read ASTAR and JH story now.pl link JH's side of story here for
us to judge.
A*STAR's letter to The Straits Times on developments
at the Division of Johns Hopkins in Singapore,24, Jul
2006
11 Of the remaining 7 faculty, 6 were given appointments as
Assistant Professors by JHU. For 5 of the 6, this was their first
appointment as an Assistant Professor. Academics generally would
not consider someone at the level of an Assistant Professor to be a
senior investigator......
12 All in all, DJHS failed to meet 8 out of 13 KPIs for scientific
capability development specified in the Agreement. For 7 of these
KPIs, DJHS was unable to even meet the 1st year targets by the end
of the 2nd year.
13 The Agreement allows A*STAR to discontinue funding DJHS if it
decides after formal review and with due process, that DJHS is not
likely to succeed in achieving its KPIs.
2.At least ASTAR put up his case with some concrete
evidences.
The past performance of JH is not related in this issue.
Pl just check if JH has fulfilled their obligations according
to
the agreements.Of course ,each party may has different
interpartations.
Eg,para 10 and 11.
10. The Agreement also required DJHS to recruit 12
senior investigators with international reputation to
appointments at DJHS and with full-time residence in Singapore by
February 2006......
11......When A*STAR raised its concerns, JHU responded that at
Hopkins they prefer to hire capable and ambitious junior scientists
rather than bring in "big names". A*STAR feels strongly that
neither the letter nor the spirit of the Agreement, in particular
the requirement to recruit senior investigators, was being
followed.....
pl read if JH fullfil their obligations?An agreement is an
contract.
If it is fully funded and operated by JH,they has their final
say.
But JH has agreement with ASTAR.JH has to follow the
agreement.
JH cant bully ASTAR like younger brother.
ASTAR want to kick start the RD works by bring in senior
investigators with international reputation to appointments at
DJHS
and with full-time residence in Singapore .
But JH gave us not so experienced staff and most of them not
stay in Spore.
3.we can have 1000 opinons.But pl make the facts straight
first.
Just like those Share IPO and Funds Investment in disclaimer:
Past performance is not an indications of future
performances.
JH and ASTAR already acted.Pl dug out what thet had done or ont
done.
4.Is it true in western RD org,researchers has to spent at
least
half of their time to write grant papers to get funds?
Straits Times July 22, 2006 Johns
Hopkins, A*Star 'headed for break-up'
Facility in Biopolis will close in a year, say staff of research
and education tie-up By Liaw Wy-Cin and Teh Joo Lin AN
EIGHT-YEAR-OLD marriage between a top American medical institution,
Johns Hopkins University, and Singapore's Agency for Science,
Technology and Research (A*Star) looks to be heading for a
break-up, and a messy one at that.
Staff of the research and education tie-up - Division of Biomedical
Sciences, Johns Hopkins in Singapore - told The Straits Times that
they had been informed early last month that the facility in
Biopolis in North Buona Vista would close in a year.
Another indication of problems came from four local students who
were awarded doctorate scholarships to study at the university in
Baltimore.
They too were told last month that the research division would no
longer be funding their studies.
When contacted, an A*Star spokesman described the problems as a
period of 'transition' - a decision taken by the leadership of the
American university and the agency to replace the current
'operating model of collaboration' with a 'new model of
partnership' that is still being developed.
But while the issues are worked out over the next 12 months, staff
and faculty here will be given help to either relocate to Baltimore
or find new employment in Singapore, said A*Star.
As of March, there were a total of 60 staff, 13 of them faculty
members.
As for the four local students who were to pursue their graduate
training in Baltimore, A*Star said:
'Although A*Star is not obliged to do so, we have offered
assistance to all four students to facilitate their entry to a PhD
programme at a local university and where possible, we have offered
them the opportunity to apply for an appropriate A*Star
scholarship.'
Taking a different view of the situation was the spokesman for
Johns Hopkins University, who said the university had done its part
to recruit faculty and graduate students, as stipulated in its
agreement with A*Star.
The university maintains that its Singapore partner has not
kept up its end of the deal in meeting its 'financial and
educational obligations'.
'Although Johns Hopkins University has attempted to
be as collegial as is possible during this very difficult phase,
the displacement of outstanding junior faculty recruited from
throughout the world, and the intense disruption of graduate
student education, cannot be underestimated or dismissed.'
The spokesman added that this is a 'reputational issue for
Singapore and A*Star' and that the university will continue to work
to resolve faculty and student issues during this transition.
The recent developments came as a surprise to staff, some of whom
had only recently relocated to Singapore.
As late as March this year, an editorial in Johns Hopkins
Singapore's newsletter said the division 'continues its recruitment
efforts'. It also said it had 'embarked on its education programme
with a bang', before going on to mention the four Singapore
students who would receive the postgraduate scholarships.
Johns Hopkins came to Singapore in 1998 to carry out research,
education and patient care activities. p>
It also set up a medical centre here, designated as Johns Hopkins
Singapore's clinical arm for patient care and clinical research.
And while the research division has hit a rocky patch, the medical
centre is expanding.
The Johns Hopkins Singapore International Medical Centre last year
moved from its original premises at the National University
Hospital into a space at Tan Tock Seng Hospital that allowed it to
see up to 750 new private patients each year.
what is ''The university maintains that its Singapore partner
has not kept up its end of the deal in meeting its 'financial and
educational obligations'.''
