Official opening of Tahir Foundation Building at NUS recognises major gift from Dr Tahir for education and research

The National University of Singapore (NUS) officially opened the Tahir Foundation Building, named in recognition of a generous gift to NUS from prominent Indonesian business leader and philanthropist Dato ' Sri Dr Tahir that was made in early 2012.

The gift was made in support of advancing medical education and research at NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine.

The gift is enabling the development of a novel Virtual Reality Simulation (VRS) system in the School for the training of medical and nursing students in the first full-scale application of this technology in medical and nursing education.

NUS Medicine 's Centre for Healthcare Simulation and the Keio-NUS CUTE (Connective Ubiquitous Technology for Embodiments) Centre are in partnership to build the new VRS system for two key projects:

• A Virtual Interactive Human Anatomy (VIHA) that will allow students to better learn the human anatomy; and
• A Virtual Interactive Simulation Environment (VISE) which can create life-like scenarios such as mass casualty situations, within which teams of students can train. Such immersive simulation training can ultimately help to improve the quality of patient care and safety.

Through Dr Tahir 's gift, the School will also be setting up the Global Health and Leadership (GoHelp) Initiative to equip students with the skills and knowledge required to run community improvement projects, such as mass health screening programmes for local residents as well as those in rural areas in neighbouring countries.

Dr Tahir 's gift will enable NUS Medicine to further enhance its curriculum. The School is working towards having a majority of teaching sessions to be case-based and interactive, with greater emphasis on Inter-Professional Education, by 2020. In addition, the gift from Dr Tahir will provide scholarships and bursaries to support financially needy students.

NUS Medicine is at the forefront of research that has a positive impact on the community, contributing to the improvement of healthcare in Singapore and delivering new and better ways of managing chronic illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and illnesses related to ageing. With Dr Tahir 's generous gift, the School is moving ahead with several clinical research programmes, including one which aims to study the use of Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Systems to improve muscle mass and function in patients with lower limb fractures. Researchers from the School are also working on research projects directed at dementia and at eradicating chronic hepatitis B.

The Tahir Foundation Building is a 17-storey mixed-use facility that houses research labs, teaching and learning spaces, as well as student activity areas of the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. Part of the building is shared with the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, as well as Pharmacy and Chemistry programmes of the NUS Faculty of Science.

Singapore 's Minister for Education, Mr Heng Swee Keat graced the opening of the Tahir Foundation Building as the Guest-of-Honour, and was given a special tour of the facilities.

Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, NUS President, said, "We are deeply grateful to Dr Tahir for his generous gift to NUS and the opportunities it has created for our students and faculty, and for the benefits that it will ultimately bring to our patients. As we mark the 110th anniversary of NUS and the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine this year, we would like to thank our alumni and friends, like Dr Tahir, for their strong support over the years. We will continue to work hard to enhance the quality of our education, advance the frontiers of research, and effectively translate our work to make a lasting impact on healthcare that benefits our patients and the community."

Dato ' Sri Dr Tahir said, "I am a firm believer in the important role of education as an agent of social change and social development. NUS, being a global leading university, is well positioned to contribute significantly to Singapore and the world. I hope that this new building will bring together the best young minds in medicine and healthcare, and develop them as future leaders who will lead us on the path to greater discoveries and advances."