting researchers from Europe with good positions and grants and freedom. The rise of Nazi Germany and the Second World War provided the impetus for the top brains to leave Europe and the US has not looked back since.

China has since the early 2000s wanted to be a world class player in the field of cutting edge science. They have made a huge effort to attract top chinese researchers from US and Europe back to China with grants and positions. The negative attitude in the US towards top chinese researchers and the fear that they are stealing research and spying for China has led to them being ostracized there. This has encouraged the exodus from the West.

Of course China has its own peculiar problems. They country is so protective of its research that if you are a leader in your field, you are restricted from traveling outside China, even to attend conferences and deliver papers. Even top Chinese students in schools are discouraged from going abroad to study nowadays.

Singapore is in a strange position. We have had top scores in the world for our primary and secondary education for years. Yet we are nowhere in terms of original research in sciences and mathematics. We have not had a world class artist, novelist or musician. Strange that for a country which invests so much in education, we have not been able to stand out in any significant field. We have compulsory education, motivated parents who invest time and money in their children’s education. And yet nothing. I wonder why. Is there something wrong with our education system?

Is it because our education system is still based on a system that was set up in the 1960s and which was originally geared to producing a working class to do manufacturing jobs for foreign companies which the government was attracting here? And is it because we have not evolved significantly from that model of education? I cannot imagine schools to be very different from how they were when I was studying. Class sizes and subjects taught are still the same.

With Trump in the White House and cracking down on certain universities such as Columbia and cutting off funding for any courses in some topics such as climate change, gender diversity etc, Europe senses that this may be the best time to lay down the red carpet and attract top researchers from the US. A large number of researchers are increasingly disillusioned with the politics in the country and the views and acts of those in power. They are finding open arms awaiting them European universities.

Perhaps history will again repeat itself in the reverse direction?