More than 100 students from Singapore and Asia attend training programme to be champions of the environment
Topics to be explored include climate change and environment sustainability
The National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Singapore Technologies Endowment Programme (STEP) today kicked off the fourth STEP-NUS Sunburst Environment Programme, an annual event that aims to ignite passion and interest among students to care for the environment, as well as to educate them on pressing environmental issues.
Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, and Ministry of Health, was the Guest-of-Honour for the launch of this year’s STEP-NUS Sunburst Environment Programme.
First started in 2013, the STEP-NUS Sunburst Environment Programme is organised by STEP in partnership with the NUS Climate Change and Sustainable Environment Research Initiative hosted by the Tropical Marine Science Institute (TMSI) and the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) at NUS. This year’s programme focuses on pollution, and participating students will be challenged to examine pollution from the perspective of sustainability and climate change. The programme also features a new partner - the World Harbours Project (WHP). Initiated by the Sydney Institute of Marine Science, WHP aims to develop resilient urban ports and harbours through a global partnership consisting research institutions and agencies concerned with the health of urban waterways.
Professor Leo Tan, Chairman of STEP and Director (Special Projects) at the NUS Faculty of Science, said, “Pollution, climate change and global warming are among the numerous environmental challenges that the world faces today. As researchers, policy-makers, corporates and citizens work hard to address these issues, initiatives like the STEP-NUS Sunburst Environment Programme play a pivotal role in educating and inspiring our youths to become future champions in caring for the environment.”
Professor Wong Sek Man, Director of TMSI at NUS, said, “Environmental challenges today are becoming increasingly complex. To address these challenges effectively will require individuals and institutions from various countries coming together to share new ideas and novel technologies to enhance conservation efforts. I hope that through this year's programme, students from different countries can gain a better understanding of environmental pollution from a broader perspective, and be able to come up with fresh ideas to address pollution problems.”
The programme will be held over a period of five days, from 21 to 25 November 2016, and involves more than 100 students from Singapore, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
Participating students will have the opportunity to learn about different aspects of pollution, as well as managing ecosystems and noise in the environment, from leading scientists. Dr Mariana Mayer-Pinto, who is from the University of New South Wales and WHP, will be introducing concepts for eco-engineering in the marine environment and how these may play a role in creating sustainable urban cities. Other leading scientists involved in the programme include Professor Rudolf Wu from the School of Biological Sciences at University of Hong Kong, and Associate Professor Lee Heow Pueh from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at NUS Faculty of Engineering.
The students will also visit MacRitchie Nature Reserve, Sungei Buloh Nature Reserve and St John’s Island. In addition, they will also be making a trip to the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum at NUS to learn about conservation and the Singapore whale.
Participating students have been organised in teams and to demonstrate their understanding towards different aspects of climate change and environment sustainability, students in the various teams will compete through written essays, oral presentations and poster presentations. The winning teams will win prizes sponsored by STEP.
