The Centre for Social Development Asia from the Dept of Social Work at NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences launched two sets of books to help charities adapt to the changing needs of the community and build up their capabilities.

Prof Chia Kee Seng from the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health at NUS and Dr Gan Wee Hoe, Vice President of the College of Public Health and Occupational Physicians at the Academy of Medicine Singapore, noted that while there has been some progress made in the Total Workplace Safety and Health initiative, there is still arguably insufficient focus and adoption by the industries to harness its full potential.

Dr Show Ying Ruo, Postdoctoral Fellow from Asia Research Institute (ARI) at NUS had embarked on a five-year project in 2013 to study the lives of the vegetarian aunts or nuns living in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Her comprehensive findings were presented at an ARI workshop in March 2019.

Dr Cecilia Tortajada, Senior Research Fellow and Distinguished Visiting Prof Asit K Biswas, both from the Institute of Water Policy at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at NUS discussed India’s current state of unemployment and job creation which has become one of the most important issues in the election.

Dr Victor Kattan, Senior Research Fellow from the Middle East Institute at NUS observed that if Mr Netanyahu wins the election, he will be expected to follow through on his pre-election promise of extending Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, which will have far-reaching consequences. Dr Vattan opined that annexation would likely kill off the prospects of establishing a Palestinian state, amounts to a flagrant violation of international law, followed by unrest in the West Bank and Gaza.

Researchers from the Dept of Physiology at NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine were able to provide information about the precise timing that can critically affect the formation of memory processes. This will allow researchers to identify mechanisms for further study that may be involved in conditions like schizophrenia, depression, sleep loss, stroke, chronic pain, learning disability, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Prof Tan Tai Yong, President of Yale-NUS College and Deputy Chairman of the Institute of South Asian Studies at NUS, delivered a lecture entitled “A Tale of Two Cities: Singapore and Calcutta Past and Present” at the Victoria Memorial in Kolkata, India. The lecture was held to commemorate Singapore’s bicentenary and discuss the historic relationship between the two cities.

Prof David De Cremer, Provost Chair at the Dept of  Management and Organisation at NUS Business School commented that amid the negotiation chaos, No-Brexit might be the most palatable and likely outcome.

The NUS Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music’s orchestra held a pre-tour concert at the Esplanade Concert Hall on 9 April 2019 led by principal conductor Jason Lai. The concert’s balance of ethereal beauty and harmony affirmed the Conservatory’s standing as “Asia’s international conservatory”, an educational institution of Western classical music where students and staff represent diverse cultures projecting East meets West pursuits.

A study by Dr Eric Fesselmeyer, Senior Lecturer, and Assoc Prof Liu Haoming from the Dept of Economics at NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences found that both average trip duration and travel-time uncertainty are indeed capitalised into HDB flat prices.