An NUS alumna (Arts & Social Sciences '92, MA '96, Public Policy PhD '13), she was the NUSS Professor in Behavioural Public Policy at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP).

A pioneer in establishing behavioural economics as an important research area at NUS, Prof Leong devoted her academic career to studying water policy, environmental management and public sector reform in Singapore and Asia.

Her research examining how emotions, narratives and perceptions influence policy decisions has advanced understanding of complex issues such as public resistance to recycled drinking water and hesitancy toward the novel mRNA vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings from her research on the latter were cited by the World Health Organization on the importance of behavioural intervention. Her scholarship has appeared in reputable publications such as Global Environmental Change, the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, and ASEAN Development Outlook reports, among others.

Over the course of her academic career, Prof Leong transformed the research paradigm in behavioural water policy. The evolution of her research – from early descriptive studies to the large-scale field experiments she designed that directly tested policy “nudges” in communities – has been lauded by external reviewers as exemplary. Her appointment to the editorial board of the Behavioural Public Policy journal cemented her reputation as a custodian of rigour in the field. A forthcoming Oxford University Press monograph further established her role as the go-to authority on water behaviour, extending her influence from regional specialist to global policy expert.

Prof Leong joined LKYSPP in 2014. She taught courses on governance, policy communications and behavioural economics, and held visiting appointments at the London School of Economics and the University of Cambridge. As a testament to her intellectual leadership, she was most recently named the NUSS Professor in Behavioural Public Policy.

Reflecting the breadth of her commitment to the University, Prof Leong was a passionate advocate for students’ personal development in her role as Vice Provost of Student Life and, before that, Dean of Students and Resident Advisor at College Green. A thought leader in humanistic experiential learning, she championed initiatives such as NUSOne, which formalised the concept of student life and the value of out-of-classroom experiences; through NUSOne, students gained a smoother transition in their first year, more avenues to explore interests beyond the classroom, and expanded opportunities for campus living.

In recognition of her distinguished service, Prof Leong was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Silver) at the 2025 National Day Awards.

You are invited to share your memories of Ching or leave a message of tribute or condolence in her honour on this tribute wall.

Prof Lanza and group members from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in the College of Design and Engineering (CDE) at NUS, are exploring new materials and device concepts that could help overcome the physical limits of conventional electronics. His recent studies and startup company show the breadth of this work — from understanding materials at the smallest one-atom limit to deploying them into tiny switches that make future wireless technologies more compact and energy-efficient.

At the heart of both is a deceptively simple idea: when electronics become extremely small, details that once seemed insignificant can transform how a device behaves.

Advanced nanoelectronic metrology

Understanding charge transport in novel materials with nanometric spatial resolution is critical in many branches of science, technology and engineering, and it has become a fundamental pillar in the field of semiconductors. This is a domain in which Prof Lanza’s team has been producing cutting-edge knowledge over the past decade.

For example, in a study published in Nature Materials on 1 July 2026, Prof Lanza’s team uncovers new fundamental physics that could shape how future electronics are designed. The paper’s first author is Dr Yue Yuan, who worked with Prof Lanza and the research team to investigate how atomically thin materials behave inside electronic devices.

His team has been investigating two-dimensional (2D) materials, which can be only a single atomic layer thick. Their extraordinary thinness offers the possibility of building electronic components with performance and functionalities superior to those used today.

But shrinking electronics to this scale introduces new problems. Electrons can pass through barriers intended to stop them — a phenomenon called quantum tunneling that unnecessarily increases energy consumption and usually accelerates device failure.

Using a technique called conductive atomic force microscopy (or CAFM), the researchers clarified a long debate related to the magnitude of quantum tunneling through various 2D materials deposited on diverse substrates. They discovered that the material itself is only part of the story. Tiny gaps between an atom-thin material and its electrodes can change the distance electrons must travel and, in turn, dramatically affect charge transport.

“At this extremely small scale, we’ve shown that tiny physical gaps between electrodes can matter more than the material’s own ability to block electrical current,” Prof Lanza said.

This finding, which was only possible thanks to the high lateral resolution of CAFM, gives engineers critical information for designing more reliable atomically thin devices and could ultimately inform the development of smaller and more energy-efficient chips, memory technologies and other advanced electronics.

Read more about this study here.

Memristive microchips

Another pillar of Prof Lanza’s research is the design, fabrication, characterisation and simulation of memristive devices. Memristors can be understood as “resistors with memory”, that is, they can be programmed at different values depending on the history of electrical stresses applied. These devices are called to play a key role for applications related to information storage, computation, encryption, and telecommunication.

For example, in a study published in Nature on 8 July 2026, Prof Lanza’s team deployed 2D materials to mitigate a growing challenge in wireless technology: how to pack more functionality into chips without making them larger or more power-hungry. The paper’s first author is Dr Sebastian Pazos, a senior device engineer working with Prof Lanza.

Modern wireless systems need growing numbers of radio-frequency switches to direct and control signals. While a 2G system used about four such switches in its signal-sending and receiving unit, 5G and future 6G systems may require 50 to more than 100 — potentially increasing the size, cost and power consumption of wireless hardware.

Prof Lanza’s team developed a radically smaller alternative using memristors. Based on hexagonal boron nitride (or hBN), an insulating 2D layered material, each switching element measures just two by two micrometres. Unlike conventional switches that typically require continuous power to maintain their state, these “memristive” switches retain their state after power is removed.

Crucially, the researchers did not demonstrate the technology only as a standalone laboratory device. They integrated the switches directly onto commercially manufactured gallium nitride (GaN) microchips and used them in working circuits that could adjust signal strength, redirect signals and select different frequencies.

The potential impact extends from smartphones and mobile networks to self-driving cars — technologies that will increasingly need to handle more wireless functions without simply becoming larger or consuming more power.

Read more about this study here.

Reinventing the transistor for AI

The third direction in which Prof Lanza’s team is making impact is on the design of hardware for artificial intelligence (AI). In another Nature article published in 2025, his team demonstrated that with only one standard silicon transistor, one can emulate both neural and synaptic behaviours. This is something that was thought to be impossible: engineers normally need dozens of transistors and bulky capacitors for each neural and synaptic block.

This groundbreaking discovery could be used to build high-performance spiking neural networks (SNN), a novel computing architecture that is particularly interesting to deploy AI on battery-powered and energy-harvesting devices, such as drones, robots, and wearables (a field often referred to as “Edge AI”).

Building on this breakthrough, Prof Lanza and Dr Pazos founded Newmorphic, a startup company located at one-north, a 6.5-hectare startup site often referred to as Singapore’s "Silicon Valley". On 28 and 29 October, Newmorphic went on to compete in SLINGSHOT 2026, Singapore’s flagship deep-tech startup competition held during the Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (SWITCH) 2026, and emerged as winner in the “Advanced Manufacturing and Industrial Systems” domain.

Selected from a global pool of over 5,100 applications across 148 countries and placing among the top 10 finalists overall, Newmorphic’s victory underscores the commercial impact of its cutting-edge technology.

Reliable innovation in semiconductors

Together, these achievements capture Prof Lanza’s approach to innovation: understand what happens when materials are pushed to their physical limits, then turn those insights into new ways of building electronics.

A characteristic feature of Prof Lanza’s approach to nanoelectronics research is his emphasis not only on innovation, but also reliability. “We always try to repeat the experiments multiple times, using biasing protocols as close as possible as those required by industrial applications. We also usually report yield, variability, reliability and stability,” Prof Lanza said.

Furthermore, in most studies, his team employs manufacturing processes compatible with semiconductor wafer production lines, meaning that what they fabricate in the lab can be relatively easily transferred to the commercial manufacturing process. “We want to take advantage of the rich semiconductor and start-up ecosystem of Singapore and contribute to the development of new technologies, especially in the field of artificial intelligence.”

By understanding, controlling and ultimately exploiting phenomena at the atomic scale, his work is helping lay the foundations for electronic technologies that could be smaller, smarter and more energy efficient.

Read more information about his team here.

• The Straits Times, 5 November 2026, Opinion, pB3

Professor Chor is the Michael G. Fisch 1983 Professor and Globalisation Chair at the Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College, and Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). A Singaporean economist, he received his PhD in Economics from Harvard University. He is widely recognised as a leading scholar in international trade and political economy and currently serves as Associate Editor of the Journal of International Economics.

Professor Chor's work focuses on international trade and political economy. His recent research examines the economic and political effects of US-China tariffs and the reallocation of US supply chain trade. Notably, a paper he co-authored, examining the shift in direct US sourcing from China towards other countries was presented at the 2023 Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium. He has published in leading journals including Econometrica, and the Journal of International Economics and co-authored the chapter on global value chains in the Handbook of International Economics.

Professor Joseph Liow, Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, said, “Professor Davin Chor is widely recognised for his groundbreaking contributions to the study of global value chains and international trade. His research has provided the field with foundational tools and insights that have transformed how scholars and policymakers understand the dynamics of global production and the forces shaping today’s shifting trade landscape. We are delighted to welcome him to LKYSPP, where his insights will enrich our faculty’s research and our students’ understanding of these critical issues.”

Mr Edward Robinson, Deputy Managing Director (Economic Policy) and Chief Economist, MAS, said, “Professor Chor’s research has advanced our understanding of how global production networks shape trade and economic activity. His expertise is especially valuable as trade tensions and geopolitical developments prompt firms to reassess their supply chains. As an open economy deeply integrated into global supply chains, Singapore stands to benefit from his insights into the risks and opportunities of shifts to the global trading system. It is our great privilege to welcome him as the 26th MAS Term Professor.”

Professor Chor will deliver a public lecture at NUS on 6 November 2026 titled, "US-China Trade at a Crossroads: Reflections on the Outlook for China’s Growth”. In his lecture, he will offer a glimpse at how China has been doubling down on exports as a growth engine, even though this may ultimately not be a sustainable strategy. In addition, Professor Chor will engage in dialogue sessions with NUS faculty members to discuss his latest research findings.

Professor Chor will also give a talk at MAS and engage senior policymakers and economists on issues in international trade, global supply chains and the impact of globalisation.

About the MAS Term Professorship in Economics and Finance

First established in 2009, the MAS Term Professorship in Economics and Finance is awarded to distinguished scholars, who are appointed as Visiting Professors at the Department of Economics at the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, the NUS Business School, or the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. It aims to strengthen Singapore’s financial and economics research infrastructure and contribute to a vibrant research community and culture at local universities. Since its inception, the MAS Term Professorship in Economics and Finance has been awarded to 26 distinguished scholars over the last 17 years.

But these linguistic differences may not always be fully understood by AI, which begs the question: Is technology adapting to the way we communicate — or the other way round?

This question took centre stage at “Lost in Translation”, a panel discussion organised by The Mandala Club on 20 October 2026, featuring Professor Lionel Wee, Dean of the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) and a linguist specialising in sociolinguistics and pragmatics.

He was joined by Ms Rahat Kapur, Co-founder and Editorial Director of Beyond The Boardroom, and public policy practitioner Ms Chathuni Uduwela, to explore how AI shapes the way people use language and interact with each other.

When AI favours one way of speaking

While much of the discussion centred on differences between Asian and Western communication styles, Prof Wee cautioned against treating them as distinct categories, highlighting a less obvious concern: that AI may inadvertently disadvantage people who speak different varieties of the same language.

Much of the data used to train AI language models is based on American English. As a result, users in India have reported instances where AI corrects commonly used expressions in Indian English, treating them as grammatical mistakes rather than legitimate variations of the language.

“Access on its own is not really meaningful if you don’t take into account the kinds of friction that people encounter,” Prof Wee said.

Can AI understand what we really mean?

Another challenge lies in AI’s ability to interpret the nuances of human communication. Understanding language is not just about recognising the literal meaning of words, but also interpreting what people mean when they do not say things directly.

Prof Wee illustrated this with everyday examples. When a waiter says, “Table number five wants their check”, everyone understands that it is the customer, not the table, asking for the bill. Likewise, when someone responds to a dinner invitation with “I've got to wash my hair”, most people recognise it as a polite refusal.

Such exchanges rely on shared understanding and social context. The question is whether AI can consistently interpret these subtleties, particularly as languages continue to evolve.

When chatbots become companions

The discussion also examined how AI could reshape relationships, particularly as more people turn to chatbots for companionship and emotional support.

Prof Wee shared anecdotes about how a colleague’s niece, following a difficult breakup, turned to a chatbot for comfort, while another student relied on a religious chatbot app for reassurance long after exams were over.

“Are we creating generations that are less resilient, less able to deal with setbacks and difficulties because all we get are cooing noises from some technology?” Prof Wee asked, raising concerns over how this could affect how people respond to disagreement and setbacks in real life.

What human skills should we preserve?

Finally, as AI takes on an expanding range of cognitive tasks, another pressing question arises: What human skills and abilities should we continue to cultivate?

Writing, for example, has reduced the need to memorise information, while calculators have made manual calculations less necessary.

Describing himself as an “AI agnostic”, Prof Wee stressed the importance of maintaining “a healthy dose of scepticism towards AI” – an acknowledgement that its technological potential should not come at the expense of humanity’s ability to think independently, cope with challenges and build meaningful human connections.

• The Straits Times, 4 November 2026, Opinion, pB2

• CNA Online, 3 November 2026 

• The Straits Times, 3 November 2026, Opinion, pB3

• Lianhe Zaobao, 3 November 2026, Forum, p10

The family, whom she had earlier befriended through an NUS service-learning course offered in partnership with the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), had taken the initiative to seek professional support after she shared about available resources with them. It was a reminder that making a difference sometimes begins with helping others find the support they need.

Since 2022, more than 1,100 NUS students have contributed over 20,000 volunteer hours through GEN2070 Community Link (ComLink) Befrienders, making NUS the largest single organisational contributor to the national initiative.

For its sustained efforts to support lower-income families and promote social inclusion, NUS was recognised with the MSF Outstanding Partner Award 2026, becoming the first Institute of Higher Learning (IHL) in Singapore to receive the award.

“Through our strategic partnership with MSF, we mobilise our vibrant community of students, staff, and alumni to drive social mobility for ComLink+ families and champion the aspirations of persons with disabilities,” said Ms Ong Mui Hong, NUS Cares Director, at the Office of the Provost.

Relationships that make a difference

Launched in August 2022 under NUS’ Communities & Engagement General Education pillar, GEN2070 was the first service-learning collaboration of its kind between MSF and an IHL.

Through year-long befriending relationships, students support lower-income families, from helping children with their studies to encouraging parents as they work towards their goals. More than 340 students enrolled as befrienders in 2025.

For Leticia, a Psychology undergraduate who had learnt basic sign language at NUS, the course offered a valuable opportunity to support a family comprising deaf parents and a teenage child.

Despite initial communication challenges, she persevered, improving her signing skills and understanding of the Deaf community. Later, she interned at SADeaf and connected the family with a social worker there.

Today, she keeps in contact with them even after completing the course.

“I treasured the opportunity to walk with these families in the various journeys that they were on, and it was a privilege to be welcomed into their lives and be with them throughout their ups and downs,” she shared.

Making community engagement part of university life

The course is part of the larger NUS Cares movement, through which the University mobilises staff, alumni and student groups to champion and volunteer in meaningful initiatives that benefit society.

Building on GEN2070, NUS also introduced GEN2072 Enable Inclusive Communities SG in August 2026, in collaboration with SG Enable — bringing students and persons with disabilities together to co-create activities that develop practical living skills and encourage social participation at Enabling Service Hubs and Day Activity Centres.

Other initiatives include career-readiness and life-skills programmes for youth at the Singapore Boys' Home and Singapore Girls' Home, and disability inclusion efforts under Project Dolphin.

“Our service-learning model transforms the community into a classroom,” said Ms Sim Qin Ying, Director (Service Learning), from the Office of the Provost.

“It provides families and persons with disabilities with immediate, meaningful support while equipping our students with the empathy, resilience and civic responsibility to drive enduring, positive change in our society.”

NUS continues to strengthen its community partnerships and explore ways to provide sustained support to those in need.

"Together, we help cultivate a transformative ecosystem that delivers innovative, sustainable solutions for family stability and community empowerment,” said NUS Cares Director Ms Ong.

• CNA Online, 02 November 2026

• Lianhe Zaobao, 02 November 2026, Forum, p10

• Lianhe Zaobao, 2 November 2026, Forum, p10

• The Straits Times, 02 November 2026, Opinion, pB3

Having witnessed first-hand how business education has evolved, he is acutely aware that while finance, economics and management once provided a strong foundation for graduates, today's business environment also increasingly demands knowledge of areas like technology, data science, sustainability and AI.

It is why, since taking the helm in July 2026, Prof Teo has spent his first few months meeting faculty, students and staff to better understand their challenges and share his vision and priorities: building an AI-native business school, strengthening connections with industry, and translating academic research into real-world impact.

Building an AI-native business school

Prof Teo envisions NUS Business School to have AI embedded not only in the curriculum, but also in teaching and operations.

“We want to build an AI-native business school, going beyond just launching new modules and programmes in AI,” he said.

Central to this ambition is NUS’ X+AI education strategy, which embeds AI into existing disciplines to reflect changing professional practices. At NUS Business School, the approach is being implemented across its nine business majors, helping students understand how AI is applied in their chosen fields.

As AI makes specialised knowledge more accessible, Prof Teo believes broad-based education will become increasingly important and welcomes students’ growing interest in pursuing second majors and minors, which allows them to acquire knowledge in multiple domains.

“What we need are people who can tell a good solution from a bad solution, and a good recommendation from a bad recommendation,” he said.

For faculty, Prof Teo is encouraging greater use of AI in teaching, including a project to develop multi-agent simulations that could change how case studies are taught.

Strengthening industry connections

Prof Teo also hopes to build a more externally engaged School by strengthening industry partnerships, enabling faculty to collaborate with companies to address real-world business challenges and bring these insights back into teaching and research.

As AI increasingly takes on entry-level work, graduates entering the workforce have fewer opportunities to gain experience through foundational tasks. Universities thus have an important role to play in helping students develop these skills before graduation.

A key strength Prof Teo hopes to draw on is the School's network of more than 50,000 alumni worldwide, which he sees as a differentiating factor. The School also taps on industry practitioners as adjunct faculty, who bring real-world business challenges into the classroom.

“I want the School to work more closely with alumni and companies to solve important problems. I believe this will benefit both our faculty and students,” said Prof Teo.

Building on these connections, Prof Teo hopes to expand field service projects, giving students more opportunities to work with companies to solve real business problems, gain practical experience and develop the judgement and skills needed to take on more complex responsibilities.

Translating research into impact

Finally, Prof Teo's third priority is to help faculty translate their cutting-edge research into practical solutions that solve real business challenges and inform government policy.

Building on NUS Business School's established strengths as a research-intensive institution, Prof Teo hopes to strengthen its translational impact by deepening connections between academic research and industry.

“The most interesting business challenges often inspire the best research. We want to create a virtuous cycle where academic discoveries improve practice, and real-world problems drive new discoveries,” said Prof Teo.

He believes advances in AI will create new opportunities for researchers to tackle complex problems, while also changing how the value of research is perceived. As AI makes it easier to build on existing knowledge, he anticipates greater emphasis on how research findings are applied and who benefits from them.

“For me, the exciting opportunity is to turn research ideas into solutions that organisations can actually use. A breakthrough in optimisation or AI should not remain confined to an academic paper. It could help companies and policymakers make better decisions,” he said.

Building people and shaping futures

Ultimately, Prof Teo's three priorities share a common purpose: to help students and faculty grow and realise their potential.

Yet beyond curriculum reforms, industry partnerships and research achievements, his aspirations are also deeply personal. When asked what he hopes to achieve during his tenure, Prof Teo said: “I want to build bridges to companies, and I want to build people up.”

In a few years, he hopes to have collected a list of student success stories that demonstrates what NUS Business School has helped them achieve.

“The beauty of education is the impact we have on students’ lives,” he said.

Election to NAM is among the highest honours in health and medicine, recognising individuals for their professional achievements and service to medical sciences, healthcare and public health.

Prof Ong, who also directs Duke-NUS’ Prehospital and Emergency Research Centre and is a Senior Consultant and Distinguished Senior Clinician at Singapore General Hospital, has contributed to improving emergency care in Singapore and the Asia-Pacific region. His research combines data science, medical innovation and artificial intelligence to improve outcomes for patients who experience cardiac arrest outside hospital, alongside work on ambulance deployment and heart attack care.

See More

This scale of impact, coinciding with a profound shift in global economic and technological power towards Asia, makes it likely that the region will become the epicentre of new ideas and visions of a sustainable future, said Professor Sunil Amrith, Director of the Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale University.

He was delivering a Distinguished Lecture on Asia’s climate future as part of NUS Asia Research Institute’s (ARI) 25^th anniversary celebrations. Held at the Asian Civilisations Museum on 14 October 2026, the lecture drew an audience of about 130 policymakers, academics, NUS alumni and members of the public.

Looking beyond short-term fixes

Many governments in Asia still take the climate pragmatism approach, investing in practical measures to protect communities from the immediate impact of climate change. For instance, storm shelters in Bangladesh are being redesigned to be more gender-sensitive and accommodating of evacuated families’ livestock.

But such measures, while essential, cannot address the underlying causes of the climate crisis: the continued dependence on fossil fuels and unsustainable economic development.

“Climate pragmatism alone may resemble the use of sticking plasters to stop a haemorrhage,” Prof Amrith noted. “Without rapid progress towards addressing the root causes of the climate disasters we're living through, we face a future of escalation in which piecemeal solutions are always one step behind.”

A second approach lies in accelerating the transition to clean energy. Though decarbonisation across the Asia-Pacific has progressed faster than expected, coal, oil and gas remain central to the region’s energy mix even as renewables expand.

The transition, cautioned Prof Amrith, cannot rely on market forces alone. Government action, public investment and infrastructure are indispensable.

A third approach calls for what Prof Amrith described as a “non-dualistic” perspective which recognises that human wellbeing is entwined with the health of our ecosystems. In India and Bangladesh, courts have recognised rivers as legal persons, reflecting a willingness to incorporate non-human-centric perspectives into climate policy.

Prof Amrith argued that the way forward is to bring these three approaches together: protecting vulnerable communities, accelerating the clean energy transition and recognising our interdependency with the natural world.

The law as a tool for change

The lecture was followed by a panel discussion, where speakers shared concrete examples of how citizens across Asia are responding to the climate crisis, from legal action to grassroots initiatives.

In the Philippines, climate justice is being pursued through the courts, as affected communities seek to make their voices heard and hold powerful corporations accountable.

Associate Professor Jolene Lin, Director of the Asia-Pacific Centre for Environmental Law at NUS, cited how Filipino communities are banding against Shell for materially contributing to the harm they suffered following Super Typhoon Rai in 2021, which was reported to have killed over 400 people and caused billions of dollars in property damage.

Despite significant legal obstacles, the survivors are determined to pursue their claim. “This is a group of people suffering the brunt of climate change through super typhoons almost two or three times a year, and they are not willing to concede defeat,” said Assoc Prof Lin.

She noted that legal reform is also taking a quieter but no less significant form through social forestry, which empowers local and indigenous communities across Southeast Asia to manage forests themselves rather than leaving conservation solely to the state.

Empowering communities to take charge

Beyond state-led interventions and legal challenges, community initiatives offer another avenue for climate action. In Bali, Indonesia, digital waste management start-up Griya Luhu educates communities on waste segregation while encouraging residents to take control of environmental initiatives in their neighbourhoods.

“We don’t want to view the community as an object of the solution, who just receive or follow the intervention… We want them to take ownership of the solution,” said its co-founder Ms Ida Ayu Sri Suya Patni.

This sense of ownership, she noted, often draws on existing cultural resources, including the Hindu-Balinese philosophy of Tri Hita Karana, which emphasises balance between people, nature and the spiritual realm, and the annual tradition of Nyepi (Day of Silence), during which the island goes without electricity, vehicles or noise for 24 hours.

Towards a more just climate future

Ultimately, protecting Asia’s most vulnerable communities requires rethinking how development is pursued, how responsibility for climate change is assigned, and how communities participate in shaping their own futures.

Responding to a question from Assoc Prof Chang Jiat-Hwee, Research Leader of ARI’s Science, Technology and Society cluster, on whether governments in Asia are taking on a stronger role in protecting citizens from climate change, Prof Amrith acknowledged that while state-led, top-down development has often caused serious ecological and social harm, without government involvement, the alternative is vulnerable populations being left with no protection at all.

This tension points to a larger truth: none of the approaches discussed can succeed in isolation. As the region confronts an increasingly uncertain climate, the task is to build responses that are not only pragmatic but also culturally grounded, inclusive and just.

• CNA Online, 29 October 2026

In this series, NUS News explores how NUS is accelerating sustainability research and education in response to climate change challenges, and harnessing the knowledge and creativity of our people to pave the way to a greener future for all.

From a card game about Singapore’s biodiversity to a farm-to-table project encouraging people to grow and cook their own vegetables, NUS students are putting sustainability into action.

These efforts are made possible by the NUS SAVE Sustainability Fund (SusFund) and the Maybank Green Fund (MGF).

Led by the NUS Students’ Association for Visions of the Earth (NUS SAVE) and supported by University Campus Infrastructure, SusFund supports ground-up environmental initiatives within NUS, offering different grant tiers of up to S$3,000.

Established with the support of Maybank Singapore, MGF provides funding for student-initiated sustainability projects and programmes that benefit the local community in Singapore, covering up to 100 per cent of a project’s total deficit cost, capped at S$5,000 per application.

Bringing Singapore’s biodiversity to life

Bonded by a shared passion for nature photography, Year 4 Computer Science major Zyon Wee and his co-founder Cheong Wai Lun wondered: how could they get more Singaporeans, especially those with little interest in nature, to appreciate the biodiversity around them?

Their answer was ByeO Barelands (pronounced “bio balance”), an educational card game that introduces players to food chains, ecosystems and the behaviours of different plant and animal species in Singapore.

Drawing on their observations and photographs from nature excursions, the pair spent nearly three years developing the game. Zyon illustrated the cards himself, while educators and wildlife experts ensured the ecological information was accurate.

In 2025, SusFund's Sprout Grant helped the team print its first 1,000 sets. A second grant in 2026 supported materials for biodiversity workshops and nature walks, where participants used the cards to identify and learn about local wildlife.

Over the past year, the initiative has directly engaged more than 9,000 participants through over 80 outreach programmes and even garnered national recognition, with Zyon named a finalist in the People of Good (Youth) category at the President’s Volunteerism and Philanthropy Awards 2026.

“ByeO Barelands is more of an outreach programme than an organisation. Through our card game and nature walks, we hope to introduce people who are less familiar with nature to Singapore’s biodiversity, and connect them with communities that share their interests — be it plants, animals, birds or even reptiles,” said Zyon, who is reinvesting all proceeds from the card game into the initiative.

Growing an appreciation for sustainable food

At NUS Temasek Hall, sustainability takes a hands-on approach, with students growing kangkong before turning their harvest into creative dishes.

Organised by the Hall's sustainability committee, TGreen, the hydroponics gardening initiative saw 36 committee members working in six groups to grow kangkong using hydroponic setups, learning to nurture seedlings and manage challenges such as pests and overgrowth. Funding from MGF covered 90 per cent of the project's eligible costs, including equipment, seeds and nutrients, easing the financial burden of organising the activity.

The project culminated in a Kangkong Cookoff, where students transformed their harvest into dishes ranging from kangkong carbonara to Korean-style pancakes and pork belly wraps.

Beyond introducing residents to Singapore's food security challenges, the project showed how sustainable food production need not be complicated.

“It's really about educating yourself that you can play a part in promoting food security also in Singapore,” former TGreen head Tan En, a Year 3 Business student specialising in Real Estate and Marketing, shared.

Making green technology accessible

Founded in 2024, the NUS Climate Analytics and Technology (CAT) club is introducing green technologies to students from different disciplines by organising workshops, industry visits and dialogues.

“You can't implement a solution with technology if you don't have sufficient data and knowledge about the situation at hand,” explained NUS CAT President Beverley Yeo, a Year 4 Infrastructure and Project Management undergraduate specialising in Sustainable Green Buildings.

In a visit to Sembcorp's Battery Energy Storage System on Jurong Island, 38 students gained insights into energy storage technologies, industry developments and potential career pathways. Transport costs for the visit were supported by a $500 Seed Grant from SusFund.

The club also tapped into the MGF to organise a visit to the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Singapore City Gallery, allowing students to learn about urban planning and connect with others interested in sustainability.

In August 2026, NUS CAT established a Special Projects Cell for students to explore potential technological solutions to environmental challenges, including a biofiltration system for odour control and a data-driven approach to reducing energy consumption in data centres.

While still in their early stages, these projects reflect NUS CAT's ambition to move beyond awareness-building towards developing practical solutions.

Special Projects Director Christy Imanuela, a Year 4 Chemical Engineering student, said: “I hope that even after I graduate, more students will take up these projects to use their skills for sustainability-related purposes.”

The initiative supports research addressing challenges in climate, health and foundational science. Recipients also have the option to participate in a six-month Google.org Accelerator, which provides engineering support, technical mentorship and access to Google infrastructure to help transform their ideas into scaled solutions.

Asst Prof Liu and his team will use AI to map how genetic variations influence RNA splicing across populations, with the aim of predicting their effects on disease. RNA splicing is a process in which sections of an RNA molecule are removed, while the remaining sections are joined together. Understanding how genetic differences affect this process could help clarify their role in disease.

“We are at an inflection point where AI is changing the way science is done. We are incredibly excited to partner with Google to accelerate our AI-enabled genomics research,” said Asst Prof Liu.