Dr. Michael Fung is the Executive Director of the Institute for the Future of Education (IFE) at Tecnologico de Monterrey (Tec), the leading private university in Latin America with 26 campuses in Mexico and 18 offices globally. The IFE aspires to generate, transfer, and disseminate applicable knowledge about educational innovation, connecting and seeking disruptive global solutions for the future of higher education and lifelong learning, to build a better world and improve lives of millions of people through education.

He was formerly the Deputy Chief Executive (Industry), Chief Human Resource Officer, and Chief Data Officer at SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG), a statutory agency under the Ministry of Education. Through his leadership, a comprehensive education and training ecosystem was developed under the national SkillsFuture movement, and SkillsFuture has been held up as a global benchmark and reference for the development of effective education and training systems to ensure workforce skills competitiveness and promoting lifelong learning across society.

Michael is the Founding President of the Higher Education Planning in Asia Association, a professional network with more than 1,000 senior university planners and administrators from across Asia, serving as a platform to strengthen the planning capabilities of higher education organizations across Asia, to collaborate and share diverse international perspectives on university development. He is an adjunct Senior Fellow at the Singapore University of Technology and Design.

He serves on a number of boards and committees, including the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications, Intellectual Property Office of Singapore International Board of Governors, the Institute of Banking and Finance Council, the Singapore Institute of Directors Professional Development Committee, the Advanced Manufacturing Training Academy Training Council, the Institution of Engineers Chartered Engineering Technologist and Technician Accreditation Board, the Singapore Manufacturing Federation Precision Engineering Certification Board, and the Carnegie Mellon University Admissions Council.

Michael was previously Senior Advisor to the Office of the President at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), and Director of Planning and Institutional Research. He led the development of the five-year University Strategic Plans, and the annual administrative and academic planning, decision-making, and resource allocation exercises. He also led the University’s participation in international rankings, propelling HKUST to #1 in Asia three years in a row.

He was formerly the Director of Strategic Planning and Quality Assurance at the Singapore Management University (SMU), Deputy Director at the Singapore Ministry of Manpower (MOM), and held various senior positions at the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) and the National Computer Board (NCB) of Singapore, where he developed and launched a national ICT blueprint, deployed nation-wide broadband infrastructure and applications, and implemented large-scale sectoral flagship projects.

Michael holds a Doctorate degree in Education from the University of Southern California, and Bachelor and Master degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Carnegie Mellon University in the US. He also completed two executive programmes at the Tsinghua University in China.