Service Appointments - International
- Founder member, International Forum for Research in Education (IFORE)
- Executive Board Member, Asia-Pacific Association of Coaching Science (AACS)
- Executive Board Member, Asia Council of Exercise and Sport Science (ACESS)
- Academic Member, Athens Institute for Education & Research (ATIER)
- Past Vice-President, ACESS
- Past Vice-President, Education Research Association of Singapore (ERAS)
- Life member, Singapore Physical Education Association
- On editorial board of more than 30 journals in PE, sport science, medicine & health
Service Appointments - National
- Steering Committee of the NTU Senate
- Board of Directors for the Singapore Sports School
- Chairman of the Ethics Review Board for Research for Sport Singapore
- ACCORD Educational Institutional Council
- Advisory Board for Singapore Sailing
- Vice-chairman of the Beacon Primary School Advisory Board (4th term)
Visiting Appointments
Executive Summary
Professor Michael Chia is Dean for Faculty Affairs who works collectively with the 12 Heads of Academic Groups in NIE, who report directly to him, to nurture, galvanize and energize all academic staff to make significant contributions in daily effort for teaching, research and service excellence and to take ownership for the Institute of Distinction that is the National Institute of Education Singapore. Since 2011, he evaluated and oversaw the successful promotion of more than a dozen professorial and lecturer staff as the NIE Chair for the promotions committees that make recommendations to the Director’s Advisory Committee. In this regard, he led workshops and provided detailed advisories, coaching and mentoring of staff, helping colleagues put their dossiers in good order for promotion consideration. He is a member of the NIE Senior Management and he assists the Director of NIE in leading the Institute in the accomplishment of its strategic mission.
A capstone 24-month project initiated by him was the leadership training and development programme for all NIE academic appointment holders to upskill leaders to be more self-aware, responsive and relevant to context-based challenges in achieving the strategic goals for NIE. In this regard, he helped to streamline and harmonize teaching evaluation, promotion and staff appraisal across the 12 academic groups. He played a pivotal role spearheading change management together with the NIE Senior Management in the transition to a ‘points-free’ performance appraisal system for NIE academic staff. He also promoted a more consultative approach for succession planning for NIE appointment holders. He coaches and mentors academic group heads in their leadership role and he also currently oversees the Asian Languages and Culture academic group as an intermediate arrangement as a special assignment by the NIE Director.
Professor Michael Chia was elected to represent the NIE on the University Senate in 2012-2014 and again from 2014-2016. During the latter term, he was elected onto the Senate Steering Committee and he chairs the Committee for University Development and he was active in canvassing faculty voice in a future-forward development of the university in congenial and cooperative partnership with the NTU Senior Management. During his tenure, NTU senior management accepted and adopted four recommendations put forward by his committee. Previously, he sat on the Committee on Policy Matters of the Academic Council and he continues his service on the University Faculty Housing Steering Committee.
When Professor Michael Chia served as the Head of Physical Education (2006-2010), he steered his colleagues in the development and launch of the inaugural and Singapore’s only university-level BSc in Sports Science and Management programme. This NTU degree programme that is largely based in NIE remains a signature and very successful programme for the university. He also enhanced and made safer physical infrastructure by overseeing a $1.7 million dollars-costed improvements, namely an enhancement lightning protection system and the overhead coverage of the outdoor basketball and volleyball courts.
His contributions to NTU include his appointment as the Chairman of the NTU Healthy Lifestyle Committee from 2006-2010. He and his committee, worked tirelessly to promote the health and well-being of nearly 5000 NTU colleagues and during his tenure as Chairman, his committee clinched a Silver (2008) and a Gold Award (2010), respectively in the Singapore HEALTH Award by the Singapore Health Promotion Board of the Ministry of Health in Singapore. The award recognizes organizations with commendable workplace health promotion programmes.
Professor Michael Chia’s international academic standing and leadership are strong and well-recognized among peers. Significant past accomplishments include his leadership and organizing chairmanship of the 1st Youth Olympic Games Conference in May 2010 that was hosted in NTU and NIE. The conference attracted 1200 delegates from 30 countries and helped to put NTU, NIE and Singapore on the world’s map in terms of Physical Education and Sport Science. His expertise continues to be much sought after- he is on the editorial boards of 32 internationally recognized peer-reviewed journals and has reviewed more than 70 manuscripts; he continues to receive invitations to deliver keynote lectures and has delivered addresses to international audiences in Japan, Switzerland, Malaysia, Taiwan, China, Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
Apart from his more than 130 research publications, with more than 70% lead or corresponding authorship in books, chapters, monographs and journal papers on physical education, sport, physical inactivity and health of youth, Professor Michael Chia has contributed advisories and co-authored national guidelines for Physical Activity for Youth and Adult and international guidelines for Youth Sport Development (International Olympic Council Medical Commission, 2015). He supervised and graduated 12 doctoral and master-level students with all of them gainfully employed and holding establishment positions in academia, research and in the ministries of education and sport in Singapore and eslewhere.
Internationally, he played significant leadership roles among his professional peers in his accomplished appointments as Vice-president of the (i) Asian Council of Exercise and Sport Science and (ii) Education Research Association of Singapore. Nationally, his leadership contributions include advisory and board directorship of schools (Singapore Sport School, Beacon Primary School) and national bodies (Singapore Sailing, Ministries of Health and Education) and chairman of the Research Ethics Committee of Sport Singapore.
Professor Michael Chia is a recipient of teaching, research and service awards from his university and from international organisations. In 2016, he received national Day Awards for his leadership in administration and contribution to the Ministry of Education- the Public Service Medal (Bronze) and the Long Service Medal.
He embraces his appointments and assignments with grace and gratitude in his professional and personal quest to make a meaningful difference to his institution, country and the international community.