Re-appointment of Dean in RSIS

23 December 2025

Professor Kumar Ramakrishna has been re-appointed as Dean of S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore with effect from 1 January 2026 for another three-year term.

RSIS is a global graduate school and think tank focusing on strategic studies and security affairs. The graduate school offers Master of Science Programmes in Strategic Studies, International Relations, International Political Economy, and Asian Studies. It fosters a nurturing environment to develop the students into first-class scholars and practitioners. The think tank conducts policy-relevant and forward-looking research in national and international security, science and technology, society, and economic and environmental sustainability. RSIS has five Research Centres and three specialised Research Programmes to drive the School’s policy-relevant research and networking activities.

Professor Ramakrishna joined the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS), the predecessor of RSIS, in 2000. He has been a tenured Associate Professor in NTU since 2009. Professor Ramakrishna has held a number of key appointments in RSIS, namely, founding Head, Centre of Excellence for National Security (CENS) from 2006 to 2015, Head of National Security Studies Programme (NSSP) from 2016 to 2020, and Head, International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR) from April 2020 to December 2022. He was appointed Dean of RSIS from January 2023.

As Dean of the School, Professor Ramakrishna has strengthened the academic spine of RSIS and invested efforts in enhancing the quality of its faculty. He has assiduously nurtured academics with potential to secure successful career advancements in their respective fields. Under his leadership, RSIS has attracted a diverse and cosmopolitan student body to RSIS Master programmes. With Professor Ramakrishna’s guidance, RSIS was ranked well overall in recent NTU student experience surveys across all NTU Schools.

Professor Ramakrishna is an internationally recognised and sought-after speaker in counter-terrorism and a regular commentator on related issues such as national security. With a strong publication record of single-authored books and edited/co-edited books, his latest book “Jemaah Islamiyah, ISIS and Beyond: Tracking the Evolving Challenge of Violent Extremism in Southeast Asia (2001-2025)” was launched in July 2025. Professor Ramakrishna regularly publishes in international journals including Studies in Conflict and Terrorism and Religions and Contemporary Southeast Asia, and is often sought after for views on his domain expertise, sharing his knowledge and insights of developments and trends in national security studies, counterterrorism, and extremism in culture, faith, and identity.

RSIS warmly welcomes Professor Ramakrishna to his new term of re-appointment.