• Lianhe Zaobao, 8 September 2026, Fukan, p3

Speaking at the awards ceremony held at the University Cultural Centre on 4 September 2026, NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye celebrated the award winners as living proof of the excellence woven into the NUS identity.

He also spoke of how the University is embedding AI deeply into both education and research to unlock new frontiers of discovery. "AI has reshaped scientific research and discovery in unprecedented and unexpected ways…Even as we embrace AI, we must celebrate human excellence. We do so this evening at the University Awards. Determination, endeavour, excellence – these are the very human traits that define the NUS spirit, qualities that will anchor the next AI-powered chapter of NUS."

Top accolade - Outstanding Service Award

This year, the prestigious Outstanding Service Award was conferred on Mr Seah Moon Ming, Chairman, Board of Governors of NUS High School of Mathematics and Science, and Professor Bernard Tan Cheng Yian, NUS Senior Vice Provost (Undergraduate Education), in recognition of their inspiring leadership and dedicated service. Both are accomplished individuals who have made sustained contributions in selflessly serving the University and society.

Mr Seah Moon Ming

Mr Seah is a veteran leader who has devoted over four decades to strengthening Singapore's public institutions and continues to invest in the next generation through education and philanthropy. As Chairman of the Board of Governors of NUS High School of Mathematics and Science since 2021, he spearheaded the school's Strategic Plan 2025–2029 and forged partnerships with industry and social service organisations to enrich student learning. He is also Chairman of SMRT Corporation and SMRT Trains Ltd, where he led a cultural transformation anchored in the Kaizen philosophy of continuous improvement. He established the Seah Moon Ming Foundation, which contributes annually to bursaries and scholarships across NUS, NUS High School, Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), polytechnics, Institutes of Technical Education (ITEs), and charity organisations, championing access to education for the next generation of engineers and underprivileged families.

Delivering the citation, Professor Aaron Thean, NUS Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost, said, “[Mr Seah’s] contributions have been recognised nationally, including the Meritorious Service Medal in 2022 and the Public Service Star in 2014. Behind all these obvious contributions and achievements is a man with a heart for Engineering at NUS. He has gifted much of his time to the faculty as an advisory board member, fostering its growth. We are privileged to have Mr Seah as part of our community.”

Reflecting on his investment in education, Mr Seah said, “I believe an education should build character, shape values, and inspire students to serve society…With the right values, sense of purpose and gratitude, an NUS education can become a powerful force for a better future.”

Professor Bernard Tan Cheng Yian

Behind many of NUS' most significant curriculum reforms over the past 17 years is Professor Bernard Tan Cheng Yian, a champion of interdisciplinary and future-ready education. As Senior Vice Provost (Undergraduate Education), Prof Tan has been instrumental in driving curriculum reforms across virtually every college, faculty and school in the University, advancing interdisciplinary programmes, common admissions, experiential learning, student financial aid and AI integration in education. He chairs the University Committee on Educational Policy and multiple university-wide steering committees covering student information systems and graduate employment. A former President of the Association for Information Systems, he received the organisation's LEO Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2024.

In his citation, Prof Thean paid tribute to Prof Tan’s work in undergraduate education and his leadership in advancing NUS’ AI efforts. “As Senior Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, Professor Tan has steered the University’s educational directions, policies and programmes, always demonstrating a deep commitment to the learning experience of our students. He exemplifies collegiality, institutional commitment and a lifelong dedication to the University.”

Sharing his hopes about the future, Prof Tan said, “Don’t be afraid of the unknown. Don’t be afraid of disruptions. All these disruptions, in fact, make us stronger. Take heart. Keep innovating, and I’m confident that future generations of NUS students and educators will do better than those who come before them.”

The honour roll

The NUS University Awards 2026 also recognised the accomplishments of seven outstanding educators and researchers.

University Research Recognition Award

Professor Abhik Roychoudhury from the Department of Computer Science, School of Computing, was lauded for extending his research from academic breakthroughs to enterprise-grade tools used by companies worldwide.

Professor Ashok Venkitaraman from the Department of Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine; and Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, was honoured for his landmark discoveries on the BRCA2 gene, which have laid the scientific foundations for targeted cancer therapies used globally.

Young Researcher Award

Associate Professor Chen Huijun Cynthia from the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health was commended for her research on ageing and healthcare financing, which has directly shaped government policy in Singapore and on global platforms.

Assistant Professor Liu Boxiang from the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Science, recently won the 2026 Young Scientist Award at this year’s President’s Science & Technology Awards (PSTA). He was recognised for his work on genetic variation and RNA splicing which is advancing the understanding of complex and autoimmune diseases across Asian populations.

Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award

Professor Liu Xiaogang from the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, was honoured for his excellent and committed mentorship in nurturing the next generation of scholars and thought leaders. He is a dedicated mentor to over 130 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, many of whom have gone on to publish in the world's leading scientific journals.

Outstanding Educator Award

Two faculty members were acknowledged for being exemplary educators who have excelled in engaging and inspiring students in their quest for knowledge:

1) Associate Professor Robin Loon Seong Yun from the Department of English, Linguistics and Theatre Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, who has transformed how students engage with community and identity through experiential, arts-based learning.

2) Associate Professor Tay En Rong Stephen from the Department of the Built Environment, College of Design and Engineering, who has developed the Contextualised Learning via Enquiring, Answering, and Reflecting (CLEAR) pedagogical framework. This has reshaped how curiosity and critical thinking are taught across Singapore and six other countries.

Read more about the NUS University Awards recipients here and the NUS press release here.

• Lianhe Zaobao, 2 September 2026, Opinion, p13

These legal changes raise a fundamental question: does legal reform actually lead social change? And if so, how quickly, and under what conditions?

A new study led by NUS Communications and New Media (CNM) Associate Professor Kokil Jaidka suggests the answer is more nuanced than a simple “yes” or “no”. Analysing over 200,000 social media posts and survey responses across all four countries, the research reveals that while legal changes do reshape public discourse, the path to social acceptance depends heavily on the surrounding institutional and media environment.

Language shifts when the law changes, but not uniformly

Published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, the study examined 65,969 Instagram and 136,255 Facebook posts before and after each country’s legal reform. In Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand, moral stereotyping and hostile language on Instagram declined in the months following reform. Users who were already engaged in these conversations began framing them with less reliance on language depicting same-sex relationships as immoral or a threat to tradition.

“This shows that legal reform does reshape the terrain of public expression, at least for those already paying attention,” said Assoc Prof Jaidka, who led the study with co-authors Ms Preetika Verma and Ms Yiting Chen from Carnegie Mellon University and University of Wisconsin-Madison respectively.

However, looking across different countries and platforms painted a more complex picture. The findings also show that changes in public discourse following legal reform are multifaceted and varied across contexts.

In India, where the researchers could track a longer period after decriminalisation, hostile language on Instagram increased even as moral stereotyping fell.

On Facebook, where news outlets generally reach broader audiences, changes were modest across all four countries. Engagement with LGBTQ+ topics did not consistently increase after legal reform, and, in some cases, appeared to decline after the initial period of public discussion.

Drawing on nationally representative Gallup survey data from 46,200 respondents, the researchers further discovered that perceptions of neighbourhood safety for same-sex couples initially declined following legal reform before recovering in some age groups and countries. Younger respondents in Singapore and India eventually reported more positive perceptions, but the initial dip serves as an important reminder that a change in law does not always immediately translate to lived experience.

What explains the variations? The study points to institutional context as a crucial moderating factor. In countries with greater press freedom and freedom of expression (Taiwan ranked highest on both measures), reductions in hostile online discourse after reform were steeper and more sustained. Where these conditions were weaker, the gains were smaller or more mixed.

“The law creates a moment of change, but the wider environment such as society and the media shapes whether that moment becomes lasting progress,” observed Assoc Prof Jaidka.

When AI tools mistake identity for hostility

The research also uncovered an unexpected challenge in measuring online discourse: the very tools designed to detect toxic language can inadvertently flag non-toxic content. When the researchers analysed Instagram captions using Google’s Perspective API, one of the most widely used toxicity classifiers, they found that identity terms such as “queer”, “gay”, and “lgbt” were among the words most strongly correlated with high toxicity scores, despite not being slurs.

As individuals from marginalised communities are disproportionately targeted by online harassment, the words describing their identities appear frequently in abusive content. The algorithms then associate the identity terms themselves with toxicity, potentially suppressing ordinary conversations by the very communities they aim to protect.

The researchers explained how a toxicity score is a relative signal shaped by biases in training data, not an objective verdict on whether speech is harmful, adding how this revealed the need to use these tools with awareness of their limitations.

What comes after legal change

The findings have practical implications for multiple stakeholders. For online platforms, the period immediately following legal reform appears particularly consequential, as communities recalibrate and some voices push back. For media organisations and community groups, the research underscores that legal milestones mark a pivot toward sustained engagement around social attitudes, public discourse and acceptance, rather than a closing chapter.

Assoc Prof Jaidka said, “The research offers reasons for both encouragement – as legal reform does measurably shift discourse – and continued investment in the institutional and social conditions that translate legal changes into lived experience across the region.”

Themed "Ripples Across Time", the 68th edition of NUSSU RAG & Flag Day saw participants raise more than S$330,000 for over 300 critical programmes and projects supported by Community Chest, benefitting over 94,000 social service users annually. All proceeds go directly towards empowering communities in need through the Community Chest.

Building connections beyond the classroom

In the weeks leading up to NUSSU RAG & Flag Day, NUS freshmen and students visited beneficiaries from 16 social service agencies across Singapore. Through these interactions, they gained first-hand insights into the challenges faced by children with special needs, at-risk youths, persons with disabilities or mental health conditions, and seniors, all while forging friendships with those they sought to support.

Fundraising with purpose

Since 1958, NUSSU RAG & Flag Day has been one of NUS' largest and longest-running student traditions, bringing generations of students together through service, creativity and community spirit.

This year, the fundraising efforts began a month early with an off-campus NUSSU Flag Carnival, a two-day event held on 3 and 4 July at TripleOne Somerset. Featuring 17 flea market-style booths, the carnival allowed participating groups to raise funds for their chosen social service agencies while engaging the public on the causes they support through games, merchandise and interactive activities.

This was followed by two Flag Days on 25 July and 1 August, when close to 2,400 NUS students fanned out across Singapore to collect donations for their chosen beneficiaries.

Over the past 17 years alone, NUS students have raised a cumulative total of almost S$5.2 million through NUSSU RAG & Flag Day.

Celebrating service through creativity

Beyond giving back to society, RAG Day serves as a heartfelt expression of gratitude to donors and the wider public for their generosity.

This year's RAG Day brought the spirit of service, creativity and community to life through 14 performances featuring sustainable handmade costumes, imaginative props and mobile displays. Created by more than 2,000 students over months of planning and collaboration, the performances signalled a vibrant, visual "thank you" to the community.

For many participants, the performances represented far more than artistic expression.

For Andrew Chew, a Year 3 Pharmacy student, his journey with the NUS Pharmaceutical Society (NUSPS) RAG & Flag started three years ago as a freshman "floatee" pushing displays on stage. Today, as Vice President (Special Projects), he continues to shape NUSPS RAG’s float and performance, passing down the vibrant tradition to new students.

"While I am no longer directly involved in planning performances like I did in previous years, it is incredibly heartwarming to see my successors step up. They have given their all to a performance that beautifully weaves together this year's theme "Ripples Across Time", our beneficiary, Life Community Services Society, and our core commitment to sustainability. We take immense pride in our zero-waste efforts—whether it is salvaging cardboard tubes from Chinatown textile shops, manually untying zip ties to reuse them, or building the float’s skeletal structure with old metal L-bars. While it is important to put on a grand and engaging performance and invite donations, we strive to do it in a way that is environmentally responsible," he shared.

Rhea Sharma, a freshman participating as a dancer for the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences RAG, added: "It is all about trying our best together as a group. Performing alongside my newfound friends makes me want to give a thousand per cent. Our combined energy pushes me to do more than I ever could alone—they are all gold in my heart!"

Guest-of-Honour Mr Desmond Lee, Minister for Education and Minister-in-Charge of Social Services Integration, officially launched the celebrations at NUS University Town. He was joined by NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye and 47th NUSSU President Stephen Chen Zhi Peng.

In his opening address, Professor Aaron Thean, NUS Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost, said, “This year’s theme, “Ripples Across Time”, is a thoughtful reminder that the impact of kindness transcends generations and is built over time. Every hour that is volunteered and every dollar raised creates a ripple that becomes a powerful wave of change for those in need.” He added that these experiences, will help NUS students learn beyond textbooks. He also encouraged them to continue to pursue their passions and purpose, and build friendships that will last a lifetime.

Mr Stephen Chen added, “NUSSU RAG & Flag: Ripples Across Time is all about taking collective action, no matter how small, as a community of people in support of one another. We are deeply grateful to the freshmen and participating bodies who have contributed their time and energy so generously, to all our partners, both internal and external, for their close collaboration and expertise, and certainly for members of the public for their unwavering support throughout the years! With continued support like this, NUSSU RAG & Flag will always remain a cornerstone of the NUS experience and identity."

Recognising collective contributions to campus sustainability

The RAG Zero Waste Award was introduced last year by University Campus Infrastructure to encourage Participating Bodies (PBs) to minimise their environmental impact through the way they design and build their floats. Supported by NUS SAVE, the PBs sourced cardboard and other discarded materials from across campus, adopting circular practices to give these items a second life.

This year, the Zero Waste Best Effort Award was awarded to NUS Pharmaceutical Society for the second consecutive year. They were the first PB to source all their cardboard from a campus bin centre, an effort that inspired most PBs to follow suit this year. The team continued to demonstrate circularity and frugality by carefully storing reusable materials and building components, including wheels, hinges, metal bars and paint, for future builds.

In addition, two PBs received the Zero Waste Effort Award. KRaSHeares sourced discarded materials from nearby renovation works and creatively incorporated them into its float, giving overlooked materials a valuable second life. Raffles Hall carefully retained leftover materials from the previous year’s RAG and repurposed them in this year’s build, extending their useful lifespan across successive events.

Collectively, these efforts demonstrate how thoughtful sourcing, material stewardship and creative repurposing can reduce event waste and promote a culture of sustainability on campus.

Beyond the main stage, visitors enjoyed the lively Flag Carnival, featuring games, food and handicraft booths run by NUS faculty clubs and residential communities, alongside live acts by NUS student groups.

As NUSSU RAG & Flag Day came to a close, participants left with more than memories of performances and fundraising milestones. They took with them new friendships, a deeper appreciation of the communities they had served and a shared belief that every act of kindness, no matter how small, can create ripples of positive change.

Highlights from RAG & Flag 2026

Overall RAG & Flag winner:

• Faculty of Dentistry

Zero Waste Best Effort Award

• NUS Pharmaceutical Society

Zero Waste Effort Award

• KRaSHeares
• Raffles Hall

Best Beneficiary Engagement award

• Tembusu College

Most Improved Flag Award:

• Eusoff Hall

RAG Gold:

• Faculty of Dentistry
• Faculty of Law
• Faculty of Science
• School of Computing
• Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine

RAG Silver:

• King Edward VII Hall X Pioneer House
• KRaSHeares
• Raffles Hall
• School of Business
• Temasek Hall

RAG Bronze:

• College of Design and Engineering
• Eusoff Hall
• Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
• NUS Pharmaceutical Society

Flag Gold

• Business School
• Faculty of Dentistry
• Faculty of Law
• Residential College 4
• Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine

Flag Silver

• Acacia College
• Faculty of Science
• King Edwards VII Hall
• NUS Pharmaceutical Society
• School of Computing
• Sheares Hall
• Tembusu College

Flag Bronze

• College of Alice and Peter Tan
• College of Design & Engineering
• Eusoff Hall
• Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences
• Helix House
• Kent Ridge Hall
• Light House
• Pioneer House
• Raffles Hall
• Ridge View Residential College
• Temasek Hall
• Valour House

See event press release here.

The event brought together alumni from the inaugural Class of 1961 to the Class of 2026 to reconnect with each other, reacquaint themselves with their alma mater at its new home, and witness the unveiling of a commemorative artwork that marks a new chapter for NUS Law.

Celebrating continuity and change

In his opening remarks, NUS Law Dean Professor Andrew Simester reflected on the Faculty’s rich heritage dating back to 1957, while looking ahead to its future.

Recalling that it has been 70 years since the Faculty’s first Dean, Professor Lionel Sheridan, was appointed to establish a new law school at the University of Malaya at the Bukit Timah Campus, Prof Simester said the return to Kent Ridge marked a new chapter for NUS Law.

“Location does not define an institution. Our values and people do,” he said. The move to Kent Ridge, he noted, better positions the Faculty to prepare students for an increasingly complex world reshaped by technology and geopolitical shifts as “being part of the wider NUS community creates more opportunities for interdisciplinary learning and innovation, while allowing our students to enjoy a more connected and vibrant university experience”.

Prof Simester also reflected on NUS Law’s enduring mission to develop legal talent for Singapore, highlighting how NUS alumni have helped build and administer the country’s legal system. This legacy was celebrated in a specially produced video paying tribute to students, faculty and staff who have shaped NUS Law over the past seven decades.

The optimism about the new campus was shared by alumni from more recent and earlier cohorts.

Ms Shyrie Chopra (Law ’22), who attended the event to catch up with her former classmates and explore the new campus, is excited about the opportunities for NUS Law students.

“When I found out about the move, I thought ‘how lucky these students are’. My advice is to look beyond just the law school. You will discover lots of new friends and activities, and you will come to realise as you move into legal practice how valuable connections outside law school can be,” said the former resident of Residential College 4.

Mr Ho Jun Yi (Law ’11) added that the Faculty’s integration to the rest of NUS creates more opportunities for collaboration and an enriched student life. “Being closer to the rest of the University creates more opportunities to interact with students and faculty from different disciplines. But wherever NUS Law is located, the sense of fraternity will always remain,” he said.

Throughout the afternoon, alumni got a glimpse of the Faculty’s new home during the campus tour, including its iconic library and moot court.

A highlight of the event was a symbolic human chain around the Oculus, the architectural landmark at the entrance to Faculty grounds. Alumni stood in order of graduation year to create a visual spectacle that underscored the enduring bonds within the community across seven decades.

Finally, the gathering also saw the unveiling of “NUS Law: A New Chapter at University Town”, a commemorative photomosaic comprising graduation class photos that celebrates the Faculty’s heritage and future.

Since 2024, the ceremony has gained new meaning with the introduction of an ethics pledge, through which the law freshmen affirm their commitment to uphold the values of integrity, professionalism and service that define the legal profession.

Held at the NUS University Cultural Centre, the event was the culmination of the Faculty’s orientation activities. Gracing the ceremony this year was NUS Law alumnus Mr K Shanmugam (Law ’84), Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs, who served as Guest-of-Honour.

Mr Shanmugam encouraged the incoming cohort to approach their legal education with both ambition and realism, describing the legal profession as rewarding and impactful with high demands and trade-offs at the top-end.

“If you choose to be in legal practice, and you want to be at the top-end, the cutting edge, then you must expect the demands to be very high,” he said.

Mr Shanmugam also noted that law graduates have a range of career paths open to them, and hoped that his remarks would help students make wiser choices during law school and as they consider the careers they wish to pursue.

Building on Mr Shanmugam’s message, Professor Andrew Simester, Dean of NUS Law, outlined how the Faculty will prepare students for the future by focusing on three key areas: legal doctrine, skills and perspective.

While students will learn the rules and vocabulary of law, he emphasised that the law is constantly evolving. “Our job is not so much to teach you the rules as if it’s a fixed body of information, but to teach you how to be a lawyer 10 years from now,” said Prof Simester.

He further encouraged them to embrace the transformative journey ahead while staying grounded in their values. “With your induction into the law school today, do not lose sight that the hallmarks of a successful lawyer are good character and using your considerable abilities responsibly,” he added.

In an address to her peers, Gwen Chong, third-year law student and Vice President of the NUS Law Club, shared her personal reflections on navigating law school, as she stressed the importance of friendships, balance and finding one’s own path.

“Take your work seriously, but do not feel like every hour has to be productive. Be ambitious, but do not measure the value of your time here only by the number of achievements you collect,” she said. While she acknowledged that law school and the opportunities it offers are important, she reminded the students that there is no single correct path to spend their four years.

Reflecting on the ceremony, first-year student Putra Zayan Bin Mohd Jaffry shared, “Taking the ethics pledge alongside my classmates was a powerful moment. It made me realise that we’re all starting this journey with a shared commitment to the values that make the legal profession meaningful. I’m grateful to have my family here to witness this milestone and to support me as I begin this new chapter.”

Fellow freshman Arivalagan Sharmadha added, “Prof Simester’s advice really resonated with me — to not panic, work hard and have fun. His reminder that we belong to the NUS Law community was incredibly reassuring as I start this journey. I’m excited to be part of this community and to learn alongside such a talented and committed group of classmates.”

The freshmen and their families also witnessed the sealing of a time capsule containing letters written by the students to their future selves. Mr Shanmugam, Prof Simester and student leaders from the Freshmen Orientation Central Committee and Freshers’ Week (an orientation programme for incoming freshmen), sealed the capsule, which will be reopened upon the cohort’s graduation in 2030.

Gathering valedictorians and representatives from the Class of 2026, the event was attended by about 300 guests, including NUS Pro-Chancellors Mr Po'ad Mattar and Mrs Theresa Foo; NUS Chairman Mr Hsieh Fu Hua; NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye; and NUS Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost Professor Aaron Thean.

The 14-day season opened with graduates from the NUS School of Continuing and Lifelong Education taking the stage on 9 July and unfolded over 39 ceremonies, concluding with graduates from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music. It also saw honorary degrees conferred upon two outstanding leaders, Dr Kay Kuok Oon Kwong and Professor Lim Pin.

Leading the night’s proceedings before an audience that included faculty, staff and alumni, were two student representatives from the Class of 2026. In their welcome remarks, Ms Lim Min Hui, a Life Sciences graduate from the Faculty of Science, and Mr Reddy Kannan Yugesh, a Political Science graduate from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, reminisced on the highlights of their university life and paid tribute to their peers and professors who made their time at NUS all the more memorable.

Passing the torch

This year’s Commencement Dinner departed from tradition, featuring back-to-back speeches by the preceding and current Presidents of the NUS Students’ Union (NUSSU) — both of whom are part of this year’s graduating cohort.

Mr Sean Pang, 46^th NUSSU President and Bachelor of Business Administration graduate from NUS Business School, who juggled academic commitments with caregiving responsibilities after his mother’s illness, paid a heartfelt tribute to those who came before him. He cited his parents’ sacrifices that enabled him to be the first in his family to graduate from university, as well as prominent businessman Tan Jiak Kim’s efforts in galvanising the community to establish NUS’ medical school in 1905.

“Behind every degree scroll is a second, unwritten transcript, filled with the names of family, friends and community... Thank you for the sacrifices, both seen and unseen,” he said. Encouraging the graduating class to carry this legacy forward, he emphasised, “Gratitude cannot be where the story ends. What was given to us now becomes ours to carry forward.”

Taking over the stage from his predecessor was Mr Stephen Chen, a Life Sciences, Business Management and NUS College graduate. The 47^th NUSSU President built on his fellow graduate’s reference to “standing on the shoulders of giants”, drawing on each of his disciplines and sharing key takeaways for the next phase of life.

“Know what you want, focus on the things that you can change, and then just do it... As we enter this next phase of life holding onto our hopes, dreams and worries, let us take heart that we leave NUS equipped not only with more knowledge and skills, but that we leave more connected with one another,” he concluded.

A values-first education

In his speech at the event, NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye built upon his first address to students at the inaugural Commencement ceremony, emphasising that the value of higher education lies not just in the accumulation of knowledge and wisdom, but, more importantly, in channelling them into a force of good to serve humanity.

Acknowledging the anxieties that confront the world today, from AI to geopolitical upheavals and climate change, Prof Tan exhorted the graduates not to give in to unease and apprehension.

“It would be easy to feel that the ground is shifting too quickly beneath us. But I want to be clear about where our footing comes from. The antidote to anxiety is not certainty. It is character and willpower. Because we are human and curious, we innovate; yet because we are human and fallible, we also make mistakes. This has been true of every generation before you, and it will be true of yours,” he said.

With a customary toast to the Class of 2026, he concluded: “Your time as students has ended, but your connection to this community has not... As we raise a glass tonight, we do so not only in celebration of what you all have achieved, but in anticipation of what you will do next.”

Many voices, one spirit

The dinner was interspersed with a pair of vocal performances by NUS student groups, who gave voice to the celebratory mood of the evening.

Taking the stage first was NUS Resonance, an a capella group that aims to connect with audiences across a variety of genres and styles to showcase the versatility and vibrancy of a capella music. The six-person ensemble delivered a selection of contemporary and timeless classics through rich harmonies and punchy vocal percussion, performing a “90s Dance Medley” and Tori Kelly’s rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing”.

NUS Voices, the University’s resident Mandopop interest group consisting of talented instrumentalists and vocalists, followed up with an act to remember, ending the night on a high note with a heartfelt cover of Jessie J’s “Flashlight” and an energetic medley of songs by hit K-pop group BLACKPINK, including “Kill This Love” and “Playing with Fire”.

This story concludes NUS News’ coverage of Commencement 2026, which celebrates the achievements of our graduates from the Class of 2026. For more on Commencement, read our stories and graduate profiles, check out the official Commencement website, or look up and tag #NUS2026 on our social media channels!

This interconnected approach, which she calls “roots to reefs”, recognises that ecosystems do not exist in isolation. What happens upstream in forests, rivers and coastal habitats can shape the health and resilience of mangroves and coral reefs downstream. This holistic vision has become the foundation of her research and teaching at NUS.

Her work spans mangrove restoration at Pulau Ubin to leading expeditions across Southeast Asia, where she uses drones and 3D mapping technologies to create detailed digital models of coastal ecosystems. She also produces immersive 360-degree conservation films — one of them, entitled Roots to Reefs 360, clinched the Bronze accolade at the 2023 QS Reimagine Education Awards.

As we observe World Mangrove Day on 26 July, Dr Coffman discusses Singapore’s mangrove story, why these forests matter for our climate future and what gives her hope in the next generation of mangrove champions.

World Mangrove Day puts a spotlight on mangrove ecosystems globally. What’s the current state of Singapore's mangroves?

Around 13 per cent of our coastline was originally fringed by mangroves, but today less than 1 per cent of Singapore’s land area remains as mangrove habitat. Against a backdrop of continued mangrove loss across Southeast Asia, Singapore has become a regional leader in mangrove conservation through projects such as Sungei Buloh Nature Park Network and Sungei Durian in Pulau Ubin.

Singapore’s mangroves also remain rich in biodiversity. We have 35 species of true mangroves – almost as many as Indonesia, the global leader with about 48 species. Singapore’s mangrove flora is exceptionally diverse for a highly urbanised nation.

Every year, I begin my Aquatic, Riparian and Coastal Systems course at the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve because it tells one of Singapore’s greatest conservation stories. In the 1980s, the Nature Society Singapore recognised the site was internationally important for migratory shorebirds. Their advocacy helped protect it, making it Singapore’s first ASEAN Heritage Park. It is a powerful reminder to students that conservation succeeds when passionate people speak up and scientists, communities, policymakers and citizens work together.

What excites me most is that Singapore is no longer conserving isolated patches but restoring connected coastal ecosystems, reflecting the “roots to reefs” approach that underpins my research and teaching. The healthier these ecological connections become, the more resilient our wildlife, coastlines and communities will be.

Mangroves have been described as “climate infrastructure”. Can you explain what that means?

The word “infrastructure” brings to mind bridges, roads or seawalls. Mangroves perform many of those same functions naturally, which is why scientists call them natural climate infrastructure.

Mangroves are among the planet’s most efficient ecosystems for capturing and storing carbon, particularly in their deep waterlogged soils. Over hundreds of years, this builds up like an underground carbon bank.

But carbon is only part of the story. Mangroves reduce wave energy, buffer storm surges, stabilise shorelines, filter pollutants and provide nursery habitat for fisheries. A seawall protects a coastline, but a mangrove forest does this while storing carbon, supporting biodiversity and improving water quality.

As sea levels rise, our future resilience will depend on combining engineering with healthy ecosystems through nature-based climate solutions.

You bring NUS students into mangrove ecosystems for field learning. What do students discover that they cannot learn in a classroom?

One of my favourite moments happened during a field research trip in a mangrove forest in Lombok. After collecting data, I asked students to sit quietly on the mangrove roots, close their eyes and listen. They described hearing birds calling, crabs clicking beneath the mud and how surprisingly cool the forest felt.

It was a simple exercise but it changed how they saw mangroves — not just as muddy coastal forests but as a living, interconnected ecosystem.

While lectures provide the scientific foundation, students develop deeper understanding by seeing and doing. They learn to observe like scientists and understand how every species plays a role.

I also want students to see themselves as future conservation leaders. In my course, teams choose a degraded mangrove site and develop restoration proposals. Successful restoration requires understanding tides, sediments, biodiversity, communities and long-term management. The best strategies bring together ecologists, engineers, planners, policymakers and communities to design solutions beneficial for people and nature.

As an educator nurturing the next generation of conservation leaders, what gives you hope?

I see hope in the moment curiosity turns into connection. Students often arrive thinking mangroves are muddy, smelly places. By day’s end, they’re excitedly pointing out mudskippers and kingfishers, imagining how these places can be restored.

I see the same hope when working alongside communities across Southeast Asia as I meet people who care deeply about restoring coastal environments. Conservation succeeds when local communities lead, because they continue caring long after researchers leave.

People protect what they understand, and understanding often begins with experience. I hope that everyone experiences a mangrove forest at least once. Once you’ve experienced that magic, it’s hard not to want to protect it.

How can one experience the “Mangrove Magic” this World Mangrove Day?

Visit Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, Chek Jawa Wetlands or Pasir Ris Mangrove Boardwalk. Pause, listen to the birds, watch the mudskippers and crabs and look out for the otters.

Consider joining a kayak tour at Pulau Ubin, or participate in mangrove planting and coastal clean-ups organised by NParks, the Nature Society Singapore and the International Coastal Cleanup Day in Singapore.

Once you spend time in a mangrove forest, you begin to see it differently.

World Mangrove Day is observed annually on 26 July to raise awareness of mangrove ecosystems and promote their sustainable management, conservation and restoration.

• Lianhe Zaobao, 23 July 2026, Opinion, p14

• Lianhe Zaobao, 22 July 2026, Opinion, p16

• CNA Online, 20 July 2026

Huang Chao Hung: Of data science and musical numbers

While Huang Chao Hung, a double bassist with the NUS Chinese Orchestra (NUSCO), enjoyed composing multimedia “diaries” featuring his own synthesised music and drawings, he didn’t always hit all the right notes. His friend had told him, “You have good intuition, but you don’t have strong training.”

This prompted the Data Science and Analytics major to take up music courses at the NUS Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (YST), such as “Introduction to Classical Composition” and “Classical Styles and Romantic Spirits”. When NUS launched its Second Major in Performing Arts at YST as part of its Arts for All initiative to increase student participation in the arts and enhance interdisciplinary learning, he seized the opportunity.

“Music theory has always intrigued me. Though data science and music seem unrelated, both involve breaking down complex concepts into understandable ideas,” shared Chao Hung, 26.

For his YST capstone project in 2026, he took on multiple roles: as producer, composer, performer and script writer. The multimedia performance explored loneliness through instruments including the violin, double bass and piano, with visuals he had drawn projected on screen.

“I wanted to tell people that if you’re going through a phase of loneliness, you are not alone,” said Chao Hung.

He took the same storytelling approach when he organised NUSCO’s annual concert “In Bloom” in 2024 as a student leader. Rather than simply performing pieces, he led his team to create a narrative journey using seeds as a metaphor for people who blossom despite life’s challenges, complete with original graphics and synchronised projections.

Throughout his time leading NUS arts initiatives, Chao Hung found mentors in Ms Sing Mohli, Deputy Head of the Centre for the Arts at the NUS Office of Student Affairs and Mr Moses Gay, NUSCO conductor. “Working with them brought me to a higher level from just a student who follows instructions to someone who creates with a clear purpose and strategy,” he explained.

Beyond NUS, he performs with the Singapore Foochow Association and The Purple Symphony, an inclusive orchestra comprising musicians with and without disabilities. “It’s meaningful to play with people from different backgrounds and age groups who enjoy music like I do – hearing their stories and sharing mine,” he said.

Chao Hung will be graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Data Science and Analytics with Honours (Highest Distinction) and will notably be among the first batch of graduates from the Second Major in Performing Arts course. He plans to continue his twin passions after completing a Master’s in Data Science and Machine Learning at NUS, aiming for a public sector career while pursuing music. “I want to use data science to help citizens, while continuing to create and perform music that connects people.”

Toh Chang Hui: Trombonist has a blast giving back to the community

Toh Chang Hui was set to graduate with a diploma in Mechanical Engineering when he made the bold decision to change course. The reason: He had just secured a scholarship from YST to pursue a Bachelor of Music. It was a dream come true.

“I was already in the Singapore National Youth Orchestra (SNYO) and knew I wanted to do music one day. I think I spent more time in the youth orchestra than in polytechnic studying,” said the 24-year-old wryly.

At YST, Chang Hui discovered that music education extended beyond performance. His Music, Collaboration & Production major required him to conceptualise and execute independent projects – developing skills in ideation, planning and community engagement.

Having received abundant support from YST and SNYO during his musical journey, he felt compelled to pay it forward. This shaped much of his time at YST, where he took on projects that created opportunities for young and developing musicians to perform, learn from professionals and grow as a community.

Amongst them was a YST Trombone Weekend in 2023, which he organised to allow budding musicians to perform side by side with Singapore Symphony Orchestra brass musicians. “I learnt a lot as I had to do everything from marketing to finance to securing sponsorships. I’m thankful to have YST faculty mentors like Mr Sam Armstrong and seniors who guide me along,” he shared.

That same year, he also co-founded SingaBones, a community trombone orchestra, encouraging trombonists of all levels to play together so less experienced players have the experience of playing alongside professionals. The group has since grown to about 100 members, ranging from secondary school students to professional musicians.

Chang Hui credits the overseas travel opportunities in YST for broadening his musical horizons. His exchange semester at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague in 2024 proved formative as he immersed himself in intensive hours of practice and was inspired by European peers who balanced rigorous musical training with part-time work.

The experience strengthened his belief in creating opportunities for others. Noticing that students there had limited opportunities to perform orchestral repertoire, he rallied peers to sight-read, rehearse and record Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony – all in one day. The project, which mirrored the intensity and discipline of professional music making, also marked his first time conducting an orchestra.

“Music is all about playing with others. I want to share my love for music and try to get as many people on board, just like my seniors did for me,” he said.

In August, Chang Hui will head to Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music in Texas to pursue a Master’s in Trombone Performance on a full scholarship.

Kuah Hui Min: Stringing worlds together with the guzheng

When Kuah Hui Min arrived at YST for orientation week, she faced an unexpected challenge: performing with 59 other students – all playing different instruments – to deliver a concert.

For over a decade, Kuah, 26, had played only traditional Chinese music on her guzheng, a traditional Chinese plucked string instrument. This collaborative exercise was unlike anything she had experienced before.

It was a refreshing foretaste of what her time at YST would be like, as her peers and mentors pushed her to explore how the guzheng can be presented beyond its traditional context. YST’s emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration from day one influenced her artistic identity.

“My peers were very spontaneous. We could just go into the practice room and start jamming music. Those small moments made my YST life enjoyable,” she said.

To expand her understanding of music, she enrolled in YST’s Music, Collaboration & Production programme. Through courses like Area Studies, she explored jazz and blues on guzheng, performing with her peers who played electric bass, percussion, drums and keyboard. She also experimented with electronics, connecting pickups to her guzheng and using digital audio software to explore new sonic possibilities.

She shared, “It made me realise the guzheng has many possibilities for experimentation.”

These multicultural influences inspired her 2026 capstone project titled “In Another Light”, featuring guzheng with a string quartet. She wanted to break the assumptions that Chinese instruments can only exist in the Chinese music world.

“The most challenging part was learning about western string quartet instruments, like their range, technique and what kind of phrasing would be suitable,” said Hui Min, who also teaches young children to play the guzheng.

She feels YST has helped shape her into a confident musician who can think critically, perform, collaborate and curate concerts across musical traditions.

“I don’t see myself as a traditional Chinese guzheng player, but as a musician who can do a lot of things, who just happens to play the guzheng,” she explained.

She hopes to continue collaborating with players of western instruments while imparting her knowledge to the younger generation. “I want to share my knowledge with younger students, and help them build a strong foundation,” she said.

This story is part of NUS News’ coverage of Commencement 2026, celebrating the achievements of our graduates from the Class of 2026. For more, read our stories and graduate profiles, check out the official Commencement website, or look up and tag #NUS2026 on our social media channels!

• Tabla!, 17 July 2026, p14

• CNA Online, 15 July 2026

Sprinting through an HDB corridor with a defibrillator in hand, nursing student Cheok Xin Lin was responding to a cardiac arrest emergency in his community, knowing that every second before the paramedics arrived could mean the difference between life and death.

Netra and Xin Lin are two NUS students on very different paths, yet both realise that the most important lessons often take place outside the classroom.

Human faces behind the law

Netra joined NUS College’s inaugural intake in 2022, pursuing an interdisciplinary education alongside her law degree at NUS Law that introduced her to the human realities of the legal system.

Accumulating over 250 hours of pro bono work, including assisting in a capital drug trafficking case at the High Court, the 23-year-old found herself facing a side of the law that is not usually captured in textbooks.

“When you interact with accused persons, you realise more about their personal struggles. It forms a lot more empathy,” she said.

She found herself navigating a delicate balance as she felt for the families who watched their loved ones receive longer than expected sentences, yet as their legal assistant, she had to maintain a distance and remain professional.

These experiences reinforced the importance of access to justice. "A lot of people facing criminal charges do not have legal knowledge, which includes how to access legal help, making it very hard for them to navigate the system, understand their odds and ultimately come to a decision that they can accept – this is important so that they do not feel resigned to a certain fate," she said. 

From the courtroom to Thailand’s rice fields

NUS College also took Netra to the remote hills of Chiang Mai, Thailand.

As part of her Impact Experience (IEx) project — NUS College’s two-year capstone where students work alongside communities in Singapore and Southeast Asia — Netra made six trips over two years to a Karen village, helping farmers transition from corn to coffee farming.

Although she and her team were full of enthusiasm, reality quickly set in. The farmers, who had debts to service and livelihoods to protect, were wary after a failed non-governmental organisation-led coffee initiative years earlier.

Her professor, Associate Professor Peter Vail at NUS College, reminded her that it was about the journey, not the destination. “There are a lot of things outside your control, and you can’t really fixate on that,” she recounted.

Rather than push for a wholesale transition, the team adjusted their approach by introducing farmers to how coffee is made and distributed, the qualities the industry looks for, and connecting them to a network they could turn to in the future. “It’s about understanding what they want from you, rather than what you want to bring for them,” she said.

Paramedic to nurse

While Xin Lin started volunteering and responding to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) cases since his junior college days, serving as a brigade combat medic during his National Service (NS) was what deepened his interest in healthcare. After his NS, he continued volunteering with his constituency’s Community Emergency Response Team in Taman Jurong and continued responding to OHCAs through the myResponder app.

In those critical moments, he would work alongside paramedics from the Singapore Civil Defence Force to support the affected individual, solidifying his interest in medicine.

Inspired by these experiences, Xin Lin entered NUS Nursing with aspirations of becoming a paramedic. As it turned out, a different calling awaited him.

As part of his NUS nursing training, Xin Lin was posted to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital for four weeks. Attached first to a neurosurgery ward and then to a neuro-rehabilitation ward, Xin Lin found himself following the same patient through both postings, from acute care to recovery.

He realised that while paramedics work to keep a patient alive until they reach the hospital, nurses stay for the whole journey. “In healthcare, nursing is one of the few careers, if not the only career, that stays with the patient throughout,” he said.

Over time, his ambition changed from becoming a paramedic to becoming a nurse, as he found himself drawn to the more sustained care that nursing provides.

To ensure Xin Lin knew what he was in for, his father stress-tested his commitment for several months by pointing out the long hours, the demands, and the thankless nature of nursing. He was undeterred.

“Nursing gives me a sense of accomplishment as I’m able to directly impact someone’s life, to literally try to save them,” said Xin Lin, who received a Ministry of Health Holdings scholarship to study nursing at NUS.

He will be bonded to Alexandra Hospital for four years upon graduation.

His role model

For 25-year-old Xin Lin, being a nurse means more than delivering care at the bedside. It is also about giving voice to the nursing profession.

As cohort representative, Xin Lin started a feedback channel where fellow nursing students could raise concerns directly with the school.

Acting as a bridge between the student body and faculty, he raised issues such as the discomfort of the traditional white nursing uniform during clinical postings, which eventually led the school to transition to scrubs.

“There’s sometimes a gap between what the student body feels and what the school sees, and someone has to bridge that,” he said.

Xin Lin credits Ms Mary Yeo Kim Luang, an Associate Adjunct Lecturer at NUS Nursing and nursing veteran with 58 years of experience, for leaving a deep impression on him through her stories of fearless advocacy for her patients and fellow nurses.

“I want to be a nurse who is vocal, who won’t be silent on things that don’t sit right,” he said.

Living their dreams

With her sights set on criminal law and white-collar crime, Netra is studying for her bar exam, while a training contract beckons in January 2027.

“My experiences at NUS have given me a much better idea of what I want, what I value, and what I think the law should do,” she said.

For Xin Lin, the journey to becoming a nurse begins at Alexandra Hospital. He also dreams of one day becoming a nurse clinician or even representing nursing on a bigger stage, giving voice to a profession he feels is underappreciated and undervalued.

“There’s so much more that you can do,” he said to aspiring nurses. “Don’t confine yourself to just what you see today.”

This story is part of NUS News’ coverage of Commencement 2026, celebrating the achievements of our graduates from the Class of 2026. For more, read our stories and graduate profiles, check out the official Commencement website, or look up and tag #NUS2026 on our social media channels!

Givson Ong: Design for a cause

When teachers at AWWA School go on Inclusive Journey trips, they support students with special needs, while observing, documenting, and preparing information for post-trip reporting.

To keep track of students’ progress, they use a mix of hand-written notes, mobile apps, and phone cameras – an approach that allows for flexibility in the moment, but also requires observations to be manually compiled after each trip.

Seeing an opportunity to improve this process, NUS Industrial Design student Givson Ong led the development of FieldNote, an AI-assisted documentation platform designed to help teachers capture observations, organise student progress records, and generate structured draft reports after each trip.

The project was developed as part of the Innovation and Design Capstone at the College of Design and Engineering at NUS, supervised by Mr Eugene Ee and Adjunct Professor Chan Tong Leong. The design direction and research approach behind FieldNote were shaped by a concurrent design thesis supervised by NUS Adjunct Associate Professor Jung-Joo Lee, through which Givson developed his understanding of co-design, stakeholder engagement, and design’s role in complex care contexts. To bring FieldNote from concept to prototype, Givson worked with an interdisciplinary student team comprising members from Communications and New Media, Data Science and Economics, and Mechanical Engineering.

Givson led the project by defining the problem space, shaping the design direction, and assembling a team whose collective strengths spanned qualitative research, software development, testing, and quantitative evaluation.

“I wanted to do projects where you can really engage a broader community, but you can't hope to solve problems or challenges with just a single discipline,” said Givson. “I was very lucky that I was able to access different departments in NUS.”

His role was to bridge these contributions through design, translating field research and co-design insights into a coherent platform for documentation, reflection and reporting during Inclusive Journey trips.

Through co-design workshops, interviews, and pilot testing with AWWA teachers, the team developed a platform that allows teachers to document observations in a more structured way. FieldNote supports note-taking, student profiles, checklist-based scoring, and AI-assisted writing suggestions to help teachers record observations more efficiently.

The project with AWWA began in Givson’s final year at NUS as his capstone project. Before this, he had also worked alongside Adj Assoc Prof Jung-Joo Lee on projects involving local hospitals and different stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem.

The experience has been gratifying. “I realised that design can have a broader impact on society, particularly for healthcare and community care. It pushed me to see that I can use my skills to support hospital staff or special needs educators,” said Givson, who plans to pursue a joint Master of Arts and Master of Science in Innovation Design Engineering at the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London.

He continues to work with AWWA teachers to refine FieldNote, with the goal of supporting an internal innovation grant application within AWWA School for further development and deployment.

John Thng: Healthcare without borders

Healthcare challenges are complex, often calling for integrated solutions that bring together disciplines ranging from technology and engineering to social sciences and design.

Inspired by this need, NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS Medicine) student John Thng founded NUS HealthX in 2024. “What we needed was a platform that could bring all these disciplines together,” he said.

The idea grew out of his clinical attachments, innovation projects and hackathons, where he saw that solving healthcare problems often took more than medical knowledge alone. Clinicians could spot the unmet needs, but turning ideas into practical solutions meant working with engineers, designers, programmers and entrepreneurs.

NUS HealthX was founded to bridge this gap - by bringing together people from different disciplines on a regular basis so they could exchange ideas and brainstorm solutions for real-world healthcare challenges. Beyond fostering collaboration, the platform also creates opportunities for students to explore emerging fields through regular programmes on medical 3D printing, robotics, artificial intelligence and healthcare entrepreneurship, alongside international exchanges with partner institutions in the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan.

One of the platform's standout achievements is Design for Medicine, an interdisciplinary module developed with the Division of Industrial Design under the College of Design and Engineering at NUS and the Centre for Healthcare Simulation at NUS Medicine. The module was introduced in 2025 with an enrolment of 24 design and medical students and could see future iterations. It has also launched five student-led medical device projects, pairing medical and design students to tackle real clinical challenges – several of which have progressed to faculty showcases and innovation grant applications.

"Students often approach the same problem from very different perspectives," he said. "When you bring those perspectives together, you can arrive at solutions that may not have been possible within a single discipline."

John's interest in turning ideas into impact deepened during an internship where he evaluated emerging medical technologies and healthcare companies across Asia, Europe and the US. The experience taught him that great ideas alone are not enough — scaling healthcare innovation takes clinical insight, technological capability, regulatory know-how and investment support, all working in concert.

Since its founding, NUS HealthX has grown from a simple vision into a vibrant cross-disciplinary community reaching hundreds of students a year. John has since completed his undergraduate medical studies and now works as a junior doctor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at a local general hospital, but continues to chair NUS HealthX, which has secured grant funding, expanded its network, and built leadership structures so students can carry its mission forward.

"We're still a very young setup, but I hope HealthX can continue to empower future generations of students to take ownership of healthcare challenges and work together to address them," he said.

As his medical career unfolds, John hopes to make an impact not just through patient care, but by bridging healthcare, technology and innovation. "To me, that would be a meaningful career in medicine,” he concluded.

This story is part of NUS News’ coverage of Commencement 2026, celebrating the achievements of our graduates from the Class of 2026. For more, read our stories and graduate profiles, check out the official Commencement website, or look up and tag #NUS2026 on our social media channels!
 

Held at University Town on the Kent Ridge campus, the event unfolded with expert talks, live band performances, showcase booths and durian tasting. Throughout the afternoon and evening, participants explored new ideas, picked up practical insights and created new memories with fellow graduates.

Learning, reconnecting and coming home

At the fireside reflections with fellows from the Distinguished Senior Fellowship Programme, alumni explored a question that feels increasingly urgent in an age of longer lifespans: how does one thrive in the 100-year life?

For nature lovers — and alumni who brought their little ones along — content creator Ms Kong Man Jing (Science ’17), also known as Biogirl MJ, hosted a lively showcase on Singapore’s marine biodiversity, inviting curious questions through specimens such as a shark’s egg case.

Among the young minds piqued by the display were the two daughters of Ms Poh Ping Qi (Arts & Social Sciences ’10), aged five and seven. “We brought our kids along for exposure and to learn something new, and because we wanted to inspire our kids and show them this was their parents’ school,” Ms Poh shared.

That spirit of reconnection ran through the wider Homecoming programme, with space set aside for alumni group gatherings, board game sessions and informal catch-ups. 

A day of joy and celebration

It was also a year of milestones, marked by a cake-cutting ceremony celebrating the 10th anniversary of NUS School of Continuing and Lifelong Education, the 15th anniversary of the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health and the 110th anniversary of King Edward VII Hall.

Together, these moments captured the spirit of Homecoming: a celebration of the communities that make NUS home.

“At a time when so much of our lives are shaped by technology, gatherings like this remind us of the simple value of being together — to catch up, share memories, exchange ideas, and strengthen our sense of community,” noted Professor Aaron Thean, NUS Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost, in his remarks at the ceremony. 

Digital connections and social cohesion

The question of what connection means in an increasingly digital world took centre stage at the concurrent Alumni Advocates Connect (AAC) session, where speakers examined whether digitalisation is bringing society together or making its divides harder to ignore.

“We are living in an era of unprecedented transformation,” reflected NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye (Science ’85) in his opening remarks. “When harnessed wisely, technology magnifies the capacities of the human mind and allows it to do what machines cannot … much like the enduring connections that our alumni continue to nurture across the globe.”

The closed-door panel featured Ms Rahayu Mahzam (Law ’03), Minister of State, Ministry of Digital Development and Information, and Mr David Cai, Public Policy Leader at TikTok, and was moderated by Associate Professor Carol Soon (Arts & Social Sciences PhD ’12) from the Department of Communications and New Media.

Speakers noted that while digital platforms have expanded how people connect, they have also accelerated the spread of social fault lines and inequalities.

For policymakers, the task is therefore a careful balancing act: closing digital divides, building digital literacy and keeping online spaces safe, without stifling innovation.

“We have a ‘tough love’ relationship with tech companies, for instance,” Ms Rahayu said, referring to the Government’s practical and collaborative approach. “We know that they may know more about the technology, but they have a responsibility to use their technology for good, to achieve safety by design and develop products that help people.”

This makes it important, Mr Cai said, “to ensure psychological safety online”. For platforms, this means continuing to invest in content moderation, fraud and scam prevention, and technology that can remove harmful content at scale, guided by clear community standards.

The discussion underscored the consensus that social cohesion must be built with intention: through policy, platform design, public education, and the everyday care with which people speak, listen and engage.

"It's always good to come back and connect with old friends and the school," shared Mr Steven Yeo (Business ’04), President of the NUS Business School Alumni Association. "This year's AAC session gave me so much to take away. It sparked great reflection on digitalisation — and reminded us how important it is to design inclusively, so that seniors and lower-income households are brought into the digital conversation, not left behind."

His reflections captured the spirit of Homecoming 2026 — a gathering that brought alumni together not only to reconnect, but also to reflect on the evolving ways in which such connections are formed and sustained.

By NUS Office of Alumni Relations

• The Straits Times, 23 June 2026, Opinion, pB4

• The Straits Times, 13 June 2026, Opinion, pB2
• Berita Harian, 19 June 2026. p20 and 21

• The Straits Times, 8 June 2026, Opinion, pB2

• CNA Online, 5 June 2026

• Berita Harian, 22 May 2026, p16 and p17

• The Straits Times, 14 May 2026, Opinion, pB3

The award recognises Duke-NUS' Asia Pathogen Genomics Initiative (Asia PGI) Academy, which was established in 2022 under the Duke-NUS Centre for Outbreak Preparedness.

The Academy was created to address a critical gap exposed during the pandemic: while pathogen genomics and next-generation sequencing proved essential for outbreak response, the expertise and capacity to deploy these tools remained concentrated in well-financed research institutions. Low- and middle-income countries and public health settings, where such capabilities were most urgently needed, did not have such access. The aim was therefore to strengthen pathogen genomics capabilities across the region in preparation for future health emergencies.

Since July 2024, the Academy has trained over 100 health professionals from 19 countries – 17 of them classified as low- or middle-income by the World Bank. Through intensive week-long laboratory and data analysis courses co-organised with global leaders such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and national ministries to ensure scientific rigour and policy relevance, participants learn to use genetic sequencing to detect viruses, monitor outbreaks and inform public health decisions. Pre- and post-training surveys demonstrate the programme’s impact, with participants rating their knowledge and practical skills two points higher on average on a five-point scale after the courses.

Assistant Professor Ruklanthi (Rukie) de Alwis, former lead and founder of the Asia PGI Academy, noted that the programme builds on decades of scientific partnership, capacity building, and skills transfer developed through the Duke-NUS Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Dr Miruna Rosu, Lead of the Asia PGI Academy, emphasised the Academy's strategic approach as it delivers back-to-back laboratory and bioinformatics training for pathogen genomics focused on specific use cases involving high-risk pathogens in the Asian region, including arboviruses, avian influenza and antimicrobial resistance.

She added, “By carefully selecting participants from organisations directly tasked with pathogen surveillance, and from as many partner countries as possible in each training iteration, the Academy has tried to be as efficient and effective as possible. It cannot be stressed enough how important our local and international expert collaborations have been in making this happen. It really goes to show that it takes a village to create something meaningful."

The programme's real-world impact is already evident across the region. Trained professionals have applied their new skills to shape national vaccination strategies and conduct breakthrough genomic sequencing during disease outbreaks. Others have established new sequencing facilities at academic institutions, integrating genomic surveillance into university curricula. Some alumni have become trainers themselves, delivering their own capacity-building programmes, while others have innovated by reproducing affordable laboratory equipment locally, significantly reducing dependence on expensive imported supplies.

THE Awards Asia judges commended the Asia PGI Academy as an exemplary model of cross-border collaboration for regional progress. With a founding core team from four Asian nations and partnerships extending to the US and beyond, judges noted how the initiative epitomises the strength of regional cooperation in addressing shared health challenges that transcend national borders.

Looking ahead, the Academy is building on its strong foundation of partnerships while evolving its approach for greater sustainability and impact.

"We're deepening our engagement with regional bodies such as ASEAN, the International Pathogen Surveillance Network, and WHO regional offices to better align capacity-building efforts across the region," said Dr Rosu. "Our continued collaboration with the Duke-NUS Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases, and Singapore partners, including A*STAR, the National Environment Agency, and PREPARE (Programme for Research in Epidemic Preparedness and Response), alongside national partners across South and Southeast Asia, and global collaborators, gives us a solid platform to expand from."

Assistant Professor de Alwis highlighted the Academy's shift toward long-term resilience. She said, “Through Train-the-Trainer models and virtual reality tools, the Academy is shifting toward embedding genomics training within national public health systems, fostering country ownership and ensuring sustained preparedness between crises, well before the next emergency emerges.”

• zbSunday, 3 May 2026, Views, p17

For many, the answer lies in strengthening our defence capabilities – purchasing more weaponry or building up our reserves in preparation for crises. However, by prioritising the “how” in defence, we may risk overlooking a more fundamental question: what exactly is Singapore defending, and why?

This question was central to the discussions raised at the recent Insights Singapore Forum (ISF) themed “The Future of Singapore’s Total Defence”. Organised by the NUS Political Science Society (PSSOC), this year’s forum presented students with the opportunity to engage in dialogue with Mr Chan Chun Sing, Singapore’s Coordinating Minister for Public Services and Minister for Defence.

Throughout the dialogue, participants reflected on how this question – ‘What exactly is Singapore defending, and why?’ – has become more pressing as the country navigates a more complex security environment shaped by geopolitical rivalry, economic uncertainty, technological disruption and non-military threats.

A recurring theme was the continued relevance of Total Defence: the idea that national defence is not just the military’s job, but a whole-of-society effort in which everyone helps keep Singapore secure, resilient, and united in the face of threats and crises.

While the concept remains central to Singapore’s security approach, participants noted that its messaging may not resonate with younger Singaporeans in the same way it once did. In a society further removed from the vulnerabilities of the independence era, questions have also been raised about whether newer generations would fully grasp what is at stake in ensuring the nation’s sovereignty, resilience and survival.

The conversation also broadened the meaning of defence beyond the military domain. Questions and comments touched on identity and belonging, the impact of inequality on social cohesion, the resilience of defence supply chains, the role of technology such as AI in safeguarding economic security, and the need to prepare for cyber and infrastructure attacks alongside conventional threats.

Participants explored what it means to defend Singapore, with the conversation extending beyond territory and institutions to include values, way of life and a shared commitment to the nation’s future. There was also reflection on how new citizens can be more meaningfully integrated into Singapore’s broader defence ecosystem, and on how national participation in defence may evolve over time.

The discussion ultimately concluded that defence was not only a matter of hardware, strategy or geopolitics, but also of identity and resolve. The question posed was not just what Singapore is defending, but whether each generation is prepared to choose Singapore out of conviction rather than convenience.

In that sense, defence was framed not simply as military readiness, but as the collective will to protect a shared way of life and to ensure that future generations can continue to call themselves Singaporean.

Incoming NTU undergraduate, Mr Soon Fung, who attended the forum, shared that the event helped him better understand the hard work of previous and current generations that shaped Singapore today, and the delicate balance that Singapore treads daily to safeguard its right to exist.

Another participant, Ms Mikayla Tng, a second-year student majoring in Political Science at the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, echoed his comments, noting that Minister Chan raised intriguing insights and prompted her to think harder about what it really means to be a Singaporean and the realities of national security from a civilian’s perspective.

Ms Faustina Tan, 57th President of PSSOC and a Year 2 Political Science student, said, “Minister Chan’s candid communication style encouraged the youth to reflect on the core meaning behind being a Singaporean, not just in name, but in spirit. In today’s volatile times, such reflections are both crucial and necessary in helping us, as a nation, to discern our priorities and unite as one. Only then will we have the strength to withstand the test of time and progress towards SG100.”

By the NUS Political Science Society at the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

• Suria News Online, 24 April 2026