NUS receives S$5 million pledge to expand the Chua Thian Poh Community Leadership Programme
The National University of Singapore (NUS) has received a generous pledge of S$5 million from philanthropist Mr Chua Thian Poh, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ho Bee Land Limited, to expand the Chua Thian Poh Community Leadership Programme (CTPCLP). The pledge was announced today at the CTPCLP Symposium 2017, in the presence of the Symposium’s Guest-of-Honour Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Ms Grace Fu.
The gift, which is eligible for the Government’s matching grant, will enable CTPCLP to double its yearly student intake of about 40 students to 80 in the years ahead. It will also provide more resources for student community projects and encourage greater collaboration with social service organisations in Singapore.
NUS President Professor Tan Chorh Chuan said, “We are deeply grateful to Mr Chua Thian Poh for his pledge of a new gift of S$5 million to further expand the scope and deepen the impact of this unique programme in its next phase of development. We thank Mr Chua for his generosity and continuous support, and also for sharing our commitment in nurturing students who are passionate about social and community issues. The expansion of CTPCLP will give more students the chance to work with social service organisations to learn best practices in community development, and to give back to society by co-creating solutions with social service providers to address salient issues affecting our society.”
Mr Chua Thian Poh, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ho Bee Land Limited, said, “I am encouraged by the impact of the CTPCLP and the work accomplished by its students over the past five years. I am therefore very pleased to continue the support and expansion of CTPCLP to create a broader, sustainable social impact on Singaporeans and the larger community. I have always stressed the need for the young to become socially-conscious individuals through higher education and increasing the value of their contributions to society. It is my hope that CTPCLP continues to provide the catalyst for positive social change by encouraging more youths to get involved in community matters, and to empower today’s youths with the knowledge and skills necessary to develop viable solutions to societal problems.”
The Chua Thian Poh Community Leadership Programme (CTPCLP) was inaugurated in 2011 with a generous gift of S$5 million from Mr Chua Thian Poh. The programme is aimed at developing Singapore’s next generation of community leaders to collectively solve social and community problems.
The popularity of the Chua Thian Poh Community Leadership Programme has grown tremendously. Students in this programme have embarked on 85 meaningful community projects, and touched many lives. The programme has also inspired students and CTPCLP alumni to initiate ground-up community projects involving the wider NUS community.
For more information on the CTPCLP, please visit http://ctpclp.nus.edu.sg/.
CTPCLP Symposium 2017
The CTPCLP Symposium 2017 provided an opportunity for NUS students from CTPCLP to showcase and discuss the findings of five research projects that focused on critical social and community issues affecting Singapore. Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Ms Grace Fu, participated in a dialogue session with the student presenters and audience members after the presentations. The dialogue was moderated by Associate Professor Albert Chu-Ying Teo, Director of the CTPCLP.
The projects featured at the Symposium addressed a wide range of topics – from mental health issues among the youth, community resources for isolated persons with disabilities, improving the nursing home experience, and evaluating the social impact of children and youth programmes, to reviewing the effectiveness of a community care programme that helps older persons manage chronic illnesses. In the course of their research, NUS students under the CTPCLP were guided by partnering organisations including local social service organisations such as Singapore Association for Mental Health, Ren Ci Hospital, Econ Healthcare Group and SPD.
For these social research projects, the students critically examined social issues, evaluated public policies that aim to address the issues, and proposed alternative solutions. These projects also enabled the students to gain first-hand experience and a better understanding of the challenges that the social service organisations face.
