Naval Postgraduate School International Graduate Programs Office (IGPO)

The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) was pleased to host His Excellency Andrei Muraru, Romanian Ambassador to the United States, and his delegation for an official visit to learn more about NPS international graduate programs and to meet with faculty, students and staff. Ambassador Muraru was welcomed and briefed on NPS capabilities by Mowafiq Alanazi, associate director, International Graduate Programs Office, before heading over to the NPS Department of National Security Affairs to meet with chair Maria Rasmussen and faculty. While there, he engaged with students in senior lecturer Cris Matei’s class, and met with experts from the NPS Energy Academic Group. Muraru has been his country’s ambassador to the U.S. since 2021 and is himself an accomplished academic with a Ph.D. in history from the University “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” in Iași, Romania. • Learn more about international student programs at NPS: https://nps.edu/web/igpo • More about the Department of National Security Affairs: https://lnkd.in/gcHBSZuz US Navy | United States Marine Corps | U.S. Department of State | Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” din Iași | Naval Postgraduate School International Graduate Programs Office (IGPO) #international #partnerships

“Countless invaluable academic, cultural and social experiences were taken away from my studies abroad in Singapore … With my valuable experience from the TDSI program, I hope to be a leading player in the relationships we have with Singapore and other partner nations in the Pacific,” noted Lt. Cmdr. Alex Anderson, a recent graduate from the Naval Postgraduate School’s partnership with the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Temasek Defence Systems Institute (TDSI). Students in this challenging program spend six months at NUS taking courses in advanced topics such as cyber security, artificial intelligence and data analytics, on top of their NPS degree program, giving NPS-TDSI program graduates a firsthand perspective on current defense challenges in Singapore and the broader region, while complementing their technical specialization in their NPS fields of study. “Singapore is a critical Indo-Pacific partner,” said retired U.S. Army Col. Danial Pick, NPS Director of International Programs. “The decades-old educational relationship between NPS and TDSI is an important manifestation of our partnership. Hundreds of U.S. and Singaporean graduates of our unique dual degree program are serving in important national security positions in both countries.” For more information on this longtime partnership, check out the full story. • Learn more about international graduate programs at NPS: https://nps.edu/web/igpo US Navy | United States Marine Corps | Office of the Secretary of the Navy | U.S. Indo-Pacific Command | National University of Singapore | Temasek Defence Systems Institute | Naval Postgraduate School International Graduate Programs Office (IGPO) #partnerships #graduateschool

Today, my Naval Postgraduate School seminar on American institutions hosted Senator Bill Monning, Ret. California State Senate Majority Leader Emeritus, as our guest speaker. Mr. Monning service to the people of California spans over 50 years as an international human rights lawyer, conflict mitigation expert, and an impactful legislator. The discussion and conversation with our international officers representing 18 allied nations was beyond fascinating. Such interactions with great leaders like Senator Monning are the best way to learn about U.S political institutions and give our students a deeper understanding to state and local politics. Naval Postgraduate School International Graduate Programs Office (IGPO) continually strives to build a meaningful experience for our partners and allies. Stronger together!

Congratulations to our recent NPS cohort of graduates from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Temasek Defence Systems Institute (TDSI). In a ceremony on July 11 at TDSI, U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Alex Anderson and Marine Corps Capt. Susan Figlioli and Capt. Jordan Figlioli were recognized for earning their Master of Defence Technology and Systems degrees, part of a unique exchange program enabling qualified NPS students to earn degrees from both institutions. Presiding over the ceremony was Mr. Tan Peng Yam, Chief Defence Scientist from the Singapore Ministry of Defence.    “Countless invaluable academic, cultural, and social experiences were taken away from my studies abroad in Singapore,” said Anderson. “Each of the two academic quarters involved multiple seminars and field trips around Singapore which helped apply the systems engineering approach we learned about in the classroom. The professors in the TDSI program were a mix of university professors and defense contractor adjunct professors which offered an additional level of perspective to the course materials.”   Anderson is now on his milestone tour as a cyber planner at U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) headquarters. “With my valuable experience from the TDSI program, I hope to be a leading player in the relationships we have with Singapore and other partner nations in the Pacific,” he added.   Singapore is a critical U.S. ally in the Indo-Pacific. The NPS-TDSI program gives U.S. military students a firsthand view of current defense challenges in Singapore and the region,complementing their technical specialization in their NPS field of study.    In addition to their TDSI degrees, Anderson earned his NPS master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, and the Figliolis both earned their NPS master’s degrees in Information Sciences, as well as the Meyer Scholar program in missile defense; all three graduated from NPS in 2023. Anderson was able to travel back to Singapore for the TDSI ceremony.   Three NPS students are currently enrolled in the TDSI exchange program and studying in Singapore: U.S. Navy Lt. Alex Misenheimer, Alan Hatlestad and Marine Corps Capt. James Villanueva, all of whom will return to Monterey this fall to complete the NPS portion of the program.   - Read more about the NPS-TDSI program: https://lnkd.in/gwak_XWt US Navy | United States Marine Corps | Office of the Secretary of the Navy | National University of Singapore | Ministry of Defence of Singapore | U.S. Indo-Pacific Command | U.S. Pacific Fleet | Commander, Naval Information Forces | Naval Postgraduate School International Graduate Programs Office (IGPO) #IndoPacific #Singapore #TDSI #NPSalumni