The Singapore University of Technology and Design (SU) will be Singapore's fourth public-funded university. The new university is scheduled to open its doors in 2011.

Its founding president is Thomas Magnanti, who is an institute professor with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Professor Magnanti's appointment was announced by the new university's Board of Trustees on Thursday. During his three-year term of appointment, Prof Magnanti will be on leave from the MIT faculty and will devote his time fully to the new Singapore university.

The new university will admit its first intake of up to 500 students in two years and students will have four degree programmes to choose from.

These will be in the areas of Architecture & Sustainable Design, Engineering Product Design, Engineering Systems & System Design, and Information Engineering & Design.

First-year students will be exposed to foundation studies in the areas of mathematics, science, introductory humanities and social sciences – all in the context of design. They will also get to learn about entrepreneurship and management during each of the four-year degree programme.

The medium-sized university will eventually cater to some 4,000 undergraduates and 2,000 graduates.

Prof Magnanti said the university will be well-poised to serve Singapore, the region and the world.

"We'll focus on trying to create what we call technical grounded leaders - people who have technology in their hearts and their soul and who will go out to the marketplace with a well-grounded education, and be able to lead all of us, economically and socially, to the future," he said.

The Board said choosing the right person for the top post of SU president was a lengthy process.