This is the paradox of the age of AI and one reason why lifelong learning is becoming increasingly important, said NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye.

“AI can give us answers, but learning is actually more than just providing solutions,” he said. “It is about learning to learn. It is about the struggle of learning, asking questions, making detours, failing and then trying again, and the eureka moment when something finally clicks.”

The same applies to the workforce: as AI reshapes jobs, people need to embrace its capabilities while retaining the ability to understand and critique it, and apply good human judgement and sensing.

Prof Tan was speaking at the third NUS Lifelong Learning Festival on 28 September 2026. Themed “Human in the Age of AI”, the Festival brought together educators and industry leaders to explore how AI is reshaping work and learning, and what people need to do in response. It also marked the 10th anniversary of the NUS School of Continuing and Lifelong Education (SCALE).

Across the discussions at the Festival, a broader shift emerged: as AI makes knowledge and certain capabilities more widely accessible, the advantage will increasingly lie not simply in what people know, but in how they think.

Raising the ceiling as AI raises the floor

AI has already raised the “floor” of what people can accomplish, said Professor Tulika Mitra, NUS Vice Provost (Special Projects), Dean of the School of Computing and Provost’s Chair Professor of Computer Science.

Knowledge, analysis, coding and content creation are now far more accessible — even to novices. But rather than lowering human expectations, Prof Mitra said that this should prompt people to raise the ceiling.

“When AI can answer questions, who asks the right question? Who frames the right question?” she asked, highlighting the growing importance of discernment and the ability to imagine new possibilities.

This also means moving beyond using AI simply to perform existing tasks faster. Prof Mitra described this as accelerating “yesterday’s work”: useful for productivity, but not necessarily transformational. The larger opportunity is to redesign workflows and ask what can now be achieved that was previously impractical or impossible.

The shift is already playing out in workplaces. Panellists from Singtel, Raffles Medical Group, ST Engineering and NUS-ISS described approaches ranging from workforce-wide AI training and experimentation to deploying AI agents and developing specialist capabilities. Mr Victor Chua, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of NUS-ISS, described AI as a “force multiplier” — a co-partner or co-pilot rather than an autopilot.

The next wave could take these capabilities from the digital into the physical world. Professor Jochen Wirtz, Vice Dean (MBA Programmes) at NUS Business School, highlighted how the convergence of large language models, large behavioural models and agentic AI could transform service robots, enabling them to converse more naturally, remember previous interactions, reason and plan, and autonomously execute service transactions.

No-code programming could also make it easier for employees to teach robots new ways of performing tasks, with that learning potentially shared across an entire fleet. Such technologies could help alleviate labour shortages while freeing employees for higher-value human interactions.

The question, then, is not simply which tasks AI can perform, but how work can be redesigned around new combinations of human and machine capabilities.

Accountability matters more, not less

Greater AI capability does not mean people can relinquish responsibility.

Professor Simon Chesterman, NUS Vice Provost (Educational Innovation), offered a colourful analogy: generative AI should be treated as a “very smart intern with a drinking problem” — capable of impressive work, but prone to hallucinations and requiring supervision. Humans remain responsible for deciding what to delegate, scrutinising the results and intervening when necessary.

Prof Mitra made a similar point about AI agents. Once tasks are delegated to them, she said, the ownership still belongs to the user: “We can delegate the actions to AI agents, but accountability needs to really stay with the people.”

These questions become even more consequential as AI moves into physical environments. Prof Wirtz highlighted risks involving ethics, fairness, privacy, agency, and health and safety. Managing increasingly autonomous systems would therefore still require human oversight, including for exceptions, auditing, errors and escalations.

This places an increasing premium on expertise and judgement.

While degrees will remain important, Prof Chesterman observed that as AI enables people to perform some cognitive tasks at a higher level, credentials and grades alone may become less effective differentiators. The “human edge” will increasingly encompass soft skills including creativity, empathy, teamwork and leadership.

This does not diminish the importance of disciplinary expertise. Prof Mitra stressed that strong foundations remain essential for evaluating AI’s outputs: “If you have zero foundation, you multiply it by AI, you still end up with zero foundation.”

Prof Chesterman described NUS’ approach as “X plus AI” rather than “AI plus X” — starting with a person’s expertise and asking how AI can enhance it, rather than treating AI as the starting point.

How workers can open up new career possibilities

If the capabilities required at work are changing more quickly, careers themselves may also become less linear.

Ms Aileen Tan, Group Chief People and Sustainability Officer at Singtel, suggested that workers with longer careers may need to pivot into different areas several times rather than expect to progress continuously up a single career ladder.

Instead of thinking only about promotion, employees should consider “career optionality” — building skills that allow them to move between different roles and domains. Curiosity, a growth mindset and the ability to keep learning will be crucial to navigating those transitions.

More fundamentally, Prof Mitra suggested that lifelong learning in the AI era should not be seen simply as reskilling or upskilling to catch up with technological change, but as continually “discovering new possibilities” as AI opens up new ways of working.

This changes the role of universities too.

“The idea that... a few years at university will give you everything you need for a career, that ship has sailed,” said Prof Chesterman. In an AI-mediated world, universities will increasingly need a “lifelong conversation” with their graduates, with stackable credentials and other opportunities enabling them to acquire new capabilities and reinvent themselves.

Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education and National Development Dr Syed Harun Alhabsyi said Institutes of Higher Learning need to do more than simply offer more courses. They must help learners acquire deep and relevant skills that employers recognise and value, design flexible pathways for diverse adult learners, and partner with companies on workforce and enterprise transformation.

“New skills deliver their greatest value when companies are also ready to redesign jobs, adopt technology, and deploy workers differently,” he said. “The next frontier is to help individuals and businesses adapt and grow together.”

This closer partnership between learners, employers and universities has underpinned NUS’ approach to lifelong learning. Over the past decade, the number of NUS schools and institutes working with the Skills and Workforce Development Agency to offer courses has grown from two to 14, with some 550 courses and more than 130,000 training places offered today. Collaborations with employers have also strengthened. At this year’s Festival, NUS recognised four organisations through the inaugural NUS Lifelong Learning Industry Partner Award for their strong commitment to the learning and growth of their workforce, and for driving innovative approaches to workforce transformation.

Yet amid changing technologies, skills and careers, one constant remains.

“As AI grows more capable, our job is to keep growing ourselves alongside it. Education starts with something intrinsically human, which is curiosity. Technology will change. New skills will emerge. The way we learn must also evolve,” Prof Tan said.

“But our desire to learn — this has to stay with us always.”

These are common questions that NUS University Librarian Associate Professor Natalie Pang, from the Department of Communications and New Media at the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, is used to fielding. To her, however, shelving books and collecting resources are merely functions of a library — not its fundamental purpose.

“Functions are not the same as purpose. The purpose of a library, like many other cultural institutions, is to connect communities and ensure equitable access to knowledge. By using research and library resources to catalyse community action, we play a part in heritage and cultural preservation,” she said at the Temasek Foundation-NUS Heritage Champions Showcase on 5 September 2026.

Held by NUS Libraries at the Temasek Shophouse, the event was the culmination of the year-long Temasek Foundation-National University of Singapore Heritage Champions Programme (TF–NUS Heritage Champions Programme), which drew over 100 students from various institutes of higher learning in Singapore.

The programme enabled youths to document and preserve Singapore’s diverse heritage through training workshops, a heritage ideathon to develop solutions to conservation challenges, and a project incubation phase where groups implemented their proposals with guidance from mentors. Ten of these student-led community heritage projects offering fresh perspectives on Singapore’s heritage and history were spotlighted at the showcase event.

The featured projects showcased Singapore’s diverse, lesser-known heritage, from hidden communities such as Southern Islanders and the Bras Basah Hainanese enclave, to food culture, biodiversity heritage and maritime histories. Through innovative approaches such as stamp rallies, walking trails, mobile games and hands-on workshops, the projects collectively engaged over a thousand members of the public.

For participant Totaan Aljean Choong, who recently graduated from Ngee Ann Polytechnic with a Diploma in Mass Communication, his project aimed to preserve the voices and memories of a disappearing trade. His group, “Scoops of Memory”, focused on the stories of ice cream uncles — the iconic pushcart hawkers who have been a fixture of Singapore's streets for decades.

“Interviewing ice-cream hawkers and working with my teammates taught me valuable lessons in research, collaboration and perseverance,” he recalled. “I learned to triangulate sources when documenting this vanishing trade, by combining interviews with vendors and suppliers, governmental records and quantitative data to paint a more holistic picture.”

Several groups are maintaining the momentum beyond the showcase. Rachel Lie, a Year 4 Global Studies student from the group “Shore to Shore”, which documented Singapore’s Southern Islands’ communities, shared, “The response to our tours and workshops encouraged us to continue building on the project. We are in the process of applying for a grant to continue our work with the community so that more people can experience the islands for themselves.”

One year in, the heart of the programme — to document and preserve Singapore’s history — remains unchanged, though discussions between NUS Libraries and potential partners on its future direction are underway.

As Assoc Prof Pang emphasised, "Singapore's heritage is not only found in monuments and historic buildings. It also lives in everyday experiences, memories, food, places and the stories of communities. When young people take ownership of these stories and find new ways to share them, they ensure that our heritage remains relevant and meaningful to future generations.”

NUS Psychology’s response to this growing demand is an accelerated training pathway that allows eligible undergraduates to qualify as clinical psychologists in five years – instead of the usual seven.

Launched in August 2026, NUS Psychology’s Concurrent Degree Programme in Clinical Psychology (CDP-CP) follows a “three-plus-two” structure: three years of undergraduate study tightly focused on clinical foundations, followed by the same two-year Master of Psychology (Clinical) that all NUS-trained clinical psychologists complete.

This new five-year track does not replace the standalone Master’s programme, which continues to train clinical psychologists who choose to pursue post-graduate studies after gaining relevant work experience. The latter is suitable for those who prefer to explore their interests before committing or who come to clinical psychology later in their careers.

Dr Lohsnah Jeevanandam, Director of the Clinical Psychology programme at the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, who led the CDP-CP’s design, together with Dr Matthew Lim and the rest of the clinical psychology faculty, said the two cater to different groups of aspiring clinical psychologists.

“We’re not replacing one pathway with the other,” she said. “Rather, we’re giving more people more options to meet the same growing need.”

From freshman to clinical psychologist

The CDP-CP programme aims to train more clinical psychologists without compromising on the quality of preparation and training.

“There’s a significant national demand for clinical psychologists and we needed to think about how to make the whole pipeline more efficient, so that we can produce more qualified clinical psychologists, faster, without compromising on training,” said Dr Jeevanandam.

Apart from the shorter time needed to complete both degrees, the programme also brings clinical psychology learning and clinical internship into the undergraduate years.

Students who register interest in the CDP-CP get priority access to a focused set of clinical psychology courses, including Introduction to Clinical Psychology, Counselling Psychology and Psychological Assessment, giving them a stronger theoretical grounding earlier than most of their peers. The aim is to better prepare them for the Master’s coursework ahead.

Another key feature is a six-month supervised clinical internship that is also embedded into the undergraduate years — designed to fulfil the relevant work experience typically required for entry into the traditional Master’s programme. During this period, students gain exposure to real client work, conducting basic mental wellness screenings and helping to run group wellness programmes under close supervision.

Together, these enable students to connect psychological theories to the realities of practice early on and develop an early appreciation of the responsibilities involved in supporting people dealing with mental health challenges.

“The internship is a shorter, more concentrated experience than the year of work experience it replaces, but one deliberately designed to give students a meaningful first encounter with clinical practice,” said Dr Jeevanandam, adding that students must still complete the same advanced coursework and further clinical training for their Master’s.

A selective pathway

Entry into the programme is competitive. Of the more than 60 students majoring in Psychology who have registered their interest, only around 10 will ultimately be admitted.

Alongside academic performance, the selection process considers whether students have the aptitude for the demands of clinical psychology, which involves working ethically and responsibly with people facing difficult times.

“We’re talking about developing clinical psychologists who are going to be talking about life and death matters, so we need to make sure we pick the people who have the aptitude for it,” said Dr Jeevanandam.

She added that the Department plans to grow the cohort size as the programme matures, while keeping the same careful selection process.

For prospective students like Wu Tong, a first-year Psychology major who has registered her interest in the CDP-CP, the appeal lies in getting to real clinical work sooner.

“The traditional path works well for many, especially those who want time to gain experience before committing to a Master’s. But for me, I felt ready to commit early… It meant I could move through my training with a clear, structured timeline, and start practising sooner rather than waiting longer to get there,” she said.

Building capabilities across the mental healthcare system

CDP-CP builds on NUS’ longstanding efforts to strengthen Singapore’s mental healthcare workforce.

Since 2010, the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine has offered the Graduate Diploma in Mental Health (GDMH) in collaboration with the Institute of Mental Health to equip medical professionals with additional knowledge and skills to support people with mental health conditions.

The new NUS Psychology programme extends this work by developing a pipeline of future clinical psychologists to complement the capabilities of professionals already providing mental healthcare.

It also joins a small but growing group of CDP programmes at NUS built around national workforce priorities in areas such as healthcare, public policy, management, environmental management and digital transformation.

By shortening the runway into the profession without shortening the training itself, the CDP-CP is designed to get more qualified clinical psychologists into the workforce sooner — a step towards closing the gap between how many psychologists Singapore needs and how many it has.

More information on the CDP-CP programme can be found here.
 

Name: Long Wen Xi 
Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and NUS College 
Host Country/University: The Netherlands, University College Utrecht 

What was your first week like in the Netherlands?

It was both scary and exciting. I remember the journey from the airport to school feeling incredibly long. My friend and I were struggling with all our luggage on the trains and buses, and we even took the wrong bus. After such a long flight, we were completely exhausted by the time we reached our dorm.

The next few days were mostly settling in, meeting my unit and orientation mates, exploring the campus and city and buying everyday essentials I couldn’t bring from home. I also wandered around Utrecht’s quaint streets, shops, library and canals.

Everything felt quite surreal. I couldn’t believe I was so far from home and would be there for five months. I was definitely nervous, but I kept reminding myself to live in the present. As the week went by, the uncertainty slowly faded, and Utrecht started to feel a little more like home.

Why did you choose University College Utrecht for your exchange?

I was drawn to University College Utrecht (UCU) because it reminded me of NUS College. It has an interdisciplinary curriculum, small seminar-style classes and a close-knit student community living together on campus.

I also liked the variety of modules offered. One of the classes I took was on activism, which was something I had never explored before. The small class sizes were also great because I could interact more closely with my classmates and professors. As an exchange student, taking classes alone can feel intimidating, so having that intimate setting made things much more comfortable.

But one of the biggest reasons I chose UCU was the residential experience. I really wanted the chance to live with people from completely different cultures and backgrounds. It was scary, but I knew I might never get an opportunity like this again, so I decided to take the leap.

What are some of your key learning experiences during exchange?

I learnt to be more independent and adaptable. Living in a foreign country makes you realise how many things you take for granted at home.

Food was one example. In Singapore, getting a meal is so convenient, but eating out in the Netherlands was much more expensive. I ended up cooking almost every day and learnt to make the most of my groceries.

I also learnt how to cycle. I actually didn’t know how to before the exchange and cycling alongside so many people and vehicles was terrifying at first. I almost gave up, but I really wanted to embrace Dutch culture. Eventually, I got the hang of it, and cycling became such a big part of my daily life.

Exchange also taught me that conflicting emotions can exist at the same time. I could be excited but anxious, happy but homesick, and ready to go home yet not want to leave. I learnt that life can be full of contradictions, and that we can grow through them.

What are some of your fondest memories?

I have many and some of my favourite memories were the simplest ones.

One was a night bike ride with my unit mates early in the semester. I was still quite nervous about cycling, but it turned into such a beautiful night. The sky was clear, we could see the stars, and we cycled past fields and buildings with the wind in our faces, chatting and laughing along the way. My unit mates even made sure someone always cycled behind me to keep me safe.

Another was our final dinner together. We cooked a huge meal and had a Secret Santa exchange. One of my friends gave me an album by a singer we had bonded over and wrote me a letter in Chinese — even though he’s Italian-Thai! He had spent ages translating what he wanted to say and copying out the characters, which really touched me. It was bittersweet knowing it was our last night together, but I tried to stay present and appreciate how many memories we had created in just a few months.

What did you learn from interacting with students from different cultures?

I learnt that cultural differences aren’t something to be intimidated by. Even if we grew up in completely different environments, there are still so many ways to connect.

My unit mates were really open and curious about one another’s cultures. We loved exchanging stories about life back home. They were shocked when I told them Singapore is hot all year round, while I was equally shocked that some of them used to travel up to two hours by car just to get to school.

Those little conversations helped me understand what their lives were like back home and get to know them beyond just being my unit mates. My biggest takeaway was to approach people with openness, kindness and genuine curiosity. Our differences can give us more to talk about.

Any tips for NUS students interested in going on exchange?

My biggest tip is to live in the present and experience exchange on your own terms. There’s no single “ideal” exchange. Some people want to travel every weekend, while others care more about their classes, friendships, or simply experiencing everyday life in their host country. You don’t have to follow what everyone else is doing.

Think about what would make exchange meaningful to you. It’s such a unique experience, so make it your own and try to be fully present while you’re there.

NUS Health follows the year-long NUS1000 and NUS 1000 Staff Edition studies conducted by the Centre for Sleep and Cognition at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS Medicine). The studies found that undergraduate freshmen and staff are more sedentary and less physically active than participants in the SG70 Towards Healthy Longevity study, who are above 70 years old. This is a concern due to the national uptick in chronic conditions such as hypertension and type 2 diabetes, which are linked to modifiable lifestyle factors such as insufficient sleep and prolonged inactivity.

Turning data into healthy habits

Led by Professor Michael Chee, Assistant Professor June Lo and Assistant Professor Jocelyn Chew from NUS Medicine, NUS Health comprises a multidisciplinary team that includes members from NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, NUS Health and Wellbeing, and NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Drawing on different areas of expertise, the team will harness insights from the study to devise the right solutions. Among participants, substituting 30 minutes of physical inactivity with sleep or moderately vigorous physical activity was associated with significantly lower body mass index (BMI) and arterial stiffness, which are measures of vascular ageing.

“Many health programmes like to highlight panels of biomarkers and AI-driven advice,” noted Prof Chee. “While these tools are valuable, their effectiveness ultimately depends on tracking markers that are functionally meaningful and actionable, and providing guidance that is scientifically sound, practical and sustainable.”

NUS Health builds on years of research into sleep patterns, behavioural change and physical activity. It also draws from real-world experience with wearable health devices.

“Our goal is not simply to generate research, but to translate the best available science into meaningful improvements in everyday health for our staff,” he said.

How NUS Health works

From August to October 2026, NUS Health will recruit 2,000 staff members for a study that will run for 15 to 16 months across three phases.

In the first phase, participants will be fitted with an Oura Ring to track sleep patterns and daily physical activity, with daily stress and mental wellbeing ratings collected via smartphone. They will also undergo functional tests and provide information about their existing health values and habits.

In the second phase, participants will receive personalised prompts and goals set against the baseline data that has been collected. Those who hit their health goals will receive tickets for a monthly ballot to win cash prizes.

“The cumulative effect of modest sustainable choices may seem unremarkable in the moment, yet over years and decades they become profoundly meaningful,” explained Prof Chee.

In the final phase, participants will continue wearing their health trackers and attend regular screenings to assess habit retention. These assessments will evaluate the impact on their health markers, wellbeing and physical performance, demonstrating the intrinsic rewards of investing in health.

Focus on wellbeing at NUS

NUS Health is just one of many initiatives that support the mental, social and physical wellbeing of the NUS community. The NUS Health and Wellbeing (HWB) unit regularly shares educational posts on social media, spanning topics on mental wellness, emotional literacy and managing grief. NUS HWB also set up the Peer Staff Supporters (PSS) network, now in its fifth year, which trains peer volunteers to help fellow colleagues who may be going through a rough patch. According to the annual HWB Wellbeing Survey, staff who had been trained as PSS reported significantly higher levels of resilience, compassion and wellbeing at work than their non-PSS colleagues.

In addition to emotional support, NUS HWB is encouraging personal growth among staff. In partnership with the NUS School of Continuing and Lifelong Education, they are launching The Happiness Ripple in October 2026, a five-week masterclass aimed at helping participants grow and live well through understanding themselves better, strengthening relationships and building optimism. The programme, which takes place for three hours every week, is also open to members of the public, offering an opportunity for staff to learn alongside friends and loved ones.

Together, these initiatives show NUS’ commitment to empowering staff to build healthier, more fulfilling lives.

The integrated venture-building and research commercialisation platform aims to connect research, talent, industry, capital and global markets to turn discoveries into scalable ventures.

Its rebrand was unveiled on 24 September 2026 at the inaugural A5X, Asia's first global innovation and venture summit, which brought together investors, founders, researchers and policymakers. Also hosting the inaugural Singapore Defense Tech Hackathon (SDTH), the event was held at the NUS i³ building from 24 to 27 September.

The next decade, all in one room

In his welcome remarks, NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye reflected on 25 years of NUS Enterprise — from nurturing entrepreneurial talent through NUS Overseas Colleges (NOC), to building start-up communities such as B71 (formerly BLOCK71) and, more recently, a network of global outposts.

Looking ahead, he said, “We want NUS to be a place where students, faculty and researchers dare to dream and are willing to try. Where the path from discovery to impact is clear. Where founders can find the people, capital and markets they need.”

Referencing the event’s theme, Guest-of-Honour Mr Tan Kiat How, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Digital Development and Information, said that “the next decade is in this room”, highlighting A5X’s value in facilitating connections, which eventually translate to capability and impact. As AI makes intelligence more capable, accessible and abundant, Singapore's opportunity lies in being the bridge between intelligence and impact.

“We cannot compete with the largest economies on scale. Our opportunity is to become exceptionally good at connecting these strengths and turning new ideas into real-world impact,” he said.

Universities have an important role in making these connections and shortening the journey from discovery to application, enterprise and global scale. “A great university should not only produce knowledge. It should help knowledge travel, from the lab into products, from products into enterprises, and from enterprises into society,” he added.

A new name for a bigger ambition

NUS Enterprise’s rebrand as NUSX is part of its evolution into a global, integrated venture-building platform. Its work spans four innovation tracks: “Logic” (AI and software), “Pulse” (healthcare and biotech), “Matter” (physical sciences, materials and semiconductors) and “Resilience” (dual-use technologies).

Through 2035, NUSX aims to create at least one NUS venture; generate more than US$100 million (S$127.9 million) in annual revenue or create 1,000 jobs; US$1 billion in financial returns from NUS ventures; and build ventures that collectively improve the lives of one billion people.

“As the global race to commercialise deep tech accelerates, breakthrough research is only the starting point. The real challenge is translation,” said Dr Tan Sian Wee, NUS Senior Vice President (Innovation and Enterprise).

One initiative addressing that challenge is Nova, an AI-powered engine for research commercialisation jointly developed by NUSX and development partner Zima Labs.

Within minutes, Nova can analyse a granted patent, assess its licensing potential against live market evidence, rank potential licensees and draft tailored proposals, while flagging the patent's limitations. The platform draws on more than 20,000 NUS patents and invention disclosures, 9,000 research projects and 11,000 inventors.

By connecting these with external intelligence on companies, investors and industry needs, Nova can also surface licensing, co-development and partnership opportunities, as well as potential investors and team members.

Building bridges between Singapore and the world

Plans are in the works to expand NUSX’s global outpost network beyond Silicon Valley — it has since established a second outpost in Munich, with a third planned for Shanghai in the fourth quarter of 2026.

At A5X, NUSX also announced a new partnership with start-up incubator UnternehmerTUM spanning reciprocal outposts, investment and talent development, focusing initially on biotech, AI and semiconductors.

NUS is also in advanced discussions with a Munich-based venture capital firm closely affiliated with UnternehmerTUM to join the S$150 million NUS Venture Capital (VC) Programme as its fifth partner. Under the programme, NUS students will gain new opportunities to intern with the firm's portfolio companies and join UnternehmerTUM's venture creation programmes — building on NOC Munich, which has connected nearly 120 NUS students and more than 90 TUM students since 2017.

“Deep tech ventures need more than one home market to grow — they need access to research, capital and industry partners across continents,” said Professor Dr Helmut Schönenberger, Co-Founder and CEO of UnternehmerTUM and Vice President, Entrepreneurship, TUM.

From research to real-world impact

Beyond the new initiatives, a common thread running through the A5X Conference was how technological breakthroughs can be translated into enduring impact.

At the opening keynote dialogue, moderated by Dr Tan, three panellists with experience across academia, industry and venture building discussed how research, talent and capital can come together to drive national innovation.

The flagship event also honoured the researchers and ventures translating ideas into impact. The NUS Innovation and Venture Creation Awards recognised eight NUS faculty members and researchers, while Professor David Silver from Duke-NUS Medical School received the President's Venture Creation Chair Professor Award for research that could lead to new treatments for Type 2 diabetes.

At the Innovation Showcase, more than 40 NUS-affiliated ventures and teams presented emerging technologies across NUSX's four innovation tracks. They included Lightsage, which is helping developer-tool companies improve how their products are discovered and used by AI coding agents, and Ecovolt, whose AI-native system helps organisations monitor and optimise energy use across buildings. Lightsage and Ecovolt have been both supported through NOC and B71.

Strengthening defence innovation

The “Resilience” track took centre stage at the inaugural SDTH from 25 to 27 September, which brought together about 300 engineers, operators and founders to develop working solutions for real-world defence and security needs.

Co-organised by NUSX, the European Defense Tech Hub and TUM Venture Labs, the hackathon comprised two challenge tracks: a two-day main challenge on site and a three-month extended challenge prior to the event. These culminated in a Pitch & Demo Showcase on 27 September.

Team NeuroMech topped the two-day main challenge, finishing first among 39 teams with a brain-computer interface designed to give operators a new way to control unmanned systems. Meanwhile, Team MAELSTROM finished first among 22 teams in the three-month extended challenge with a micro-missile system designed to intercept enemy drone swarms, coordinated through a networked command system.

Both challenges also featured the "Lord of the Rings" Prize, which recognised teams that combined their technologies into a larger, integrated capability. The two-day prize went to Acoustics, DomeCommand and AEGIS, while the three-month prize went to SwarmBreakers and Sentinel.

For some teams, the hackathon could mark the beginning of a longer venture journey. Up to three promising teams will be selected for NUS Defence Venture Lab’s (DVL) six-month incubation programme, receiving cash and in-kind support worth S$100,000, technical and venture mentorship, and access to testbeds in Singapore and Europe.

“The prizes are only the start. Through the NUS Defence Venture Lab, we will help the most promising teams become companies,” said Professor Gary Ang, Professor of Practice for Defence Innovation and Applications, NUS, and founder of DVL.

By NUSX

For NUS College (NUSC) students, the answer to these questions came through the experiences they have gained from the College’s flagship Impact Experience programme (IEx). Embodying its philosophy of ‘breaking open the classroom’, IEx allows students to go beyond lectures and books to learn from the communities and environment around the world.

“The projects that have emerged from IEx remind us that, in a world where technology is helping us move faster and generate solutions more quickly, meaningful change often takes time,” said Professor Simon Chesterman, Dean of NUSC.

“Students need time to build relationships, test ideas and stay engaged over a longer period for their work to grow and continue with the communities and students that come after them. This is what ‘Resonance’ means to us — seeing the work continue to have meaning and impact for years to come.”

At NUSC’s second Impact Festival, themed ‘Resonance’, on 16 September 2026, 57 projects were put on display, offering a glimpse into what students had learnt from putting their ideas to the test and how to turn them into lasting impact.

The Festival also featured a specially curated Creative Showcase, which brought the students’ work to life through illustrations and performances, on top of two Conferences, where representatives from seven projects shared about their communities and causes, as well as their experience working alongside NUSC students to drive change for good. 

One key takeaway from the presentations was the importance of forming meaningful connections to offer appropriate solutions. However, the students faced various challenges, from experiencing failures and language barriers to figuring out how to deliver lasting impact.

Overcoming language barriers

For students who took their projects overseas, building connections meant navigating communication challenges. “The language barrier is the highest wall that we have to break through,” said Ms Arum Kartika, one of the co-founders of Karasa, an Indonesian ground-up initiative that engages local youths through art.

Ms Kartika and her husband started Karasa in 2019 as they worried for the youths in their Bandung neighbourhood, located next to Southeast Asia’s largest textile factory. In their area, air, water and soil quality are poor and crime rates are high.

Karasa, which means “to be felt” in Sundanese, gives at-risk local youths an outlet for constructive pursuits. “We want to make a space for them so that they can do something good for their neighbourhood,” explained Ms Kartika.

IEx students worked with the youngsters to revitalise the neighbourhood by turning walls along alleyways into vibrant murals. At another wall, participants used bottle caps salvaged from a nearby river to create a head-turning whale.

Although the two groups of youths spoke different languages, the two-year IEx programme gave the students room to gradually pick up the basics of Bahasa Indonesia and, over time, engage more meaningfully with their Indonesian peers.

But communication was only the first step. At another non-governmental organisation (NGO) Yayasan Juang Laut Lestari (JARI), students learned that meaningful engagement also meant being able to co-develop solutions with a community, rather than simply bringing solutions to it.

In Gili Balu, a marine tourism area in the Alas Strait off West Sumbawa, Indonesia, students worked with the Poto Tano community and JARI to redesign four ecotour programmes. The aim was to ensure that as tourism grows, its benefits remain with the local community, including fisherfolk, women and youth.

“NUSC students sit and discuss together with the local community to try to find solutions,” said Ms Hani Nusantari, Program Manager of JARI. “They don’t just create a project, but help the local community find what’s best for them.”

Language wasn’t the only barrier. Students also had to adapt to an unfamiliar environment, but the IEx programme structure gave the students time to immerse in the culture and gradually pick up the basics of Bahasa Indonesia.

“By the end of our trip, we actually learnt quite a few words and managed to have conversations,” said Zhou Ze Hao, a second-year Computer Science major, who visited Alas Strait with his project team for their recce in the initial stages of the project in April 2026.

“It’s really a very enriching experience. I learnt a lot from the community there,” said Ethan Divyanathan, one of Ze Hao’s project mates, a second-year Mechanical Engineering major. “They have a lot of different kinds of knowledge that you can never pick up from sitting around the classroom.”

Navigating community dynamics

In the Lisu village of Doi Lan in Chiang Rai, Thailand, IEx students encountered a community that is far more complex than it first appeared.

“People see the village as culturally homogeneous. Instead, there are conflicts, disagreements and contestations,” said Ms Amema “Mimi” Saeju, founder of the Lisu Cultural Heritage Centre in Chiang Mai, which seeks to preserve Lisu culture by promoting the traditional art of Lisu handicrafts.

Residents have different social and economic backgrounds, from farmers to lawyers, government officials and businesspeople. These differences can lead to competing priorities, including over Ms Saeju’s efforts to preserve Lisu culture.

For students supporting her work, understanding these dynamics is an important part of the project. Ms Saeju noted that students can be seen as aligned with the community partner they work with, which can affect how other residents respond to them.

“The students would be viewed as an extension of the [community] partner,” she said. “The students are not neutral.”

IEx’s two-year project timeline gives students more time to understand these different perspectives, build relationships and adapt their projects to the community context.

“It takes time for the community to figure out what you’re doing,” said Ms Saeju, adding that it took more than 10 years for members of her community to understand and appreciate her own preservation work.

Her advice to students: “Don’t expect immediate results.”

Building lasting impact

But building relationships and understanding a community are only part of the challenge. For the students, the bigger question is whether the work can continue after they leave.

That, to them, is the real test of success.

NUSC class of 2026 alumni, Andrew Roy Toh and Naomi Ang, first joined Bamboo Bootcamp in 2023, an NGO based in Davao, Philippines that trains local workers in bamboo construction, building livelihoods while promoting native bamboo as a viable alternative to concrete.

From the get-go, the students had to rethink what it meant to make an impact. Rather than create a solution that depended on their repeated involvement, they realised that lasting impact meant ensuring that the community could continue the projects sustainably.

“One of the targets we had was to make ourselves obsolete from the community,” Andrew said. “After we finish our project, they must be able to stand on their own two feet, pick it up and carry it on even without our presence.”

That meant co-creating projects with the community rather than delivering a templated solution.

“The best thing that we can do as visitors is to listen to the community,” said Naomi, adding that it was a better approach to let the community decide on what works for them.

Over four trips, the team put this into practice by testing and refining a bamboo workshop for children based on feedback from local teachers. They eventually condensed it into a two-day programme and trained the teachers to run it independently.

“The beautiful thing is the consistent influx of NUS students,” said Mr Jed Michael de Guzman, Chief Operating Officer of Bamboo Bootcamp. “The community now recognises when there’s a new batch of NUS students coming and there’s anticipation. They are excited to co-work with them,” he added.

The idea of continuity is already playing out in Gili Balu. The marine conservation and responsible ecotourism project which began in August 2024 has since been handed to a new cohort of NUSC students, who are continuing to co-develop the ecotours with the community as new needs and challenges emerge.

Nuryanee Anisah, a final-year Business Administration major who was a pioneer on the project, said: “One of my biggest takeaways was that sustainability is not just about protecting the environment but also understanding the people whose lives and livelihoods are connected to it. Some of my most meaningful memories were the simplest ones — sitting with the fisherfolk at night, sharing music and stories, and learning about their lives beyond what we could ever learn in a classroom.”

Established in partnership with Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Institute of Technology, Temasek Polytechnic, Nanyang Polytechnic, and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, NCEB enables new research discoveries, drives technological advancement and develops the talent needed to design and engineer living systems predictively. This whole-of-nation platform strongly positions Singapore in the field internationally. Supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) under the Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2025 (RIE2025) plan, the Centre was established through the NRF Mid-sized Grant of close to S$50 million awarded over seven years from 2023.

“NCEB builds on engineering biology capabilities developed over more than a decade, anchored by initiatives such as the NUS Synthetic Biology for Clinical and Technological Innovation (SynCTI) and the Singapore Consortium for Synthetic Biology (SINERGY), and reinforced by strong industry partnerships and interdisciplinary expertise across science, engineering, medicine and computing,” said Professor Matthew Chang, who leads NCEB as Executive Director. He is also the Director of NUS SynCTI and SINERGY, and holds an appointment in the Department of Biochemistry at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine.

“Through NCEB, we will bring these strengths together, working closely with academic, government and industry partners to create an impactful shared research ecosystem. Our goal is to enable more sustainable ways of making products that society depends on, using renewable feedstocks and cleaner manufacturing processes,” Prof Chang added.

NCEB aims to move engineering biology from largely empirical approaches towards predictive biological design where the relationship between genetic composition and cell function can be understood and modelled to engineer cells that perform reliably. Its work is organised around three research thrusts: machine learning for predictive biodesign, engineering biology for specialty chemical production, and advanced biofoundry capabilities.

Boosting capabilities for predictive design, testing and scaling up

A key research outcome for NCEB is to establish design rules and models that allow researchers to predict how engineered biological systems will behave before they are built. This addresses a central challenge in synthetic biology: living systems are powerful, but difficult to design because they are dynamic and adaptive.

To support this, NCEB is developing shared data foundations and automated experimental platforms that generate large, standardised datasets. These datasets allow results from different laboratories to be compared, combined and used to train AI models.

NCEB’s flagship project, led by NUS, focuses on AI-guided Engineering Biology for Sustainable Specialty Chemicals. Specialty chemicals are a diverse class of high-value molecules, including biosurfactants, specialty lipids, flavour and fragrance compounds, bioactive compounds, and building blocks for advanced materials. Many are difficult to make by conventional chemistry and rely on energy-intensive, fossil-derived processes.

The project aims to engineer microbes and enzymes that convert renewable feedstocks into specialty chemicals using predictively designed biological systems. Its first targets are functional fatty acids, an important class of specialty chemicals used across multiple industrial sectors.

The approach is AI-guided throughout. AI-synthetic biology platforms developed at NCEB propose improved enzyme and pathway designs, which the Advanced BioFoundry – a highly automated research facility at NUS – builds and tests in large numbers rather than one at a time. Results are captured using common data standards and fed back into the models, so each experimental cycle improves the next round of design.

Another highlight of NCEB is the Bioprocessing Innovation Platform (BIP) established in partnership with the Singapore Institute of Technology. The BIP addresses the challenge of translating scientific breakthroughs in the laboratory into industrial-scale production, through pilot-scale fermentation and downstream processing capability. The platform houses an integrated fermentation and downstream bioprocessing system supporting process optimisation, scale-up studies and technology demonstration.

NCEB has also developed a digital backbone comprising the AI-Augmented Synthetic Biology Database (SynBioDB), a platform for standardising biological and experimental data; the Synthetic Biology AI Designer (SynDe), an AI platform for biological design; and Enzyme Function Initiative Tools@NCEB (EFI@NCEB), a secure enzyme informatics platform. Please refer to the Annexe for more information on these digital platforms.

Closing the loop between AI design and the laboratory

NCEB’s new facility at NUS is laid out to follow the Design–Build–Test–Learn cycle, with four connected zones: a computational and data zone where AI models propose new designs and learn from the results; a main laboratory for hands-on experimental work; the Advanced BioFoundry where designs are built and tested automatically; and a bioproduction area where the best performers are grown and assessed. This “one floor, one workflow” layout places computational and experimental researchers side by side, shortening the feedback loop between AI prediction and laboratory result — one of the strongest determinants of how quickly the Centre improves.

At the heart of the facility is the Advanced BioFoundry, the experimental engine of the Centre’s Design–Build–Test–Learn cycle, where AI-proposed designs are turned into engineered cells and tested at a scale that manual laboratory work cannot reach.

Key features of NCEB’s new facility include:

• Automated build and test: robotic liquid handlers, an automated colony picker, automated incubators and microplate readers run as a single workflow, so large numbers of biological designs are built and screened in parallel rather than one at a time;
• Ultra-high-throughput screening: single cells are encapsulated in tiny droplets, each acting as a miniature reaction vessel, and sorted by performance to narrow very large populations down to the best producers in a fraction of the time that conventional screening requires;
• High-throughput analytics: liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry systems, together with high-throughput mass spectrometry workflows, measure what each engineered cell actually produces across thousands of samples;
• Integrated bioproduction: laboratory-scale bioreactors and an integrated fermentation and downstream bioprocessing system confirm that promising designs hold up under production conditions, and prepare them for scaleup at the Bioprocessing Innovation Platform; and
• Computing and data: dedicated computing infrastructure hosts the Centre’s AI design models and shared data platforms, capturing results from every experiment in a common format so they can be used across partner laboratories.

A national centre bringing together leading talent

As a distributed national centre, more than 150 researchers, students and professional staff contribute to the Centre’s work across partner institutions, with recruitment ongoing for about 50 more positions. These include principal investigators, postdoctoral researchers and graduate students, as well as technical, engineering, laboratory support and centre management staff.

The Centre will also provide research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students.

Strengthening Singapore’s leadership in engineering biology

NCEB’s current goals include bringing the Advanced BioFoundry and BIP into routine use, delivering milestones for its specialty chemicals flagship project, extending the AI-ready synthetic biology data platform SynBioDB to partners and industry collaborators, and growing its industry and international partnerships.

Over the longer term, NCEB aims to establish a fully operational AI-enabled Design–Build–Test–Learn platform, demonstrate scalable production of high-value specialty chemicals from renewable feedstocks, build a federated national data ecosystem, contribute to international standards, and train the next generation of engineering biology talent.

Through these efforts, NCEB will provide Singapore with an end-to-end engineering biology capability — from AI-guided design and automated experimentation to pilot-scale production — supporting cleaner manufacturing, industry translation and the future bioeconomy.

Singapore Engineering Biology Week

The launch of NCEB marks the start of the inaugural Singapore Engineering Biology Week, organised by the Centre. Held from 5 to 8 October 2026, this national-level event will bring together about 300 researchers, innovators, students and industry partners from Singapore and around the world. The programme will cover topics in engineering biology including research, translation, industry and talent. Singapore Engineering Biology Week will be held annually going forward.

These are among the questions being explored through the Health District @ Queenstown (HD@QT), where NUS researchers work with residents and partners to develop and test health and social solutions with communities in real-world settings. The aim is not simply to create new tools, but to understand how technology can make preventive health and care more accessible and relevant to everyday life.

Smart screening

One project will soon bring contactless health screening into the Queenstown community. Led by Dr Yoann Sapanel, Head of Health Innovation at the Institute for Digital Medicine (WisDM), Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS Medicine), the study will explore whether a wellness kiosk could provide a convenient way to engage people in their health and identify those who may not know they are at risk of hypertension. The kiosk uses remote photoplethysmography (rPPG), a contactless technology that uses a standard camera to detect subtle changes in facial colour caused by blood flow with each heartbeat. These changes, which are invisible to the human eye, can be used to estimate vital signs.

The issue is significant. About one in three Singapore residents aged 18 to 74 has hypertension, according to the National Population Health Survey cited by the project team. Of these, more than half were unaware they had the condition.

From 11 November 2026, residents visiting HD@QT's Come 4Tea Lah! community hub will be able to participate in the study, which is conducted in collaboration with Singapore health technology company Nervotec. Participants will undergo a facial scan at the kiosk and answer a few questions. The technology will subsequently be trialled at Happy Village @ Mei Ling.

For Dr Sapanel, testing the technology in Queenstown is crucial to understanding whether it can work beyond controlled research environments.

“Running this pilot in Queenstown, in a real-world environment rather than a lab, lets us test whether the kiosk meets a clinical need and something residents themselves would actually want help with, which is very much in line with our co-creation approach,” he said.

Importantly, the study is not intended to replace clinical assessment. Researchers will examine how residents respond to the technology, including whether they are comfortable using it, what makes them trust the results and whether those receiving a higher-risk reading subsequently consult a doctor.

Living longer, living better

Other NUS researchers are exploring how technology can support health as people live longer.

At National Engineers Day 2026, Dr Sapanel joined Associate Professor Bina Rai and Dr Rubin Yong from HD@QT's Technology and Innovation team to share their work in preventive health, cognitive health and eye care.

Together with her team, Assoc Prof Rai, from the Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Design and Engineering at NUS, has developed a digital cognitive training platform that uses games inspired by familiar activities such as gardening to engage older adults. The platform adjusts the level of challenge according to individual performance, enabling more personalised cognitive training.

Dr Yong, a Research Fellow at the NUS Centre for Innovation and Precision Eye Health (INVISION), is working on another aspect of healthy ageing. The FourSight project explores community-based monitoring for people at risk of glaucoma, with the aim of making routine eye monitoring more accessible while connecting it with existing healthcare services.

While the technologies differ, the researchers share a common approach: taking innovation beyond the laboratory and designing it around the people expected to use it. Through HD@QT, researchers can pilot ideas in community settings, gather feedback from residents, and work with healthcare and industry partners to understand what it takes for promising technologies to work in everyday life.

As Singapore's population lives longer, such approaches could open new ways to support health and independence — not only when people enter the healthcare system, but also in the communities where they live.

Find out more about Health District @ Queenstown.

Few are better placed to understand these changes than the Department of Geography at the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (NUS Geography), where researchers and students have a front-row seat to the forces reshaping our world.

Research that informs policy in Singapore and shapes debates worldwide has put NUS Geography among the global leaders in the discipline: first in the 2026 ShanghaiRanking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects, for the second consecutive year, and fourth in the 2026 QS World University Rankings by Subject.

The results come as the Department continues to evolve both what and how it teaches and the research questions it tackles.

Over the years, the Department has refreshed its curriculum, embraced new technologies and forged connections with other disciplines, while its researchers continue to expand the boundaries of geographic inquiry to address emerging challenges.

“Modern geography sits at the intersection of people, places and the environment, helping us understand not only how the world is changing, but also how these changes affect the way we live, work and shape our communities,” said Professor David Taylor, Head of the Department of Geography.

“The result is a geography education and research that is no longer confined to understanding the world as it is but also helps students explore how it might be shaped in future and how we might best respond in anticipation.

Changing geographies for a changing world

Today, studying geography broadens not just students’ perspectives on global issues, but also their career paths.

Alongside a Geography major, students will have the option to pursue a new Second Major in Environmental Science for Sustainability from January 2027, complementing their geographical understanding of people, places and environments with scientific perspectives on environmental systems, sustainability and change.

Technology is also changing how geography is studied. New interdisciplinary courses launched under the NUS College of Humanities and Sciences cover topics such as clean and just energy (which considers both the environmental and social dimensions of a low-carbon energy transition), earth studies, and the motivations behind environmental decisions.

The Geospatial Intelligence Cross-Disciplinary Programme (GIX), introduced in 2026, is the first bachelor’s degree of its kind in Asia. Offered in collaboration with the School of Computing, the programme allows a pioneer batch of 28 students to explore new frontiers in the field, including geospatial data, computing and artificial intelligence (GeoAI). This enables them to better understand and respond to issues ranging from climate change and smart city design to urban planning and business planning.

At the same time, the Department’s graduate programmes have also expanded into areas like climate change and planetary health where geographical perspectives are increasingly important.

Building on the Master of Science (MSc) in Applied GIS launched in 2015, and the MSc in Climate Change and Sustainability in 2024, the upcoming Master of Social Sciences in Planetary Health and Wellbeing postgraduate programme will explore the connections between human health, wellbeing and the environments in which people live. It is slated for introduction in 2027.

All the Department’s taught Master’s graduate programmes are stackable, offering flexibility to students to take a graduate certificate before building towards a graduate diploma and full Master’s degree incrementally.

Breaking research frontiers

Outside the classroom, research at NUS Geography is tackling complex challenges that have wide-ranging implications for Singapore, from climate issues such as urban heat, rising sea levels and carbon governance; to ageing and migration; and even how changes in finance, money and markets have uneven impacts within communities and across space.

Professor Elaine Ho, for example, has led numerous research projects on ageing and social networks in Singapore. They have contributed significantly to policymaking and infrastructure planning, ensuring that older Singaporeans have opportunities to remain physically mobile and socially connected as the country moves into a super-aged society.

Elsewhere, Dr Remi Luo is leading a project funded by the National Parks Board to monitor Singapore’s green spaces over the long term to generate insights that inform climate-resilient urban planning.

Meanwhile, Professor Matthias Roth, a prominent researcher in urban climatology, is collaborating with the National Environment Agency on research to improve forecasting of weather and climate conditions so that tropical cities such as Singapore can better prepare for extreme weather, reduce risks and strengthen climate resilience.

As new frontiers emerge, Geography will continue to ask new questions about the places we inhabit, even as they extend into areas such as outer space and virtual worlds.

For the next generation of geographers — researchers, faculty and students alike — this means engaging with a discipline that is constantly uncovering new questions, new connections and new possibilities, and in doing so matching the skillset of its graduates with the ever-changing requirements of society.

NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye said the result reflects the sustained efforts of the University’s faculty, researchers, staff, students and alumni.

"The accolade belongs to every member of our community: our faculty, researchers, staff, students and alumni, and I am proud of what we have achieved together," said Prof Tan.

The University’s upward trajectory has been built over the years through deliberate efforts to strengthen the quality of its education, raise the rigour and relevance of its research, and deepen its partnerships across the world.

“We embedded interdisciplinary thinking into how our students learn, and built AI fluency into how they work. This is not a one-off result. It reflects intentional, sustained effort over many years,” Prof Tan added.

Strong performance across core indicators of teaching and research

NUS’ rise to 15th this year was driven largely by stronger scores in teaching and research. The results come as universities worldwide respond to shifting expectations around education, research and the role of technology and AI.

At NUS, these shifts have been accompanied by efforts to prepare students for a fast-changing world and to translate research into real-world impact, as well as deeper engagement with industry and society.

In August this year, NUS expanded its strategic collaboration with OpenAI to widen access to advanced AI tools for students, faculty and staff, and introduced a compulsory foundational AI module for all first-year undergraduates starting Academic Year 2026/2027.

The University has also continued to strengthen interdisciplinary education and research. Beyond developing new courses that prepare students to work across disciplinary boundaries, NUS has also been fostering more interdisciplinary research, bringing together expertise across disciplines to tackle complex challenges. The Centre for Computational Social Science and Humanities, for example, combines AI and computational methods with expertise in social science and humanities to examine issues at the intersection of technology and society.

Prof Tan said rankings provide one measure of NUS’ progress, but “what matters more is the difference our graduates make in society, the lives and policies our research improves, and the role NUS plays in building a better Singapore and a better world. That is what gives this ranking its meaning. And that is what will guide us into the future.”

THE assessed universities across 17 calibrated performance indicators this year, spanning teaching, research environment, research quality, international outlook and industry. This year’s edition covered a total of 2,297 institutions across 118 countries and territories, making it one of the most comprehensive and closely watched university rankings globally.

Mr Phil Baty, THE Chief of Global Affairs, said NUS’ move into the world’s top 15, its highest-ever position, was a “remarkable achievement”.

“NUS performs exceptionally well on every one of [the rankings’] core pillars, so there is real strength-in-depth,” he said, adding that the University’s combination of high research quality, close industry links and an international approach makes it “a truly world-class university.”

The University of Oxford retains its top spot in this year’s rankings, followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in second place, with Princeton University and Stanford University tied for third.

The full THE World University Rankings 2027 results are available at: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/latest/world-ranking.

Over two weeks in the towns of Maun and Kasane, 24 students from NUS College of Alice & Peter Tan (CAPT), affectionately known as CAPTains, heard from community leaders, researchers, educators, local organisations and conservation practitioners about the choices and trade-offs involved in protecting the environment while supporting livelihoods and communities. The journey was part of the NUS Global Relations Office’s Study Trips for Engagement and EnRichment (STEER) programme, which gives students first-hand exposure to the diverse sociocultural environments of emerging regions.

For many, the experience challenged assumptions about what conservation looks like on the ground — and revealed how questions of wildlife, livelihoods, tourism and local knowledge are closely intertwined.

The many sides of the Okavango Delta

These questions came into sharp focus at the Okavango Delta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the world’s largest inland delta systems.

The Delta offered students a window into the different ways in which the same landscape can be understood. It is an important ecosystem rich in biodiversity, a source of livelihood and tourism, and a place with deep cultural significance for communities who have lived in and around it for generations.

For Year 2 Industrial Systems Engineering and Management student Jayven Koh, the experience changed how he thought about the relationship between conservation and communities.

"What struck me was that the Delta isn't just a wildlife area; it's a vital water source that entire communities depend on. I also realised how important it is to distinguish between local and indigenous communities, because they have different relationships with the land,” he said.

“Without recognising those differences, conservation efforts risk overlooking the knowledge, histories, and needs of the people they aim to support."

At the Okavango Research Institute, the students learnt how researchers study the Delta’s ecology, water systems and conservation challenges. Conversations with local guides and educators added another dimension: environmental knowledge can also be built through generations of lived experience.

Safari guides, herders and community members, for example, may draw on close observation of seasonal flood patterns, animal behaviour and wildlife movement in their everyday lives.

Encountering these different perspectives underscored that understanding a landscape can require more than one way of seeing it — and that locally grounded knowledge can complement scientific research in shaping approaches to conservation.

Conservation starts with community

Another important lesson emerged from encounters with community organisations: conservation and sustainable development can also depend on whether local people have opportunities to participate and benefit.

At social enterprise Thari-E-Ntsho Storytellers, the students saw how storytelling, upcycling and cultural tourism could help preserve traditional knowledge while creating income opportunities for women, young people and informal workers.

They also encountered initiatives such as Green Horizons Network, which seeks to make environmental education more accessible and give young people opportunities to engage with conservation.

Its upcycling project, which taught women to make affordable bead-making tools and work with readily available scrap materials rather than expensive ready-made supplies, left a lasting impression on Year 1 Psychology student Ravshaan Singh.

“What stayed with me was that in Botswana, community-based work wasn’t just about generating income, it was about making participation possible. This really reflected how inclusion was intentionally built into the project,” he said.

Across their visits, the students saw a recurring emphasis on keeping initiatives accessible, locally appropriate and rooted in the communities they served.

They also learnt about the challenges such organisations face in sustaining their work over the longer term, particularly when programmes depend on donor funding. Some are therefore exploring hybrid models of combining tourism, education and community enterprises to broaden their sources of income and strengthen local ownership.

Living alongside wildlife

Perhaps one of the most immediate takeaways from the Delta experience was the everyday negotiation between human and wildlife spaces.

For instance, the students were prompted to think differently about the commonly used term “human-wildlife conflict”.

“Calling it ‘conflict’ puts blame on the animals,” said a trainer from the Botswana Wildlife Training Institute.

Rather than seeing people and animals simply as opposing forces, students were encouraged to consider their coexistence and the overlapping needs and pressures that arise when both depend on the same land and resources. The strategies used to manage these interactions vary widely, from fencing and chilli-based deterrents to reduce elephant crop damage, to compensation schemes and regulated hunting quotas.

One major approach is community-based natural resource management, which seeks to give communities a greater stake in managing and benefitting from the natural resources around them.

This challenged some of the students’ assumption that communities living close to Botswana’s wildlife would naturally want to protect it. What they encountered was far more complex — living alongside wildlife can bring costs as well as benefits, particularly when animals threaten crops, livestock or livelihoods. Conservation therefore depends not simply on an appreciation for wildlife, but also on finding ways for communities and conservation goals to coexist.

Bringing the lessons home

By the end of the journey, Botswana had given the students more questions to consider than simple answers.

For one, the students’ experiences abroad prompted them to look closer to home. While Singapore and Botswana face very different environmental circumstances, the underlying question remained similar: how can societies protect nature while taking into account the people and communities that live alongside it?

Significantly, such exchanges were made possible by a partnership that CAPT has built and sustained in Botswana for close to a decade.

Dr Toh Tai Chong, Director of Residential Life at CAPT and co-lead of its STEER programme, said: “In 2027, CAPT will mark 10 years of partnership with communities and organisations in Botswana. Their generous support over the years has enabled our students to see issues from different perspectives, deepen their understanding of Botswana, and forge lasting friendships and connections across our communities.”

But perhaps the most enduring lesson from Botswana was this: learning to see conservation not as an isolated environmental issue, but something shaped by people’s livelihoods, cultures, economic realities and relationships with the land.

Electronic skin systems are increasingly used in healthcare, robotics and wearables, but most rely on arrays of sensors connected to external electronics for signal processing and display. These designs often face limitations such as low spatial resolution, wiring complexity and inefficient signal interpretation, making intuitive real-time feedback difficult.

To address these challenges, a team led by Professor Lim Chwee Teck from the NUS Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Institute for Health Innovation & Technology (iHealthtech) developed a soft, ultrathin device called the “eLuminator”. The findings were published in Nature Communications on May 2026.

A new paradigm beyond conventional electronic skin

Unlike traditional electronic skins that rely on discrete sensing pixels and typically achieving less than 100 dpi (where dpi indicates how finely pressure details can be resolved within a given area), the eLuminator uses a continuous, pixel-free design. With a spatial resolution of approximately 30 µm (847 dpi), it can detect much finer pressure details, enabling high-precision tactile sensing for advanced applications.

At the core of the technology is a mechano-electroluminescent response, where applied pressure directly changes the device’s light emission. When pressure is applied, the device generates visible light patterns that map both the magnitude and shape of contact. This enables immediate and intuitive visualisation without the need for separate processing or display systems.

The high-resolution luminescent response allows fine surface features such as the ridges and valleys of fingerprintsto be clearly captured in real time, demonstrating its capability for detailed tactile imaging and potential use in biometric applications.

“This technology transforms how we interact with tactile information,” said Prof Lim. “Instead of relying on complex electronics, users can immediately see force distribution as it happens, making the process far more intuitive.”

Applications in healthcare and intelligent systems

The eLuminator shows strong potential in surgical training and healthcare monitoring, where precise force control is critical but difficult to achieve due to the lack of tactile feedback. When integrated into surgical tools, it provides real-time visual feedback on applied force, improving precision and reducing the risk of tissue damage. It can also map pressure distribution on the foot, supporting early detection of areas with high risk of foot ulcers in diabetic patients.

Beyond healthcare, the device enables more responsive human–machine interface. It supports both static and dynamic sensing, with optical feedback of around 15 milliseconds and digital readout of around 110 milliseconds, allowing force interactions to be visualised and quantified in near real-time. Its high sensitivity also enables the detection of gentle touches, which is important for robotics and prosthetics.

Soft, durable and versatile platform

The eLuminator is ultrathin, approximately 70 µm thick, and made of flexible, non-toxic materials designed to mimic the mechanical properties of human skin. It can stretch beyond 100 per cent strain and conform to curved surfaces such as the body or medical devices.

The device remains stable under repeated mechanical stress, with consistent performance demonstrated over more than 1,000 to 4,000 cycles. It also operates across a broad pressure range, from light touch to approximately 180 kPa (similar to the pressure felt when balancing a heavy textbook on a fingertip), making it suitable for diverse applications.

By combining visual and digital sensing in a single system, the eLuminator simplifies device design and enables easier integration into next-generation wearable and biomedical technologies.

Future directions

The research team is working to further improve the device’s sensitivity and reduce its power requirements, while advancing deployment in high-impact healthcare applications.

“Our focus moving forward is not just to improve the technology, but to apply it where it can make a real difference to patient care,” said Prof Lim. “By working closely with clinicians, we aim to develop solutions that improve outcomes and support better decision-making.”

“My dream is to have an app where people commute to work and watch our lifelong learning content instead of TikTok,” said the Dean of the NUS School of Continuing and Lifelong Education (SCALE).

Behind the light-hearted proposition is a serious challenge. Unlike undergraduates who can devote much of their time to study, adult learners juggle work, family and other commitments. In Assoc Prof Chai’s words, learning can come with considerable “friction”.

Reducing that friction — and making learning part of everyday life — is central to his vision of lifelong education. As SCALE marks its 10th anniversary, that philosophy points both to how far SCALE has come and where it hopes to go next: towards a university that learners can return to throughout their lives.

Lifelong learning in NUS’ DNA

When SCALE was established in 2016, its focus was on degree programmes for adult learners and continuing education courses. A decade later, Assoc Prof Chai sees its most significant achievement not simply in the number of programmes it runs, but in how lifelong learning has become embedded across NUS.

“The proudest achievement of SCALE is moving very quickly from the early days as simply a school that offered the Bachelor of Technology programmes and some short courses…to today, really a system enabler,” said Assoc Prof Chai, who became SCALE’s third Dean in 2025.

“We have evolved into a catalyst and an enabler [that makes] lifelong learning an integral part of NUS.”

Assoc Prof Chai credits his predecessors — Professor Wei Kwok Kee (2016–2020) and Professor Susanna Leong (2020–2025) — as well as colleagues across SCALE and NUS, for building the foundations on which the School continues to grow.

Over the decade, SCALE has supported NUS in delivering more than 130,000 training places in SkillsFuture Singapore-funded courses. The number of such courses offered by NUS grew from three in 2016 to 550 in 2025, with 14 faculties and schools participating, up from two. 

For Assoc Prof Chai, the next challenge is meeting learners where they are. He recalled engineers working in Woodlands who would charter a bus together to reach NUS for their master’s classes. Even then, getting to campus on time was difficult.

“We should not expect them to adopt the lifestyle of undergraduates and then come to university to learn from us,” he said. “We have to go to them.”

That thinking is also behind SCALE’s experimentation with bite-sized, problem-based learning inspired by microdramas. Short episodes begin with a problem, offer an answer, then end with another question to draw learners further into the subject — an attempt to fit learning more naturally into busy lives.

Learning when knowledge is everywhere

The question of what universities are for becomes more pressing as AI makes knowledge increasingly accessible.

Assoc Prof Chai has already seen that shift in his classroom. One student fed his lecture notes and recordings into an AI tool, allowing the material to be customised and condensed for listening at the gym.

“They can take your knowledge [and] customise it in whatever ways they want,” he said. “What is my value as an instructor?”

His answer is not for universities to compete with AI as repositories of information. Instead, as knowledge becomes increasingly democratised, he believes education must place greater emphasis on helping learners ask meaningful questions, exercise judgement and apply what they know.

“AI is very good when you know what you do not know,” he said. If someone already knows the question, AI can help find answers quickly. “AI is useless if you do not know what you do not know. And so this is a blind spot.”

“We need to teach our students how to identify meaningful questions,” he added.

That requires learners to empathise with stakeholders, distinguish meaningful signals from noise and develop the systems thinking needed to “see the forest, not just the trees”. Exposure to different disciplines and perspectives becomes even more valuable in developing that broader view.

Even as knowledge becomes available on demand, Assoc Prof Chai believes learning remains a human and social process. Universities bring together people with shared interests but different perspectives, creating opportunities to “discuss, debate, exchange views” — experiences that remain important in the age of AI.

Learning across a lifetime

If technology is changing how people learn, longer and more varied lives are also broadening why they learn.

Assoc Prof Chai envisages a university that people encounter repeatedly: as undergraduates, as working adults developing new capabilities or navigating career transitions, and later in life when they may have more time to pursue other interests.

“At some point when they are retired, they might then come back to the university,” he said. “They want the human touch again. They have a bit more free time. They want to reconnect and rediscover the joy of learning.”

Initiatives such as SCALE’s Joy of Learning and Distinguished Senior Fellowship programmes reflect this broader view of lifelong education — one driven not solely by employability, but also by curiosity, personal growth and contribution.

For Assoc Prof Chai, sustaining that desire to learn ultimately comes down to something deceptively simple: habit.

“For lifelong learning to happen, it has to be a habit,” he said.

He has put the idea into practice himself. For years, his default after boarding a flight was to switch on the in-flight entertainment. Then he began buying a book before flying and setting himself a goal to finish it before landing. Over time, reading became the habit and the screen increasingly stayed off.

The same principle underpins his hope for SCALE’s next decade: that learning becomes not an occasional response to disruption, but an integral part of life.

By 2036, he hopes SCALE will be a place people instinctively turn to when they want to learn — whether it already offers what they need, can develop something with them or can connect them with a trusted partner.

More fundamentally, he hopes that relationship begins from the moment students enter NUS.

“When our students join NUS as a Year 1 undergraduate, they already think about this [as] a beginning…of a long journey,” he said.

“Learning for employability, learning for growth…but also learning for fulfilment,” he added. “We think all can coexist, and can actually mutually reinforce each other.”

These questions about how people learn, work and adapt in the age of AI will take centre stage at the NUS Lifelong Learning Festival on 26 and 28 September 2026. Themed “Human in the Age of AI”, the Festival will explore the changing relationship between people and technology, and how lifelong learning can help individuals and organisations navigate a rapidly evolving world.

Driven by the rapid growth in the use of artificial intelligence (AI), electric vehicles and other advanced technologies, the global semiconductor market is projected to reach US$1.6 trillion (S$2.03 trillion) by 2030, with Singapore standing out as a critical industry hub. Backed by a trusted business environment and strong intellectual property protections, Singapore has attracted more than S$30 billion in semiconductor investments from 2022 to 2025 and today accounts for one in 10 semiconductor chips and one in five semiconductor equipment units produced globally. Building a strong pipeline of skilled future semiconductor talent will therefore be critical to meeting the industry’s increasing manpower needs and sustaining Singapore’s leadership.

The MSc STO programme is a multidisciplinary coursework programme hosted by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the College of Design and Engineering at NUS, in collaboration with the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Department of Industrial Systems Engineering and Management. The programme is further enriched by NUS’ major semiconductor research initiatives, including the Singapore Hybrid-Integrated Next-Generation µ-Electronics (SHINE) Centre, which provide students with exposure to cutting-edge research and industry-relevant technologies.

Offered on both a full-time and part-time basis, the MSc STO programme equips STEM graduates and working professionals with comprehensive expertise across the semiconductor value chain, from materials and devices to manufacturing, packaging, supply chain management and strategic decision-making. Students can also pursue specialised industry pathways, including AI training combined with experiential learning. Graduates are prepared for diverse engineering and management roles across foundries, equipment suppliers, and government agencies. Through formal training and cross-disciplinary perspectives, the curriculum fosters critical thinking, technical expertise, and an awareness of industrial impacts on society.

"By combining rigorous postgraduate education with industry internships and expert mentorship, this partnership will accelerate the development of highly skilled industry-ready talent," said Professor Aaron Thean, Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost at NUS. "It will build talent capacities needed to power the next phase of semiconductor innovation and manufacturing, strengthening Singapore's position as a global semiconductor hub."

Micron-Applied Materials-NUS Graduate Scholarship Programme

The joint scholarships will be funded by Applied Materials and Micron. In its pilot phase, 4 local scholars will be selected annually, and they will receive tuition support for the MSc STO programme, alongside industry internships with exposure to real-world projects, and potential employment upon graduation. Following the pilot, the initiative could scale to 10 to 20 scholars per cohort and expand to other semiconductor-related programmes and university partnerships.

Joshua Lee, Corporate Vice President and Singapore Country Manager at Micron Technology, said, "At Micron, we are committed to developing Singapore's next generation of local semiconductor talent. We believe that talent is one of the most critical enablers of semiconductor advancement. By connecting academic learning with real-world industry experience, this partnership will help aspiring talent develop the expertise and skills needed to support the industry's future growth and innovation in Singapore."

“One of the biggest challenges facing our industry is not a lack of opportunities, but making sure more people can see a future for themselves in semiconductors. Through this partnership, we are giving students firsthand exposure to an industry that touches nearly every aspect of modern life, while helping them discover where their strengths can contribute to the technologies of tomorrow,” said Mr Brian Tan, Regional President, Southeast Asia, of Applied Materials.

IntelligenceX brings together leading researchers, technologists and industry leaders to explore how quantum computing and AI could open new approaches to challenges in precision medicine, logistics optimisation and scientific discovery. Mdm Rahayu Mahzam, Minister of State for Digital Development and Information, opened the conference as the Guest-of-Honour.

The programme features keynote addresses, panel discussions and hands-on tutorials in agentic AI coding and quantum computing, with participants from leading organisations across Asia, Europe and the United States, including NUS, ETH Zurich, UC Berkeley, D-Wave, IBM and NVIDIA. Technology showcases will demonstrate emerging applications combining quantum and AI technologies across sectors.

“AI has already shown us how quickly a frontier technology can move from research into everyday life. Quantum computing is at a much earlier stage, but the convergence of these technologies gives us an opportunity to think ahead,” said Associate Professor Chen Ying, President of the Society of Algorithmic Intelligence.

She added, “The next frontier will not be defined by a single technology. It will come from combining advances in AI, quantum computing and other forms of high-performance computing with deep scientific and industry knowledge. To prepare for that future, we need to work on three things at the same time: advancing the science, identifying meaningful real-world problems, and developing a new generation of talent able to bridge the two. That is what we want IntelligenceX to help catalyse”. Assoc Prof Chen is from Institute of Operations Research & Analytics, Risk Management Institute and Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science at NUS.

Global competition puts AI trading strategies to the test

A key highlight of the conference is the International AI Algorithmic Trading Hackathon, which was held in the lead-up to IntelligenceX 2026. The hackathon has attracted 45 teams from Singapore, Australia, China, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Switzerland and the United States, among others, with participants affiliated with institutions including NUS, Bocconi University, Carnegie Mellon University, EPFL, ETH Zurich, HKUST and New York University.

Using real financial data, the teams applied AI and quantitative methods to develop and test algorithmic trading strategies, challenging participants to go beyond theoretical approaches and apply emerging technologies to address a complex real-world problem. The competition also brought together participants, researchers, industry experts and international partners, providing a platform to identify promising talent, encourage cross-border exchange and seed longer-term research and innovation collaborations.

Team Mushroom emerged as the top-performing team, with meloilz and Team Ember taking second and third place respectively. The three teams received their prizes at the IntelligenceX Opening Ceremony.

Taking Quantum × AI from research towards application

The conference builds on a broader NUS effort to move Quantum × AI from research towards practical adoption. Central to this effort is the NUS Integrated Quantum & AI Computing Consortium, launched in January 2026 to bring together researchers, industry partners and government agencies to identify and develop real-world applications at the intersection of quantum computing and AI.

The Consortium now includes six members – PCS Security, Singapore Airlines, STTGDC, ST Engineering, the Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX) and the Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS) – working together to build a pipeline of quantum- and AI-ready talent, and explore potential applications of the technologies. Members tap NUS' multidisciplinary expertise and participate in hands-on workshops using open-source quantum computing tools to explore potential use cases. The Consortium is also developing an executive quantum-readiness programme to help industry leaders assess how their organisations can prepare for the adoption of quantum and AI technologies.

IntelligenceX 2026 is designed to go beyond a single event, creating sustained connections between researchers, industry and government that can drive long-term collaboration in quantum computing and AI. The full conference programme is available at https://www.soc-ai.org/events/intelligencex-2026.

The researchers base their claim on measurements showing that their atomic clock, built from the element lutetium, outperforms previous record holders built from different elements.

More accurate clocks hold promise to probe unknowns in fundamental physics and monitor gravitational changes across the Earth – and they are vying to redefine the second.

Pushing the limits of timekeeping

Atomic clocks keep time with reference to an atomic transition, when one of the atom’s electrons swaps energy levels. The frequency of this transition is a fixed property of the atom. A laser is matched to this ‘clock transition’, and the light oscillations act like a pendulum to count time.

The basic method has been in place for decades. Caesium atoms have set the global standard for time since the 1960, and caesium atomic clocks already support the Global Positioning System (GPS) and synchronise communication and transport networks.

But scientists have been pushing the limits of timekeeping with other elements.

Elements such as recent record-holders ytterbium, strontium and aluminium oscillate much faster than caesium, helping them to keep time more accurately. The international body responsible for time standards is considering data from such new optical atomic clocks towards a redefinition of the second expected in or after 2030.

The CQT team started working with lutetium over a decade ago on the hunch that it had the right properties to join the set of top-performing clocks. The team, to its knowledge, is the only group working with this element for timekeeping so far.

Now, the team has measured the frequency of their lutetium clock to 19 decimal places, reporting an uncertainty of 1 x 10^-19 which is the lowest reported for any optical atomic clock to date. They also built two clocks and compared their ticking to each other. The clocks agreed to an uncertainty of 5.7 x 10^-19, which is the most precise clock comparison ever made. More measurements could reduce that uncertainty further.

Lutetium’s advantage

Lutetium’s strong performance comes from properties of the atom: its clock transition hardly feels changes in temperature or magnetic field. In other elements, these environmental factors can gently vary the frequency of the clock transition.

“In the future, I just don’t see how this clock can be beat,” says Associate Professor Barrett. His team has done over a decade of precision engineering on their atomic clock setup, testing different properties of the atom. That work included inventing a scheme called ‘hyperfine averaging’ to define the clock transition.

“The good properties mean that high accuracy can be achieved even in a wide range of environments,” says Associate Professor Barrett. “The lutetium clock would be stable even if you went from the hottest place recorded on Earth in Death Valley to the coldest place in the Antarctic plateau.”

Two is better than one

The team’s confidence is bolstered by their clock comparison, carried out using a technique known as correlation spectroscopy over 200 hours of measurement.

Each lutetium clock consists of a single charged ¹⁷⁶Lu+ ion having a clock transition matched to a laser with wavelength of 848 nanometers.

“There is a humorous saying that ‘A man with a watch knows what time it is. A man with two watches is never sure,’” says Dr Kyle Arnold, a Senior Research Scientist from CQT at NUS and joint first author on the paper. “It basically tells you that the only way to test the accuracy of a standard is to compare clocks and demonstrate reproducibility.”

Ideally, the team would also compare their lutetium clock to the world’s other best atomic clocks, but there’s a challenge. Optical atomic clocks at the 10^-19 level are so precise they can feel the slowing down of time by gravity over height differences of millimetres. The CQT team’s comparison measurement could resolve a 5mm height difference between their clocks on the same table. To ensure that this did not limit their measurement, they independently measured the height difference of the Lu+ ions below the millimetre level. Differences in gravity between different places on Earth are not yet known well enough to compare clocks at this level.

To enable new comparisons and explore future applications, the clock should come out of the lab. “The next step is to take the lab-scale clock and miniaturise it into a transportable system,” says Mr Michael Lee, joint first author on the paper and a PhD student on the NUS team. The researchers expect they can make their clock smaller without compromising the accuracy.

An alumnus of the NUS Business School, Mr Hsieh first joined the University’s Council in 2003 and continued to serve on its Board of Trustees from 2006 to 2012. In 2017, he returned to helm the Board as Chairman.

Stewardship across a decade of change

Mr Hsieh, working closely with NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye and his leadership team, has guided the growth of Singapore’s largest university. Under his stewardship, NUS launched many initiatives to develop future-ready graduates, enhance research impact and deepen partnerships with industry and community. These included major educational reforms to promote interdisciplinary and lifelong learning, as well as the creation of new research platforms in areas of strategic importance to Singapore.

During Mr Hsieh’s tenure, NUS significantly expanded interdisciplinary education through the establishment of the College of Humanities and Sciences, College of Design and Engineering, and NUS College. He also placed strong emphasis on student life to support students’ holistic growth beyond academics.

Mr Hsieh’s contributions have helped NUS for the longer term. He encouraged the University leadership to push boundaries and set higher standards in the quest for excellence. Together with the Board and Management, he also saw the University through major challenges and worked to build resilience, grow talent, groom leadership and ensure continued financial and campus climate sustainability.

Above all, Mr Hsieh believes that NUS, as a leading global university, should be anchored in its Asian context and values: one that is deeply connected to its community and nation, and committed to fostering common ground in an increasingly fractured world.

Mr Hsieh said, "It has been most meaningful serving NUS through much of the time it became autonomous since 2006. I was brought in by Dr Cheong Choong Kong, served under Dr Wong Ngit Liong and later took over the baton from him. Having fulfilled my part, it is my privilege now to hand over to Mr Leo Yip who will undoubtedly steward NUS much farther ahead."
 

Sustaining growth and deepening impact

Mr Leo Yip is currently Deputy Chairman of the NUS Board of Trustees, a position he was appointed to in April 2026. He brings to the role more than four decades of distinguished public service and leadership, making significant contributions to, among others, Singapore’s economic development, national security, as well as public-sector transformation and capability-building.

Mr Yip served as Head of Civil Service from 2017 to 2026, where he played a key role in driving transformation across Singapore’s Public Service and leading its collective response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the years he had served in various police appointments, as well as Principal Private Secretary to then Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Manpower; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs; and Permanent Secretary, Prime Minister’s Office. He was the founding Chief Executive of the then Singapore Workforce Development Agency in 2003 and also served as Chairman of the Economic Development Board from 2009 to 2014.

Mr Yip said, “I am deeply honoured to be appointed Chairman of the NUS Board of Trustees. Fu Hua has set an exceptional standard of leadership, stewardship and dedicated service, steering the university to become the globally leading institution it is today. I look forward to building on this strong foundation together with the Board, faculty, staff, and students, for NUS to grow in impact and in service of Singapore in its next phase of development.”

NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye shared, "We are deeply grateful to Mr Hsieh Fu Hua for his visionary leadership and dedication to NUS. His emphasis on cultivating our distinctive identity while pursuing excellence has fundamentally shaped who we are today. We warmly welcome Mr Leo Yip as our new Chairman. His wealth of experience in public service, strategic acumen and deep commitment to developing people and institutions will be instrumental in shaping NUS’ next chapter.”

Commenting on the leadership succession, Minister for Education Mr Desmond Lee said, “Mr Hsieh Fu Hua’s deep commitment to advancing education, learning, and research has been instrumental to NUS’ growth as a world-class university, and in enriching our higher education sector. I thank Mr Hsieh for his dedication and service across his decade-long tenure, during which he provided thoughtful stewardship as NUS strengthened its educational offerings, advanced research excellence, and expanded its contributions to Singapore and the world. I look forward to working with Mr Leo Yip as the incoming Chairman and am confident that he will continue to steer NUS towards greater heights.”

Years later, Yoga found himself returning to the same story from a different perspective. He became a researcher on the Child Health and Migrant Parents in Southeast Asia (CHAMPSEA) project in the Migration and Mobilities cluster at NUS’ Asia Research Institute (ARI), the Institute’s longest-running research study, which investigates how long-term parental migration affects children left behind.

Having grown up as a “left-behind child” himself, he now works alongside researchers who study families like his own.

Yoga’s journey captures a distinctiveness about ARI’s work over the past 25 years – that research on Asia can extend beyond academic papers to changing the lives of the people whose stories make that research possible.

Set up in 2001, ARI was founded to bring scholars and researchers from around the world to Singapore to study the Asian region.

“ARI was one of the first institutions within the University to have a very robust visiting academic scholars’ programme, established since our founding in 2001,” said Associate Professor Maitrii Aung-Thwin, Deputy Director of ARI. “It was a testing ground for the type of international interaction that other units of the University would start to develop as well.”

Over the years, ARI has expanded beyond its strong base of faculty comprising primarily experts from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences to bring together researchers from across NUS, including from fields like law and architecture.

Its network also now extends beyond NUS, connecting researchers from Singapore, Asia and around the world. “By opening our doors to international scholars, we are strengthening the broader research ecosystem of Southeast Asia,” said Professor Vineeta Sinha, Director of ARI.

More than a revolving door for researchers

A longstanding practice of joint appointments between NUS faculties and ARI has provided stability for the Institute. “By nature, people come and people go at ARI. But we’ve also built a critical mass of faculty members from NUS who have a presence at ARI and are connected to it,” said Prof Sinha.

These established scholars mentor the next generation through initiatives such as the Singapore Graduate Forum, where graduate students and recent PhD recipients spend a month acquiring knowledge and skills before presenting their research at a two-week forum.

Many participants have gone on to build successful careers. One of them is Dr Darshana Sreedhar Mini, who attended and presented at the Forum in 2018 while she was a PhD student at the University of Southern California. Today, she is a tenured associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has since returned to ARI while she writes her next book.

Another alumnus, Dr Biao Xiang, joined ARI as a postdoctoral fellow before teaching at the University of Oxford, and later becoming Director of the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Germany – one of the world’s leading centres for the discipline. “He’s taken the ARI model, the ARI influence, and gone off to build it in his own institute,” said Assoc Prof Aung-Thwin.

ARI is now extending its support to post-doctoral scholars by equipping them with the professional skills they need when they enter their respective fields, whether as researchers or in non-academic careers in the public or private sectors.

One initiative is the newly launched ARI-Luce Collaboratory, funded by the New York-based Henry Luce Foundation. Piloted this year as a two-week programme, it combines skills training, a writing residency and networking – allowing early-career scholars from North America and Asia to learn from and network with senior researchers. “After one gets one’s PhD, there’s still a lot of room to grow, and what a better place to grow than at ARI with a fantastic community of scholars,” Assoc Prof Aung-Thwin added.

Creating real-world relevance and impact

With an eye to delivering tangible impact and studying topics with real-world relevance – such as Asian urbanism, religion and food politics – ARI recognises that academic domains should not work in silos.

To facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration, ARI structures itself around clusters, bringing experts from different departments together around a common theme. “By combining different lenses and methods from across disciplines and faculties, I think ARI is able to holistically and comprehensively address some of the most compelling crises that we face,” said Prof Sinha.

The Transnational Relations, Ageing and Care Ethics (TRACE) project, for instance, brought together geographers, sociologists and anthropologists to study the challenges of ageing populations. The researchers have also engaged policymakers in Singapore to share their research insights. “It actually produced knowledge that can shape how we develop meaningful, impactful and effective practices of elder care,” said Assoc Prof Aung-Thwin.

The reach of ARI’s research extends beyond the academic field to across the region and closer to home. The Climate Governance of Nature-Based Carbon Sinks (CGSEA) project in the Science, Technology and Society cluster, running since 2022, studies how mangroves and peatlands across Indonesia and Malaysia are managed amid climate change – work that has direct relevance to environmental planning across Southeast Asia’s coastlines. Closer to home, ARI helped digitise more than 72,000 burial records at Bukit Brown Cemetery between 2017 and 2018, creating what Prof Sinha calls “a kind of genealogy for Singapore”.

ARI’s research structure has evolved over time. Beyond its six clusters, it now runs four strategic research programmes – the Muhammad Alagil Distinguished Professorship in Arabia Asia Studies, the Asian Peace Programme, the DIJ-ARI Infrastructures Research Partnership and the Nalanda Professorship in India-China Studies – expanding into new thematic and regional territory, with the work guided by a shift toward “decolonising knowledge production” that moves beyond research on Asia toward research grounded in Asian perspectives, noted Prof Sinha.

One example is the Arabia Asia Archives, launched in August to digitise rare and indigenous-language texts long excluded from colonial archives, connecting communities from Indonesia to Yemen.

Breaking borders around research

For Prof Sinha, more than half her time since taking on the directorship of ARI in January has been spent building international partnerships to strengthen ARI’s role as an incubator and accelerator for research – one that external bodies increasingly approach to seek new areas for research collaborations.

A recent success is a memorandum of understanding (MOU) inked with Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-Koo Foundation, making ARI part of a consortium of universities and research institutions in Asia, including Korea University’s own Asiatic Research Institute, to focus on developing talent, internships, and conferences to build Korea-ASEAN relations. “These partnerships are valuable because they allow us to scale up the research,” she said.

As ARI celebrates its 25th anniversary, Assoc Prof Aung-Thwin emphasises the need to deepen integration with ASEAN and Central Asia, continue innovating its research on how societies cope with a constantly evolving world, and make sense of diverse social infrastructures in Asian societies.

None of these, the pair agrees, would have been possible without the people behind the scenes. “These people are the ones who make ARI work,” noted Prof Sinha of ARI’s administrative staff, who she says have worked with passion and professionalism since ARI’s earliest days. Assoc Prof Aung-Thwin agreed. “Some have been here since the beginning, and they are the tissue that connects the different generations of ARI scholars.”

Twenty-five years on, it is that same spirit of connection between people, disciplines and countries that ARI hopes to carry into its future.

NIMOS is established by NParks and hosted at NUS, with Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) as a partner institution, and St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory as a key national facility. It brings together expertise across universities, research institutes and public agencies to address how Singapore can develop management and conservation strategies for marine ecosystems, advance Singapore’s blue economy, build local talent, and establish Singapore as a regional thought leader in marine science.

“As marine environmental challenges in Singapore and the region become increasingly complex – crossing disciplines, sectors, geographies and national boundaries – research and innovation must keep pace to deliver the knowledge and solutions needed to address them. NIMOS, hosted at NUS, brings together universities, research institutes, government agencies and partners across the region to align our research priorities, deepen Singapore’s marine science capabilities, and develop practical solutions that support both environmental resilience and sustainable growth,” said Associate Professor Huang Danwei, Director of NIMOS and Deputy Head of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum at NUS.

NIMOS builds on earlier and existing national marine science efforts, including the Marine Science Research and Development Programme (MSRDP) managed by NUS and the Marine Climate Change Science Programme (MCCS) led by NParks. These programmes established important scientific baselines and research capabilities; NIMOS will consolidate and expand this foundation into a coordinated national platform with a stronger focus on interdisciplinary solutions, talent development and regional leadership.

The launch was also part of NUS Sustainability CONNECT, the University’s flagship sustainability festival.

A whole-of-coast approach to conservation

NIMOS will take a whole-of-coast approach, which involves studying and managing an entire coastal sea space as an interconnected system, to address complex marine challenges with research projects expected to be inter- and trans-disciplinary, bringing together academic and non-academic experts, and across various marine ecosystems.

NIMOS will focus on research areas comprising biodiversity and nature, environment and climate, and ecosystem resilience, with technology being harnessed across research projects. NIMOS’ key strategic priorities include:

1. Developing targeted and effective management and conservation strategies

NIMOS will develop adaptive management tools and science-based approaches that enable marine ecosystems to withstand multiple stressors while continuing to provide essential ecosystem services. This includes developing predictive models for ecosystem tipping points, enhancing habitat resilience with restoration guidelines tailored for the local environment, and creating monitoring frameworks that can detect early warning signals of ecosystem degradation.

2. Deliver inter- and trans-disciplinary solutions to advance Singapore’s blue economy

NIMOS will undertake marine science research that can guide the optimisation and management of Singapore’s sea space. This includes studying how much activity, such as aquaculture and recreation, Singapore’s waters can sustainably support. NIMOS aims to develop inter- and transdisciplinary solutions to balance economic productivity with ecological resilience, ensuring that marine and coastal resources can scale and sustain Singapore’s blue economy – the sustainable use of marine resources for economic growth.

3. Building local talent and capabilities

NIMOS will focus on developing a robust pipeline of local talent that can help build capabilities across academia, industry, and government, ensuring Singapore has the capabilities needed to address complex marine environmental challenges.

4. Establishing Singapore as a regional thought leader in marine science

NIMOS aims to establish Singapore as a regional thought leader in marine science, by consolidating capabilities from key regional institutions and fostering partnerships across Southeast Asia. Building these meaningful regional partnerships can also enable data sharing and comparative assessments of marine health, across Southeast Asia. This would strengthen Singapore’s resilience against complex global marine challenges

Boosting resources for research and talent development

The S$60 million funding for NIMOS under the Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2030 Plan (RIE2030) will support research, training and capability building.

Over the next 10 years, the institute will offer up to 12 PhD Research Scholarships for Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents, supporting the growth of local expertise for academia, government and industry. NUS has also committed 10 additional PhD Research Scholarships for NIMOS projects.

NIMOS’ research projects will also create internship and training attachment opportunities for undergraduate and polytechnic students in marine science laboratories across institutes of higher learning.

Bringing the research community together to accelerate discovery

NIMOS will begin operating as a virtual institute, enabling research collaborations to start immediately while longer-term facilities are being developed. The future space will house the NIMOS staff, NUS researchers and collaborators working on NIMOS projects. Its permanent home on NUS campus is expected to include wet science laboratory facilities and collaborative office space for project teams.

To strengthen coordination across the marine science community, NIMOS will also convene the inaugural Singapore Annual Symposium for Marine and Ocean Sciences in 2027. The symposium will serve as a national platform for researchers, policymakers, industry partners and public agencies to share findings, identify emerging priorities and accelerate the translation of marine science into coastal planning, ecosystem management and climate resilience.

Strengthening Singapore’s regional role in marine science

NIMOS will also deepen Singapore’s regional and international marine science partnerships. These collaborations will support data sharing, comparative assessments of marine health and joint research on transboundary issues such as ecosystem connectivity, marine pollution, ocean warming and biodiversity loss. The Institute will build on existing research ties with various institutions worldwide, including those in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, and engage a regional network of institutions in Southeast Asia.

The first such agreement between NUS and an Indian state government, the MOU was signed during a two-day series of engagements in Chennai from 28 to 29 August 2026. Spanning industry, government, academia and prospective students, the programme also included an Industry Networking Session and the inaugural NUS Postgraduate Fair.

Organised by NUS School of Continuing and Lifelong Education, the Chennai engagements are part of NUS’ broader efforts to build sustained international partnerships and create more opportunities for students, researchers, industry and institutions to exchange knowledge, develop capabilities and collaborate across borders.

Bridging academia and industry

The Industry Networking Session on 28 August brought together senior representatives from NUS, the Tamil Nadu Government and industry to exchange perspectives on emerging industry and talent needs; and explore opportunities for closer collaboration in areas such as talent development, knowledge exchange and innovation.

“India presents opportunities and challenges that are often very different from those we encounter in Singapore. Its scale and diversity expose us to a rich range of perspectives, possibilities, and complex realities. A great university should not only export its ideas but also learn from different contexts that broaden the questions we ask and challenge how we think. I would therefore welcome deeper intellectual connections between NUS and Tamil Nadu - not only to contribute, but also to learn,” said Professor Wong Lim Soon, Acting Dean of the NUS Graduate School.

Expanding knowledge exchange

NUS and Guidance Tamil Nadu signed a first-of-its-kind three-year MOU on 29 August to deepen cooperation in postgraduate education, talent development and knowledge exchange.

The agreement creates opportunities for government agencies, industry and universities in Tamil Nadu to explore collaborations with NUS in areas including student exchanges, industry-linked projects, immersion programmes, masterclasses and seminars. It also provides a framework to explore scholarship and co-funding arrangements that could support postgraduate and doctoral education and exchange between NUS and Tamil Nadu.

“Our partnership with Guidance Tamil Nadu gives us a platform to build deeper and more sustained connections in postgraduate education and knowledge exchange. By creating more opportunities for students, educators and institutions to learn from and work with one another, we hope to develop talent with the knowledge, networks and perspectives to contribute across India, Singapore and the wider region,” said Professor Ang Wee Han, Acting Vice Provost (Masters’ Programmes and Lifelong Education) at NUS.

Showcasing postgraduate opportunities

The engagements culminated in the inaugural NUS Postgraduate Fair 2026 in Chennai, which brought together 14 NUS Colleges, Schools and Faculties to showcase postgraduate education opportunities across the University.

More than 3,500 prospective students and accompanying guests turned up on the day, reflecting strong interest in NUS’ postgraduate programmes and opportunities for advanced study in Singapore.
 

By NUS School of Continuing and Lifelong Education

The NUS–Lancet Pandemic Readiness through Institutions, Mobilising Communities and Equity (PRIME) Commission launched its report, “Transforming Pandemic Readiness for Equity”, on 21 September 2026 at Instituto Cervantes, New York, during the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Week. The launch advances a broader approach to pandemic readiness that focuses on how pandemic readiness can better incorporate equity, whole-of-society action and the protection of communities.

Professor Teo Yik Ying, NUS Vice President (Global Health) and Dean of the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, participated as a panellist at the launch. He is also a member of the NUS–Lancet PRIME Commission and a co-author of the report.

Based on the report’s findings, the Commission advised that conventional measures of pandemic preparedness — including surveillance, laboratories, stockpiles and emergency plans — remain essential, but do not by themselves guarantee protection when systems come under pressure. Instead, it defines pandemic readiness as a whole-of-society capacity to prevent, prepare for, respond to, recover from and redress the effects of pandemics while protecting people's wellbeing.

From preparedness on paper to protection in practice

The report draws on research across 20 countries, engaging stakeholder from government, civil society and the private sector, as well as six evidence reviews, future scenarios and epidemiological modelling. It brought together expertise spanning infectious diseases, health emergencies, health systems, governance, social protection and community engagement.

Its findings point to five systemic vulnerabilities that can leave communities unprotected during crises: (1) insecurity in basic needs; (2) housing insecurity and crowding; (3) administrative exclusion from healthcare and social protection; (4) distrust of institutions and health information; and (5) fragile health and social systems. The Commission calls for attention to the systems that create vulnerability, rather than labelling particular groups as “vulnerable”.

The Commission’s modelling of a hypothetical future influenza A pandemic found that rapid vaccine development could reduce deaths by 59 per cent, from 58.5 million to 23.9 million, even under scenarios where countries with greater purchasing power received vaccines first. Population-based vaccine allocation could further avert 2.7 million deaths, particularly in middle-income countries, while measures to improve vaccine confidence could save another 1.9 million lives.

Singapore’s efforts and NUS leadership for global pandemic readiness

Established by NUS and The Lancet, PRIME reframes pandemic readiness around the equitable protection of all people before, during and after a crisis. It offers countries 10 priority areas for planning, six Foundational Blocks to build readiness, and a PRIME Test to assess whether policies and investments will actually protect people in practice.

NUS has played a central role in convening this international effort. In January 2026, the Asia Centre for Health Security, headquartered at NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, hosted a PRIME Commission meeting at NUS involving representatives from 22 countries. NUS researchers are also represented in the Commission’s scientific coordination group, and they will be part of the leadership driving the international partnership on implementation of the report’s recommendations.

Prof Teo shared, “For NUS to partner The Lancet on the PRIME Commission reflects strong global recognition of NUS’ leadership in global health. The Commission’s recommendations are intended to ensure that countries focus not only on strengthening technical capabilities, but also on investing in the social and community infrastructure necessary to provide genuine protection for their populations. More importantly, the Commission proposed a practical framework to address systemic weaknesses and, in so doing, help prevent the unnecessary loss of millions of lives worldwide.”

Explaining the relevance of the findings to Singapore, Prof Teo shared that the report builds on existing strengths in disease surveillance, laboratory testing, healthcare delivery and emergency coordination by examining whether these systems continue to protect people under prolonged pressure.

Singapore entered the COVID-19 pandemic with strong capabilities in disease detection, laboratories, and contact tracing, but the crisis underscored the importance of translating technical preparedness into systems that protect people in practice. The country’s experience showed how pandemic readiness extends beyond healthcare: wage support and business continuity measures helped protect livelihoods and made public health measures more sustainable, while collaboration among government, scientific and community stakeholders supported service delivery and public communication.

Rather than replacing Singapore’s existing disease-agnostic, modular pandemic preparedness framework, the PRIME Test could complement it by stress-testing whether measures protect health, livelihoods and wellbeing; reach people facing financial, administrative, housing or digital barriers; incorporate the perspectives of affected communities and frontline stakeholders; and anticipate consequences across healthcare, social services, businesses and families. Applying these questions to different pandemic scenarios could help determine whether measures remain feasible, trusted and equitable under pressure.

Prof Teo cited Singapore’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak in migrant worker dormitories, where authorities worked with migrant worker leaders to build trust, as an example of involving the communities being protected. He also highlighted transparent communication and trust as foundations that need to be built before a crisis, rather than only during one.

Turning recommendations into action

To translate its findings into practice, PRIME proposes 10 integrated recommendations, six “Foundational Blocks” and a “PRIME Test” to assess whether policies, plans and investments protect wellbeing, advance equity, strengthen trust and voice, and anticipate effects across systems.

The report is intended as a first step. Through the proposed PRIME Collective — a global platform for collaboration, shared learning and implementation — the Commission plans to work with countries and communities to apply the PRIME Test, adapt its approach to different contexts, develop practical implementation plans and measurable indicators, and support continued learning and accountability.

The next phase is about moving “from paper to action”, with NUS continuing in a leadership role as PRIME moves into implementation.

Please refer to the full NUS-LANCET PRIME Commission report here.

Speaking at the Kent Ridge Ministerial Forum (KRMF) 2026, Mr Ong urged young people to remain confident about Singapore’s economic prospects, tap on the support available to them and focus on building expertise for the long term. He also called on employers to help cool an escalating hiring “arms race” by looking beyond grades and internship counts to recognise candidates’ potential and broader life experiences.

Organised by the NUS Students’ Political Association (NUSPA) at the University Cultural Centre, the event on 7 September 2026 drew about 250 students from various tertiary institutions across Singapore.

The “arms race” and “broken ladder syndrome”

Mr Ong acknowledged the anxieties facing graduates today: some are stacking multiple internships and sending out hundreds of CVs, only to find themselves screened by AI before they meet a human recruiter.

Citing the Graduate Employment Survey data, Mr Ong noted that the proportion of graduates who secured employment within six months of graduation had declined from about 93 per cent in 2023 to 89 per cent in 2025, reflecting a more competitive job market. But attributing this simply to AI, he cautioned, would be an oversimplification.

When he graduated in the 1990s, about one in five students made it to university. Today, it is one in two. While lauding the greater access to higher education for Singaporeans, he noted, “A degree remains valuable, but it distinguishes you less than before.”

This is why, in addition to grades, employers now look at internship experience to distinguish among applicants, he added.

This can create a self-reinforcing loop: as students accumulate more internships and credentials to stand out, employers look for further ways to differentiate candidates, prompting students to do more, in what Mr Ong described as a hiring “arms race”.

AI is adding another dimension. By automating some of the structured, routine tasks traditionally performed by new hires, it may raise the baseline expectations placed on fresh graduates. Mr Ong called this the “broken ladder syndrome”: the career ladder remains, but some of its lower rungs are being automated, requiring new hires to take a bigger first step.

He cautioned that employers should pay attention to the implications, as these early-career tasks have traditionally helped young workers learn the ropes and build professional competencies.

The biggest competitive edge

Against this backdrop, Mr Ong encouraged graduates to focus on building mastery, with genuine expertise becoming more valuable than ever before.

“This means finding an area that you care about, going deep into the craft, and working at it for the long haul,” he advised. “It may or may not be the course that you are studying, but you have to find something you are prepared to invest in and go through some difficulty learning it.”

“A mastery of your craft will define you as a professional and become your biggest competitive edge…mastery is what sets you apart and will be more valuable than before.”

On this note, Mr Ong also encouraged graduates to keep an open mind about their first job, even if it does not tick every box. Early in one’s career, he said, the opportunity to learn and build a strong foundation should weigh heavily alongside considerations such as salary and work-life balance.

“Your first job is a starting point, not a settling point,” he said, adding that an imperfect opportunity could still provide a platform from which to build towards longer-term goals.

Fortunately, graduates have a strong, ever-evolving support system to tap on. Mr Ong noted that Singapore’s tertiary institutions have continued to update their curricula with industry input, incorporate more real-world and interdisciplinary teaching, and build data and AI fluency among students. University career offices are also playing an active role in connecting graduates with employment opportunities.

At the same time, the wider employment ecosystem is stepping up, with career fairs connecting graduates directly with employers. The new Skills and Workforce Development Agency is also expanding support for job seekers through career guidance, job matching and training.

With these pillars in place, graduates should reconsider the efficiency of sending out hundreds of CVs. Instead, they should focus on industries, roles and organisations that genuinely interest them.

But easing the pressure on graduates is not their responsibility alone — employers also play an important role in preventing hiring from becoming an ever-escalating “arms race”.

Without lowering hiring standards, employers could look more holistically at candidates and recognise experiences beyond conventional measures such as grades and internships, he said. Competitive sport, the arts, volunteering, caregiving and other life experiences can reveal qualities such as resilience, initiative, discipline, empathy and work ethic.

A dynamic economy, not a declining one

While acknowledging the uncertainty created by AI and a more competitive employment landscape, Mr Ong urged young people to remain confident about the future.

Pointing to continued investment by multinational and local companies, as well as major infrastructure projects, he said Singapore remained competitive, continued to attract investment and was still creating jobs.

His conversations with people across different professions also suggested that, for now, AI is more often replacing specific tasks than entire jobs. In other words, it is reshaping work and, in some cases, enabling people to do more.

This is reason for optimism. Borrowing a Gen Z expression for being doomed, he drew laughter when he told the students: “So you are not cooked.”

Ultimately, navigating uncertainty is about focusing on what one could do in the present, he said: seizing opportunities, continuing to learn and investing in mastery.

Nearby, his 80-year-old friend would similarly sell tissues for a few hours a day to support his wife with dementia and his daughter, despite his poor health — up until his recent passing. Their stories are a reminder of the harsh realities faced by those on the margins of Singapore’s bustling metropolis.

Dr Kevin Tan, a cultural anthropologist and lecturer at the NUS Chua Thian Poh Community Leadership Centre (CTPCLC), describes individuals like Tommy and his friend as members of the "precariat".

“The precariat — a blend of ‘precarious’ and ‘proletariat’ — describes someone who copes with life day by day, but is just one crisis away from falling through the cracks,” explained Dr Tan. “If Tommy falls and gets hurt, he cannot turn up at the temple entrance for weeks. That means income lost. It is a constant struggle.”

For months, Dr Tan and Ms Kuah Ting Ting, an instructor at CTPCLC, conducted field research on Waterloo Street. They found that, beyond being a religious urban enclave, the area served as a sanctuary for a vulnerable community: older, lower-income individuals who often navigate physical disabilities and constrained circumstances.

“As prosperous as we have become as a nation, we must remember that many are still struggling,” noted Dr Tan. “While policymakers and social services are doing what they can, our contribution as educators and academics is to go to the ground, gather these personal narratives and share the realities of people’s lives. Hopefully, this reaches those who can drive meaningful change in decision-making.”

Furthermore, such research is crucial for education. By bringing real-world context to class, educators can humanise the curriculum, helping students understand the visceral realities of poverty and marginalisation. This cannot be taught from textbooks alone.

15 years of nurturing community leaders

The intersection of academic research and on-the-ground community engagement is at the heart of the work at CTPCLC. Established with a generous donation from Dr Chua Thian Poh, Founder and Executive Chairman of Ho Bee Land, the Centre nurtures Singapore’s next generation of community leaders.

Now in its 15^th year, the Centre's work spans education, research and community partnerships, giving students opportunities to apply what they learn to real-world social issues. Many graduates of the programme join the social sector or initiate ground-up community projects, creating a ripple effect of positive change.

Giving youths a voice through applied research

The strong alumni ecosystem at CTPCLC has been instrumental in driving community development research and collaboration. A connection made by a CTPCLC alumna led to a year-long research practicum with =DREAMS Singapore, a first-of-its-kind weekday boarding programme for children from under-resourced backgrounds.

Working closely with =DREAMS Singapore’s Executive Director Ms Juliet Tanuwira and her team, four NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences graduates who are also CTPCLC fellows — Ang Wei Cai, Christine Devina Wibisono, Edice Koh Ying En and Megan Wang May-En — were tasked with evaluating the programme's holistic impact from the perspective of its scholars.

Conducting focus groups with teenagers after a long school day called for empathy and creativity. To keep the youths engaged, the NUS team used interactive tools like laminated cards and worksheets, allowing the scholars to physically rank programmes and comfortably share their thoughts.

The experience was profoundly transformative. For Edice, a Social Work major, the project underscored that research is a "precious mode of communication" meant to be shared. “Sharing our findings with the scholars and staff brought honest conversations and validation. It emphasised the importance of involving the community in our research,” she said.

Wei Cai, a Chinese Studies major, learnt the value of adaptability. “It is always important to either have a contingency plan or be able to improvise on the ground to achieve your objectives,” he said.

Translating their findings into action, the team provided =DREAMS Singapore with practical recommendations, including structuring family bonding sessions to better bridge residential and home life, and tailoring mandatory tuition at the boarding to student performance to better balance academic rigour with students’ individual strengths and learning needs. They also designed an annual survey that can help =DREAMS Singapore track the programme's long-term impact.

“The CTPCLC students offered a valuable opportunity to gain an independent snapshot of our scholars' well-being and experience,” said Ms Tanuwira.

Beyond the research, she noted the partnership's broader impact: “Supporting under-resourced youths is one part of our work; another is to galvanise young people with greater access to opportunities to support their less-resourced peers.”

Ultimately, she hopes this inspires a culture where youths actively use their voices to uplift one another.

Multiplying impact

Noting how the project encapsulates the core educational goals of CTPCLC, CTPCLC instructor Ms Kuah, who supervised the practicum, said she hoped the students had gained the ability to apply classroom theories to diverse, real-world contexts.

"Impact is not just about the time or money invested in the community space, though both are important resources. Impact is also about action driven by critical thought, backed by research and rooted in learning to build trust with stakeholders. This is a skill that will serve these future leaders well," she said.

As a culmination of their efforts, students will present their work and share their experiences at the annual CTPCLC Symposium on 19 September, alongside their peers and alumni who continue to co-create a more inclusive, compassionate and resilient Singapore.

This story is part one of a two-part series about the Chua Thian Poh Community Leadership Centre at NUS, as it celebrates the 15^th anniversary of its programme this year. Read part two, “From knowing to doing: NUS academics and students drive impact through community research”, here.

“If the rule of law is judged by what it delivers, it cannot ever be regarded as a finished achievement,” said Chief Justice Menon, addressing an audience of about 160 practitioners, policymakers, academics and researchers, students and members of the public at NUS Law on 2 September 2026.

“When changing conditions threaten the legal system’s capacity to deliver justice, certainty, equality and trust, our understanding of what the rule of law requires must evolve in response.”

Hosted by NUS Law’s Centre for Asian Legal Studies (CALS), the hour-long lecture, titled “Evolving Conceptions of the Rule of Law: The Singapore Experience”, was held as part of NUS Law’s commemoration of 200 years of Singapore’s modern legal system, a milestone that dates to the Second Charter of Justice in 1826.

Evolving with the times

Chief Justice Menon traced how Singapore’s legal institutions developed in response to practical needs, from establishing a common and ascertainable body of law and building an independent, effective judiciary, to strengthening accountability and equality before the law.

The legal order has never been static. “Enduring principles may require new expression as the community and the circumstances they serve change,” he said.

He cited the repeal of Section 377A as an example of how law may need to respond as societal values and norms change, while enduring principles remain. He also highlighted four contemporary challenges that could threaten the rule of law’s ability to deliver justice: growing complexity and escalating legal costs; borderless problems such as climate change; pressures on the sustainability of legal practice; and generative AI.

On AI, Chief Justice Menon said it could make the work of lawyers and judges more efficient, but it might also erode trust if used without care.

“The critical distinction is between assistance and responsibility,” he said. AI may assist with identifying, organising and testing material and research. However, “the judge must remain responsible for the decision, the lawyer for the submission, and the institution for the system it chooses to deploy”.

The role of universities and future lawyers

The final part of the lecture was devoted to the people who will help sustain and shape the legal system — lawyers, academics and students — highlighting the responsibilities that each carries in renewing the rule of law.

He said academics contribute by bringing theoretical and doctrinal discipline, analytical rigour and comparative perspectives to the work of judges and advocates, pointing to the work of the Asian Business Law Institute where academics have collaborated with judges and practitioners to develop principles and frameworks for level convergence.

To the students in the audience, Chief Justice Menon said, “You are the future custodians of Singapore’s legal institutions.” He encouraged them to begin taking on that responsibility before entering legal practice, including through legal clinics and pro bono service, where they can see the gap that can sometimes exist between rights on paper and justice in practice.

Students should also resist the instinct to regard any legal system, including Singapore’s, as complete in itself, and instead learn from other traditions, test assumptions and remain willing to ask how institutions might better serve those who depend on them.

Above all, Chief Justice Menon called on students to cultivate integrity and judgement from the outset of their education.

He said, “Professional character is not acquired only upon admission to the Bar; it is formed through your appreciation of and devotion to the mission of the law, and by the choices you will make in your approach to your education, from the honesty of your work, to the care with which you use new technologies, the respect you show to others and your willingness to take responsibility for mistakes.”

Decoding the Second Charter of Justice

The lecture was followed by the launch of Professor Kevin YL Tan’s book, The Second Charter of Justice: A Documentary History. It traces the development, implementation and influence of the Charter, with a clause-by-clause annotation to make the foundational document more accessible to modern readers.

Prof Tan, an Adjunct Professor at NUS Law, said, “The Second Charter of Justice is Singapore’s historically most significant legal instrument. But like so many other celebrated founding texts, it suffers from a familiar fate: it is more frequently cited and referred to than read”, drawing laughter from the crowd.

The document is revered as Singapore’s constitutional “Big Bang” that introduced English common law to its shores. But he noted: “I don’t think anybody alive has ever seen what the (original) Second Charter of Justice looks like.”

Chief Justice Menon, who was Prof Tan’s classmate at NUS Law, said the Charter remains foundational, but it was never the final word — and that is an enduring lesson of its history.

“No legal system arrives fully formed,” he said, nor does it remain unchanged.

For lawyers, academics and students who will shape Singapore’s legal system in the years ahead, the responsibility is to build on that inheritance, strengthening and renewing the rule of law as society’s needs evolve.

Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) on 14 September 2026, the study was led by Associate Professor L. Roman Carrasco from the Department of Biological Sciences, and conducted in partnership with Research Fellow Ms Yingtong Zhu, and Professor Johan Sulaeman from the NUS Sustainable and Green Finance Institute. The team investigated whether major ESG rating systems reflect companies’ actual deforestation exposure.

Many investors today seek to direct their money towards companies that are responsible stewards of the environment and society. Companies are therefore given ESG ratings, which are meant to indicate whether a business is environmentally and socially responsible. These ratings increasingly influence investment decisions worldwide, but it remains unclear whether they accurately capture one of the biggest environmental impacts of businesses: deforestation.

A multi-source approach to measuring deforestation exposure

The researchers combined satellite-derived forest loss maps, company asset locations, forest-risk commodity supply-chain information, media coverage, and commercial ESG and financial characterises databases to examine the relationship between corporate deforestation and ESG scores. In total, they examined 18 overall ESG scores and 12 deforestation-related sub-scores from five major international providers alongside two independent measures of company-level deforestation.

The analyses included forest loss surrounding the assets of 13,841 companies worldwide between 2013 and 2024 and deforestation exposure of 210 companies through global supply chains for deforestation-risk commodities such as palm oil, soy, beef, pork, chicken and wood products between 2013 and 2020. The team also assessed whether deforestation-related media coverage, rather than actual deforestation, influenced ESG scores.

Ratings track public image, not forest loss

The study found no evidence that ESG ratings consistently capture companies’ actual exposure to deforestation. Instead, ESG scores responded more strongly to media attention related to deforestation, whether positive coverage of companies’ management actions, or negative coverage of deforestation scandals.

The researchers also found that companies involved in palm oil production were more likely to receive lower ESG scores for deforestation than companies associated with soy, pork, or chicken supply chains, suggesting potential commodity biases.

“This is the first study to evaluate multiple commercial ESG rating systems against independently measured corporate deforestation at the global scale. There is a need for ESG providers to integrate objective, spatially explicit deforestation information derived from satellite observations into future assessments, allowing investors to better contribute to reducing deforestation,” said Ms Zhu.

“Our study does not imply that ESG ratings are not useful as a tool to move capital away from companies behind deforestation. In fact, ESG ratings have high potential given their wide coverage of companies. The main problem is that ESG analyses do not incorporate geospatial data. If these data were to be included, ESG investing could be a gamechanger in halting deforestation globally,” added Assoc Prof Carrasco.

“Building an AI solution for education is not just about whether technology can do it, but whether we should. The tools and solutions we build must support learning objectives and elevate the student experience,” said NUS IT Associate Director Ng Jun Da, who is involved in developing all seven tools.

This principle keeps the team anchored to a human-centred approach: AI should support the people involved in education, while preserving the thinking, interaction and judgement through which learning occurs.

Three of the tools are currently being piloted in NUS courses.

Brainstorm: Getting students past the blank page

Brainstorm uses Socratic questioning to help students move past blank-page syndrome in the early stages of projects. By prompting them to examine assumptions, consider alternatives and refine their conclusions, Brainstorm encourages independent analytical thinking rather than providing ready-made answers.

Getting the balance took careful work. “Push too far and the tool becomes hard work, so students stop using it. Lean the other way and it hands over answers, producing cognitive offloading,” said Dr Rajesh Panicker, who leads the Learning and Technology pillar at CTLT.

Faculty perspective proved essential. Dr Panicker noted that having teaching staff on the team helped the group think through how students would actually use the tool, what instructors realistically have time for, and where features that looked good on paper might create friction in practice.

This tool is being piloted in three courses offered by the NUS Faculty of Science and NUS Business School. In LSM4259 Evolutionary Genetics of Reproduction, Brainstorm is used to support students in topic selection and early hypothesis formation, while in FST4104 Food Product Innovation, it helps students develop concepts for a new food-product launch from an assignment brief. In FSP4003 Field Service Project, Brainstorm supports student teams working through ideas for a real-world company problem.

Verify: Teaching students to think critically about AI

Verify presents students with multiple plausible AI-generated responses, which differ in accuracy, reasoning, style or tone, some containing deliberate errors. Students must decide what is credible and well-supported, and explain their reasoning.

An early pilot surfaced an important lesson about framing. The team found that the tool’s original name — The Untrustworthy Assistant — risked priming students to distrust AI rather than evaluate it critically. Hence, they used simpler, action-oriented names instead. CTLT Senior Associate Director Narayanan Shyam, who led Verify from concept to pilot, reflected, “It was a valuable reminder that the way we frame educational technology can be just as important as the technology itself.”

Testing tools in authentic learning contexts helped the team identify and address unintended effects, underscoring the value of bringing pedagogical and technical perspectives together. 

At the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, PL1101E Introduction to Psychology is piloting Verify. During the course, students compare several AI-generated responses, select the strongest, and explain their reasoning. These exercises can surface fabricated citations, weak reasoning, or disciplinary misconceptions for students to critique and correct.

Engage: Making classroom discussion visible

Engage supports active learning by capturing classroom discussions and generating reports that help instructors identify key themes and patterns in the discussion, as well as questions or ideas that may warrant further attention.

“It turns classroom discussion into a resource that both instructors and students can revisit, learn from, and use to improve future learning experiences,” said NUS Business School’s Dr Noriko Tan, who piloted Engage across four class sessions.

Discussion-based activities are among the richest parts of a class, yet their value can fade quickly. “Once the session ends, both students and instructors may remember only fragments of the conversation. With Engage, I can revisit the discussion, identify important ideas that emerged, and reflect on how I facilitated the conversation.” Engage makes those conversations recoverable and reflective.

Engage is also being piloted in LSM4259 Evolutionary Genetics of Reproduction to capture presentation Questions & Answers to identify follow-up needs, and in SC4218 Religions, Secularity, Post-Secularity to document seminar discussion and help surface gaps or underdeveloped arguments.

Developing these tools has never been a one-person job. It takes educators, academic developers, education technologists and technology specialists working together, asking not just what AI can do, but what will genuinely support learning in practice.

The study, led by Associate Professor Alfredo Franco-Obregón from the Department of Surgery at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and the NUS Institute for Health Innovation & Technology, was published in the journal Smart Medicine on 4 June 2026. This discovery builds on their previous work, where they showed that brief PEMF exposure enhances uptake of doxorubicin (DOX), a chemotherapy drug, by breast cancer cells.

PEMF therapy applies intermittent, low-intensity magnetic pulses to targeted regions of the body over a short period of time. Assoc Prof Franco-Obregón has previously explored the effect of PEMFs on muscle development and oncology. In their latest study, the NUS team demonstrated that even without chemotherapy, PEMFs completely eradicated tumours in 75 per cent of tested preclinical models after just four 30-minute sessions.

“Our study represents a major advancement in breast cancer treatment by demonstrating the potential of PEMFs as a stand-alone, drug-free therapy, offering a possible future where patients could avoid chemotherapy and its debilitating side effects,” said Assoc Prof Franco-Obregón.

Breast cancer cases are projected to rise by a third, from 2.3 million in 2023 to more than 3.5 million by 2050, while annual deaths may nearly double from 764,000 to nearly 1.4 million. Cancer treatment faces challenges such as tumour heterogeneity, drug resistance, and treatment-related toxicities. Approaches targeting TAMs also faced difficulties such as off-target effects. The growing burden underscores the urgent need for innovative therapies to improve patient outcomes and save lives.

From cancer’s friends to foes

Breast cancer occurs when cells in the breast mutate and grow uncontrollably, forming a solid tumour. These cancer cells recruit and hijack nearby immune cells, corrupting them to protect the tumour, accelerate tumour growth, and encourage the spread of cancer (metastasis). Prominent among these recruited immune cells are TAMs, which are abundant in nearly all solid tumours.

There are two primary types of macrophages, M1 and M2. M1 macrophages are pro-inflammatory – the “soldiers” that eliminate threats like bacteria and viruses. M2 macrophages are anti-inflammatory – the “medics” that orchestrate wound healing and tissue repair once threats are cleared. Cancer cells corrupt most TAMs into adopting the M2 “medic” state, suppressing immune attacks against the tumour while facilitating tumour growth and metastasis.

The key to this macrophage reprogramming lies in a protein called TRPC1 (Transient Receptor Potential Canonical 1), which regulates the M1 state. Crucially, TRPC1 also allows cells to sense and respond to magnetic fields. In their experiments, the NUS team confirmed that a brief 10-minute exposure to PEMFs activated TRPC1 channels on M2-like TAMs, setting off a signalling cascade that converted them to the M1 state – essentially turning TAMs from helpful “medics” to aggressive cancer-killing “soldiers”. These activated TAMs then selectively target cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue. Furthermore, the same magnetic signature disrupts cancer's ability to hijack TAMs, altering the TAM-cancer communication loop in both directions.

“We have identified a molecular “switch”, the specific cell signalling pathway that allows us to reprogram TAMs. Once reprogrammed, these immune cells actively hunt and devour cancer cells, obliterating the tumour,” said Assoc Prof Franco-Obregón. “With the non-invasive and targeted nature of PEMF therapy, we hope to provide patients an effective and safe alternative treatment, with fewer undesirable side effects.”

Pulses of hope for cancer patients

Assoc Prof Franco-Obregón shared that the same PEMF device used in this study has just successfully completed Phase 1 clinical trials, demonstrating its safety in humans. The team is now seeking partners to conduct Phase 2 efficacy trials to evaluate how well the PEMF treatment works in patients and to further advance its development towards clinical use.

“Since we previously showed that PEMFs selectively increased the uptake of DOX in breast cancer cells, we will be evaluating if our PEMF immunotherapy can work synergistically with chemotherapy for better results,” added Assoc Prof Franco-Obregón. “As the immune cells we reprogram are commonly found in most solid tumours, we are optimistic that our PEMF therapy could potentially be a complementary treatment for other cancers beyond breast cancer.”

Started in 2007 by Associate Professor Ben Leong from the Department of Computer Science at NUS Computing, CVWO gives students the opportunity to apply their computing skills to address real operational needs of local charities. Each summer, students spend three months working full-time to build, deploy and maintain computer systems for partner organisations, on a pro bono basis. They work with real users, evolving requirements and long-term maintenance needs, gaining valuable experience beyond the classroom.

Professor Tulika Mitra, Dean, NUS School of Computing, said, "For nearly two decades, CVWO has demonstrated what students can achieve when given real responsibility, for causes that truly matter. Their work has left a positive and lasting impact on the organisations and communities that they serve.”

Two decades, measured in impact

CVWO’s first project in 2007 was for the Geylang East Home for the Aged, where students developed a system to digitise resident records and daily operations. Over nearly two decades, CVWO's systems have gone on to serve partners across eldercare, family services, disability support and counselling, each maintained for as long as the partner needs it.

CVWO’s cohorts have now grown to around 20 students each summer. At its peak in 2024, its Active Ageing Centre (AAC) system, built on a shared multi-tenant platform called Cornerstone, was deployed across 13 Active Ageing Centres in four partner organisations, and was whitelisted by the Agency for Integrated Care as an approved AAC IT system in October 2024.

The programme has also contributed beyond its usual social service work when the need arose. In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Assoc Prof Leong assembled a team of six CVWO students and alumni to build SwiftCobra, a web application which supported contact tracing operations for the Whole-of-Government Health Surveillance Task Force. The completed system, based on an initial concept developed by the Singapore Armed Forces, was a critical component of Singapore's national contact-tracing effort, and the team was recognised with the Tech Heroes From Crisis Pathfinder Team award in 2021.

Charting new ground in 2026

This year, CVWO expanded its work into new areas of social impact. One new initiative was Project UMA, a system developed for Punaravartan Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to the repatriation and preservation of Cambodian and Nepalese cultural heritage. The Foundation manages more than 15,000 images, documents and records relating to artefacts, people, places, collections and investigative events. The information had previously beentoo fragmented to manage using conventional off-the-shelf software.

Project UMA is CVWO’s first project for an international client and the first to incorporate AI capabilities. The team built a system that Punaravartan Foundation uses to map relationships among records, and produce AI-assisted descriptions, transcriptions and semantic searches to help researchers locate relevant material even when their search terms differ from the original wording. Human researchers remain responsible for interpretation and judgement.

Historically, CVWO's projects were generally undertaken in partnership with larger charities, as developing a bespoke system takes a full summer to build. Signpost Collective was the first project in which CVWO tested a different approach. The volunteer-led non-profit supports more than 120 informal street sellers through around 70 active volunteers. Interactions, attendance and reporting were previously tracked using manual processes and across separate systems. Rather than building from scratch, CVWO students configured Cornerstone's existing components to fit Signpost Collective’s needs, and developed only a thin custom interface. This approach made such systems more scalable to maintain, and easier for CVWO to work with smaller organisations.

Together, the two projects capture what is distinctive about CVWO’s plans for 2026: a foray into new areas of social impact, and a shift from separate, bespoke systems towards a shared, configurable platform model.

“I joined the CVWO programme expecting to sharpen my technical skills. However, the biggest lesson I learnt was that great engineering is actually about understanding people and building solutions that truly meet their needs,” said Suvan Handa, a Year 2 Computer Science student who is part of the Project UMA team.

AI, applied deliberately

Over the next few years, CVWO will explore new areas where AI can add practical value to the workflows of its partner organisations. Potential applications include assisting with tasks such as rewriting or summarising case notes, subject to appropriate safeguards and human review.

Student training will remain central to the programme. CVWO also recognises the risk of cognitive offloading associated with the use of AI. Students in the programme will continue to write the code, understand the systems they build and develop strong engineering fundamentals, even as AI is increasingly used in the development process.

Assoc Prof Leong said, "AI gives our students powerful new capabilities. This means we can build better, more impactful systems for the organisations that need them most. As we mark CVWO’s 20th anniversary, our mission remains unchanged. AI simply gives us a new tool to work more effectively."

Marking the milestone

In conjunction with its 20th anniversary celebrations, CVWO has received a significant boost to its efforts. Mr Keith Chua, through the Mrs Lee Choon Guan Trust Fund, has pledged approximately S$1.5 million to the Centre for Computing for Social Good and Philanthropy. This is the second generous gift of S$1.5 million Mr Chua has made to the Centre. Part of the gift will support CVWO’s IT infrastructure costs.

ENSULIB recognised NUS Libraries as “a regional representative example of Singapore's long-term commitment to embedding environmental responsibility, social inclusion, cultural preservation and innovation into library strategy and practice”.

“Receiving this Special Recognition from IFLA ENSULIB is a meaningful affirmation of NUS Libraries' dedication to making sustainability a core part of everything we do — from the spaces we design to the programmes we run and the digital tools we develop,” said University Librarian, Associate Professor Natalie Pang.

“This recognition reflects the collective effort of our team and reinforces our belief that libraries have a vital role to play in shaping a more sustainable future.”

A holistic approach to sustainable libraries

NUS Libraries’ winning submission, Building Sustainable Libraries at NUS, outlines its systematic approach through its four Sustainability Pillars — Green Resources, Green Programming, Green Libraries, and Green Digital and Innovation — embedded across its operations, collections, programming and digital initiatives.

The approach, which is aligned with the Singapore Green Plan 2030 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, demonstrates how environmental and social responsibility can be woven into a library’s work, rather than treated as a separate initiative. Such was the case in the recently renovated Medicine + Science Library, which integrates sustainability and functionality in its design.

“We hope that our approach can inspire other libraries, particularly in the region, to explore how they too can integrate sustainability holistically into their work and contribute meaningfully to national and global sustainability goals,” said Vice University Librarian Dr Magdeline Ng.

Watch a video about NUS Libraries’ sustainability efforts here, and visit this page for more information about its sustainability initiatives.

Name: Zachary Kang
Faculty: NUS School of Computing
Host Country/University: Denmark, Technical University of Denmark

What was your first week like in Denmark?

My first week in Denmark was both terrifying and exciting. Everything felt daunting at first — figuring out how to get around, where to buy groceries, how to settle in, how to navigate life in a completely unfamiliar environment — and there were moments when I wondered whether I had made the right decision.

But with each small step, things became a little easier. By around the fourth or fifth day, I could finally take a step back and think, "Okay, I’m going to be fine."

Looking back, it may seem like a small achievement, but that moment was deeply meaningful to me. It reminded me that stepping into the unknown can be uncomfortable, but it is often where we grow the most.

Why did you choose Denmark and Technical University of Denmark for your exchange?

I wanted to experience life in a Scandinavian country known for its progressive values, work-life balance, design and sustainability. I was curious about why Scandinavian countries consistently rank among the happiest in the world, and whether there was something about their way of life that I could learn from.

The Technical University of Denmark (DTU) was my first choice because its courses aligned well with my study plan and interests. I was also drawn to its proximity to Copenhagen, a city I had always wanted to experience.

More than anything, however, I wanted to challenge myself by stepping outside what was familiar and seeing the world from a different perspective.

What are some of your key learning experiences during your exchange?

One of my most meaningful learning experiences was working on a cybersecurity research project as part of a course at DTU, which eventually led to a published paper. Through the project, I collaborated with other students and a professor and gained a deeper understanding of their approach to studying and research.

The experience also taught me that learning does not always happen in a classroom. Some of the most valuable lessons came from working with people who thought differently from me, asking questions, making mistakes and learning how to solve problems together.

More broadly, the NUS Student Exchange Programme (SEP) gave me the opportunity to focus on learning with less pressure. Since my mapped courses at NUS were graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis, I could engage more deeply with the material without being overly focused on grades. It allowed me to rediscover the joy of learning for its own sake and to appreciate the process rather than just the outcome.

What are some of your fondest memories?

Some of my fondest memories are tied to the people I met through sports, travel, studying or simply everyday conversations.

I made many close friends during my exchange and tried to make the most of the time I had with them, knowing that I would eventually have to leave after a few months. Those new bonds and shared experiences were what made the exchange especially meaningful to me.

What did you learn from interacting with students from different cultures?

Interacting with students from different cultures taught me that people can have very different perspectives on work, social life, success and what matters to them.

At the same time, I realised that shared interests could bring people together regardless of cultural differences. Whether we were playing sports or discussing ideas for a research project, the shared excitement of working towards something together made it much easier to connect and form meaningful relationships.

Perhaps, most importantly, I realised that we often have much more in common than we think.

Any tips for NUS students interested in going on exchange?

I would encourage students to see the SEP as more than an opportunity to travel or complete courses overseas. It is an opportunity to step outside your comfort zone, experience a different way of life and discover more about yourself.

For many of us, university is one of the few times in life when we can immerse ourselves in another country with relatively little external pressure or long-term responsibility. Take advantage of that opportunity. Explore. Be curious. Say yes to new experiences that might initially feel unfamiliar or uncomfortable. Go on adventures and spend time with people who see the world differently from you. Exchange is a rare opportunity to experience new places, perspectives, friendships and ways of living.

Make the most of it! You never know how much one journey can change the way you see the world — and yourself.

Established in 1951, JOC is the flagship journal of the International Communication Association based in Washington D.C., and is widely regarded as an essential journal for communication specialists and policymakers alike. The journal publishes leading scholarship across all aspects of communication, spanning communication research, practice, policy and theory. Prof Zhang is among a select group of five scholars to lead the publication as incoming chief editors. Her four-year term begins with a transition period in September 2026, with full editorial responsibility commencing in January 2027.

Prof Zhang said, “I am deeply honoured to take on this role as incoming editor of the Journal of Communication, one of the most respected journals in our field. I look forward to working alongside my fellow co-editors to support and elevate outstanding communication scholarship from around the world, and I’m excited where this new chapter takes us.”

Beyond this appointment, Prof Zhang is NUS Provost’s Chair Professor and Director of the Civic Tech Lab at FASS. Her research focuses on civic engagement and Information and Communication Technologies, with a particular focus on Asia. She has led multi-nation projects on youth engagement and civic tech across the region, and is currently exploring how civic tech applications can facilitate citizen engagement on science topics such as artificial intelligence, Covid-19 vaccines, climate change and novel food.

For the first time in its 11-year history, the exclusive annual event organised by the NUS Development Office introduced donors to two NUS faculties in a single day: the NUS Faculty of Law (NUS Law) and NUS College (NUSC).

“Today, I hope you get the chance to experience some of what we create for our students, to see not simply where your support goes, but where it could go in the future,” shared NUSC Dean Professor Simon Chesterman in his welcome address on 29 August.

Indeed, donors began the day with a guided campus tour of the faculty of their choice, led by their respective students who offered them a glimpse of university life through their eyes. The occasion also gave many the opportunity to explore NUS Law’s new home in University Town, while gaining a closer look at the distinctive learning experiences offered across both faculties.

The tours concluded with showcases of NUSC students’ Impact Experience Projects and activities by NUS Law student clubs, highlighting the many ways students put their learning into practice both inside and beyond the classroom.

Warmly welcoming donors to the BCE, NUSC Dean Professor Simon Chesterman and NUS Law Dean Professor Andrew Simester emphasised the impact that donors are co-creating when they give through the University.

“What we would really like to thank you for is not just your generosity towards our programmes and students, but for encouraging us to push the boundaries of education. You are very much co-creators in our development,” shared Prof Chesterman, who also holds the David Marshall Professorship in Law at the University.

“Singapore’s legal system is at the heart of the future and the foundation of the country’s success. Many of those who shaped that system were trained right here at NUS Law,” added Prof Simester, who is also the Amaladass Professor of Criminal Justice. “We are deeply grateful for the generous support for NUS Law and the University as a whole.”

The morning then opened into four Insight Sessions, each offering donors the opportunity to engage with critical ideas around the future of society.

The University Disrupted – Rethinking Higher Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Led by Prof Chesterman, the session explored the value and legitimacy of universities in a world reshaped by AI.

He argued that while AI is bringing pressures to a head that have been building in universities for decades, NUS’ response should not be to go “AI first” but “X plus AI”. This refers to an approach that leverages technology to enhance every discipline while doubling down on cultivating the human qualities that AI cannot replicate: judgement, curiosity, empathy and the ability to focus deeply. A lively discussion followed, with donors actively contributing their own experiences and perspectives.

How Old Are You, Really?

At the CJ Koh Law Library, Distinguished Professor Brian Kennedy led a session on what biological age reveals about our health. Prof Kennedy is the Programme Chair of the Healthy Longevity Translational Research Programme at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and Director of the Centre for Healthy Longevity at the National University Health System.

He introduced donors to LinAge2, developed by NUS researchers to measure an individual’s biological age, identify what is accelerating it and recommend changes. Designed to catch decline early while it is still highly modifiable, the research informs rejuvenation strategies including lifestyle interventions, supplements and repurposing drugs to delay frailty.

The session also featured a fireside chat with Dr Sue-Anne Toh, co-founder, CEO and Medical Director of NOVI Health, and a patient who had benefitted from LinAge2 in his own journey towards healthy longevity.

NUS Law Students’ Moot Simulation

Over at the Wee Chong Jin Moot Court, donors enjoyed front-row seats to a world championship-level courtroom experience as NUS Law students recreated the intensity of an arbitration over a cross-border commercial dispute.

The case in question: whether Sellers Inc could declare non-performance under a Force Majeure clause, complicated by internal correspondence suggesting ulterior motives and the question of whether illegally obtained evidence should be admitted.

When the Tribunal, led by Professor Steven Elliott KC, deliberated on the verdict, donors voted in a live poll and were split evenly on the outcome of the arbitration. Ultimately, Prof Elliott KC ruled against Sellers Inc, finding the opposing counsel’s arguments more compelling.

He then commended the four mooters for the calibre of their arguments and noted their bright futures as leading advocates, concluding with a reference to the new Centre for International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution at NUS Law, which will reinforce Singapore’s established reputation as a leading dispute resolution hub.

AI and the Law: What Lies Ahead?

Finally, at the Yale-NUS Hall, Professor David Tan and Professor Ernest Lim, Co-Directors of the Centre for Technology, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and the Law under NUS Law; joined Mr Jeth Lee, Vice President of Legal, APAC at Nscale, for a wide-ranging panel discussion on the implications of AI for copyright, online harms and personal data protection.

Mr Lee flagged three commonly overlooked risks when lawyers outsource their minds to AI: the erosion of critical thinking, the issue of confidentiality, and AI interaction histories as evidence in legal proceedings. Prof Lim offered a framework for AI liability that is anchored in accountability and determining who is legally responsible for any actions or harm caused by an AI system.

Rounding off the panel, Prof Tan explored AI-generated content and what level of human involvement is required for the output to be attributed to human authorship. He noted that the answer remains unsettled across jurisdictions worldwide but offered practical advice: demonstrate meaningful control over the AI, and document the entire creation process.

Forging lasting connections

Following a full morning of exploration and discussion, donors gathered at the Saga Dining Hall for a sumptuous buffet lunch. Conversations continued over the meal as donors deepened their connections with faculty, students and fellow benefactors.

NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye (Science ’85) and NUS Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost Professor Aaron Thean also joined donors for lunch, taking the opportunity to connect personally with the University’s benefactors and thank them for their continued support.

All in all, the experience was a reminder that giving through NUS does not simply support the University’s various causes. More importantly, it creates lasting impact for society, shaping a better world for future generations.

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 five other countries.

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

The RSSS initiative is designed to attract top overseas-based Singaporean research leaders back to lead local autonomous universities and research institutes.

Prof Yang, a pioneer in biomedical optics and computational imaging, joined NUS CDE’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Department of Biomedical Engineering in August 2026. After more than two decades at the California Institute of Technology, where he was the Thomas G. Myers Professor of Electrical Engineering, Bioengineering and Medical Engineering, he has returned to NUS to lead the new Computational Microscopy, AI and Wavefront Shaping Lab.

His work focuses on pushing the limits of how light and computation can reveal biological structures, from developing Fourier ptychographic microscopy to pioneering methods that focus light deeper into biological tissue. More recently, he has turned to AI to analyse biopsy slides from lung cancer patients to uncover patterns that could support earlier and more accurate disease prediction.

Prof Ong, widely recognised as one of the pioneers of foundation potentials, joined the Department of Materials Science and Engineering under NUS CDE in January 2026. After nearly two decades in the United States, he has returned to NUS to establish the AI Foundry, a system that connects AI, scientific data and automated experiments to transform how new materials are discovered. He aims to shorten the materials discovery cycle by enabling models to propose promising candidates, guide experiments and learn from results in a continuous loop.

He leads the Materialyze.AI Lab at NUS, where his research sits at the intersection of materials science and information science. In addition to founding and leading the development of pymatgen, a popular open-source library for materials analysis, Prof Ong’s work also includes developing an AI model to screen millions of hypothetical crystal structures.

Both researchers share a common goal to combine deep scientific insight with AI and computation to create technologies and accelerate discovery with real-world impact. Their return also reflects Singapore’s growing strength as a hub for advanced research, talent and innovation.

Read more about Prof Yang and Prof Ong.

This rare partnership is the focus of a new book, The Straits of Malacca and Singapore: A Model for the World, which brings together historical, legal, maritime and strategic perspectives from experts at the NUS Centre for International Law (CIL) and leading maritime scholars.

Launched on 24 August 2026, the book builds on CIL’s longstanding research into ocean law, maritime governance and shipping, reflecting the Centre’s broader role in connecting rigorous legal research with real-world policy challenges facing Singapore, Asia and the international community.

“We are the only straits in the world which have what is called a Cooperative Mechanism,” said Professor Tommy Koh, veteran diplomat and Chairman of the CIL International Advisory Panel, on the sidelines of the launch.

Launched by the three countries in 2007, the Cooperative Mechanism is a framework to enhance navigational safety and environmental protection in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. It brings together other countries that use the Straits, the shipping industry and other stakeholders to voluntarily share information and resources to keep the Straits safe and open to shipping.

Today, the Straits of Malacca and Singapore are among the busiest waterways in the world, through which nearly 30 per cent of global trade passes every year.

Prof Koh edited the book together with three leading maritime scholars: Dr Nilufer Oral, Director of CIL; Professor Robert Beckman, NUS Emeritus Professor and Senior Advisor of CIL’s Ocean Law programme; and Dr Tara Davenport, the programme’s co-head.

A vision come true

The book brings to life a vision that Prof Koh has held for years: to curate the historical, legal, maritime and strategic aspects of the Straits in one comprehensive account.

It was an idea that took root when he led Singapore’s delegation at the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea from 1973 to 1982. As the conference’s president in 1982, he guided the adoption of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), a landmark treaty that remains a cornerstone of maritime law today and ensures free global trade through international waters.

“The experience of Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia demonstrates how countries with different interests and sovereignty concerns can work together to manage a shared and strategically vital waterway,” he said.

But the cooperation that sustains the Straits of Malacca and Singapore goes back many years, predating the adoption of UNCLOS.

After World War II, the coastal states pushed to extend territorial seas from three to 12 nautical miles. This would have closed the Straits of Malacca and Singapore — a risk that Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore recognised. “The three states decided very early they had to do something about this,” said Prof Beckman.

This led to the formation of the Tripartite Technical Experts Group in 1976, the main coordinating body of the three littoral states, which in turn paved the way for the Cooperative Mechanism in 2007.

“All three states have an interest in ensuring there’s safety of navigation so that there are no collisions, that pollution of the marine environment is minimised, and there are funds in case there’s an oil spill,” added Prof Beckman.

“In that sense, the three states have a completely common interest, not a divergent interest.”

Lessons for other waterways

Such cooperation is in stark contrast to the ongoing crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, where commercial shipping has been severely disrupted by the US-Iran conflict.

The book, said Prof Koh, is a timely reminder of the importance of diplomatic trust to keep vital sea lanes open for trade.

Its scope, which spans history, international legal regime, hydrography and commercial relevance, caters to a range of readers, from lawyers and policymakers to maritime practitioners.

Because many of these issues had previously been discussed in isolation, the book fills an important gap in understanding the Straits, said Ms Amanda Wee, a Research Assistant at CIL’s Ocean Law and Policy Programme who coordinated the book’s development.

“Alongside the global significance of the Straits in today’s volatile world is the lack of a book comprehensively examining the Straits of Malacca and Singapore from different disciplines in existing literature,” she noted.

By bringing together perspectives that have often been examined separately, the book ultimately aims to provide a more comprehensive account of the management of the Straits and the resulting lessons it offers policymakers, practitioners and scholars in Singapore and beyond.

The book, published by World Scientific Publishing is available at all major bookstores and online.

To ensure all incoming NUS students achieve AI literacy before they start their courses, foundational AI competencies are embedded directly into their first-year university experience through the Transition to Higher Education (T.H.E.) Programme. Starting from Academic Year 2026/27, this commitment takes shape through a new AI foundational course: THE1008 Applied Generative AI: From Prompting to Evaluation.

Developed by Associate Professor Ooi Wei Tsang and Dr Lek Hsiang Hui from the NUS School of Computing, together with Dr Kate Sangwon Lee from the Engineering Design and Innovation Centre under the College of Design and Engineering at NUS, THE1008 is compulsory for all first-year undergraduates. Students learn how to effectively use large language models (LLMs) and multimodal AI effectively to assist them across academic and professional contexts. The course establishes a common foundation in AI literacy that students can scaffold across subsequent mandatory AI courses in the common curriculum and their majors, as they progressively develop the discipline-specific AI fluency needed for their fields.

Assoc Prof Ooi said, “THE1008 teaches students to use generative AI (GenAI) effectively by helping them to understand how it works, communicate with it clearly, and incorporate it into human-led workflows for complex tasks. Upon completing the course, we hope students will understand that while GenAI is a powerful and useful tool, it is still a tool. Humans have an essential role to play in providing direction, exercising judgment, evaluating output, and taking responsibility for the resulting work.”

THE1008 is a blended-learning course, comprising three hours of online lecture videos and a two-hour in-person workshop. Students are required to complete the lecture videos, which include embedded quizzes, before attending the workshop. Both components of the course need to be completed within the first two weeks of the first semester. The course ensures every NUS undergraduate is equipped to use GenAI tools effectively for learning, assignments, internships and their careers.

First-year student Manasvini Mendu from the NUS Faculty of Science enjoyed the interactive components of the workshop. “I enjoyed working with other students to present our work to the class,” she said. “I also learnt to use GenAI to explain harder concepts, summarise notes and create flash cards, rather than using it to submit assignments, so that I’m still doing the intellectual work.”

During the workshop, she also found AI useful in other practical areas, having learnt to use AI to create a travel itinerary. “I discovered that I could utilise its planning ability to plan my ideal school timetable, and to coordinate my various activities and assignment deadlines.”

THE1008 is part of NUS’ broader effort to equip all students with AI fluency. By integrating AI competencies at every stage of study, through the common curriculum and majors, NUS students will develop the confidence to deploy AI tools strategically, critically interpret AI-generated results and apply AI thoughtfully within their disciplines. The goal is to nurture graduates who can harness AI for analysis, problem-solving and creative work, complemented by human-centred skills such as critical thinking, judgement and sense-making that employers value the most.
 

Professor Wu Jishan, Provost's Chair Professor from the Department of Chemistry in the Faculty of Science at NUS, received the esteemed President’s Science Award (PSA) from Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, President of the Republic of Singapore.

Two outstanding young researchers were conferred with the Young Scientist Award (YSA) from Mr Heng Swee Keat, Chairman of NRF, for their potential to become future world-class leaders in their fields. They are: Assistant Professor Liu Boxiang, Presidential Young Professor from the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences in the Faculty of Science at NUS, and Assistant Professor Hou Yi, Presidential Young Professor from Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in the College of Design and Engineering at NUS, and Head of the Perovskite-based Multijunction Solar Cells Group at the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS) at NUS.

Their collective achievements underscore the University’s deep commitment to fostering a culture of research excellence and innovation at every career stage, from promising young talents to established leaders in their fields.

2026 President’s Science Award Recipient: Professor Wu Jishan

Professor Wu Jishan was presented the PSA for his contributions to molecular carbon science. His work focuses on developing open-shell and topologically complex molecules as designable systems, enabling new approaches to control their properties for future electronic, magnetic, photonic and quantum technologies.

A leading molecular scientist, Prof Wu has transformed our understanding of how electrons can be controlled in carbon-based molecules. He challenged the long-standing reliance on stable "closed-shell" molecules by demonstrating that highly reactive "open-shell" molecules can be systematically designed and controlled. This paradigm shift turned scientific curiosities into functional materials with unique magnetic, optical, and quantum properties.

One of Prof Wu’s most significant contributions is the development of stable diradicals and polyradicals – molecules containing unpaired electrons that interact with one another. His discoveries have led to new materials for spintronics, photonics and molecular quantum technologies. Prof Wu also reshaped chemistry’s core concept of aromaticity by extending it into three dimensions. He synthesised complex carbon architectures like Möbius and figure-eight molecular systems, opening new possibilities for advanced photonics, circularly polarised light technologies, spin-selective devices, and future quantum systems.

“Receiving the President’s Science Award is a tremendous honour and a deeply meaningful milestone for me. It recognises not only my own scientific journey, but also nearly two decades of work by my students, research team and collaborators at NUS,” said Prof Wu. “I am particularly grateful that our long-term effort to explore unconventional molecular systems — from open-shell molecules to three-dimensional aromatic and topological carbon structures — has grown from fundamental curiosity into new directions for advanced materials and quantum technologies.”

Collectively, Prof Wu’s discoveries provide a unified framework for controlling electron behaviour. Since joining NUS in 2007, he has built a world-leading research programme and mentored a new generation of scientists who now hold leadership positions globally. His foundational work and commitment to talent development lay the groundwork for future quantum technologies and cement Singapore’s position as a global leader in scientific innovation.

Read the full citation here.

2026 Young Scientist Award Recipient: Assistant Professor Liu Boxiang

Assistant Professor Liu Boxiang, a computational biologist and geneticist, won the YSA for his work in developing artificial intelligence (AI) and bioinformatics methods that improve the identification of causal genes for complex diseases, enabling precision medicine approaches for human health.

“This award recognises not just me but the hard work and dedication of my team and the generosity of my mentors and collaborators. It shows that the work we do is generating real-world impact, and the risk we took led to positive outcomes,” said Asst Prof Liu.

Asst Prof Liu’s research involves developing and employing AI methods to find genes that cause complex human diseases, with a particular focus on Asian populations, which have been underrepresented in genomic research. His work lays the groundwork for precision medicine tailored to an individual’s genetic makeup.

To close the data gap, he spearheaded the creation of the first atlas that maps genetic variation in individual Asian cells. His work identified an Asian-specific gene variant linked to Graves’ disease, a common thyroid condition, with the discovery earning a coveted spot on the cover of the scientific journal Nature Genetics. Asst Prof Liu also developed powerful computational tools, including the LocusCompare2 web platform used by researchers worldwide and the DIRAC deep-learning model, which turn raw genetic signals into actionable insights about disease mechanisms and potential drug targets.

Beyond his own research, Asst Prof Liu is committed to nurturing the next generation of scientists. He directs the Genomic Data Science Laboratory and the MGI-PPS Joint Laboratory at NUS, mentors a team whose work has earned awards, and has co-created and taught new genomics courses for the University. He also leads an industry partnership to bring advanced sequencing technologies to NUS. Apart from YSA, Asst Prof Liu received two other early-career awards this year – the NUS Young Researcher Award, and the NUS Faculty of Science Young Scientist Award.

Addressing aspiring scientists, Asst Prof Liu urged, “Don't give up – most people give up way too soon and never manage to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Pace yourself and avoid burnouts. Eat well, rest well, and exercise to fight for another day.”

Read the full citation here.

2026 Young Scientist Award Recipient: Assistant Professor Hou Yi

Assistant Professor Hou Yi clinched the YSA for his contributions to the development of high-performance perovskite solar technologies, from record-breaking devices to scalable manufacturing. His work has enabled lightweight and energy-efficient power systems for AI infrastructure, wearable electronics, space platforms and sustainable energy applications.

A pioneer in next-generation solar technology, Asst Prof Hou specialises in tandem solar cells. These cells stack two light-absorbing layers, often using perovskite materials, to capture more solar energy than conventional single-layer cells. His research has produced multiple world-record performances and tackled key challenges in stability and large-scale deployment.

By expanding the understanding of how different material layers interact and the degradation mechanisms of solar cells, Asst Prof Hou has made these advanced solar technologies significantly more durable, efficient, and commercially viable. His breakthroughs are paving the way for lightweight, energy-efficient power generation, moving beyond the limitations of traditional silicon and enabling new energy solutions for a wide range of demanding applications.

“One of the biggest challenges in our research has been translating high-performance perovskite solar cells from laboratory-scale devices into technologies that are stable, scalable, and relevant to real-world applications. We have addressed this by working across disciplines and continuously connecting fundamental materials science with device engineering and manufacturing,” said Asst Prof Hou.

Outside the lab, Asst Prof Hou is deeply involved in technology commercialisation. As the founder of the NUS spin-off company Singfilm Solar, he actively translates academic research into industrial use. Through his research and entrepreneurial efforts, he is building revolutionary power sources for AI infrastructure, wearable electronics, and space systems, strengthening Singapore’s position as a global leader in next-generation solar technology.

To young researchers, his advice is “to stay curious, focus on important problems, and not be afraid of taking on challenges that may initially seem difficult or unconventional”.

Read the full citation here.

Galassia 5: AI-powered earth observation satellite

Most satellites transmit everything they capture back to earth, and this is a slow, bandwidth-heavy process that limits how quickly useful data can reach people who need it. A team of students from the College of Design and Engineering at NUS set out to change that.

Final-year students Tristan Voon, Grace Ng and Victor Soh, together with NUS alumni Lim Tze Yee, Hang Jin Guang, Lee Wen Da, Phyo Thu Yein Kyaw and Pan Yong Jing from the Class of 2026, built Galassia 5, an earth observation satellite that processes data onboard in real time. At its core is a neural processing unit (NPU), a specialised hardware that runs artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning workloads directly on the device without relying on a ground connection. Combined with direct-to-user downlinking, which sends data directly from orbit to end users, Galassia 5 significantly reduced the time taken for critical insights to reach users who need it most. In disaster situations like earthquakes, faster satellite data transmission means less time needed for first responders to reach earthquake survivors.

Stress-testing AI as a research tool

Can AI tools be trusted for serious research? A team from NUS Business School decided to find out.

Final-year students Joshua Arjanto and Muhammad Khaizuran Bin Mohamad Rosle, as well as NUS Class of 2026 graduates Hu Shiyou, Chen Xiaojing (Crystal) and Asher Ethan Koh – put leading AI research tools, including OpenAI Deep Research, Google Gemini Deep Research and DeepSeek, through their paces. The task was to analyse the business impact of emerging technologies, such as AI, quantum computing, robotics, space technology and fusion energy, across G20 countries.

The team had three goals in mind: to determine which tools produced the most reliable and useful research, how their outputs and sources could be systematically fact-checked, and what an effective end-to-end workflow for AI-assisted research should look like.

The findings were a timely warning. AI-generated responses often appeared polished and well-structured even when the underlying references were inaccessible, incorrectly interpreted or potentially fabricated, reinforcing the importance of evaluating AI’s reliability as a tool for investment and financial research. In response, the team developed a five-step framework: scope, collect, verify, synthesise and present, offering a practical blueprint for anyone using AI in high-stakes research or investment contexts.

Regulating AI in healthcare

Although GenAI and large language models (LLMs) are growing more capable, the rules governing the use of AI in healthcare have not kept pace.  LLMs can now handle open-ended tasks and generate diverse responses across applications but existing medical AI regulations were largely designed for older, narrower systems with predictable outputs. The flexibility that makes LLMs powerful also makes them harder to govern as they can hallucinate, produce inconsistent results and generate recommendations that are difficult-to-explain or audit.

It was this gap that led Caitlyn Tan, an NUS Medicine graduate from the Class of 2026, to examine whether existing regulatory approaches are equipped to manage LLMs used for clinical decision support (CDS).

Her research examines a range of safeguards that could help make GenAI safer in clinical settings. These include red teaming, in which AI systems are deliberately pushed into difficult or harmful scenarios to expose weaknesses before deployment; guardrails, which constrain unsafe or inappropriate outputs and retrieval-augmented generation, which allows models to draw on trusted and up-to-date sources. Rather than advocating for rigid rules which could stifle innovation, she makes the case for forward-looking, adaptive regulations that evolve alongside the technology, while maintaining patient safety as the priority.

Applications to UROP+ REx and SPUR are closing on 28 August. Click on the links to apply today.

Cutting-edge research to shape the future of international arbitration

Amid increasing tensions and uncertainty in the international trade and business environment, the Centre will undertake rigorous research and engagement with practice aimed at developing trusted, credible and sustainable dispute resolution frameworks.

The Centre will be led by Professor Stavros Brekoulakis, an international expert, academic and practitioner in international arbitration from the NUS Faculty of Law. Building on NUS’s expertise in international law and arbitration, the Centre will connect leading academics, arbitrators, practitioners, policymakers, judges, institutions and users from around the world. It will address issues shaping the future of international arbitration. These include , transparency and accountability, ethics and professional governance, investor–State dispute settlement, and the contribution of Singapore and ASEAN to the development of international arbitration law and practice.

The Centre will complement Singapore’s existing world-class dispute-resolution institutions and infrastructure by providing a dedicated platform for research, policy development, publications and international conventions.

Proposed new programme in international arbitration

The Centre also plans to develop a rigorous, research-led and interdisciplinary programme of advanced studies in international arbitration. The programme will combine advanced legal studies and research-led teaching with exposure to business, technology as well as engagement with leading international arbitrators, counsel, institutions and academics. It will strive to set a global benchmark in advanced education and professional development of future leaders in international arbitration.

Minister for Law and Second Minister for Home Affairs Mr Edwin Tong SC said: “Singapore strongly supports multilateralism, and a dispute resolution system which is trusted, is rules based and which applies fairly. We will do our best to contribute towards the strengthening of a framework to support such a system. This will include innovative research and fresh thinking, in order to evolve the framework, and keep it relevant and fit for purpose. As an international dispute resolution hub in the heart of Asia, we believe that Singapore is well placed to contribute to these efforts, by bringing together global thought leaders with different perspectives from across the region and beyond.”

Professor Brekoulakis said: “International arbitration is entering a period of significant change. The challenges facing the field require fresh thinking about how the system can remain effective, credible and responsive to a changing global economy. I look forward to working with colleagues across academia, practice and policymaking to address these challenges and contribute to shaping the future of international arbitration. The Centre will bring together rigorous scholarship and the advanced practical understanding, with the ambition of establishing Singapore as a leading global centre for thought leadership and advanced education in international dispute resolution. I am grateful to the Ministry of Law for their commitment and support in making this important initiative possible.

More information on the Centre will be shared in due course.

The Corporate Lab is supported under the Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2025 plan (RIE2025) and is hosted at the College of Design and Engineering and with participation from the School of Computing at NUS. The Corporate Lab brings together a multidisciplinary research ecosystem spanning AI algorithms, accelerator architectures, low-power memory systems, circuit design, silicon technologies, and application development. The programme will integrate NUS’ pioneering research with ST’s expertise in semiconductor technology, system development, and industry operations.

NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye said: “The ST–NUS HELIX Corporate Lab is a testament to the value of industry–academia partnerships in translating research into innovation. By combining NUS’ research strengths with STMicroelectronics’ industrial capabilities, we are building not only advanced, cutting-edge edge AI hardware, but also the talent and ecosystem that will help define the future of Singapore’s semiconductor and AI industries.”

Laurent Malier, Executive Vice President, Global Technology R&D at STMicroelectronics, said: “ST’s strength as an integrated device manufacturer lies in our ability to bring together advanced silicon technologies, embedded memory, circuit design, heterogeneous integration and chiplets. Through HELIX, we are creating an industrially relevant foundation to explore differentiated AI computing technologies and accelerate the translation of promising research into scalable semiconductor solutions.”

The Corporate Lab was officially launched today by Ms Low Yen Ling, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, and Ministry of Trade and Industry, as the Guest-of-Honour.

Building the future of edge AI

Edge AI processes data directly within or close to a device rather than relying exclusively on remote cloud infrastructure. This enables faster response times, stronger data privacy, improved energy efficiency, and greater resilience in environments with limited or intermittent connectivity. These capabilities are increasingly important for AI systems that must perceive, reason, and act in real time, in the real world – often described as Physical AI.

HELIX focuses on a key frontier within this space: embodied AI, where intelligence is built directly into a physical form — such as a robot, humanoid, or drone — combining multi-modal sensing, on-device computing, and real-time actuation. Delivering that intelligence efficiently, on compact and power-constrained hardware, is the challenge HELIX is built to address. Enabling these capabilities at the edge requires innovation across algorithms, software, system architecture, and hardware.

HELIX builds on ST’s long-standing journey in AI and will help us explore new system-level solutions that combine efficient computing, advanced memory architecture, and application-driven design to address the requirements of future intelligent devices. Complementing ST’s capabilities, NUS brings world-class expertise in integrated circuits, computer architecture, AI models, and system design. Under the partnership, researchers from NUS and STMicroelectronics will jointly work on research work packages, talent development, IP creation, and demonstration activities.

The research at HELIX will span the full technology stack, from AI models and system architecture to heterogeneous accelerators, on-chip memory hierarchies, circuit design, chip integration, and silicon implementation. It will focus on memory centric architecture, innovative in-memory computing, and scalable compute-and memory systems, supported by ST’s P18 18nm Fully Depleted Silicon On Insulator (FD-SOI) technology and embedded Phase Change Memory (PCM). P18 FD-SOI enables ultra-low-power operation and adaptive body-biasing, while embedded PCM provides dense, non-volatile storage on the same die alongside the on-chip SRAM hierarchy. Together, these capabilities can reduce the off-chip data movement that dominates the energy consumption of memory-bound AI workloads.

ST will make a substantial technology and engineering contribution to HELIX by providing NUS with a dedicated design chassis implemented in its proprietary P18 18nm FD-SOI technology. The platform will bring together ST’s silicon, architecture, integration, and engineering capabilities to give researchers an industrial-grade foundation for developing, integrating, and validating new AI accelerator concepts. By eliminating the need to build the underlying infrastructure from the ground up, the design chassis will enable greater focus on differentiated innovation, accelerate system-level validation, and create a more direct path from technology pathfinding to industrialisation.

By combining advances across AI algorithms, accelerator architectures, memory systems, circuits, and semiconductor technologies, HELIX aims to address the energy-efficiency, memory-bandwidth, latency, scalability, and integration challenges associated with deploying increasingly capable AI systems at the edge.

Nurturing talent to drive Singapore’s semiconductor ecosystem

The establishment of HELIX represents a strategic investment in Singapore’s future competitiveness in edge AI and advanced semiconductor systems. By fostering industry-relevant R&D, HELIX will strengthen local capabilities and nurture a new generation of talent in AI systems and chip design.

Students, researchers, and professionals will have opportunities to participate in cutting-edge projects led by HELIX, gaining hands-on experience with the latest technologies, collaborating with industry leaders, and developing skills that meet the evolving needs of the sector. Through these initiatives, HELIX aims to build a robust talent pipeline and position Singapore as a global hub for innovation in edge AI and semiconductor technologies.

Career preparation begins well before the fair and lasts long after it ends. From campus pop-ups and career workshops to a Virtual Global Fair and on-site interviews, here are six things students can look out for during the NUS Career Fest season, organised by the NUS Centre for Future-ready Graduates (CFG).

1. Get career advice at campus pop-ups

In the weeks leading up to NUS Career Fest, students can speak with CFG Career Advisors at campus pop-ups to find out more about career resources and book personalised career advisory sessions ahead of the fair.

Catch the CFG team at these locations:

• Faculty of Law: 28 August, 12pm–2pm at East Core building
• Faculty of Science: 3 September, 12pm–2pm at Frontier
• School of Computing: 9 September, 12 pm–2pm at The Terrace
• College of Design and Engineering: 15 September, 12pm–2pm outside LT6

Students can also meet the CFG team and a select group of employers at the YIH Back to School Pop-Up on 26 August 2026, from 11am to 3pm, at NUS Yusof Ishak House Level 2, outside Wild Skew.

Get more information on these pre-fair micro-events here.

2. Prepare for the recruitment process through workshops

Career preparation continues through a series of workshops running before and after the fair.

• Pre-fair workshops (5 August–21 September): Covers AI professional branding, consulting case studies and quantitative finance careers.
• Post-fair workshops (25 September–16 October): Provides ongoing skill-building opportunities, from navigating the job search and assessment centres to managing job offers and salary negotiations.

3. Explore international opportunities at the Virtual Global Fair

Students looking for career opportunities beyond Singapore or hoping to gain broader global exposure can connect with global employers offering overseas internships and graduate roles at the Virtual Global Fair from 14 to 21 September.

For more information on the Virtual Global Fair, click here.

4. Meet employers and interview with some of them on the spot

This year’s NUS Career Fest introduces live on-site interviews, with 20 employers conducting interviews directly on the convention floor. Students can turn initial conversations into formal job interviews without leaving the venue.

In addition, they can have access to diverse career paths with over 200 employers across more than 20 industries, including finance, AI & technology, healthcare, engineering, consumer goods and the public sector.

5. Get career advice and a professional headshot

Students can also sharpen their job application skills by visiting the Career Advisory Express booth for guidance from CFG Career Advisors before meeting employers or stop by the complimentary executive photo studio for a professional headshot for LinkedIn and other professional networking platforms.

6. Keep exploring opportunities after NUS Career Fest

Remember: career preparation doesn’t end with NUS Career Fest. Keep the momentum going all semester by consulting CFG Career Advisors and joining recruitment events. These touchpoints provide opportunities to network, refine applications and explore career pathways in the search for internships and jobs.

To register for NUS Career Fest, visit this link.

By NUS Centre for Future-ready Graduates

Name: Yunci Ho 
Faculty: NUS Business School 
Host Country/University: South Korea, Korea University 

What was your first week like in South Korea?

My first week in Korea was a mix of excitement and adjustment. As it was my first time in the country, I was grateful to have my mum with me for the first few days. Saying goodbye to her was when it truly sank in that I would be living on my own in a completely unfamiliar place for the next few months.

Suddenly, even the simplest tasks felt daunting — from getting a SIM card and navigating the university shuttle bus to using local taxi and food delivery apps, and even finding my way around the dormitory.

What made the biggest difference was the kindness of people around me. My international roommate patiently helped me settle in and even lent me toiletries because I had arrived without them. A local ahjumma (Korean for “middle-aged woman”) also introduced me to hidden eateries known among the locals I would never have discovered on my own. These small acts of kindness stayed with me, reminding me that even in unfamiliar places, people can quietly make a place feel like home.

Why did you choose South Korea and Korea University for your exchange?

I chose Korea University for three reasons: cultural experience, academic fit, and accommodation.

First, Seoul offers a unique blend of modern city life and deep-rooted traditions, making everyday life both dynamic and enriching.

Secondly, as a Human Resource major, I was curious about how Korea's emphasis on hyo (filial piety) shapes leadership, teamwork and organisational culture. Exploring these ideas gave me a deeper appreciation of collective and respectful leadership styles.

Finally, secure student accommodation was important in helping me transition smoothly into a new environment. Overall, Korea University offered the right balance of cultural immersion, academic relevance and practical support.

What are some of your key learning experiences during your exchange?

One of my biggest takeaways from SEP is that growth often comes from uncertainty, rather than certainty.

Before going on exchange, I viewed learning as something structured, with clear plans, goals and outcomes. Living in a new environment challenged that mindset. I had to adapt to unfamiliar systems, navigate language and cultural differences, and make decisions without always having all the answers.

Through these experiences, I realised that learning is not only intellectual but also deeply personal. It is about how you respond to uncertainty — whether you retreat into your comfort zone or choose to embrace the unfamiliar. Over time, I became more comfortable with not having everything figured out and developed greater confidence in trusting my own judgement.

What are some of your fondest memories?

One of my fondest memories was hiking a challenging mountain with an experienced friend. The terrain was demanding, and the winter air made it even tougher, turning the experience into as much a mental challenge as a physical one.

There was also a humorous — but slightly stressful — moment when a bee hovered near me at the edge of a cliff, forcing me to stay calm and move carefully. Looking back, it is one of those stories that still makes me laugh.

Beyond that, snowboarding for the first time was such a memorable experience. I struggled at the start (and fell more times than I could count), but slowly getting the hang of it and making it down the slopes was incredibly rewarding. It was something completely new to me and made my exchange feel even more adventurous and unforgettable.

What did you learn from interacting with students from different cultures?

Interacting with students from different cultures taught me that perspectives are deeply shaped by our upbringing, values and communication styles.

Through group projects and everyday conversations, I encountered different approaches to teamwork, decision-making and even expressing opinions. These experiences taught me to listen more intentionally, clarify assumptions and communicate more thoughtfully.

Most importantly, I came to appreciate the importance of humility. There is no single “correct” way of thinking or working. Effective collaboration comes from adapting, finding common ground and respecting differences. These experiences strengthened my ability to work in diverse teams and made me more open to perspectives that differ from my own.

Any tips for NUS students interested in going on exchange?

My advice is simple: prepare well before you go, then embrace the unexpected once you arrive.

From your first semester at NUS, develop a rough study plan. It will help you stay on track academically and identify which modules are best suited for exchange. Making good use of the Pass/Fail system can also ease academic pressure, giving you more freedom to immerse yourself in new experiences without constantly worrying about grades.

Once you are there, don’t limit yourself to what feels familiar. Talk to new people, join activities and say yes to opportunities — even if they feel slightly uncomfortable at first. Some of the most meaningful experiences happen when you least expect them.

SEP is most rewarding when you strike a balance between preparation and openness: be organised enough to feel secure, but curious enough to grow beyond your comfort zone.

After returning to NUS, I continued supporting exchange initiatives by sharing my experiences with prospective exchangers at events such as the Go Global Fair. I was honoured to receive the Outstanding NUS Exchanger Award, but what meant even more to me was the opportunity to give back to the exchange community that had shaped my own journey.

The study, led by Associate Professor Duong Hai Minh from the Department of Mechanical Engineering under College of Design and Engineering at NUS, was published in the scientific journal Waste Management on 29 June 2026.

A growing recycling challenge

Carbon fibre and epoxy composites are widely used in aerospace, wind energy, automotive and marine applications because they are light, strong and resistant to corrosion. However, the epoxy component is a thermoset polymer that, once cured, cannot be melted down and reshaped like some plastics, making these composites difficult to recycle.

Most existing recycling methods focus on recovering the carbon fibres. The epoxy resins are usually destroyed, discarded or treated as a lower-value by-product. Additionally, some methods require high temperatures, strong chemicals or large amounts of energy.

Assoc Prof Duong’s team took a different approach by using both the carbon fibre and epoxy components of the waste. The researchers mechanically processed the composite into a mixture of fine powder and short fibre fragments, combined it with carboxymethyl cellulose, a cellulose-based binder, and freeze-dried the mixture to form an aerogel.

During the freeze-drying process, the processed composite waste forms a light, sponge-like structure filled with tiny, connected pores. Much of this structure is air, which helps slow the movement of heat through the material. In laboratory tests, the aerogels showed low thermal conductivity, suggesting that they could be used as lightweight insulation materials.

“Our goal was to show that carbon fibre composite waste does not have to be treated only as a disposal problem,” said Assoc Prof Duong. “By using the whole material, including both the fibre and epoxy fractions, we can turn this waste stream into functional materials with higher value.”

From waste to useful material

Beyond thermal insulation, the aerogels also absorbed sound effectively, pointing to their potential use in sound-control materials.

The team also explored their use in environmental clean-up. After being treated to repel water, the aerogels were able to absorb large amounts of oil, suggesting that they could be useful for oil spill clean-up and oil-water separation.

Tests with fibroblast cells also found that the aerogels were non-toxic under the study conditions, supporting further investigation into potential applications involving humans or the environment.

The team is now exploring collaborations with partners in the aerospace, advanced materials, manufacturing and waste management sectors. Future work will focus on scaling up the technology and assessing its environmental and economic performance for industrial use.

“Advanced composites have enabled lighter and more efficient structures in many industries,” said Assoc Prof Duong. “The next step is to ensure that these materials can be managed sustainably at the end of their service life.”

The programme is designed to build an integrated R&D platform for sustainable specialty polymers, using lignocellulosic biomass, which refers to renewable plant dry matter typically produced as a waste by-product from agriculture and forestry, as an alternative raw material to petrochemicals. Southeast Asia produces an estimated 500 million tonnes of agricultural and forestry residues annually which could be a reliable and sustainable source of lignocellulosic biomass. The programme will focus on developing drop-in monomers for specialty polymers used in adhesives, specialty coatings and electronics.

The Energy and Chemicals sector is a critical part of Singapore’s economy, contributing 18.5 per cent of total manufacturing output. As the sector responds to the global sustainability transition, companies are increasingly exploring more sustainable product pathways while remaining competitive. SG Bio-SPRINT aims to expand the range of carbon sources available to Singapore’s specialty chemicals sector by helping shift production away from fossil-based inputs and toward more sustainable pathways. In doing so, the programme supports industry’s transition toward a circular bioeconomy while meeting growing market demand for greener products.

At the same time, specialty chemicals, including specialty polymers, remain a key growth area, with multinational companies continuing to invest in research, development, and production in Singapore. SG Bio-SPRINT will strengthen this momentum by providing targeted scientific support that complements industry R&D and unlocks new opportunities in sustainable materials.

“The NUS Department of Chemistry is proud to lead this programme, which brings together complementary expertise from NUS and A*STAR to develop high-performance, sustainable polymers from biomass feedstocks while assessing their commercial potential. The team offers deep experience and a strong track record in catalysis, green chemistry, polymer science, and materials engineering. Through three synergistic workgroups, we look forward to harnessing the team’s collective strengths and discoveries to help advance the circular bioeconomy.,” said Professor Lu Yixin, Lead Principal Investigator from the NUS Department of Chemistry.

“Ultimately, we hope that SG Bio-SPRINT will reinforce Singapore’s position as a regional hub for specialty polymers R&D and production while contributing meaningfully to the country’s broader net-zero ambitions,” added Professor Koh Ming Joo, co-Lead Principal Investigator from the NUS Department of Chemistry.

Addressing current industry challenges

Although bio-based alternatives are attracting growing interest, major gaps remain before they can be widely adopted in specialty polymer production. One challenge is that methods to convert lignocellulosic biomass into useful products are not fully developed, which limits the range of monomers and polymers that can be produced. Cost-effectiveness and scalability are also challenges, especially when moving from laboratory synthesis to commercial production.

SG Bio-SPRINT is designed to tackle these issues directly. The project focuses on creating industry-relevant drop-in monomers, which are molecules that share identical chemical structures as their fossil-fuel derived equivalents, that can be integrated into existing polymer production lines, rather than relying only on entirely new biomass-derived products. This approach should make adoption easier for manufacturers and help align chemistry design, performance requirements and supply chains.

The programme also responds to a broader global shift. Across government, research, and industry, there is growing urgency around defossilisation in the chemicals sector. While many current efforts focus on biofuels or commodity chemicals, SG Bio-SPRINT targets a more demanding area: specialty polymer applications, where materials must be carefully designed for performance and commercial use.

Developing new sustainable and high-performance polymers

SG Bio-SPRINT is structured around three closely connected workgroups comprising researchers from NUS and A*STAR.

Workgroup 1: Developing biomass-to-monomer pathways

The first workgroup will focus on converting lignocellulosic biomass into promising drop-in monomer candidates. This includes developing chemical routes, improving catalyst performance, and identifying pathways that can produce useful building blocks for specialty polymers.

Its goal is to create monomers that can be used in existing production systems, helping industry adopt greener feedstocks without needing completely new manufacturing infrastructure.

Workgroup 2: Validating performance for real applications

The second workgroup will test whether the new bio-based monomers can perform as well as conventional fossil-based materials. The team will examine purity, reactivity, and post-polymerisation properties, and compare them against industry incumbents.

The validation will focus on three application areas: adhesives, specialty coatings, and electronics. These are high-value sectors where performance is critical, so the workgroup’s findings will help determine whether the new materials are ready for real-world use.

Workgroup 3: Digital, economic, and sustainability support

The third workgroup will use artificial intelligence, molecular modelling, techno-economic analysis, and life cycle assessment to support the rest of the programme. Its role is to evaluate technical feasibility, cost, and sustainability together, helping the team prioritise the most promising routes.

This workgroup will also build a unified data framework that connects current research literature, experimental results and modelling insights. By doing so, the workgroup will help the project make better decisions earlier and accelerate the path from discovery to deployment.

Next steps

SG Bio-SPRINT’s immediate research goals include developing candidate monomers, validating them in application-relevant settings and building a data framework to identify potential polymers to focus on. The programme will also work closely with industry and innovation partners to support translation, intellectual property and future collaboration. Through the programme, the team aims to build foundational expertise and boost confidence in expanding sustainable chemical transition research to cover more applications in the chemical sector.

Spanning public service, education, healthcare, research, the arts and community leadership, here are some of the NUS-affiliated recipients recognised for their contributions. View the full list of NUS-affiliated recipients here (best viewed in Edge browsers) and click here for the winners from Duke-NUS.

This year, three distinguished individuals affiliated with NUS were among those accorded the top awards.

The Order of Temasek (With Distinction) 
Mr Sundaresh Menon (Law ’86) 
Chief Justice 
2024 Honorary Doctor of Laws, NUS

The Meritorious Service Medal 
Ms Anita Fam Siu Ping (Law ’86) 
Former President, National Council of Social Services 
Chair, Lien Centre for Palliative Care Advisory Board, Duke-NUS Medical School 

Prof Chee Yam Cheng (Medicine ’73, MMed (IM) ’77) 
President, Singapore Medical Council 
Clinical Professor, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NUS

Senior faculty, NUS Trustees and members of its governing boards also received accolades across many award categories.

The Public Service Star (Bar) 
Prof Ong Say Leong (Engineering ‘79) 
Emeritus Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Design and Engineering, NUS

The Public Administration Medal (Gold) 
Ms Lim Wan Yong 
Permanent Secretary (Education), Ministry of Education 
Member, Board of Trustees, NUS 

Prof Ng Wai Hoe (Medicine ’94, MD ’10) 
Group Chief Executive Officer, SingHealth, Singapore Health Services, Ministry of Health 
Member, Governing Board, Duke-NUS Medical School 
Professor, SingHealth Duke-NUS Neuroscience Academic Clinical Programme, Duke-NUS Medical School

The Public Service Medal 
Ms Angelene Chan 
Council Member, Dover Park Hospice 
Member, Board of Trustees, NUS 

Ms Chong Siak Ching 
Chairperson, Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music Governing Board, NUS

In addition, leaders of NUS colleges, faculties, schools and institutes, together with members of senior management, were lauded for their exceptional contributions to the University and the nation.

The Public Administration Medal (Silver) 
Ms Ho Shuet Ying 
Prof Jessica Pan Yunfen 
Prof Lionel Wee Hock Ann 
Mr Tan Kian Woo 
Prof Teo Kie Leong

The Public Administration Medal (Silver) (Military) 
RADM Kwan Hon Chuong

The Public Administration Medal (Bronze) 
Prof Bao Weizhu 
Assoc Prof Caroline Lee Guat Lay 
Assoc Prof Chai Kah Hin 
Assoc Prof Chan Tze Law 
Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong 
Prof Janice Lee Mong Li 
Prof Lim Chwee Teck 
Mr Roy Tan Chi Keong

Many of the University’s alumni also received awards for their service to Singapore.

The Meritorious Service Medal 
Dr Beh Swan Gin (Medicine ’91) 
Mr George Lim Teong Jin (Law ’81) 
Mr S Chandra Das (Arts ’65)

The Public Service Star (Bar) 
Mr Chua Chong Kheng (Engineering ’85, MSc MOT ’95) 
Mr Lim Hock Chee (Science ’92) 
Mr Tan Soo Kiang (Law ’74) 
Dr Vincent Chua Cheng Huat (MSocSci ’85)

The Public Service Star 
Mr Chin Sau Ho (Engineering ’90) 
Mr Fong Yoong Kheong (Arts & Social Sciences ’10) 
Dr Kwoh Chee Keong (Engineering ’87, MSc ISE ’91) 
Mr Lau Chin Huat (Business ’83) 
Mr Lee Thiam Siew, Alvin (Arts & Social Sciences ’01, MA ’06) 
Mr Ong Chee Keong (Arts & Social Sciences ’04, Public Policy MPA ’14) 
Dr Ong Hang Shyan (Medicine ’00, MMed (Ortho Surg) ’07) 
Mr Tang Kok Seng (Engineering ’89)

Yet, this rich heritage has remained largely obscured by the familiar colonial narrative of Singapore’s founding.

From August 2026, about 140 undergraduates at NUS will embark on a journey into Singapore’s deeper history through “700 Years of Visual Arts: Singapore in the World”, a new General Education course that goes beyond just an art or history course, using visual and material culture to uncover connections between people, ideas and cultures that shaped Singapore centuries before Raffles’ arrival.

Developed by the Art History Minor Programme at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences' (FASS) Department of History, the course fills a gap in Singapore’s art history education. While broad introductory courses on the art and cultural histories of places such as India, China and Rome have long been available, Singapore has lacked a comparable introduction.

“There has not been a Singaporean version of courses like ‘Arts of India’, ‘Introduction to the Italian Renaissance’ or ‘Arts of China’,” said Dr Priya Jaradi, Convenor of the Art History Minor Programme and Principal Educator of “700 Years”.

“This course gives us an opportunity to tell a much longer story that recognises Singapore’s cultural connections across the region and the world, and the centuries of history that came before 1819.”

Piecing together Singapore’s longer history

Rather than tracing Singapore’s past only through dates and events, “700 years” invites learners to look closely at an expansive range of objects and images that have survived and recognise them as valuable clues to Singapore’s past — a key feature of the course.

For instance, a 9th-century Chinese ceramic, a piece of textile woven in Gujarat for Southeast Asian clients, or a portrait produced in Bombay, Singapore or Canton can reveal stories about the movement of people, ideas and tastes across the region.

The course draws on more than 700 forms of material culture from Singapore’s institutional collections, including the Asian Civilisations Museum, NUS Museum and NUS Libraries, as well as collections from institutions overseas. It also looks beyond objects made on the island itself, presenting Singapore as a crossroads shaped by long-standing regional and global connections.

Mr Dylan Chng, Co-educator of “700 years” said this approach encourages learners to ask questions that can open up new ways of understanding the past.

“By looking closely at objects and the stories behind them, students will learn to make connections between people, places, ideas and cultures, and develop new ways of seeing and understanding the world around them. They learn to ask: ‘What can this object tell me?’, ‘Where did it come from?’ and ‘Why was it made?’ These questions can open up new ways of understanding not just Singapore’s past, but the world around us.”

The course’s blended learning format is designed to deepen this experience, combining online video lectures with in-person tutorial sessions and independent museum research. Students can work through the online material at their own pace before coming together with faculty and peers to discuss ideas and explore key concepts and case studies in greater depth.

From the NUS classroom to learners everywhere

Given its broad relevance to anyone interested in Singapore’s history, art and cultural heritage, the new course will also be made available to the public, including beyond Singapore, through the FASS’ Continuing Education and Training (CET) offerings from January 2027.

Public learners can choose between the blended learning format or take the course entirely online, with access to video lectures, readings, resources and quizzes from anywhere in the world.

Ultimately, the new course allows students and adult learners alike to see the island’s history in a new light, reflecting NUS’ commitment to enhancing the learning experience to make education more engaging, interdisciplinary and relevant to students and adult learners today.

“That is what makes this a valuable General Education course. Students from different disciplines can come together to explore something they may not have studied before, while learning to look closely, ask questions and make connections between things that might not seem connected at first. I hope they leave not just knowing more about Singapore’s history, but seeing it a little differently,” said Dr Jaradi.

Earlier this year, 17 students from the Global Studies Programme at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) had the opportunity to embark on a 10-day field immersion trip to Ecuador to experience the country's environmental landscapes, Indigenous communities, political institutions and social dynamics as part of the NUS Study Trips for Engagement and EnRichment (STEER) initiative.

More than an opportunity to explore one of the world’s most biodiverse countries, the programme was a rare chance to see familiar issues through unfamiliar perspectives. Through shared experiences, such as trekking through forests and engaging with local communities, students examined Ecuador through different academic lenses and returned with insights that extended far beyond their individual disciplines.

Three students — Chloe Ribbon Chan, Kelyn Chan and Samuel Loh — share their reflections on how one journey inspired different ways of seeing and understanding the world, as well as fostered a deeper appreciation for the interconnectedness of environmental, political, social and cultural issues.

One journey, many lessons

For anyone passionate about biodiversity and conservation, a trip to the Galapagos islands, a volcanic archipelago in Ecuador, can be considered a pilgrimage. Indeed, for Samuel, a third-year Environmental Studies undergraduate at the Faculty of Science, this was a once-in-a-lifetime trip.

“I was in awe of the sheer biodiversity that roamed free and frequently lived amongst urban areas, providing the group with a unique lived experience quite unlike anywhere else on earth,” he said.

For example, students learnt how the unique geography of Ecuador's cloud forests and alpine tundra directly influenced water and resource management in the capital of Quito and other parts of Ecuador. They even had the opportunity to dive amongst shoals of critically endangered Scalloped Hammerheads and witness Blue-footed Boobies and Frigatebirds soaring high above during a visit to Kicker Rock.

“We also got our hands dirty by participating in various habitat restoration initiatives to strengthen ecological corridors that facilitate the movement of flora and fauna across increasingly fragmented habitats, connecting Ecuador with other biodiversity hotspots in Latin America,” said Samuel.

While Ecuador's extraordinary biodiversity left a lasting impression on many students, others found themselves equally captivated by the people and cultures that shaped the country's relationship with its rich natural world.

For Chloe, a final-year Sociology and Political Science major who is also pursuing a Minor in Religious Studies, one of the most fulfilling parts of the Ecuador trip was realising how much she could learn from people outside her own discipline.

“I was especially fascinated by the Indigenous communities we learned about. What struck me most was how many of them spoke about their natural surroundings as something to live alongside, rather than manage or control. They had a deep sense respect for the environment. It made me realise how culture and belief matter in sustainability matters, as much as policy does,” she said.

Looking beyond culture and community, the programme also provided a window into the institutions and policies that shape everyday life in Ecuador.

“Coming on the trip, I was particularly interested in understanding how Ecuador navigates challenges in development, environmental governance, and social inequality,” added Kelyn, also a final-year Political Science major.

Throughout the programme, she gained valuable insights into how political decisions shape national priorities and directly affect local communities. Students also connected with their counterparts from Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ), whose local perspectives and lived experiences offered a deeper understanding of Ecuador beyond what they could learn in the classroom.

"Speaking with students and community leaders helped me appreciate that many of the challenges Ecuador faces are complex and interconnected. It reinforced the importance of understanding different perspectives when thinking about governance and public policy," Kelyn said.

Experiencing Ecuador’s natural environment firsthand through hikes in Quito and snorkelling in the Galapagos further amplified this experience and underscored how challenges regarding sustainability, conservation and climate change transcend national borders, including for Singapore.

Kelyn said, “Ultimately, the Ecuador STEER programme reminded me that the study of politics is not confined to textbooks or lecture halls. Rather, it is rooted in lived experiences and sustained engagement with communities on the ground.”

Reflecting on the trip, the students agreed that Ecuador was not just a destination, but a chance to see familiar issues through unfamiliar perspectives. No matter their field of study, they all came home having learnt something they had not expected.

The Ecuador STEER programme exemplifies the value of interdisciplinary and experiential learning within FASS through opportunities for students to engage directly with communities, environments and institutions, while applying classroom learning in real-world contexts.

This is a story contribution by the office of the Global Studies Programme at the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

Published in Science Immunology on 12 June 2026, the study identifies the RNA helicase DDX6 as a previously unrecognised ‘hidden switch’ that prevents the immune system from recognising cancer cells. Targeting DDX6 could make tumours more visible to the immune system, improving existing or new immunotherapies.

Helping the immune system recognise cancer

Our immune system is constantly searching for abnormal cells, including cancer cells. One of the warning signals it looks for is double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), which are produced naturally within cells. Because these molecules resemble RNA produced during viral infections, they can trigger the innate immune system, which is the body’s first line of defence against foreign or abnormal cells.

Many cancer cells suppress these warning signals, allowing them to grow unnoticed. Until now, scientists did not fully understand how this happened.

Previous studies have shown that ADAR1, an enzyme that edits RNA, helps regulate how cells respond to dsRNA. This study identifies the RNA helicase DDX6 as a previously unrecognised suppressor of dsRNA sensing.

Led by Associate Professor Polly Chen, Deputy Director and Principal Investigator of CSI Singapore, the team found that DDX6 works together with ADAR1 to suppress these natural danger signals. As a result, DDX6 reduces immune activation triggered by endogenous dsRNA, hence making cancer cells much less visible to the immune system.

These findings provide new insights into how anti-tumour immune responses are regulated.

"Cancer cells are remarkably good at hiding from the immune system. Our study uncovered a previously unknown mechanism that helps them stay hidden. By targeting DDX6, we may be able to remove this 'cloak' and enable the immune system to recognise and attack cancer more effectively. Beyond its therapeutic potential, this work also changes our understanding of how RNA editing regulates immune responses," explained Assoc Prof Chen, the lead author for this study.

Challenging a long-held view of RNA editing

For many years, the prevailing view was that RNA editing weakened the structure of dsRNA, making it less likely to trigger immune responses. Instead, the CSI Singapore team found that certain RNA editing events can instead strengthen dsRNA structures, enhancing their ability to activate the body’s natural immune defences. DDX6 prevents these beneficial RNA editing events from occurring, helping tumours escape immune attack.

This new framework for understanding how RNA editing regulates immune sensing in cancer fundamentally changes how researchers think about RNA editing and its role in regulating immunity.

"What surprised us most was that the biology did not behave the way we expected. For years, researchers believed RNA editing generally weakened these immune-triggering RNA molecules. Instead, we found that certain RNA editing events can actually strengthen them. This completely changes how we think about the relationship between RNA editing and immune activation, and opens up exciting new possibilities for developing cancer therapies," Dr Larry Ng, first author for this paper and Research Fellow at CSI Singapore.

Potential implications for cancer immunotherapy

The discovery identifies a novel mechanism of cancer immune evasion and highlights DDX6 as a potential new target for cancer immunotherapy. Targeting this pathway could help overcome cancer-associated immunosuppression and potentially improve the effectiveness of existing cancer immunotherapies. In laboratory studies, removing DDX6 restored immune signalling and slowed tumour growth by allowing cancer cells to become more visible to the immune system.

The research team is now working to identify molecules that block DDX6 and investigate their ability to enhance anti-tumour immune responses. In parallel, the researchers plan to identify additional proteins involved in this newly discovered pathway and determine how they contribute to cancer-associated immunosuppression. Together, these efforts could uncover additional therapeutic targets that could strengthen anti-tumour immunity.