Students here need to be like "eels", or Eternal and Engaged Learners (Eels), said Education Minister Chan Chun Sing on Monday (Feb 21). He was speaking at the launch of a book – Building Excellence In Higher Education: Singapore's Experience – on the development and future of the system in Singapore for higher education, which is co-written by the fourth and longest-serving president of SMU, SMU Professor Emeritus of Operations Management Arnoud De Meyer, and SMU Adjunct Lecturer Jovina Ang. In his speech, Prof De Meyer highlighted designing a system aligned to socio-economic development of the country and significant investment in research funding for universities as two of several drivers of excellence in higher education over three decades. While greater emphasis has been placed on lifelong learning since the launch of SkillsFuture in 2015, Dr Ang, who also teaches adult learners at SMU, said more needs to be done to make reskilling a way of life.