Singapore's Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the University of California (UC), US has announced that they will be expanding academic and research opportunities and collaborations.

The 'Memorandum of Understanding' has signed by NTU President Professor Subra Suresh and UC President Janet Napolitano on behalf of their institutions.

As per a news release, it will "explore activities over a five-year time frame to further the exchange of faculty and students, as well as joint research efforts in areas that include climate change, health, technology and innovation."

NTU President Professor Suresh said that both the universities are globally recognized for their involvement in "research, education, innovation and commitment to societal impact. By combining our strengths and by deepening our collaboration, we can magnify this impact to address a number of global challenges."

After signing the 'Memorandum of Understanding,' UC President Napolitano said, "I'm excited to be in Singapore this week to explore new opportunities for UC to collaborate with leading higher education institutions such as NTU Singapore."

"With its teaching, research, and public service mission, the University of California is committed to boldly confronting the most pressing global challenges. Establishing robust international partnerships is critical to this effort," he further added.

President Napolitano and her delegation are on a two-day visit to Singapore. He also participated in a discussion on Monday, February 18 and talked about the integral roles that individuals, institutions and universities can play in meeting the global challenges of climate disruption and other emerging threats, in front of almost 300 students. Her discussion topic also included the world's unity through research and innovation.

"This memorandum of understanding builds on NTU's existing academic and research collaborations with UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Los Angeles, UC San Francisco, UC Santa Barbara, and UC Santa Cruz," the news release added.

It also stated that at this point of time almost 180 NTU students are participating in academic exchanges in the US annually. There are also 175 students who participate in exchange programmes at US partner-universities under the 'Global Engineering Education Exchange' network that enables undergraduate engineering students to study and intern overseas.