SINGAPORE - The Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) will partner Duke-NUS Medical School to offer an SUTD-Duke-NUS Special Track to produce "clinicians who are adept at both practising medicine and harnessing technological advancements across disciplines".

SUTD said these graduates would have the ability to treat patients and design medical innovations in fields such as healthcare product design, biomaterials, drug delivery, hospital bed allocation systems, patient monitoring, and hospital design.

Students will graduate with a Bachelor of Engineering or Bachelor of Science degree at SUTD after 3½ years, followed by a Doctor of Medicine degree at Duke-NUS Medical School after another four years.

SUTD chairman Lee Tzu Yang announced the partnership on Friday (Dec 1), saying the interdisciplinary programme will give students deeper real-life knowledge of these industries, and more research and internship opportunities both locally and globally.

SUTD president Professor Thomas Magnanti said the programme expects to enrol 10 high-achieving Singapore Citizens and Singapore Permanent Residents a year, and they will be counted under the Duke-NUS Medical School headcount of about 50.

Learning will take place at SUTD, Duke-NUS Medical School and Singapore General Hospital.

The partnership is part of SUTD's growth plans over the next five years, for which it has set aside a multi-million dollar budget, developing new programmes in key economic sectors.

The university said it will further integrate research, education and industry, to help students develop multi-faceted skills and understanding of the sectors. Initiatives will include research collaborations to develop "state-of-the-art technologies to support industry transformation".

These will focus on four key areas - Healthcare, Cities, Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, and Aviation.

Mr Lee also announced that provost Professor Chong Tow Chong will become acting president from Jan 1, 2018.

Prof Magnanti will be stepping down on Dec 31 with the conclusion of his eight-year term. He will be appointed President Emeritus, acting as adviser on university matters and representing the school where appropriate.

Prof Chong described SUTD's next phase as "big and bold", in vision and ambition.

"With our innovative education, multi-disciplinary research and pervasive partnerships with industry, government and global universities, we will deliver a truly unique and exciting university experience for our students to create a better world by design," he said.