14
December
2016
|
16:04
Asia/Singapore

New Management appointments

The University has announced new management appointments in the Office of the Provost and the Office of Deputy President (Research and Technology).

Professor Ashraf A Kassim assumed his role as Vice Provost (Special Duties) from 1 October 2016. He assists the Provost in overseeing industry engagement, undergraduate internships as well as the Centre for Future-ready Graduates and career preparation programmes for NUS students. He also continues to be involved in the enhancement of the General Education curriculum.

Prof Ashraf was Vice Dean (Undergraduate Programmes) of NUS Engineering from 2005 to 2014, and Associate Provost (Undergraduate Education) from 2014 to 2016. During his term as Associate Provost (Undergraduate Education), he played a key role in driving NUS’ initiatives in teaching and learning, including steering the Board of Undergraduate Studies, and managing the development of a blended module for the Quantitative Reasoning pillar of the revised General Education curriculum. 

Prof Ashraf took over the role of Vice Provost (Special Duties) from Professor Chan Eng Soon, who is now Chief Executive Officer of the Technology Centre for Offshore and Marine, Singapore Ltd.

Associate Professor Erle Lim was appointed Associate Provost (Undergraduate Education) from 1 October 2016. Assoc Prof Lim assists the Provost and Vice Provost (Undergraduate Education) in driving NUS’ educational initiatives which include developing technology-enhanced education programmes, such as the Learning Innovation Fund – Technology (LIF-T) and Blended Learning modules. He also oversees the development of the Computational Thinking module and assists in the innovation laboratory in the Institute for Application of Learning Sciences and Educational Technology.

A recipient of the 2007 NUS Outstanding Educator Award, Assoc Prof Lim is a Clinician Scholar in the Department of Medicine, with a concurrent appointment as Senior Consultant Neurologist at the National University Hospital. He was Assistant Dean of Education in the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine in the late 2000s, and Chair of the NUS Teaching Academy from 2010 to 2012. 

From 1 January 2017, Associate Professor Peter Pang will assume the position of Dean of Students. Heading the Office of Student Affairs (OSA), Assoc Prof Pang will work closely with the Provost and Vice Provost (Student Life) in overseeing student life matters. The areas of focus include strengthening social integration, developing mental resilience among students, and enhancing overall out-of-classroom learning opportunities through residential learning and community involvement. He will also provide direction and lead synergistic working relationships with our student leaders, as well as OSA’s stakeholders and partners, to promote student services, student life, and student development. 

Currently Associate Provost (Student Life), Assoc Prof Pang was previously Assistant Vice President (University & Global Relations). He was also Director of the University Scholars Programme from 2003 to 2009. 

Assoc Prof Pang, who is from the Department of Mathematics, will take over from Associate Professor Tan Teck Koon, who has been Vice-Dean and Dean of Students for the past 16 years.

Also on 1 January 2017, Professor Aaron Thean will begin his appointment as Director of Industry Engagement and Partnerships in the Office of Deputy President (Research and Technology). He joined NUS as a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in May. A prolific inventor with more than 50 US patents, Prof Thean brings with him substantial industry experience, particularly in the field of advanced semiconductor R&D. 

Prof Thean served as Vice President of Logic Technologies and Director of the Logic Devices Research at IMEC, a nano-electronic research centre based in Belgium, before he joined the University. He spent a large part of his career in the US, and had worked at Qualcomm CDMA Technologies, IBM and Motorola. He has received several awards; the most recent was his recognition by the National Research Foundation’s Returning Singaporean Scientists Scheme.