Between them, the new arrivals at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) will head research centres on technological innovation and water policy, while also strengthening the school's expertise in regional politics.

A new information and innovation policy centre, to be housed within the school, will be led by former Harvard University professor and technopreneur Viktor Mayer-Schonberger.

Other new faculty members include political scientist Huang Jing, an internationally-recognised China expert, Indian media expert and economist Sanjaya Baru and Russia expert Mary Astrid Tuminez.

Environmental policy specialist Shreekant Gupta and the director of the Institute of Water Policy K. E. Seetharam bring the school's total number of faculty members to 40.

LKYSPP Dean Kishore Mahbubani said the new hires are a concerted attempt to broaden the school's expertise beyond regional governance and economics and make it more attractive to students here and overseas.

He added that between them, the six individuals 'have a wide range of experience and expertise' and 'strengthen an already strong faculty' through their diverse backgrounds in academia, public and international organisations and the private sector.

The LKYSPP currently has over 280 Masters and PhD students from 42 countries, and also conducts training programmes for government officials.