Inaugural NUS Sustainability CONNECT to bring communities together and champion sustainability
Five-week festival will showcase NUS’ efforts across research and innovation, education, campus operations, and student engagement
The National University of Singapore (NUS) has launched the inaugural NUS Sustainability CONNECT, the University’s first large-scale sustainability festival. Spanning five weeks from 25 August to 29 September 2023, the festival showcases a wide and diverse spectrum of NUS’ thought-leadership and expertise in sustainability such as urban living, solar energy research, public perception of risk in climate change, maritime operations, green finance, policy design capacity building, food, water, and the environment.
Demonstrating the University’s commitment to advancing sustainable development, NUS Sustainability CONNECT will feature a diverse line-up of more than 15 activities ranging from symposiums, workshops, talks, master classes, behind-the-scenes laboratory tours, nature walks, as well as various student-led activities showcasing the ground-up efforts in building a greener NUS.
Professor Tan Eng Chye, NUS President, said, “Sustainability and climate change are compelling considerations for all organisations today, featuring strongly in their corporate agenda. As NUS continues to lead innovations and contribute solutions towards climate change challenges, it is deeply encouraging to see many faculty, researchers, staff and students within our community working closely with the government and industry in championing sustainable causes through education, research and campus infrastructure. NUS Sustainability CONNECT brings diverse stakeholders into the campus where we create opportunities for conversations, ideations and collaborations. When like-minded people passionate about climate action come together, we can be a force for new ideas and inspiration for change towards a greener future.”
Professor Low Teck Seng, Chairman of the NUS Sustainability CONNECT organising committee and NUS Senior Vice President (Sustainability and Resilience), said, “NUS Sustainability CONNECT provides a platform to share the University’s initiatives in research and innovation, education and campus operations with the wider community of industry partners, government agencies and the public. We hope the connections made during this festival will spark further collaborations among all those involved, and these collective efforts will work towards addressing national and global climate goals.”
NUS Sustainability CONNECT will kick off with the NUS Cities Symposium: The Science of Cities, which will be held from 31 August to 1 September 2023. Organised by NUS Cities, the inaugural symposium will be launched by Guest-of-Honour Ms Indranee Rajah, Second Minister for National Development. The two-day event will see about 40 urban sustainability experts engaging in 12 panel discussions on topics from sustainability, biodiversity, conservation, community resilience, circular economy, decarbonisation to social inclusivity.
Featuring prominently on the agenda is also the three-day NUS Green Summit on 25, 26 and 28 August 2023. A symposium fully organised by students, the key programme highlights include panel discussions featuring various speakers on the Singapore Green Plan, booths by NUS student environmental groups as well as an activity day for urban farming and tree planting. Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, Mr Baey Yam Keng will preside over the event as Guest-of-Honour.
Participants can also look forward to a host of exciting and educational activities including exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore, and various workshops and seminars on sustainability, spanning from green financing to climate change.
Annex A provides the schedule of events taking place during NUS Sustainability CONNECT, with the latest event details available at the website: sustainability.nus.edu.sg/get-involved/connect/.
