New Delhi: The National University of Singapore in collaboration with the Sikh community has launched an academic programme in Sikh studies to commemorate the 550th birth anniversary of the faith’s founder Guru Nanak Dev.
“This is a first Asian Visiting Professorship In Sikh Studies outside India. There are similar university-based study programmes on Sikhs in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States,” Baljit Singh, President of the Central Sikh Gurdwara Board told PTI. The board oversees two gurdwaras and a Sikh Center in Singapore.
The programme will enable National University of Singapore (NUS) to attract leading scholars who have demonstrated excellence in the study of Sikh philosophy, history, art, culture and the wider Punjabi diaspora globally, the news agency said.
The university will manage a fund of 2.4 million Singaporean dollars as it will be running the programme supporting visiting professor in the research and teaching Sikh studies from an academic perspective.
“The Professor will be a senior or emerging scholar with a strong international reputation and publication record, extensive experience of teaching and student supervision, and be internationally recognised,” Singh said. “He or she will contribute to undergraduate and graduate teaching, research and leadership at the South Asian Studies Programme,” he added.