Climate-related developments have accelerated in recent years, and the NUS alumna and former geography teacher was interested to learn more. Ms Bong was thrilled when she learnt that the programme was among selected graduate programmes offering a 40 per cent rebate on the tuition fees, under a new NUS initiative aimed at encouraging more learners to engage in continuing education and training.

Announced by NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye at the second edition of the biennial NUS Lifelong Learning Festival held on 26 July 2024, the University will be providing a 40 per cent tuition fee rebate on more than 80 self-funded Master’s degree by coursework programmes for all Singaporeans and Permanent Residents. Students enrolling in these programmes in Academic Year (AY) 2024, AY2025 and AY2026 will enjoy the substantial rebate.

This new initiative is an enhancement of the University’s previous scheme which offered Singaporeans and Permanent Residents a 10 per cent rebate and its alumni a 20 per cent rebate on tuition fees for over 70 Master’s degree by coursework programmes.

Explaining the reason for the enhancement, Prof Tan cited a large-scale survey commissioned by NUS in 2023, which revealed that working adults in Singapore value continuous learning but are concerned about the costs.

“We hope that this rebate will alleviate the cost considerations for learners and that you will be encouraged to learn new skills and develop yourselves further along your career journey,” he elaborated at the festival which was themed Futurework 2.0: AI in Action. 

To further enhance capabilities in the area of Artificial Intelligence (AI), several other developments are in the works, including four new Master’s programmes on AI to be launched in 2025; and the new NUS AI Institute, which was set up in March 2024, will gather researchers across the university to accelerate research in the field and boost real-world impact.

Urging the audience to tap on the rebates and acquire new skills, Prof Tan added, “I hope that the announcement…serves as an impetus for you to explore the many learning options and pathways at NUS.”

Tech that solves problems

Ultimately, technology has the potential to help people and organisations expand their capacity, said Minister for Education Chan Chun Sing, who was the Guest-of-Honour at the event. “The question is, how do we embrace technology and make it work for us?” noted Mr Chan at a dialogue with Professor Aaron Thean, NUS Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost, on AI and the Workforce.

Citing the Ministry of Education as an example, Mr Chan said technology can enable the mass personalisation of learning, where every individual learns at their own pace and is encouraged to reach their full potential. “That is the holy grail. Are we there yet? No. But can we get closer? Yes, but we will need to reimagine how we organise ourselves, how we upskill our educators to redesign the pedagogy combined with technology,” he said.

Some of these experimentations are already taking place, he said. Teachers are now using virtual tools to share their learning resources, allowing best practices to be scaled across the entire education system in a manner that was not possible before. With adaptive technology, teachers can also collect data on the specific levels their students are at.

At the Singapore Polytechnic, for example, where most lectures are delivered online and students are required to watch them before class, lecturers can gather insights on how long students spent watching the lectures as well as the parts that were replayed or skipped the most. 

Such information gives educators a glimpse into how their content is being absorbed by students. “This is surgical, customised education. Not teaching to the average,” he noted.

Technology, however, should be applied appropriately. “For high-ability students, they may adapt to technology like fish to water. But for high-needs students, don’t start with high-tech. Start with high-touch,” he said. “They need that personal trust and relationship, in a stable environment, before we can talk about acquisition of content knowledge.”

Future of AI is interdisciplinary

Mr Chan’s sentiment was echoed by Stanford University’s Professor of Computer Science James Landay, who is also Co-Director of the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI. The design of any AI solution must ensure it serves the individual user, the community, and most of all, larger society, he said, in a keynote speech titled “’AI For Good’ Isn’t Good Enough: A Call for Human-Centred AI”.

“These types of (AI) systems need to be built by interdisciplinary teams – not only technologists and AI experts, but also experts on design, on social sciences and humanities, and any domain expertise depending on the application area of the system, whether it is medicine, law, environment, or science,” he said.

Some 250 guests attended the event, which was held at the NUSS Kent Ridge Guild House, and nearly 1,000 tuned in online. The event also featured seven panel discussions where 29 industry practitioners and academics from both public and private institutions addressed interesting topics such as the impact of AI in human resource, finance and healthcare sectors, as well as the relationship between AI and climate action.

Sports often have gendered connotations in our society and culture, with those that demonstrate strength and power, such as football and basketball, labelled as ‘masculine’, while aesthetic sports, such as figure skating, are feminised. These gender stereotypes have also long influenced our choices in what sport to pursue.

But some teams and athletes at NUS are changing the game by embracing the sports they are truly passionate about, promoting equal and inclusive participation across genders and enriching our campus culture.

Foo Jing Ning Joy: At the top of her game

Joy, a Year 3 Computer Science student at NUS School of Computing, played touch rugby throughout her Junior College (JC) years. At each practice, she would glance across the training field where a women’s rugby team practiced and was drawn by the adrenaline-fuelled gameplay and team camaraderie of the sister sport.

“There is no girls’ rugby (team) in schools here throughout primary school to JC,” explained Joy, who took the first opportunity she got as a freshman in October 2022 to join NUS Women’s Rugby.

“Unlike in touch rugby where you must stop each time you get touched, rugby allows you to keep advancing towards the try line^[1] if you can outmanoeuvre the defenders on the opposing team,” said Joy, explaining the key difference between the two games. “That sense of liberation that comes with breaking through the defence and running towards the try line with the ball in tow, knowing you are going to score, is simply the best part about playing rugby,” she added.

According to Joy, her background in touch rugby has helped fast-track her progression in the full-contact sport. In less than a year, Joy’s performance on the field caught the attention of Singapore’s national team coach and she was invited to train with the national training squad. If selected to play in the national team, Joy will join the ranks of a select group of NUS Women’s Rugby players to represent Singapore.

Apart from developing herself as a player, joining NUS Women’s Rugby has given Joy the opportunity to hone her leadership skills, first as team manager and now as team captain. With the support of her Executive Committee, Joy coordinates training sessions and ensures her teammates are present and ready to give their 100 per cent. If team morale is low, Joy takes it upon herself to boost their spirits. “At times, it can be difficult to balance responsibilities and having fun with the team. That is a skill I’m learning to master,” she said.

“When people hear that I play contact rugby, they are often surprised because they assume contact rugby is for men and touch rugby is for women. They have the impression that contact rugby is a dangerous and aggressive sport,” said Joy. While every sport has an inherent risk of getting injured, she believes that these injuries can be mitigated through form, technique and focusing on proper recovery each time.

“Once you start playing rugby and experience the different roles on the field, you realise that it’s quite a craft that can be perfected. We have lines that we play, and plays that we can execute, and these plays can be practiced into perfection – much like an art form,” she said.

Joy and her NUS Women’s Rugby teammates are eager to introduce the sport to more girls. “To join us, there are no prerequisites. We train all our players in technique; you just need to come with the drive to want to play and be daring to make the tackle and be tackled.”

As a rugby player and a Computer Science major, Joy’s resilience and determination isn’t just challenging gender stereotypes in sports, but also in ‘tech’. Off the field, Joy dabbles in web application development projects and is exploring ways in which Artificial Intelligence can be used to improve daily functions in life.

Muhammad Asyraf Bin Abdul Mutaliff: Discovering a new form of athletic expression

Asyraf, a final-year Political Science major at the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences is captain and a male base of NUS Alpha Verve Cheerleading.

His venture into the sport began rather serendipitously, during his freshman year at NUS, after watching a Netflix documentary that highlighted the athleticism and artistry involved in cheerleading. Seeing that NUS had a cheerleading team, Asyraf decided to step out of his comfort zone and give it a try, pivoting from soccer, his sport of choice throughout his youth.

"Cheerleading is an interesting sport that tests your physical, mental, and emotional endurance," Asyraf explained. “It requires not only strength but also precise coordination, trust, and communication among team members.” As a male base—a pivotal role in lifting and supporting the flyers during stunts—Asyraf brings his soccer-honed strength to the team, allowing for impressive partner stunts and acrobatics.

The journey into cheerleading wasn't without its challenges. With no prior experience before university, Asyraf had to adapt quickly to the rigorous training schedule of three times a week, along with additional gym sessions focused on exercises that translate into cheerleading stunts such as shoulder presses and squats. "It's a sport where you have to give your 100 per cent in everything," he said, reflecting on the demanding nature of practices to put together a 24-man, 2-minute, 50-second routine packed with synchronised movements, pyramids, and acrobatics.

Beyond the physical demands, Asyraf values the tight-knit community and friendships fostered through cheerleading. Team activities like bonding suppers and events like Cheer Mania, where different university teams come together, are highlights of his university experience. "It has really shaped my time here at NUS," Asyraf said, emphasising how cheerleading has enriched his university life beyond academics.

As team captain, Asyraf takes on additional responsibilities, ensuring the team's safety during training and orchestrating routines that highlight their strengths. Looking ahead, his main goal is to lead Alpha Verve to gold at the upcoming Nationals, a testament to his dedication and leadership within the team.

Outside of cheerleading, Asyraf maintains a rigorous academic schedule, balancing his passion for political science with his athletic pursuits. He plans to pursue a Master's degree after graduation, aiming to further his knowledge in public policy or administration.

Reflecting on his journey so far, Asyraf hopes to inspire others to get past stereotypes and pursue their passions wholeheartedly. "Cheerleading is a sport open to anyone willing to take the leap,” said Asyraf, proving that true strength lies not just in physical prowess, but in the courage to pursue one's passions against the odds.

As a fun fact, he shared that NUS Alpha Verve Cheerleading now has its first male flyer, a role previously reserved for females, further promoting equal participation in the sport.

This story is part one of a two-part series on NUS athletes who are challenging traditional gender stereotypes in sports and showcasing their remarkable talents, promoting equal participation and fostering a sense of inclusivity centred around sports.

This article is the first in a two-part series on Breaking Stereotypes. Read Part 2 here.

^[1] In rugby, there are two solid try lines at either end of the pitch. To score, a player must carry the ball over the try line and touch it on the ground within the in-goal area.

The research team led by Associate Professor Benjamin Tee from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in the NUS College of Design and Engineering (NUS CDE) used Field’s metal to demonstrate how CHARM3D can fabricate a wide range of electronics, allowing for more compact designs in devices such as wearable sensors, wireless communication systems and electromagnetic metamaterials. Dr Ling Shaohua, a key member of this multi-disciplinary project collaboration within NUS CDE, worked on the project when he was a Mechanical Engineering PhD candidate and conducted the research in the laboratories of the Departments of Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, and Electrical and Computer Engineering. 

In healthcare, for instance, CHARM3D facilitates the development of contactless vital sign monitoring devices — enhancing patient comfort while enabling continuous monitoring. In signal sensing, it optimises the performance of 3D antennas, leading to improved communication systems, more accurate medical imaging and robust security applications.

The team’s findings were published in the journal Nature Electronics on 25 July 2024. Assoc Prof Tee is the corresponding author of the research paper. 

A more streamlined approach to 3D circuit manufacturing

3D electronic circuits increasingly underpin modern electronics, from battery technology to robotics to sensors, enhancing their functionalities while enabling further miniaturisation. For example, 3D architectures, with their large effective surface areas, improve battery capacity and enhance sensor sensitivity.

Direct ink writing (DIW), a promising 3D printing technique currently used to fabricate 3D circuits, poses significant drawbacks. The crux lies in its use of composite inks, which have low electrical conductivity and entail support materials to aid in solidification after printing. The inks are also too viscous, limiting printing speed.

Enter Field’s metal, a eutectic alloy of indium, bismuth and tin. Eutectic alloys melt and freeze at a single temperature lower than the melting points of their constituent metals — offering an attractive alternative material for 3D printing. With a low melting point of 62 degrees Celsius, a high electrical conductivity and low toxicity, Field’s metal, unlike composite inks, solidifies rapidly — a crucial characteristic that enables the printing process to eschew support materials and external pressure.

Leveraging the low melting point of Field’s metal, the CHARM3D technique exploits the tension between molten metal in a nozzle and the leading edge of the printed part, culminating in uniform, smooth microwire structures with adjustable widths of 100 to 300 microns, roughly the width of one to three strands of human hair. Critically, phenomena such as beading and uneven surfaces — characteristic of pressure-driven DIW — are also absent in CHARM3D.

Compared to conventional DIW, CHARM3D offers faster printing speeds of up to 100 millimetres per second and higher resolutions, offering greater level of detail and accuracy in circuit fabrication. CHARM3D forgoes post-treatment steps and enables the fabrication of complex free-standing 3D structures, such as vertical letters, cubic frameworks and scalable helixes. Moreover, these 3D architectures exhibit excellent structural retention with self-healing capabilities, meaning they can automatically recover from mechanical damage and are recyclable.

“By offering a faster and simpler approach to 3D metal printing as a solution for advanced electronic circuit manufacturing, CHARM3D holds immense promise for the industrial-scale production and widespread adoption of intricate 3D electronic circuits,” said Assoc Prof Tee.

Far-reaching applications

The researchers successfully printed a 3D circuit for wearable battery-free temperature sensors, antennas for wireless vital sign monitoring and metamaterials for electromagnetic wave manipulation — capturing the diversity in applications enabled by CHARM3D.

Traditional hospital equipment such as electrocardiograms and pulse oximeters require skin contact, which can cause discomfort and risk infections. Through CHARM3D, contact-free sensors can be integrated into smart clothing and antennas, providing continuous, accurate health monitoring in hospitals, assisted-living facilities or home settings.

Furthermore, arrays of 3D antennas or electromagnetic metamaterial sensors — fabricated via CHARM3D — could optimise signal sensing and processing applications. This leads to improved signal-to-noise ratios and higher bandwidths. The technique opens up the possibility of creating specialised antennas for targeted communication, enabling more accurate medical imaging, such as microwave breast imaging for early tumour detection, and advanced security applications, such as detecting hidden devices or contraband emitting specific electromagnetic signatures.

Other collaborators in this work include Dr Zhuangjian Liu from Agency for Science, Technology and Research’s Institute of High Performance Computing and Professor Michael Dickey from North Carolina State University’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.

Next steps

The research team envisions that this technique can be extended to other types of metals and structural applications. The team is also looking for opportunities to commercialise this unique approach for metal printing. 

A transformative experience for everyone

Student life is an integral part of a holistic NUS education, with sports playing a crucial role in enriching the overall journey. Participation in the AUG certainly provides a wealth of sports opportunities, but it also offers a unique transformative experience for our NUS athletes.

Assistant Dean of Students Dr Kristy Fu, who attended the Games during the first week, said, “Our students faced challenges such as competing in diverse national teams alongside players from various institutes, navigating home crowd pressures in Indonesia, and adapting to environmental challenges like weather changes, different playing grounds, and limited equipment.” Dr Fu continued, “Through competing with their ASEAN sports counterparts, our students come to embrace inclusiveness and diversity while staying competitive and upholding personal and team excellence, as well as national pride.”

Dr Fu also highlighted the valuable learning opportunities for NUS staff at the AUG. For example, the NUS Office of Student Affairs Sports Section served as Sports Team Managers and Officials at the AUG, supporting the Singapore contingent and the ASEAN University Sports Council (AUSC). They learnt to collaborate with teams from other local and regional universities and schools to ensure that student-athletes were supported and inspired throughout the competition.

The power of belief and tenacity

For TeamNUS swimmer Nicholas Cheong, the men’s breaststroke 50m was the highlight of the AUG. He explained, “My brother—my idol and source of inspiration—won the event with a meet record at the last AUG, so it provided extra motivation for me to match his achievement.” Nicholas' brother is former Singapore national swimmer and NUS alumnus Christopher Cheong.

However, last November, the Year 2 NUS Business School undergraduate suffered a wrist fracture, breaking both his scaphoid and radius. Despite a typical recovery time of 6 to 9 months threatening his participation in the AUG, he displayed remarkable tenacity and committed fully to his rehabilitation. His dedication paid off with a stunning 28.96 seconds in the men’s 50m breaststroke, earning him a silver medal!

“Considering the rollercoaster of events over the past eight months, winning silver and going sub-29 seconds for only the fourth time in my life feels nothing short of miraculous. It is truly a testament to the power of belief and tenacity in achieving the unimaginable,” Nicholas shared. “I’m grateful for the results and hope to apply the lessons learnt in my next competition!"

Facing uncertainty and adapting

TeamNUS Silat exponent Nurul Irbah was one of NUS' top female competitors at last year's Tertiary Silat Championship in Singapore. However, recent rule changes for the sport at this AUG brought some uncertainty. “It’s my first international competition in five years, and I had to learn and adapt to many new techniques and gameplay styles,” she explained. Adding to that was the challenge of balancing studies and training as a Year 3 Faculty of Science student, which motivated her to improve her time management and efficiency in both school and sports.

Nevertheless, Irbah excelled, winning the AUG Women's Class A category, and securing a gold medal for Singapore in a thrilling finale against her Indonesian opponent. Her mother, Mdm Norrazlin Hamim, said, “This competition is the pinnacle of Irbah’s Silat journey and I am beyond ecstatic that she has come this far. I am so proud of her!”

Still, the former NUS Silat captain remembers her teammates back home. She said, “Participating in this AUG allowed me to learn from athletes from other countries, and I hope to bring these new techniques and strategies back to my NUS Silat team. I also hope to inspire the current members to strive for the chance to represent Singapore in the next AUG.”

One final hurrah

This AUG marked a significant achievement for the Singapore men’s volleyball team, which secured a medal for the first time in a competition featuring an expanded field of more than three teams. In the bronze medal match against Malaysia, TeamNUS volleyball player Ajay Singh Shergill was the top scorer, earning 17 points for Singapore across four hard-fought sets. “Winning the bronze medal means so much to the team and me,” Ajay shared. “I hope this inspires the next generation of volleyball players to believe we can achieve even greater things on the international stage.”

Currently pursuing a double major in Psychology and Business Management at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, the Year 3 undergraduate also revealed that this AUG will be his final international competition. “It’s a bittersweet moment for me but it’s a fitting way to retire,” shared the veteran, who started playing volleyball in primary school and has represented the National Team since 2015.

But this is not the end of Ajay's journey with volleyball. In 2023, he became a registered, qualified volleyball coach and is now coaching at two primary schools and two open category teams. “What I loved most about the sport were the values that it instilled in me,” he reflected. “When I started playing volleyball, it showed me that when I worked hard at something, I could achieve it, and that gave me confidence in other areas as well.”

“That’s why I believe it’s important for young kids to play sports and develop these attitudes and values,” Ajay emphasised.

Friendship over sport

TeamNUS Taekwondo exponent Valerie Kang clinched Singapore’s second-ever Taekwondo gold medal in the history of the AUG. “I was in shock and disbelief, especially since this was my first AUG and I hadn’t expected to win,” the Year 2 Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences undergraduate exclaimed. “It’s really the support and encouragement from my coaches, family, and friends that made this possible, and I’m immensely proud to have represented Singapore and NUS.”

Valerie also reconnected with her Vietnamese counterpart, Le Ngoc Han from the Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and Finance. The two had met briefly last year at another competition and connected on Instagram. They had agreed to try and meet at the next international event, which turned out to be this AUG. “It was a truly heartfelt moment! I am glad we kept our promise and finally had a chance to converse, despite the language barrier. I am really looking forward to seeing our progress in future competitions!”

Supporting the AUG

NUS Office of Student Affairs Head of Sports, Mahrunisa Fathiyah, is no stranger to the AUG, having taken part in seven editions. She has held team manager roles for various sports over the years: Tennis in Chiang Mai (2010), Silat in Laos (2012), Wushu in Palembang (2014), Athletics in Nay Pi Taw (2018), and Fencing in Ubon Ratchathani (2022). In 2016, when Singapore hosted the AUG in NUS, she served as the secretariat of the organising committee and team manager for Water Polo.

This AUG marks her first time serving on the AUSC Technical Committee for the games. The committee’s role was to ensure that the technical aspects of the games ran smoothly and met all necessary standards.

Additionally, she oversaw the accreditation process for the event, coordinating with local volunteers to manage over 2,000 athletes and officials. “This experience has been both challenging and rewarding, and I was fortunate to work alongside dedicated colleagues from both the AUSC and the organising committee,” she said.

A Team Manager’s experience

At the AUG, a Team Manager’s roles are crucial. For NUS Sports Manager Farhana Rosli, it is all about providing the best support for the student-athletes under her charge, so they are ready to compete to their fullest.

She shared some of her responsibilities: “We cheer them on during their matches, ensure that all administrative and logistical requirements are prepared in advance, and most importantly, take care of the team’s well-being.”

Her Singapore tennis team’s well-being took centre stage as they faced Surabaya's scorching weather and a packed competition schedule from early morning till late at night. As every player gave their all for Singapore, they pushed their bodies to the limit, making it crucial for Farhana to help them balance their expectations and safeguard their well-being. “As Team Managers, we need to remind them to stay healthy, happy, and enjoy the matches. After all, representing Singapore at the AUG shows they've reached a high standard, and I saw the immense effort our players put in on the courts. They should be proud.”

Medal tally of TeamNUS participants

Team Singapore took home 11 Gold, 27 Silver and 36 Bronze medals. Our TeamNUS athletes proudly contributed 7 Gold, 14 Silver and 16 Bronze medals to this total. Congratulations to all our student-athletes and sports managers for representing Singapore!

Gold

1. Athletics (Pole Vault) - Low Jun Yu (National Record)

2. Bridge (Men's Pair) - Yang Junyan, Gao Heng

3. Bridge (Men's Team) - Gao Heng, Yang Junyan, Timothy Wu, Teo Xue Heng

4. ⁠Silat (Women's Match Class A) - Nurul Irbah

5. ⁠Sport Climbing (Men’s Boulder) - Philus Tan

6. Taekwondo (Women's Individual) - Valerie Kang

7. ⁠Wushu (Women’s Qiangshu) - Le Yin Shuen

Silver

1. Athletics (High Jump) - Jade Chew

2. Bridge (Men's Pair) - Timothy Wu, Jerald Kiew

3. ⁠Handball (Men's Team) - Joshea Koh, Vernen Lim, Ian Tay

4. ⁠Judo (Men’s Under 66kg) - Zhou Yujie

5. ⁠Judo (Men’s Under 73kg) - Melvin Loo

6. ⁠Judo (Women’s Under 57kg) - Janelle Tan

7. Silat (Men's Artistic Double) – Kashyfi Bin Salleh & Mirza Nabil

8. Silat (Women's Artistic Team) – Rasyidah Binti Mudzzaffar, Nurul Helyna, Nur Sabrina

9. Silat (Men’s Match Class F) – Muhammad Shuhada

10. Silat (Men’s Match Class I) – Faiz Rusyaidi

11. Swimming (Men’s 50m Breaststroke) - Nicholas Cheong

12. Tennis (Men's team) – Tiah Jeng Ern, Ho Cheuk Hei

13. ⁠Wushu (Women's optional Jianshu) - Le Yin Shuen

14. ⁠Wushu (Women's optional Taiji Jian) - Teo Yu Xuan

Bronze

1. Archery (Recurve Men's Team) - Tan Wei Chuen

2. Archery (Compound Men's Team) - Desmond Kwa Jun Liang

3. Athletics (Men’s 10,000m) - Jon Lim

4. Chess (Men's team Blitz) - Tan Jun Hao & Bryce Tan

5. Chess (Men's team Rapid) - Tan Jun Hao & Bryce Tan

6. Chess (Men's team Standard Chess) - Tan Jun Hao & Bryce Tan

7. Climbing (Men’s Lead) - Philus Tan

8. Judo (Mixed Team) - Yujie, Melvin, Janelle, Hui Xin

9. ⁠Judo (Women’s Under 62kg) - Chua Hui Xin

10. ⁠Silat (Women's Artistic Solo) – Nurdianna Binte Sidek

11. Taekwondo (Men’s team) - Tham Chun Hoe, See Wei Wen

12. Taekwondo (Pair) - Tham Chun Hoe

13. ⁠Tennis (Women's team) - Tammy Tan, Claire Chan, Lim Lerr Min

14.  Volleyball (Men's team) - Ajay Singh, Avan Cheah, Edwin Lee, Jireh Tay, Kelvin Chua, Lee Zhan Hao, Nicholas Law, Wong Chang Wei

15. ⁠Volleyball (Women's team) - Astrid Lee, Ashley Goh, Natalie Lai, Chan Yao Yi, Chua Zi Tian, Tanya Phan

16. Wushu (Women's optional Chang Quan) - Kimberly Ong

Supported by the NUS Global Relations Office’s Study Trips For Engagement & EnRichment (STEER), which immerses students in diverse cultural and socio-economic environments of fast-evolving regions through experiential site visits, the NUS Seafarers took to the sea once more on two voyages to the Anambas Islands in Indonesia.

The NUS Seafarers is a close-knit community united by a love of nautical adventure, venturing out to the seas and communities of Southeast Asia aboard traditional sailing vessels with zero carbon footprint since 2017.

Led by Captain Warren Blake and Associate Professor Martin Henz of the Department of Computer Science at NUS Computing, the momentous revival of the NUS Seafarers saw the two groups of voyagers sail, hike, abseil, kayak, and snorkel their way across the Anambas archipelago over the course of 12 days each from 29 April to 10 May and 9 to 20 May, exploring its rich culture, history, economy, and natural environment from the unique perspective of a seafarer.

“NUS Seafarers voyages are holistic experiences that combine communal living, structured and ad hoc learning projects, and adventure learning. The vessel serves as a safe learning space from which learning journeys are planned and executed and where reflection and documentation take place,” Assoc Prof Henz, who is also a Residential Fellow at King Edward VII Hall, explained. “It is fascinating to observe how communities of learners spontaneously form on these voyages to tackle challenging learning objectives.”

The crew comprised NUS students, alumni, and staff from all walks of life, hailing from faculties as diverse as the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, School of Computing, College of Design and Engineering, and Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine.

Visiting a wide range of communities, enterprises, and environments throughout the archipelago, the crew derived a well-rounded understanding of the region from the expedition. NUS News tags along to find out what the voyagers learn from the rich experiences, interactions, and connections as they embark on the adventure of a lifetime!

Adapting to the rhythms of life at sea

Plying the ropes, sails, and ship's helm by day, and getting regaled over dinner with gripping swashbuckling accounts of shipwrecks and shark encounters from the Captain by the light of the moon, the voyagers quickly took to life onboard the schooner, gaining their sea legs and acquiring experience and confidence in the manifold aspects of living at sea.

Over the course of ten days, the crew learnt a host of nautical skills on the fly—steering the ship, manning the ropes, tying nautical knots, manually raising the anchor, employing basic cartography to chart the ship’s course, and taking depth-sounding readings and records.

They also received a crash course in celestial navigation, including hands-on experience with using a sextant and the identification of significant constellations like the Big Dipper and Southern Cross to get their bearings out at sea. Blessed with clear skies and the absence of light pollution on most nights out at sea, the voyagers stargazed to their hearts’ content, treated to the sight of swathes of constellations, and even Venus and the Milky Way.

The journey was not all smooth sailing however— the voyagers contended with various challenges that took the wind out of their sails, such as a jammed rudder and anchor winching mechanism, and other small mishaps that they had to work together to overcome. Confronted with limited freshwater supply and limited electricity generated from the ship’s battery, they also gained a heightened appreciation for finite resources.

“One of the biggest challenges we faced was sailing the ship, an activity that requires accurate coordination, quick decision-making, and effective cooperation. The changing wind conditions and navigational challenges necessitated a cohesive team effort,” shared Tong Xinyao, a Year 1 Computer Science major.

“Through effective communication and a willingness to learn and help, we gradually grasped the basics of sailing. It was really fun and rewarding to see the sails up and enjoy the breeze on the deck after the hard work!” she quipped.

Connecting with local communities: A window into a way of life

The voyagers made a stop at Air Sena, a seaside village of stilt houses inhabited by the descendants of the Orang Laut, a nomadic seafaring people with a proud heritage of nautical knowledge and skill, and a resourcefulness in eking out a living from the sea.

Welcomed by the village chief Keng Lei, who led the voyagers on a tour through the village and graciously hosted them in his own home, the crew gleaned a first-hand understanding of the culture and economic structure of the local community.

Despite the communication barrier between the villagers and most of the crew, the locals’ palpable warmth and hospitality quickly broke the ice. The experience exploring the village and interacting with the villagers as the latter went about their daily lives opened a window into a way of life vastly disparate from the fast-paced urban existence the voyagers lead.

“I was surprised by how much of my perception of Indonesia was comprehensively challenged, while also teaching me so much more than I could on my own through books and the internet. Each island we visited possessed a unique culture, history, economy and perspective that stretched back more than hundreds of years,” Muhammad Harriz Adry Bin Ridzuan, a Year 4 major in Mechanical Engineering, reflected. “The villagers of Air Sena are good people with a rich history, who can teach us plenty about how to live contentedly and treat others with kindness in our work.”

Through conversing with Keng Lei and other locals on the ground, the voyagers also gained valuable insights into the various aspects and nuances of kampong life, from culture and history to economy and family structure. Of particular interest was the village’s unique religious composition—an agglomeration of Buddhists and Christians—thanks to its history as a Chinese settlement generations ago, before Christian missionaries arrived in the colonial era.

“Some of them speak Mandarin Chinese, and others speak Chinese dialects like Hokkien and Cantonese. What is more interesting is they have been partly assimilated into Indonesian culture, mainly speaking Bahasa Indonesia,” Timothy Timuari Li Zhi, a Year 4 major in Global Studies and Southeast Asian Studies, observed. “The Chinese temple we visited also featured a fusion of the Chinese deity Tua Pek Gong with local Indonesian influences, resulting in a fascinating syncretism between Chinese culture and Indonesian culture.”

Besides the cultural aspects of Air Sena, the voyagers also witnessed the village’s economy in action, from small-scale fishermen heading out for the day’s work to the village’s extensive floating kelongs that farm species like grouper and Napoleon wrasse as part of its growing fish export enterprise.

Living biodiversities: A study in reef ecology

No voyage would be complete without experiencing the flora and fauna of the region. The voyagers had ample opportunities to kayak, swim and snorkel in the crystal-clear cerulean waters of the Anambas Islands, located within the famed Coral Triangle that supports one of the richest marine biodiversities in the world.

Immersed in the world beneath the waves, they witnessed first-hand the extensive, thriving coral reefs of Tokong Malangbiru and Sagudampur, and the breathtaking smorgasbord of marine life they harbour. Among the numerous coral species spotted around islands and in lagoons were brain coral, staghorn coral, and table coral, mesmerising swathes of shapes and colours through which residents of the reef darted.

From blue sea stars, giant clams and anemones, to parrotfish, striped surgeonfish, clownfish, and multiple species of butterflyfish and damselfish, the voyagers observed the vibrant underwater ecosystem up close, and were even accosted by a particularly inquisitive longfin batfish. The experience was a first for some voyagers, cultivating an understanding and appreciation of the vast biosphere and the complex symbiotic interconnections between its various components.

Besides being immersed in the beauty of reef ecology, the voyagers came up close with the sobering realities of climate change and global warming at some snorkelling locations—bleached, desolate reefs covered with detritus and devoid of the colour and splendour of the healthier reefs. Accompanied by Dedi Kurniawan, a Marine Science student from Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji (UMRAH) who shared his extensive knowledge on coral reefs, they also learnt about the damage that destructive fishing techniques such as trawling inflict on the ocean floor, and other threats to marine and reef biodiversity.

This is the first instalment of a two-part series on the NUS Seafarers “Understanding Anambas” STEER voyage. Read the second instalment of the voyagers’ experiences on the high seas here and read more about the NUS Seafarers, or check out their YouTube channel!

The first of 30 ceremonies taking place over the following nine days, the Main Ceremony honoured the cohort of 347 graduates, hailing from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP), Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (SSHSPH), and Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (YSTCM), as they celebrated the culmination of their time at NUS. The event, presided over by NUS Chancellor and President of the Republic of Singapore Madam Halimah Yacob, also marked the conferment of honorary degrees on Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam and Dr Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun.

Upholding the Commencement traditions and the proud ceremonial heritage of NUS, the ceremony showcased the pageantry of the Ceremonial Procession, the fanfare courtesy of a brass quintet from YSTCM, and the singing of the National Anthem, all culminating in the highlight of the ceremony — the presentation of graduates.

Speaking at the ceremony, NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye reflected upon Commencement as a unique occasion that unites generations of the NUS community, past, present, and future, in “[demonstrating] that same spirit of resolve, imagination and care for community that will overcome challenges, and take our society to new possibilities and new heights of achievement.”

“I am confident . . . that our graduates have the skills, knowledge, and training, and possess the qualities of grit, drive and determination, to thrive in the complex times ahead. In the fullness of time, you will, no doubt, make your own unique and transformative contributions to society and the world,” he affirmed.

Two outstanding NUS alumni were also honoured as Honorary Graduates for the Class of 2023 — Former President of Singapore Dr Tony Tan; and Founding Dean of Vanke School of Public Health at Tsinghua University Dr Margaret Chan. The Honorary Degree is the University’s highest accolade for individuals who have rendered distinguished service and made a great impact on Singapore and the world.

A legacy of public service: Dr Tony Tan

In recognition of his lifelong commitment to public service, education, research, and science, Dr Tan was conferred the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws.

An eminent public servant with a long and distinguished career, Dr Tan contributed much in his various capacities throughout his years of service. Besides serving as Singapore’s seventh President from 2011 to 2017, and holding various ministerial portfolios across the years, he also worked for the benefit of Singaporeans as Deputy Chairman and Executive Director of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation and Chairman of the National Research Foundation, among other roles. Dr Tan graduated from the University of Singapore, a predecessor institution of NUS, with a First Class Honours Degree in Physics in 1962.

Taking to the stage to congratulate the Class of 2023, he offered the newly minted graduates three guiding principles as they progress to the next stage of life — “Keep an open mind, continue learning, and be ready for what the day after tomorrow might bring.” “Being prepared for change means holding on lightly to what we have, but tightly to our values and to those around us,” he noted.

Reiterating this message to the University’s faculty and staff, he said: “Build that vital community of academics, researchers, staff and alumni for a better world. Open-minded, constantly learning, ready for change — but also confident of who we are and what we stand for.”

Public Orator Professor Danny Quah, Dean of LKYSPP who delivered the citation for Dr Tan’s conferment, lauded Dr Tan for standing “for the objectives and ideals of education in his service to Singapore’s landscape of universities”.   

“Dr Tan's contribution has been key in the growth of Singapore’s research and development capability over the last quarter of a century,” he said. “Today Singapore is frequently cited as one of the world’s most innovative and competitive economies. That is due in no small part to Dr Tony Tan's leadership and championing of our industry sector,” he added.

A global leader in public health: Dr Margaret Chan

Dr Chan, the Founding Dean of Vanke School of Public Health at Tsinghua University and Emeritus Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), was conferred the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science for her instrumental work in transforming the landscape of public health. 

As Director of Health of Hong Kong, Dr Chan led the city’s successful battle against the outbreaks of H5N1 avian influenza in 1997 and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003. Later, as Director-General of WHO, she oversaw its effective response to global health emergencies such as the H1N1 influenza pandemic, the Ebola outbreak and the Zika virus epidemic.

Delivering the citation for Dr Chan’s conferment, Dean of SSHSPH Professor Teo Yik Ying commended her for being a “relentless champion for strengthening health systems worldwide”. He cited, among other things, her strong advocacy of Universal Health Coverage in ensuring equitable access to healthcare services, and her efforts in the area of women’s and children’s health.

“Her leadership during health emergencies around the world, her dedication to equity and improving the state of health services worldwide, and her diplomacy in tackling urgent health issues not only have saved lives, but also improved the lives and wellbeing of many around the world,” Prof Teo said.

Dr Chan had obtained her Master of Science in Public Health and Occupational Medicine from the University in 1985. She had earlier been awarded the Honorary Degree in 2021, but the conferment ceremony was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In her acceptance speech, Dr Chan paid tribute to her time at NUS, calling it a transformative experience where she learned the “meaning of the art and the science of medicine”. “That good public health starts with transparency to build trust, with clear communication to advance public understanding and public participation to improve health.”

Encouraging the Class of 2023 graduates to embrace optimism even in the face of a world that may appear to be filled with uncertainty and contradiction, she said: “Be the agent of change! Apply what you have learnt here and share your knowledge with young people around the world. Build networks through dialogue and cooperate in art and culture, science and innovation.”

Looking to the future

This year’s Main Ceremony was also marked by an energetic quartet rendition of A. Piazzolla: Histoire du Tango I. Bordel 1900, specially arranged and performed for the occasion by four valedictory graduates of YSTCM.

Giving thanks to the community that has supported the graduates thus far, valedictorian Dr Alvin Tan Kian Wei, who graduated from SSHSPH with a Master in Public Health, said, “Today, while we stand at the crossroads of uncertainties, we know we are not alone.  . . . We can draw strength from the relationships and connections we have forged to weather any storm and overcome any obstacles.”

Drawing upon his NUS journey, valedictorian Mr Christopher Tang, who graduated from LKYSPP with a Master in Public Administration, encapsulated the vision of the Class of 2023 as they set forth into the world to make a difference: “As we savour our academic success today, may we also recognise that the true measure lies ahead of us in how we, armed with our experiences, network, and through collaboration, help create that positive change and bring others to greater heights.”

This story is part of NUS News’ coverage of Commencement 2023, which celebrates the achievements of our more than 14,700 graduates from the Class of 2023. For more on Commencement, read our stories and graduate profiles, check out the official Commencement website, or look up and tag #NUS2023 on our social media channels! 

Read the press release on the Honorary Graduates here.

The team’s first oral film product will focus on administering medications for patients suffering from end-of-life delirium and anxiety. The process of treating end-of-life symptoms can be painful as injections are often administered, when comfort care should be the top priority. “We hope that our solution can help improve the quality of care for these patients,” said Ms Chua. The film may also benefit epileptic patients, with more studies underway. 

A sustainable and cost-effective solution 

The oral films are easy to produce. Each film comprises a customised premix of ingredients formulated for a specific medication. These ingredients are added to the drug solution, and an accurate volume of the required drug dosage is pipetted onto a mould. The resulting mixture is dried using a light-duty oven. This method of production uses fewer ingredients and smaller quantities of materials compared to traditional drug-delivery methods, particularly those that require costly, single-use applicators and devices such as syringes, needles, inhalers, and auto-injectors. 

Without the need for bulky packaging, or the use of dosage-measuring devices such as syringes and spoons, which are made of plastic and supplied with each treatment course, the oral film is therefore more environmentally friendly and cost-effective. 

Dr Tan, whose PhD work focused on oral films, explained, “Our films are compounded on-demand to ensure that they contain the precise dosage and strength for each patient, and then sealed in minimal packaging. This streamlined approach to drug delivery not only saves time and money, but also reduces the environmental impact.” 

Associate Professor Lita Chew, President of the Singapore Pharmacy Council, and a clinical faculty member at NUS Pharmacy who is not involved in the start-up, said, “The innovative approach to compound prescribed drug into oral film is a game-changer for delivery of medication, especially to segment of populations that have difficulty taking traditional dosage forms such as tablets, capsules, syrups and injections. I look forward to the day when the oral film premix kits can be extended to home use, like the many self-test kits on pharmacy shelves.”

Future plans 

The NUS team has filed a provisional patent for this innovative approach. Currently, the researchers are developing and evaluating their film products for different medications, such as for antidotes, general medication, and medication for pets, to prepare for regulatory filing in Singapore and the United States of America. 

They plan to supply the premix of the oral film to healthcare institutions for pharmacists and clinic staff to prepare oral film medications when doctors prescribe them to patients. HCA Hospice Care is one of the healthcare institutions whom they partnered for the initial launch of their ready-to-market package comprising facilities set-up and staff training for preparing film medicines using PharLyfe+ premix. 

The team also aims to work with investors, regulatory experts, contract manufacturers, and pharmaceutical marketers to commercialise their technology.

It sounds like an episode from Star Trek: a spaceship crash-lands on a strange, alien planet, stranding a group of young cadets. Lost in the jungle and woefully ill-equipped, they must find a way to communicate with the planet’s furry inhabitants – or risk being blipped out of existence.

This is not the latest instalment of a space opera but Source Academy, the flagship teaching tool of CS1101S: Programming Methodology. CS1101S is the introductory course of the computer science programme at NUS.

Part video game, part learning management system, Source Academy closely follows Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs (SICP), a textbook first published in 1984 and widely considered required reading for aspiring computer scientists. But the teaching team at NUS has put a spin on it.

“Our goal is to give students experiences they can relate to,” said Associate Professor Martin Henz, one of the minds behind CS1101S and its distinctive pedagogy alongside fellow lecturers Dr Boyd Anderson, Dr Low Kok Lim, and Dr Sanka Rasnayaka. “The more meaningful their experiences are, the more effective the learning can be.”

In CS1101S, students acquire programming skills which they can then deploy to process sounds and 2D and 3D models, for instance. Source Academy contextualises these skills in a semester-long storyline, allowing students to learn through hands-on experiential learning, be it communicating with aliens or guiding robots through nuclear wastelands.

“[Computer scientists] invent our realities more than we describe what we see out there in nature,” Assoc Prof Henz said with a grin. “It is an interesting field that defies the boundaries of traditional disciplines.” 

By students, for students

Source Academy has been an integral part of the CS1101S curriculum since 2018. It is mission-critical to the education of over 800 students a year, so it may come as a surprise that the original architect of the tool is, in fact, a student.

“‘Cadet’ was Evan’s invention – he decided it would be a web-based system,” said Assoc Prof Henz, referring to the first version of Source Academy, launched in 2018.

Mr Evan Sebastian, then a prominent graduating student, had been engaged by the CS1101S teaching team to create a new learning tool. His decision to launch a web-based system was significant, allowing students and facilitators to navigate Source Academy on their devices without having to download additional software.

Beyond being pocket-sized, portable and highly accessible, CS1101S is also maintained and improved upon by students – for good reason.

“When students make their first attempt at programming, they know that the tool they are using is built by their seniors,” said Assoc Prof Henz. “They relate to it differently from how they would relate to a commercial software system.”

True enough, that emotional connection is partly why third-year computer science major Lee Hyung Woon invests time and energy to coach junior developers as they take on projects to advance Source Academy.

“As a student, you see many different kinds of learning platforms for programming out there on the internet,” said Hyung Woon. “But [Source Academy] was specifically made for CS1101S. There’s something of a community being built here.”

“Coding” is taboo

While it may be tempting to think of the course as building a community of coders, this is not entirely accurate.

The word “coding” draws a particularly impassioned response from Assoc Prof Henz.

““Coding” conveys the opposite of what computer science is,” he said. “If you speak in code, you speak a language that is purposely designed such that it cannot be understood. That’s the opposite of what we need to do when we program.”

It is why the word is semi-banned in his classes. For a generation used to the magnetism and obscurity associated with computer programming – à la falling green code in The Matrix – this may come as a shock.

For Assoc Prof Henz, it is a gradual process of guiding students back to the basics. To that end, Source Academy is designed to – counterintuitively – limit students to an extremely small sublanguage of JavaScript. This encourages them to focus less on acquiring the language and more on building up mental models that are fundamental to programming.

Still, mental models have to be put to the test – gladiator-style. In the second half of the semester, students find themselves handed a nondescript-looking kit containing what Assoc Prof Henz describes as “a brick that doesn’t have any wheels”.

In the “Sumobot” segment of the course, this kit is transformed into a robot capable of` battling other robots, and even performing tricks. For about three weeks, students work in groups of four to modify and programme their robots to victory via fight, dance and song.

“There’s no remote control involved at all,” said Assoc Prof Henz. Robots must rely on their software to devise a strategy to push other robots out of the ring.

He recalls watching two robots locked in a tie, only for one to backpedal and attack from another angle — in other words, behaving as though they had minds of their own. “That’s the core of computing – to design processes that evolve when a machine interacts in the real world,” said Assoc Prof Henz.

Beyond giving students a chance to practise their programming skills, the Sumobot contest also allows students to hone their teamwork skills by collaborating with their peers on an assignment.

“We have a lot of team projects in the School of Computing,” Assoc Prof Henz revealed. “This contest gives students a sense of what is important when working in a team.”

Magic on the horizon

At over 500,000 lines of code, Source Academy is a behemoth of a passion project. This labour of love is garnering international attention – two universities in San Francisco and Sweden have recently adopted it as part of their teaching curricula.

In March, Assoc Prof Henz will be flying to Toronto for a high-profile presentation of Source Academy at a conference for computer science educators. It may just be the next big step for the learning tool – and for experiential learning in computer science education.

The teaching itself can also be experiential. “What I enjoy most about my daily work is the classroom interaction,” admitted Assoc Prof Henz, who has been with NUS since 1997. “I like presenting the material in the most engaging way, making eye contact with students and seeing if they relate to the material.”

His love for the performative is, perhaps, a natural extension of his interest in acting. As a member of Singapore’s oldest theatre company The Stage Club, he has been part of stage productions of Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew.

With Source Academy gaining traction overseas, it is clear that it won’t be curtain-call for the programme, now in its fifth iteration, anytime soon.

One thing remains clear. Whether hurtling through space towards an alien planet or riding for Camelot, Source Academy delivers not only on the science, but also on the adventure.

Kicking off the 10 action-packed days were the informative virtual talks, webinars, and social media sessions. The on-campus event on 4 March saw packed crowds at the programme booths, talks, special classes, campus tours, student life performances and residential venues despite the heavy downpour. Prospective students gained valuable insights from faculty members, explored the University’s extensive global opportunities, as well as its diverse entrepreneurship platforms and lifelong learning courses, giving them a comprehensive overview of what NUS has to offer.

“I really enjoyed meeting the professors and students who are from the courses I'm interested in as I gained many insights from them on life in NUS and the various possibilities that are open for exploration,” said prospective student Karthika Warrier, an alumna from Raffles Institution who is considering applying to NUS Computing or the College of Humanities and Sciences (CHS).

Jasmine Chiam, an alumna from Nanyang Junior College (NYJC) who is interested in applying to CHS and NUS College, agreed. “The programme was well-run despite the fact that it was raining,” she said. “I felt that it was well-curated for students with different interests.”

A draw for many prospective students were CHS, the newly launched NUS College, and the College of Design and Engineering (CDE) – the University’s recent interdisciplinary pathways aimed at meeting the evolving demands of the workforce.

Addressing shared challenges with the humanities and sciences

CHS, which provides an enhanced undergraduate experience for students of the Faculty of Science (FOS) and the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences to pursue breadth and depth across academic disciplines, showcased its Common Curriculum throughout the Open House.

Currently accepting its third intake, it held talks on hot topics such as sustainability, food science and technology, and mental health to demonstrate how students can apply various perspectives to address complex real-world issues.

The panel entitled “Why Sustainability and Climate Change Matter” saw speakers from the Geography, Japanese Studies, Anthropology and English, Linguistics and Theatre Studies departments weighing in on the topic from their respective disciplines. Another session by the Department of Food Science and Technology explained how its programme applies principles from chemistry, biology, engineering and nutrition to address issues such as food safety and security, as well as the careers its graduates can pursue.

In the same vein, the panel “What Mental Wellness and Health Means in the 21st Century” saw speakers from the Social Work, Sociology and Psychology departments discuss perceptions of mental health in society. Dr Lee Jungup, an Assistant Professor in Social Work, pointed out the close relationship between social work and psychology. “Many of our Social Work students consider a double major with Psychology,” she said, noting that social work emphasises the practical while psychology is more theoretical and clinical in nature.

Jasmine, the NYJC alumna, said the various informative talks reaffirmed her decision to apply to NUS. “The NUS College tour as well as the CHS Common Curriculum sharing were particularly informative. They made the programmes seem quite appealing and I am looking forward to applying for both,” she said.

For some like Christian Chua, an alumnus from the NUS High School of Math and Science, attending the Open House talks helped clarify the career options available for the different programmes.

Christian, who is currently considering the Medicine, Pharmacy, and Pharmaceutical Science programmes, attended the Pharmacy talk and booth, where faculty members of different specialisations touched on the various career pathways and the collaborative practices of the discipline.

“It was useful that they discussed the different careers that Pharmacy graduates had gone into so I knew a degree in Pharmacy wouldn't just limit me to community or hospital pharmacy but also to the R&D, drug approval side, or the business side as well,” he said.

Shaping the future of design and engineering 

Meanwhile, there was action aplenty over at both the online and in-person Open House by CDE, which is accepting its second intake. Officially launched in November 2021, CDE was a merger of the Faculty of Engineering and the School of Design and Environment, ramping up the distinctive interdisciplinary experience at NUS.

From the Common Curriculum and the multidisciplinary education model, to the Student Exchange Programme and future career prospects, CDE faculty and students shared their insights on a plethora of topics with prospective students.

The talks, such as the one on Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science & Engineering, also provided valuable information. Prospective students learnt how undergraduates are exposed to a range of interdisciplinary topics with global-scale applications in class, and how NUS engineers are taking on the world’s biggest challenges, such as clean energy.

The talk on Architecture, Industrial Design and Landscape Architecture also saw a large turn-out. Discussing the breadth and depth of CDE’s curriculum, it touched on how students will be equipped to face the 21st-century challenges through their education in CDE.

Kaisyn, who is graduating from Nanyang Polytechnic this year, said, “I appreciated that they covered the basic skills and activities done throughout the curriculum. It allowed me to confirm that the Industrial Design course is relevant to my study and career plan.”

The in-person Ask-Me-Anything sessions with student panels also allowed participants to get their burning questions answered.

Tee Jia Hong, a graduate of Anglo-Chinese Junior College who intends to apply to Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) and attended the student sharing, said, “By listening to the experience from the ISE senior, I am able to get the hang of the academic and co-curricular prospect of being an ISE student.”

Over at CDE’s Rise of the Robots campus tour, participants were given a look at the Advanced Robotics Centre, which displayed projects such as an autonomous wheelchair, an artificial robotic arm, and a haptic feedback machine.

Robert Lim from Singapore Polytechnic, who attended the tour, said, “It was a memorable experience . . . I was able to learn more about what the courses have to offer and what undergrad students have accomplished in NUS.”

Exploring experiential learning

NUS College, Singapore’s first honours college, offered a glimpse of its flagship experiential learning programmes during its online and physical showcase. Faculty members highlighted the Impact Experience programme, where students develop solutions to real-world issues with community partners, and the Global Experience programme, which immerses them in global cities for specially curated courses and field visits based on specific themes.

The college, which is accepting its second intake, also held special classes for prospective students to get a feel of its small-group seminar-style lessons. Dr Ang Yuchen’s special class introduced his field course Biodiversity and Natural History in Singapore, which combines scientific concepts with the visual and language arts and environmental philosophy.

“I found the sample lessons useful in helping me not just get a sense of how lessons are conducted over at NUS College, but also how my potential Profs are like as teachers and facilitators,” said Eugene Teo, an alumnus of Raffles Institution, explaining that small, collaborative discussions was better suited to his learning style. Attending the Open House “also gave me a better understanding of the people I will be interacting with and the environment in which I would be studying in upon entering university life”, he added.

Interactivity was a prominent feature of the Open House. NUS Nursing offered visitors a chance to try basic wound treatment and resuscitation, while NUS Law held moot demonstrations at its Bukit Timah Campus.

Aqirah Bte Azam, who will be graduating from Temasek Polytechnic in May, had the chance to see the Nursing students in action and attended a talk by its alumni. “Hearing their experiences in NUS and their careers have given me the courage to pursue my aspirations in nursing”, she said.

Smorgasbord of student life

Visitors also got a taste of the vibrant NUS student life on display. Student clubs and societies, as well as the Hall and Residential College (RC) interest groups, put their best foot forward at the Student Village.

Visitors were wowed by the striking moves of NUS Wushu, the energetic cheerleading displays of King Edward VII Hall’s KE Titans, and the snazzy K-pop dance moves of the Korean Cultural Interest Group. They were also treated to renditions of catchy tunes from Mandopop group NUS CAC Voices, acapella group NUS Resonance, Raffles Hall rock and jazz band RHockerfellas, and many more.

Representatives from the RCs, halls, and houses were present to offer prospective students the inside scoop on the on-campus experience. Complemented by A-Day-in-the-Life videos and 360° virtual tours, the booths, talks, and Ask-Me-Anything panels by student leaders gave participants a sense of the residential options at their fingertips.

“The House Life talk was the most enjoyable and informative event to me since the masters and students really explained to me what living in houses was like, while keeping us engaged through jokes and videos,” said Jia Hong.

Charlotte Toh from Singapore Polytechnic, said the Halls talk helped her better understand the hall culture and admission criteria.

Guided in-person tours of the various halls and residences, such as King Edward VII Hall, Tembusu College, Ridge View Residential College, and Residential College 4, opened a window to the close-knit community of residential life.

Samuel Liu, who graduated from National Junior College, said, “The well-guided tours and booths set up for each RC that I visited gave me a good indication of which RC would be most suitable for my character and goals.”

Green light for the green sector

Organised by the NUS Centre for Future-ready Graduates (CFG), the NUS Career Fest 2023 shone a special spotlight on the sustainability sector −  a fast-growing emerging industry sector − with a number of targeted activities aimed at deepening students’ understanding of sustainability and sustainability-related careers as well as providing opportunities for interested students to engage with industry experts.

These activities included the inaugural session of the CFG Industry Green Room (IGR) – a series of industry engagement events co-created with student groups specifically to provide students with greater exposure to the sector. Developed in partnership with the Bachelor of Environmental Studies’ (BES) Student Committee, this first session of IGR saw students actively engage with industry thought leaders from across diverse fields of sustainability.

Students could also express their interest in green careers by submitting their resumes via the NUS Career Fest 2023 Green Book on the NUS career+ app, with these resumes then provided to all participating employers with sustainability-related opportunities.

Employers responded enthusiastically to the call, with more than 100 participating employers collectively putting up more than 800 sustainability-related jobs or internships openings.

NUS Career Fest 2023 kicked off with an opening ceremony graced by Senior Vice Provost (Undergraduate Education) Professor Bernard Tan, and was attended by numerous industry leaders, NUS senior management and students.

“NUS students have continued to enjoy strong graduate outcomes, bearing testament to the efforts the University has made. Our focus on interdisciplinary learning equips students with the foundational and functional skills required to harness exciting emerging opportunities,” Prof Tan shared.

“At the same time, through a structured career preparation roadmap that includes events like NUS Career Fest 2023 and exciting digital platforms such as Internship-As-A-Service (IAAS) and conNectUS, we provide numerous opportunities for students to be exposed to industry and to amass professional working experience,” he added.

Poised and prepared for the working world

On top of career opportunities and networking, the Career Fest also prepared students for their first jobs in practical ways. At the Styled for Success zone, students both gleaned professional grooming tips and work wardrobe advice, and received complimentary headshot photographs. Students also enjoyed interactive career exhibits from Young NTUC, and visited the CFG Career Pitstop to receive instant resume critiques and practise their mock interviews with CFG Career Advisors.

Students needing an energy boost could even sip on an artisanal coffee brewed by a robot barista, and sample sustainable granola made from spent brewers’ grains – with compliments from Moonbeam Co, a start-up founded by a trio of NUS alumni and students.

The opportunity to engage with diverse employers in a single day was very fruitful for students. Year 2 NUS Economics undergraduate Sunny Ren, who attended the Career Fest with course mate Bebin Joseph, shared that their experience at the Career Fest went beyond just seeking to secure an internship role.

“Being able to speak with employers helped me to learn about different industries, and offered me broader horizons and new ways of looking at industries that I may be interested in,” he shared. “The people here were helpful and approachable, and enthusiastic to share about the work they do every day, which goes beyond what I can find out from a website or an academic module.”

Employers also rose to the occasion to engage with enthusiastic NUS students. “We were thrilled to be back here in person at NUS Career Fest after three years,” enthused Mr Daniel Loo, Senior Manager of Talent Acquisition at Changi Airport Group.

“As with previous editions, we found the event extremely well-organised, and students we met were intelligent, diverse and actively engaged in seeking both internship and career opportunities with us. CFG, the organiser, had also been truly collaborative and did a wonderful job promoting the fair to the NUS community. I would highly recommend participation for other companies looking to expand their network of talent,” he shared.

By NUS Centre for Future-ready Graduates

The Centre for Future-ready Graduates (CFG) is the University’s dedicated career centre. More information about the career preparation resources and programmes made available to NUS students can be found at CFG’s website.

 In 1983, Stanislav Petrov “saved the world”.

At the height of the Cold War, Lieutenant-Colonel Petrov was the duty officer at a Russian nuclear missile facility when the early warning system flashed red with a heart-stopping alert: The United States had launched a missile strike and five Minuteman missiles were streaking towards the Soviet Union.

According to protocol, Lt-Col Petrov should have reported the imminent strike. If he had, Soviet nuclear doctrine called for full nuclear retaliation. But after a nerve-wracking five minutes, he disobeyed orders.

He had his reasons. There was no corroborating evidence from ground-based radar and the missile defence system was new. The number of American missiles was also, to him, suspiciously low for an all-out US first strike.

If he had acted on the information given by the machine, the result would have been catastrophic – an estimated combined death toll of nearly 290 million in the US and Soviet Union and millions more worldwide – from starvation and other spillover effects of nuclear war.

In this instance, faulty new satellite technology set off a false alarm. As a human decision-maker, Lt-Col Petrov’s appreciation of the gravity of nuclear war influenced – and enhanced – his judgment. It overrode standing orders and the threat of execution for treason for disobeying them.

In contrast to nuclear missile early-warning systems, ChatGPT does not come laden with doomsday possibilities. At a basic level it is a piece of machine intelligence that gathers information from billions of human conversations and produces text in response to prompts.

And yet in its own way ChatGPT’s abilities and how we deal with it are also potentially world changing, even if not on the scale of nuclear armageddon. The Petrov dilemma is pertinent too as we confront new challenges posed by artificial intelligence (AI).

Consider the world before the arrival of the Internet, smartphones and social media. It was a very different one with none of the benefits and ills that successive waves of technological breakthroughs and innovations have brought to billions of people around the world.

Technology has made possible swift access to information, public health, banking and other services. The flip side is we are struggling with its dark side: fake news, deep fakes, online scams and revenge pornography.

Another iPhone moment

And now we have ChatGPT, the arrival of which has been described as another iPhone moment. As analyst Rowan Curran describes it, the launch of Apple’s iPhone in 2007 and the App Store a year later ushered in a period of historic technological change by putting an entire computing experience in our pockets. The ease of use also opened up to everyone vast new opportunities in education, work and play.

ChatGPT appears to put us on the cusp of yet another game-changing moment in our relationship with machines. Our increasing reliance on them has saved lives: averted air disasters, enhanced medical diagnosis and, in time to come, perhaps reduce car accidents.

But like Lt-Col Petrov, we still need to interrogate what the machines tell us. There is still a place for human decision-making when it comes to moral choices in a world of machines. 

How should we deal with AI?

ChatGPT is posing challenges for educators as well as lawyers and artists on issues from plagiarism to ownership rights. These are important matters and need to be addressed. But in a way they are secondary problems. At the heart of these problems is one about ethics and responsibility – how can ChatGPT and other new technologies be used to enhance society, rather than to endanger or undermine it?

One approach is to view challenges through a set of three guiding principles on technological interaction: Think First, Take Responsibility, Act Ethically.

1. Think first

Lt-Col Petrov did not just accept information he was presented with from an expert system. He actively interrogated it. He asked whether it was consistent with other beliefs he held. When presented with empirical claims about the world by machines, we should ask: are they true? Are they consistent with other beliefs? How confident am I that they are true? Should I gather more information?

In life, trust is necessary as it is not possible to test every claim presented to us. Yet whom and what to trust has become more difficult with the proliferation of dodgy information, a problem that is likely to worsen with ChatGPT and its like.

To counter this, we need to do more to teach the basics of critical thinking to children, equipping them with the skills to question the basis of assertions and think logically and rationally.

Sometimes we are not presented with claims about the way the world is but normative claims: claims about how it should be. That is, claims about ethics, about right and wrong, good and bad.

Our humanity resides in significant part in our capacity to make these ethical decisions. We should ask: what are the ethical reasons to accept this normative claim? To arrive at the best ethical judgment requires that we bring together our ethical theories, principles and concepts to a particular issue, along with the best evidence about the facts. We should aim for maximum consistency across our normative beliefs about the way things should be.

There are many calls for AI to be explainable. What is even more important than explainability is justifiability. Justifiability is being able to provide reasons based on values we hold to perform an action.

2. Take responsibility

We are not responsible for things we can’t avoid or foresee. But if an outcome is foreseeable and avoidable, we are responsible for it. And we are equally responsible for outcomes of our omissions when we choose to do nothing. Choosing to accept the information presented to us, or to follow a directive, is a choice for which we are responsible. Stanislav Petrov took responsibility: he chose not to act.

When presented with an empirical or normative claim by an AI such as ChatGPT, we should ask: do I have good reason to act on this claim? If a piece of technology, like a calculator, is highly reliable, then the answer is yes. But for novel technology, the issue is much murkier.

Blame is a function of the moral responsibility of a person and the degree of harm that results. Praise results from responsibility and benefit. The degree to which someone is responsible also depends on the effort or commitment they exert to bring about a benefit or avoid a harm.

Much of the debate around plagiarism and authorial credit and ChatGPT assumes people will cheat: exert no effort and take credit for value created. One major scientific journal, Science, has banned any output from ChatGPT.

But ChatGPT can involve human interaction. It represents data of a certain quality. Co-creativity is possible provided that significant effort is expended in the production, refinement or evaluation of the outputs of AI. If a person “mixes their labour” with ChatGPT, they can be deserving of praise, just as computing power has enhanced our ability to produce new mathematical and scientific research, not undermined its validity or value.

3. Act ethically

What is to act ethically has been debated for thousands of years. But at its heart is a simple answer: add value to the lives of other people. For Lt-Col Petrov, doing nothing was the hardest choice: “All I had to do was to reach for the phone; to raise the direct line to our top commanders – but I couldn’t move. I felt like I was sitting on a hot frying pan.”

ChatGPT is an extremely powerful technology with enormous potential for human benefit. It can distil human knowledge and wisdom, quickly create factual and normative content, enable communication between speakers of different languages, and ultimately enhance or even surpass human creativity.

As with any powerful technology, there are significant risks. At present, there are numerous mistakes and false claims, but these presumably will be ironed out. Longer term, risks include to threats to privacy; large-scale perpetuation of biases; plagiarism; displacement of human workers and creativity; deception and malicious use.

Acting ethically requires realising the value of technology while ensuring the risks are reasonable. Institutional or structural changes may be necessary, for example, labelling and creation of watermarks to prevent plagiarism.

To be human is to make your own ethical decisions

One ethical question that confronts regulators and industry is: should a driverless car swerve and sacrifice an innocent bystander (pedestrian or cyclist) to save a greater number of lives in the vehicle? I asked ChatGPT whether it is right to kill one to save five. Here is the answer:

“Whether or not it is right to kill one person to save five people is a complex ethical question. Some people may argue that taking one life to save five is the more logical option, and is therefore justified. However, it is also important to consider the ethical principle of respect for autonomy.

“This principle states that all individuals have an inherent right to make autonomous and informed decisions about their lives, including their own death. Taking this into consideration, it may not be morally right to force someone to accept the sacrifice of their life in order to save the lives of five other people. Ultimately, the answer to this question is subjective and depends on one’s own ethical and moral beliefs.”

But as driverless cars are rolled out, we won’t have the luxury of remaining on the fence, or relying on drivers’ reflexes to get us out of a decision. We will have to make moral choices and give reasons, and apply them consistently to programming the vehicles. This requires deep – and human – ethical thinking and expertise.

AI is a tool but it is not conscious and it lacks the capacity to make moral decisions.

To be human is to make your own ethical decisions. Stanislav Petrov took responsibility in perhaps the grandest way possible. But each of us must take responsibility when we are presented with information and advice: are there good reasons to accept it? What should I do? This doesn’t change just because a smart new piece of technology becomes available. The same applies to art. ChatGPT may be able to produce Shakespearean-like sonnets one day but it will be up to us to decide if they are good or bad.

The challenge presented by ChatGPT is not unique – it is a problem raised by the Internet, social media and modern life in general.

With power, comes responsibility. The decision to do nothing accrues responsibility when action is a possibility. We are responsible for the consequences if we choose to do nothing, or simply follow orders. Sometimes we must follow rules, authorities, law or orders: but we should always ask, are they right? AI, such as ChatGPT, can provide us with means to achieve our ends. But it should never dictate to us what our ends should be.

Only humans can make decisions about good and bad, right and wrong. The biggest threat of AI is that it results in dehumanisation as we blithely accept its output without taking a first-person stance and evaluating the justifiability of its output.

We must be active participants engaging with technology, not passive consumers.

Professor Julian Savulescu is Chen Su Lan Centennial Professor of Medical Ethics, and Director of the Centre for Biomedical Ethics at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. 

This article first appeared in The Straits Times. 

Vibrant red and blue roofs dot the water’s surface, while wooden boats skillfully weave between patches of flooded forests and quaint floating homes. This is the Tonle Sap, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, where most of Cambodia’s floating villages are located. 

But this illusion of an idyllic retreat belies the reality of extremes of the Tonle Sap’s natural terrain. During the rainy season, its whole landscape turns into a sea and the only way to get around the area is by boat. In dry seasons, its grounds can become so parched that the water becomes almost a trickle in creeks and streams, affecting both lives and livelihoods. 

“There's a lot of everyday realities that those people (living there) have to face. By taking students there, they realise how important water is to society, to particular places, and how difficult it is to live in a place where the water levels change dramatically between the wet and the dry seasons,” Dr Carl Grundy-Warr, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Geography at the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, explained. “I think it's really the direct experience of experiential learning that helps to deepen students’ understanding of the real world environmental and social problems,” he added. 

Therein lies the value of field studies and experiential learning. It is one thing to have an epiphany in a classroom, and another to witness and experience others’ lived realities. 

He remembers taking students to a village once where the only available source of fresh food most of the time was water snakes. “And so, I got used to eating water snakes for lunch and dinner every day. But in a way, that experience made me love the place,” he recalled. “It's because it was so different. I kind of got so used to this notion that that's the food that people had available and that's what they could eat. So that's what we ate.”

The rationale of exposing students to field experiences informs his two courses: Field Studies and Field Investigation in Human Geography. Since 2001, he has brought countless batches of students to Southeast Asian countries to conduct fieldwork. To him, marrying theory and practical experience is key to a fruitful education.

Sitting among the trees at the NUS campus, a gentle breeze sweeping fallen leaves onto the table every now and then, he shared, “It is about going deeper into real-world situations that you can’t do from just the classroom.”

Beyond the borders of a book

Fieldwork is a long-standing tradition in Geography, but Dr Grundy-Warr believes that Field Studies has its own unique charm.

While a highlight is having students spend between one to six weeks in another country during the semester, more importantly, the field is where theory and applied geography comes to life.

It is not that class-based learning is unimportant, he clarified. Rather, it has to be complemented by field experience. “One thing that a field-based (course) can do that a class-based one can’t is engage all our senses. Immersing students in environmental contexts is valuable because they feel it, they smell it, they get an understanding of everyday geographies and ways of life,” he noted.

For example, in his Field Studies trip during 2019, he and his two colleagues, Dr Wang Yi-Chen and Dr Miles Kenny-Lazar gave their students a project on the life cycle of a parasite, opisthorchis viverrini, that lived in the waters of Isan, a region in northeast Thailand. Together with students from Khon Kaen University, they traced how the parasite moved from snails to freshwater fish to human beings.

The liver fluke parasite contributes to a major public health issue in the Mekong region, a fatal bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma) affecting tens of thousands of people. Through the life-cycle, students were engaged in various projects, including landscape ecology, land-use change, fishing and farming livelihoods, food cultures (particularly eating raw, semi-cooked, and fermented fish dishes), and the geographies of public health.

Ms Chong Yee Ching, a former-student-turned-teaching assistant in NUS Environmental Studies at the College of Humanities and Sciences, shared that taking both courses during her undergraduate studies “humbled” her.

On her trip to Kratie, Cambodia, in 2019, she interviewed local fishermen about Irrawaddy dolphins in the Mekong, which were part of an ecotourism and conservation programme by the World Wide Fund for Nature.

When she asked whether these endangered animals – unintended victims of illegal nets and electrocution fishing practices – should be protected, their answers surprised her. “They said, ‘Yes, because it affects my income,’” she recounted.

This gave her a fresh perspective on environmental protection efforts. “As someone from a position of privilege, conservation value is how I view conservation. But when you’re on the ground, people’s concern is not conservation – it’s getting by day to day,” she said.

“I understand the need for conservation to be profitable, even though that’s not the most palatable concept.”

Living life lessons

Beyond academics, field studies also provide fertile ground for cultural exchange to take place.

“Instead of seeing people as subjects we learn about, we see them as friends, family, and neighbours,” Dr Grundy-Warr elaborated. Through homestays, students eat, work and play together with locals and students from host institutions.

In fact, it is sometimes the minutiae of everyday village life that make the greatest impact. When asked about his greatest takeaways from both courses, Mr Matthew Lu – another former student and teaching assistant of Dr Grundy-Warr – replied without missing a beat: Friends.

From the village chief who taught him to sow rice seeds, to his Cambodian friend who took slow-motion videos of him having a dip in the Se San River where villagers take their baths, these moments are stamped fondly on his memory.

Such moments, including learning to meet and greet people in new contexts, is a soft skill that students have to hone.

“Knowing how to sit with your legs crossed on the floor and conducting a polite interview with an elder is a skill! You don’t just go in as a group, surround the person and fire questions,” Dr Grundy-Warr explained.

Trusting the process

The one thing that he is most adamant about is that education is a process. “It’s not just about grades,” he emphasised.

His teaching philosophy is reflected in how he assesses his students’ progress. Besides field diaries and a final presentation, he makes it a point to gauge his students’ thought processes throughout various stages of their field projects.

This means assessing what methods they use, how they work as a team and whether they have moments of self-reflexivity.

“These are things that aren’t seen as much in a class-based setting,” he said. “I meet all teams at least three to four times throughout the entire process (of a project) to gauge how they’re going about their work.”

Some projects have lived on even after the courses ended. For instance, one project on reducing plastic waste on the Tonle Sap was developed into a year-long funded initiative involving specialist practitioners, students from Singapore and Cambodia, and community volunteers.

“We periodically went back to work directly with villagers on this plastic-on-water project. Field studies essentially enabled us to do community-based work,” he said.

For now, Dr Grundy-Warr is looking forward to field studies making a comeback in the upcoming semesters, after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic. “Learning can be fun in field settings, and that element of fun is important in exciting the passion of students,” he concluded. 
 

“We looked for meaningful projects with Hakodate City. For example, we explored opportunities to diversify our source of foods especially if there are ingredients that are sustainable and help with Singapore’s nutrition security. We also sought out chances to use by-products or increase the value of raw ingredients,” said Dr Leong Lai Peng, a senior lecturer at NUS FST who leads the module.

“This year, Hakodate City decided to continue this valuable partnership with NUS FST as we consider ASEAN a highly promising market and would like to promote product development, in line with local needs and standards. We were encouraged by how FST students were able to value add to the participating businesses last year. The companies were able to gather direct feedback from the local students and were able to obtain ideas that the Japanese might not have thought of,” said Ms Tanaka Maiko, Food Developer Manager for the Food Industry Promotion Section of the Economy Department of Hakodate city.

Students taking this year’s module partnered Yamadai Foods Processing Co and Kadou Foods, which are food manufacturing companies from Hakodate, a port city known for its marine and land produce. Yamadai Foods, a century-old manufacturer of okazu — or everyday Japanese side dishes — chose their own-brand natto as the hero ingredient for the project, while Kadou Foods, a small manufacturer of largely handmade sweets and delicatessen, decided on Yukigeshou pumpkins, a local pumpkin variety used in their products.

Natto crackers: Blending the unfamiliar and familiar

When Mr Seah Yao Xuan’s team first learned that natto would be the ingredient at the heart of their product, they were understandably apprehensive. After all, the distinctly Japanese product made from fermented soybeans was one that, according to the team’s extensive consumer research, 70 per cent of Singaporeans were unacquainted with. In addition, research also revealed polarising responses to the product.

“Making natto appealing to consumers outside Japan was an uphill battle due to its unique taste, texture and smell,” said Yao Xuan, a third-year FST student and leader of the team. “Our team struggled a lot at the start as we had to work with a product that few of us had tried, much less enjoyed. But what was of paramount importance to us was not just removing the bitter taste of natto — we wanted to retain its character. It had to be recognisable as a natto product.”

The issues presented by the ingredient underpinned the team’s final product: natto crackers in two flavours, five spice, a popular Chinese condiment, and onion and garlic, a local favourite. By tempering natto’s potent taste with familiar flavours in the form of an accessible snack, the team sought to coalesce two distinct cultural preferences, providing a feasible way for natto to be introduced into the Singapore market.

Such food innovations not only offer opportunities for cultural exchange, but enable food diversification and nutrition security. “Natto is a good protein source, but isn’t very popular in Singapore. If we can create a product that appeals to the Singaporean palette, it can serve to increase the country’s plant protein intake, especially for the elderly,” said Dr Leong.

Pumpkin cream puffs: A new lease of life for “flawed” produce

While the first team grappled with the challenges of an unfamiliar ingredient, the second were presented a seemingly undesirable proposition: to use ‘defective’ Yukigeshou pumpkins in their product. The ‘defective’ pumpkins — ones that have external flaws that do not affect quality or taste — often remain unsold and are discarded.

“On paper it seemed like we were given an inferior ingredient, but this project changed our minds about what ‘defective produce’ means, and made us feel like we were doing something more important because we could try to make an impact by creating a sustainable food product that uses upcycled unmarketable produce and reduces food wastage,” said Mr Tan Liang Yong, a third-year FST major and co-leader of the team.

Partnering with Kadou Foods the team endeavoured to create a product that would introduce Hakodate produce to Singapore consumers. The result was the creation of an entirely new dessert: pumpkin cream puffs.

“Yukigeshou pumpkins are very fragrant and sweet, and has a non-fibrous, melt-in-your-mouth texture. We wanted to create a novel product that isn’t found anywhere in the current market, and our research and surveys showed that this product has high acceptability ratings,” said Liang Yong.

“This project was a self-directed learning experience, which is definitely a good way to immerse yourself in the field. Unexpectedly, we learned that a surprising amount of business acumen is required in the food development process. As science students, we typically deep dive into the scientific aspects of food development, but this project gave us the opportunity to learn about concepts such as production upscaling, economies of scale and marketing.”

Plans afoot: From idea to shelf

“Hakodate has an abundance of fresh ingredients which are packed with nutrients due to our cultivation temperatures, clean air, and clear streams. We were excited to work with NUS once again to use our produce to create new products to cater to the local market,” said Ms Maiko. “We hope to bring these products to market as soon as we gather feedback from local distributors and buyers.”

“Seeing the finished product and sending it out to local and Japanese companies was the most rewarding aspect of the project,” added Liang Yong. “We have successfully developed a product we’re proud of, and a sensory evaluation has shown that it’s very well-received. We look forward to possibly seeing our product in the market in the future.”

Held virtually in 2021 due to the global pandemic, this year’s five-day residential camp inaugurated the event’s return to in-person activities. Participants could embark on experiential learning journeys for the first time in three years, exploring urban insect farm Insectta, Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve and Singapore Discovery Centre. The camp — previously known as the STEP Environment Camp — was organised by the NUS Tropical Marine Science Institute and supported by Temasek Foundation. Since 2013, the programme has engaged more than 900 students in its quest to cultivate environmental awareness among ASEAN youth, emboldening them to collectively shape climate change and sustainability issues in the region.

Nurturing the next generation of sustainability champions

In his opening remarks, Guest-of-Honour Mr Baey Yam Keng, Senior Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Sustainability and Environment and Ministry of Transport, underscored the merits of awareness and dialogue, and the role youth play in engendering environmental sustainability.

“Such hands-on experiences provide our youths with skills and knowledge beyond what is learned in the classroom and set them on the right foot to contribute actively towards a low-carbon future. As leaders and stewards of tomorrow, I encourage you to exchange your views and experiences, to work together for solutions, and rally your own communities to take greater climate action.”

Uniquely ASEAN – protecting blue carbon sources

Mr Baey’s sentiments were shared by Professor Miguel D. Fortes from the Marine Science Institute at the University of the Philippines, who delivered the keynote lecture, “Redefining the role of youth in environmental sustainability in ASEAN”. Giving an unvarnished look into the current environmental challenges of the region, Prof Fortes impressed the importance of granting youth a seat at the table, noting that they form the largest age group in ASEAN, making them a formidable force in animating their communities to propel the region’s sustainable development. Scientific literacy and inquiry, he said, are what will lay the groundwork for youth to “renew and refresh” society through leadership and innovation.

A citizen science and blue carbon specialist, Prof Fortes gave insights on blue carbon — how healthy mangrove forests, saltwater marshlands and seagrass meadows effectively store atmospheric carbon dioxide, and contribute to attenuating the effects of climate change. Drawing attention to how the ASEAN region possesses the greatest extent of latent blue carbon ecosystems in the world, Prof Fortes encouraged youth participants to “partner with science” in developing ecological and transdisciplinary ways of thinking to approach environmental sustainability.

Bringing what they learnt to life, the students had the chance to visit the extensive mangrove forest and mudflats at the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. They discovered the biodiversity and ecological benefits of the wetland which is an important stopover for migratory shorebirds and home to wildlife such as mudskippers, mud lobsters, egrets and crocodiles.

Innovative solutions for a sustainable future

At Insectta, the first urban insect farm in Singapore, students were introduced to an innovative food waste solution: using black soldier flies to transform food waste into valuable biomaterials. In a hands-on activity, students had the chance to handle and examine the fly in its different life stages, giving them a glimpse into the future of sustainable waste management.

“[Using black soldier flies to process food waste] is an innovative idea to reduce wet waste and reap agricultural benefits,” said Ms Souphaphone Thammavongsa, a participant from Laos. “The camp has an amazing programme for youth to enhance their knowledge of carbon footprint and other environmental issues.”

Sustainable energy and food solutions were topics raised at a tour of Singapore Discovery Centre. Students saw how solar panels were utilised to generate power for around 60 per cent of the Centre’s electrical consumption, and the hydroponic technology harnessed to grow edible greens at an urban farm.

Hands-on workshops also acquainted students with a range of real-world applications. At a workshop conducted by Dr Li Xian, a scientist at the Institute of High-Performance Computing under the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, participants were provided a comprehensive overview of carbon calculation, including the carbon accounting standards used to measure greenhouse gas emissions of organisations. The workshop concluded with an activity that called for participants to calculate their own carbon footprint when attending conferences such as YEC.

Mr Khant Zin Thaw, a participant from Myanmar, felt that this activity made the theoretical personal. “I think this is the best way for youths to become aware of how much carbon is emitted from our daily activities. Moreover, I deeply understood our activities’ varying impact on the environment, and how effective action is needed.”

The camp culminated in a student symposium, where participants dialogued amongst themselves, presenting their views and solutions as an international and collective community.

“Your actions will determine the future of ASEAN,” Prof Fortes told participants, “and you must begin with overcoming the belief that you are too small to make a difference.”

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

As a young boy, Mr N. Sivasothi recalls an encounter with a Nephila antipodiana, commonly known as the batik golden web spider, which sent him and neighbourhood friends screaming and fleeing. But that was the first and last time he ran away from critters.

He soon found an inherent love for nature and all it had to offer, exploring green pockets around his neighbourhood in the early years of newly independent Singapore.

These neighbourhood jaunts soon expanded into islandwide excursions as he grew up, and started cycling regularly. But as swathes of nature were gradually replaced by roads and buildings over the years, he made it his mission to protect the rich biodiversity that was being threatened by urban developments. 

With a degree in zoology at NUS, he marked the start of a lifelong journey as “an educator who loves animals, nature and the environment”.  

Today, the 56-year-old is a senior lecturer in the Department of Biological Sciences at NUS and a well-respected environmentalist. Some might also know him as “Otterman”, a nickname from his work with otters in the 1990s.

It began when Professor Peter Ng, then Head of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, had asked if he wanted to “chase a furry creature in the mud”. He agreed and spent the next year scrutinising otters while studying a Master’s degree in Science at NUS. 

Mr Sivasothi subsequently joined NUS as a researcher in 1999, started lecturring in 2004 and received the title of senior lecturer in 2017. He is also a Fellow at Ridge View Residental College, where he mentors staff. 

The various teaching awards he has clinched over the years, such as the Faculty and University Teaching Excellence Awards, further bear testament to his effectiveness as an educator and ecologist. 

“It’s just my DNA, my natural instinct,” he said. “You have to make people aware of environmental conservation. Coupled with that is the desire to do something and practicality. I can’t save the world, but can I do something?”

Up close and personal with nature

To this end, Mr Sivasothi engages in many forms of outreach efforts outside of teaching hours to educate others. For instance, he once hosted a plant walk around the university, inspired by a conversation with two staff members who did not know what a raintree was.

To get people to care about the environment, he believes that first-hand experience is vital. He fondly recalls getting students to jump off a boardwalk into mud just to experience nature.

The coordinator of NUS environmental volunteer group NUS Toddycats also taps his connections with the public and private sectors to arrange nature walks. 

“We wanted people to appreciate the whole ecosystem. We’d talk about plants, animals, anything we encountered,” he said. “As they got exposed to their backyard nature, they saw something worth protecting.”

Some walks he arranges also directly link to Singapore’s heritage, such as the annual commemorative Battle of Pasir Panjang Anniversary Walk which sees participants follow the trail of the historic battle during World War II and hear about the history, geography and the flora and fauna of the area.

Today, Mr Sivasothi splits his time between several environmental conservation organisations, such as the NUS Toddycats and the Biodiversity Roundtable and Biodiversity Friends Forum in collaboration with the government agency NParks. 

Michelle Wong, a Year 4 Sociology major and volunteer with the Toddycats, recalls Mr Sivasothi explaining the significance of coastal vegetation protection as they reintroduced native species to Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve during a replanting session. They frequently revisit and monitor the same areas, watching their efforts come to fruition.

Her main takeaway is volunteerism’s contagiousness. “When you plant something and see its growth, there’s a sense of satisfaction,” she enthused. “You share it with friends and get new people on board. That’s the ‘magic’ of these sessions.”

Through NParks, Mr Sivasothi has been educating youths even before they enter university. Since 2017, he has conducted the Biodiversity Friends Forum, holding workshops for pre-university students which expose them to mentors in the conservation community and opportunities to go on field trips with Biodiversity Friends leaders. 

Linking the real world to the classroom

To Mr Sivasothi, advocacy efforts are essential for growth as an educator. His external work usually makes its way back to the University as research and teaching resources. 

Similarly, he showcases his students’ work beyond the classroom by linking them up with external agencies.

Second-year Environmental Studies major Amanda Chai shared how her class developed ideas for the government’s ‘30 by 30’ plan – Singapore’s target to meet 30 per cent of the nation’s nutritional needs domestically by 2030 – as well as upcycling and reducing waste.

“These real-world projects allowed us to interact with field experts and learn about their work,” she explained. “We developed greater understanding of challenges we may face in reality.”

Indeed, Mr Sivasothi believes environmentalism’s academic and real-world aspects cannot and should not be mutually exclusive. “You cannot do one and not the other,” he said.

By linking the outside world to the classroom, students learn while keeping up with trends and developments on the ground and in the field, imparting valuable exposure and training for the future as well as grounding their work in a concrete purpose.

Second-year Life Sciences major Eugene Tan believes that it is necessary for real-world application. He remembers Mr Sivasothi sharing his experiences wading into the mangrove and with his favourite animal the otter, turning fieldwork experiences into memorable stories for classes. Mr Sivasothi also breaks down current events to help students process information.

To Eugene, Mr Sivasothi instils a mindset of environmentalism in students and volunteers. “It’s a culture of awareness that we are sharing the world with different species and we should always keep that in mind,” he underscored.

Mr Sivasothi hopes his efforts will encourage more youths to take on the mantle of environmental conservation – a key concern with climate change. 

“Before the climate crisis, there was the biodiversity crisis. Right now, there’s a lot of focus on climate, but this year, there’s been many reminders not to forget biodiversity,” he shared.

“There’s a fundamental value of biodiversity which people seem to forget, which is that it feeds you, provides air and gives you water. You have to keep repeating this message.” 

This is the sixth instalment of the Greening the Future series on sustainability and climate change.

Read about how two green entrepreneurs from NUS have made it their mission to turn trash into treasure and engage consumers in sustainable lifestyle practices.

Read about green finance, why it is important to sustainability efforts, and how everyone can play a role in this development to effect tangible change in the environment.

Read about NUS' key efforts in sustainability research, including Prof Lee Poh Seng’s work on developing alternative liquid cooling systems for heat-producing data centres, and Assoc Prof Yan Ning’s work on ammonia as a clean energy source.

Read about Prof Koh Lian Pin's work in championing sustainability and researching solutions that harness nature as a tool in the fight against climate change.

Read NUS President Prof Tan Eng Chye's commentary on the role that universities play in driving climate change action.

NUS also retained its position among the top two in Asia – behind only the University of Tokyo at seventh place – and maintained its spot as the only Singapore university in the top 10. This is the third year in a row that NUS has emerged in the top 10 of the ranking.

Produced by the Paris-based HR consultancy Emerging and published by Times Higher Education, the ranking lists the top 250 universities according to graduate employability based on the views of international recruiters. The universities were assessed on six key drivers identified by businesses as the main contributors to creating employable graduates: academic excellence, internationality, digital performance, focus on work expertise, graduate skills and specialisation.

“We are delighted that NUS graduates across diverse fields have been recognised as eighth in the world by employers in Singapore and globally. It is a testament to the talented students we receive at NUS, and the quality of our professors and programmes,” said an NUS spokesperson.

“With global turmoil and a tightening job situation in the time ahead, the University will strive to ensure that our graduates continue to be grounded in broad-based, interdisciplinary, and lifelong learning, to help them stand out and thrive in a constantly evolving workplace.”  

Ms Sandrine Belloc, Emerging’s Managing Partner, called NUS’ results in this year’s list an “incredible performance”. She noted that the University had swiftly risen up in the ranking over the past decade, moving from 49^th place in 2013 to ninth just seven years later in 2020. She added that the University had been rated particularly well in internationality, which considers a university’s international reputation, its international staff and curriculum, and share of international students.

Now in its 12^th year, the survey gathered 98,014 votes from participating employers worldwide on which universities taught the key skills that students need to thrive in the workplace. Employers who took part provided around 800,000 graduate jobs or placements in 2022-2023 in total. Respondents of the survey were corporate managers from 24 countries who recruited and/or supervised more than five graduates a year.

Findings from this year’s results showed that digital skills – measured under the graduate skills component – have become the most important factor to employers since the COVID-19 pandemic. The two other key employability drivers regarded as important by recruiters were subject specialisation and work expertise.    

“Today, 92 per cent of respondents to the survey believe universities should do more to increase digital skills. Digital skills are not the exclusive concern anymore of computer science faculties and their students, any university digital plan needs a transversal approach that includes all stakeholders,” said Ms Belloc in a press release.

Staying ahead with relevant skills

To equip students with the relevant skills to stay ahead in an increasingly digitalised world that has transformed the work environment, NUS had enhanced its General Education curriculum for students admitted from AY2021-22 to include both Data Literacy and Digital Literacy as part of its six key pillars of knowledge under the curriculum.

In recognition of the importance of a holistic education, the University also offers students global exposure through study-abroad programmes with over 300 partner universities in more than 40 countries. Students can also gain valuable real-world experience through internships at start-ups in entrepreneurial hotspots around the world under the NUS Overseas Colleges programme. As part of the NUS Centre for Future-ready Graduates (NUS CFG) Global Industry Insights programme, students can explore emerging and growth trends across industries by heading overseas to places like Thailand and Indonesia to learn about regional businesses and engage with industry professionals.

To boost the future readiness of NUS students and graduates, the University launched two new digital platforms – the Internship-As-A-Service (IAAS) and conNectUS in January this year. Led by NUS CFG and NUS Enterprise, IAAS is a platform that enables students to take on curated short-stint projects of flexible duration with local and overseas companies whether during the semester or vacations, with all projects recognised as internships. Meanwhile, conNectUS is the University’s professional networking platform allowing NUS students and alumni to connect, exchange career insights and tap into the hidden job market.

NUS CFG also holds career fairs to provide students engagement opportunities with industry players across diverse sectors. Other than large-scale signature fairs like the NUS Career Fest, Internship Day, and Postgraduate Career Fair, this includes the inaugural College of Humanities and Sciences (CHS) Navigator and College of Design and Engineering (CDE) Career Fair, both the result of close collaboration with each college.

After months of deliberation, 21 award recipients earned nods in seven different award categories, namely, Community Engagement, Community Service, Competition (General), Competition (Sports – Sportsman of the Year), Competition (Sports – Sportswoman of the Year), Competition (Sports – Sports Team of the Year), and Leadership. Institution-wide events that have made a tangible impact on community cohesion, social integration and community outreach were also presented with the Campus Vibrancy Award.

True to the theme, “Rhythm of Life!”, the Awards recognised students who have helped to create a thriving and engaging campus culture and encouraged others to be involved in various aspects of student life, such as participating in the arts, community service, sports, and other co-curricular activities, or even taking up leadership positions.

Campus life beyond grades

Speaking at the ceremony, NUS alumna (Class of 2007) and Guest-of-Honour Ms Tin Pei Ling encouraged students to “try new things” and have the tenacity to learn from failures.

“What is important in NUS’ education is not just the grades, but the development of strength in character and leadership qualities. Academic grades give you the foundational knowledge and skills to do your jobs,” she said. “But what determines success is not the class of honours that you graduate with. It is the intangibles such as knowing how to navigate difficult personalities or situations, finding novel ways of solving problems, thinking several steps ahead and leading your team out of uncertainties that will set you apart.”

Taking home Merit Award in the Community Engagement and Campus Choice (Group) category was the team behind the “24th The Dream Composition”, an annual bilingual song-writing competition created by students of King Edward VII Hall.

Recounting their experience, Year 3 students from the NUS Faculty of Science, Wong Wei Ting and Mah Shian Yew Brendan, who were Head and Vice-Head of the competition, said, “At the start of our journey, we were very scared and overwhelmed with the daunting task of executing a large-scale event.” It was through the difficulties they faced, along with their engagements with one another, that they learned the “importance of teamwork and communication”.

Gabriel Lau Rongyang, who recently graduated from the NUS Concurrent Degree Programme, bagged the Campus Choice Award (Individual) and the Distinction Award in the Leadership category. A believer in living life to the fullest on campus, the former President of the NUS Intellectual Games Club said, “University education is transient and ephemeral. Let’s make the most out of the high-quality education NUS offers to flourish holistically and lead a well-balanced student life while making a positive impact on the NUS community and beyond.” “I look forward to giving back all that I have received,” he added.

The Sportswoman of the Year Award went to Aloysa Margiela Atienza, who is currently pursuing her dream of becoming a professional golfer. Aloysa, a former captain of NUS Golf and recent Civil Engineering graduate, said she was honoured to have received the award to cap off her undergraduate journey in NUS. Sharing a word of advice with future student athletes, she said, “Juggling sports with school was never an easy task. As cliché as it sounds, managing your time and knowing your priorities are the most important. Sacrifices have to be made. It’s also a good practice to celebrate the small wins in both academics and your sport so that it keeps you motivated.”

View the full list of awardees here.

Recognising our passionate staff advisors

This year, a new award category was introduced to pay tribute to NUS staff advisors who have made a positive impact on students and paved the way for them to pursue their projects and activities. Two staff advisors – Dr Helen Chai from the NUS Students’ Business Club and Dr Shobha Avadhani from NUS Comedy Club – were presented with the inaugural Staff Advisor Recognition Award. Nominated by students, they were appreciated for their significant contributions to the clubs and their unwavering support to the students.

“Dr Shobha has played a pivotal role in shaping the NUS Comedy Club,” Alec Singh, President of NUS Comedy Club, said. “It is with her caring guidance and thoughtful personality that the Club has become a student organisation that is not only fun and engaging, but also purposeful and meaningful for students.”

NUS Forever music video premiere

This year, the Office of Student Affairs also teamed up with students and staff for a new production of the “NUS Forever” song. Originally written for the 2005 NUS Centennial Celebration by Associate Professor Ho Chee Kong from the Yong Siew Toh (YST) Conservatory of Music and Professor Robbie Goh, former Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, the remade “NUS Forever” music video was a labour of love. Made possible by the efforts of many in the NUS community, it features NUS alumnus and accomplished local singer-songwriter Marcus Lee as the lead vocalist, musicians and audio engineers from YST, and student film director-producers from Raffles Hall Media. The reconstructed music video premiered at the award ceremony, bringing the celebrations to a rousing and memorable close and heralding many more years of vibrant campus life to come. 

By NUS Office of Student Affairs

Singapore’s updated climate targets, including its plan to reach net-zero emissions, will be formally submitted during the COP27 climate summit at the Egyptian seaside town of Sharm el-Sheikh from 6 to 18 November 2022. 

Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, in announcing Singapore’s latest net-zero pledge, said it was a “stretch goal” due to limited options to deploy renewable energy at scale. 

The ability to meet the promise would “depend on the continued international commitment by everyone to the Paris Agreement and their climate pledges”, he added, referring to the landmark international treaty inked at the 2015 summit. 

During the event on 28 October organised by the Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions (CNCS), a research centre of NUS’ Faculty of Science, the experts highlighted four key issues that will be discussed at COP27 to set the world on a net-zero path.

NUS has been accredited by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as an observer organisation since 2014, and members of the NUS community have attended the annual COP summit since COP20 as official observers. This year, researchers from different NUS schools and institutes – including the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Middle East Institute, and CNCS – will head to COP27 to track the negotiations, and contribute to the dialogue on climate action by hosting panel discussions centred on climate change and biodiversity loss, the demand for carbon credits, and other pertinent topics.

Carbon markets

How fast countries can cut their emissions is critical, said Ms Melissa Low, Research Fellow at CNCS. It is even more urgent with increasing frequency of weather disasters wrought by global warming, such as heat waves, droughts and floods. 

A game changer was the approval of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement during COP26. This framework to govern carbon markets took six years to settle, double the time taken compared to other rules, but would go a long way to reduce the cost of implementing each country’s pledged Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to reduce emissions.

Over time, NDCs have been improving, noted Ms Low, who cited growing confidence of various countries towards the Paris Agreement.

“They know that the Paris Agreement is a road to implementation, and they’re willing to put forward strengthened targets,” she explained, adding that these targets also offer tangible benefits such as capacity-building or technological support from other countries. 

But there are some issues to note under Article 6, she said, including fine-tuning criteria to ensure carbon projects truly benefit the climate.

Considering its limited land area that makes the deployment of large renewable energy farms difficult, Singapore will likely have to buy carbon credits to meet its climate targets, said Ms Low.

At the same time, given the country’s aspirations to be a carbon services hub, Singapore will also be a seller of carbon credits.

This makes it crucial for Singapore to be actively involved in carbon market discussions at COP27, said Ms Low.

NUS is also contributing to carbon market developments on the research front. To support the prospecting, development and management of nature-based carbon credit projects worldwide, CNCS and ST Engineering Geo-Insights recently launched a new interactive mapping tool, called the Carbon Prospecting Dashboard. This first-of-its-kind dashboard supports the preservation of carbon-rich, natural ecosystems, such as tropical forests and mangroves, by helping policymakers and investors identify where nature-based projects can be developed as potential sources of high-quality carbon credits.

Loss and damage

Loss and damage refer to the irreversible consequences of climate change that cannot be reduced by current adaptation efforts, such as the loss of lives and damage to infrastructure that occur due to natural disasters such as cyclones. Developing countries typically bear the brunt of these consequences, even though they may not be fully responsible for the climate changes that make natural disasters more frequent and harder to predict.

Without an international definition for loss and damage, compensation becomes a tricky topic to broach, said Mr Sandeep Chamling Rai, Senior Advisor of Global Climate Adaptation Policy, Climate, and Energy Practice at World Wildlife Fund (WWF) International. 

“The general understanding is that there is insufficient mitigation and lack of support,” he shared on this contentious issue.

COP27 could see developing countries pushing to set up a fund dedicated to loss and damage. Mr Rai also hopes COP27 will establish a clear path towards the Global Goal on Adaptation, a target to reduce liability to climate change, and identify ways to support vulnerable groups in the adaptation process.

Climate finance

One of the sticking points is the lack of climate financing, with COP26 failing to deliver on the promise of US$100 billion to assist developing countries in need. The summit in 2021 only managed to mandate the processes to define new finance goals by 2024. 

As countries move towards greater climate negotiations, many are already making their financial limits clear – dampening hopes of reaching the US$100 billion financing goal.

Mr Rai, however, remains optimistic that countries will likely reach a consensus ultimately, in the name of the greater good.

Cutting emissions

Based on today’s greenhouse gas emission trends, Singapore is unlikely to meet its government pledges. But it is also not impossible, said Dr Lynette Cheah, Associate Professor of Engineering Systems at the Singapore University of Technology and Design. 

“Rapid and deep emission reductions are needed across all sectors to limit warming, but it is not infeasible,” she said, explaining that this will require phasing out or reducing coal and fossil fuel usage to be replaced with renewable energy instead. 

Constructing buildings with the right materials can also contribute to lowering carbon emissions. According to the CICERO Center for International Climate Research, cement production generated nearly 2.9 billion tonnes of carbon emissions in 2021. Using greener materials will lead to greater carbon reduction. 

Sustainable living is further attainable through changing habits as well as greater tech adoption. This includes consuming less or choosing greener products and lifestyles. 

“Even though it’s difficult, we have options in all sectors to reduce emissions,” said Dr Cheah.

For more NUS at COP27 content, read the following articles:

NUS at COP27: Launch of new S$15 million research programme to improve the credibility of nature-based carbon projects in Southeast Asia

NUS at COP27: Putting nature to work in climate change solutions

NUS at COP27: Unlocking the potential of blue carbon projects

To engender greater innovation on the connectivity front, universities should seek to be a trusted platform for talent from all over the world to work together, learn from each other and create new ideas. He noted that there was tremendous opportunity at this time in history amid an increasingly fragmented world where trust becomes a premium.

This, therefore, presents Singapore with a strong foundation as the nation is seen as an honest broker that can provide a neutral platform for people of different persuasions to come together and interact. “How do we connect with people all around the world? That will define our competitive advantage. How we build talent networks will require a lot of innovations on our part,” said the Minister, who was addressing questions during a Q&A session moderated by NUS Professor Tulika Mitra, Provost's Chair Professor of Computer Science and Vice Provost of Academic Affairs.

Mr Chan had earlier delivered a speech titled “Shaping the Future of Innovation” to kick off the series, which brings together compelling speakers to share their unique perspectives on pressing issues of the future that affect Singapore, the region and the world under the overarching theme “Shaping the Future”.

In terms of technology, Mr Chan said universities like NUS can do more to translate research and innovation into enterprise. But this will require them to better link up with the market ecosystem.

“I think there’s still much that we can do to strengthen our research and innovation and enterprise ecosystem…We’ve done well and I think we’ll continue to improve but there’s still so much we can learn from other ecosystems around the world,” said Mr Chan.

Supporting Singapore in policy innovations

Beyond technology and connectivity, universities can also play a role in developing policy innovations to address the nation’s challenges in areas such as education, healthcare, housing models and information rules. Faculties in NUS and other educational institutions can collaborate to contribute solutions that are adapted to the local context.

In education, for instance, the challenge would be to find new education and training models to support the upskilling and reskilling needs of the nation’s adult population. Meanwhile, in healthcare, policy innovations to encourage people to stay healthier will be needed due to medical advances available, longer lifespans and rising treatment costs.  

Mr Chan emphasised that for the benefits to be reaped holistically, innovation must progress on all three fronts concurrently as each mutually reinforces each other. “Technology, connectivity, policy and organisations - if we only progress on any of this one front alone, we won’t get the full impact of it,” said Mr Chan. “If we are determined to make sure that all the different areas progress roughly at the same speed (and) mutually reinforce one another, then I think we’ll do much better than many other societies.”

Speaking during the welcome remarks, NUS Acting Provost Professor Bernard Tan, shared how the University seeks to incorporate innovation in its educational mission. One way is through the NUS Overseas Colleges (NOC) programme, which allows students to take up internships at start-ups in leading entrepreneurial hubs around the world.

“This valuable experiential learning has given many students an innovative mindset,” said Prof Tan of the programme, now in its 20th year, which has seen NOC alumni founding almost 1,000 start-ups and raising more than US$2.6 billion in total. 

Moving forward, Prof Tan said it is important that NUS continues to foster a culture of innovation in all its educational programmes. This will be achieved through updating its curriculum to ensure it remains relevant to students in the decades ahead, incorporating new possibilities enabled by emerging technology in its pedagogy and integrating its pre-employment programmes with continuing education schemes.

The hybrid event saw Minister Chan addressing an audience of over 800 - including 100 in attendance and another 700 online - comprising NUS students, staff and alumni, as well as students from polytechnics, junior colleges and international schools along with other invited business leaders.

Fostering inclusivity and interdisciplinarity

Mr Chan also touched on the need for innovations to be inclusive. Taking the example of digital innovations, he said an innovation that results in a digital divide is one that is incomplete as it has not yet allowed everyone to access the new digital technology, regardless of their age. “A good innovation will make sure that it has the widest spread and widest reach, and if it can do that then it will tend to be more inclusive, so therein lies the potential.”

He also stressed the importance of interdisciplinarity in fostering a culture of innovation, in universities, industries, and beyond. “Many of the most exciting innovations nowadays occur at the intersection of different disciplines,” he observed. In order to compose teams with diverse backgrounds, whose members can leverage on each other’s strengths and talents, a deliberate shift in organisation, work culture, and education is necessary.

“This is another skill set that we need to bring to the table for us to stay competitive on the global market—to bring people from different disciplines together to produce new and innovative ideas,” he added.

Mr Chan wrapped up the session by aptly capturing the spirit of innovation, courage and people-centredness that will continue to drive Singapore into the future and beyond in a rapidly evolving world full of perils and opportunities.

“We must inspire in our people that innate curiosity. Never be afraid to innovate new solutions that people have not tried before,” he concluded. “We need to allow ourselves the opportunity to apply our solutions in context and continue to evolve, for ultimately, the survival of any nation will depend on our speed of evolution, rather than the size of our resource base.”

Cultured meat is an alternative to animal farming with advantages such as reducing carbon footprint and the risk of transmitting diseases in animals. However, the current method of producing cultured meat involves using other animal products, which largely defeats the purpose, or drugs to stimulate the growth of the meat.

To cultivate cell-based meat, animal cells are fed animal serum – usually foetal bovine serum (FBS), which is a mixture harvested from the blood of foetuses excised from pregnant cows slaughtered in the dairy or meat industries – to help them grow and proliferate. This is a critical, yet cruel and expensive, step in the current cell-based meat production process. Ironically, many of these molecules come from the muscles within the slaughtered animal, but scientists did not know how to stimulate their release in production scale bioreactors. Other methods to promote cell growth are using drugs or relying on genetic engineering.

The complex production process for cell-based meat increases cost, limits the manufacturing scale and undermines the commercial viability of cell-based meat.

To help address this challenge, a multidisciplinary research team led by Associate Professor Alfredo Franco-Obregón, who is from the NUS Institute for Health Innovation & Technology and the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, came up with an unconventional method of using magnetic pulses to stimulate the growth of cell-based meat.

Growing cell-based meat with the help of a magnet

The NUS technique uses a delicately tuned pulsed magnetic field developed by the team to culture myogenic stem cells, which are found in skeletal muscle and bone marrow tissue.

Assoc Prof Franco-Obregón explained, “In response to a short 10-minute exposure to the magnetic fields, the cells release a myriad of molecules that have regenerative, metabolic, anti-inflammatory and immunity-boosting properties. These substances are part of what is known as the muscle “secretome” (for secreted factors) and are necessary for the growth, survival and development of cells into tissues. We are very excited about the possibility that magnetically-stimulated secretome release may one day replace the need for FBS in the production of cultured meat.”

He added, “The growth-inducing secretomes can be harvested in the lab safely and conveniently, and also at low cost. This way, the myogenic stem cells will act as a sustainable and green bioreactor to produce the nutrients-rich secretomes for growing cell-based meat at scale for consumption. The muscle knows how to produce what it needs to grow and develop - it simply needs a little bit of encouragement when it is outside its owner. This is what our magnetic fields can provide.”

Applications in regenerative medicine

The harvested secretomes can also be used for regenerative medicine. The NUS team used the secreted proteins to treat unhealthy cells and found that they help to accelerate the recovery and growth of the unhealthy cells. Therefore, this method can potentially help to cure injured cells and speed up a patient's recovery.

The research team published their findings in the August 2022 issue of the scientific journal Biomaterials. A patent has also been filed for this novel technology and the NUS team is currently in active discussions with potential industry partners to commercialise the technology.

The tree-planting session was one of 15 signature community service initiatives held on 3 Sept 2022. Involving nearly 400 participants, the projects were part of NUS Cares, a university-wide movement encouraging the NUS community to volunteer in initiatives that give back to society.

Evolving from the Day of Service held annually in September, the hallmark community outreach effort has since this year become a year-round affair.

“It is meaningful for us to continue marking the first Saturday in September as a commemorative date for NUS Cares, which can serve to further rally and amplify the movement’s broader call to action for the NUS Community (students, alumni and staff) to champion and volunteer in community service and initiatives,” said Mr Ho Jun Yi, Chairman of the NUS Cares Steering Committee.

Participants took up diverse causes, from environmental conservation to caring for the elderly and less fortunate, aiding nearly 500 beneficiaries.

Championing sustainability efforts

Leading the participants at the park was the nature and environmental volunteer group NUS Toddycats. Joined by NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye, they guided volunteers on the methods to dig up the soil, prepare the soil enhancement mixture and plant the saplings. Since November 2020, the Toddycats has mobilised volunteers to support the National Parks Board in reforesting the site, planting 750 trees.

NUS Department of Biological Sciences senior lecturer N. Sivasothi has been organising these sessions to help Singapore achieve its aim of planting one million more trees by 2030. “In Singapore, a lot of nature areas have disappeared… We can’t keep lamenting what we lost in the past, but instead we can help the efforts, which are looking at how we can restore areas for the long-term,” he said. Through repeated visits, he has observed the site’s transformation, with earthworms returning to the soil and birds nesting in new trees. 

Volunteer Collin Chua, a Year 2 Life Sciences major, remarked on the progress the group had made in less than two years. “I heard that it used to be a scrubland but when I went there it was already covered with growing trees. So, it’s quite nice to see,” he said.

Muhammad Salman Sabeer, a Year 3 student also majoring in Life Sciences agreed, saying: “It shows that sustained effort can really yield nice results.”

The NUS Toddycats was not the only group who took up spades and shovels that day. Ridge View Residential College’s (RVRC) FoRestore, a student interest group that aims to raise awareness of Singapore forests through hands-on involvement, also held a tree-planting session at Chestnut Nature Park, where it has been spearheading reforestation efforts. Volunteers planted 50 trees of native species, adding to more than 200 previously planted by RVRC FoRestore. 

Year 2 Environmental Studies major Chu Jia Xuan said, “It was an enjoyable experience and I got more accustomed to being with nature. My biggest takeaway was the importance of forest restoration, which cannot be easily achieved on its own due to invasive non-native trees and other weeds.”

Volunteers also did their bid for the environment by clearing litter from Singapore’s shores at Pasir Ris Park, East Coast Park and Coney Island, collecting 100kg of trash. Four clean-ups were organised by BIZAlum (the NUS Business School’s alumni office), the Master of Science (Environmental Management) Alumni, the Office of Student Affairs (OSA), Office of Finance and the Central Procurement Office.  

Staff members from the Finance and Procurement offices mobilised their families to comb a stretch of Pasir Ris Park, hauling unusual items like an Ultraman toy figurine among many mineral water bottles. At East Coast Park, students and alumni from NUS Business School spent hours cleaning up pieces of plastic strewn along the coast.

“That’s the natural degradation process of items we use once and leave on Earth for hundreds of years. I’ll now think twice if I need a plastic bag,” said Ms Na Han, an Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) student.

Mr Luigi La Tona, an EMBA alumnus who has participated in regular beach clean-ups for two decades, said such activities are rewarding as they shine a spotlight on the need for collective action. “We all need to do our part. Education needs to grow about disposing goods properly and respecting the environment,” he added.

Caring for the community

Volunteers also reached out to the elderly or the underprivileged.

OSA staff partnered Sathya Sai Social Services at its Tembusu Senior Activity Centre to organise a house-cleaning for elderly residents in Eunos Crescent, many of whom live alone, are frail and have medical conditions, impeding their ability to perform daily activities such as tidying their homes. Together with Prof Tan, they worked in teams to help the seniors with household chores such as sweeping and mopping the floors.

Participant Tan Wei Shuang, President of the NUS Students’ Community Service Club, shared that despite volunteering regularly, each experience is a different one. “I see every volunteering opportunity as a new chance to hear one more story and that story can help in understanding more about what we can do to help these individuals.”

Lee Yat Bun, President of the National University of Singapore Students' Union, appreciated the chance to make a difference beyond his social circles through the house-cleaning. “This is especially the case in recent years when I have been extremely caught up with university life. Through this activity, I was able to go beyond that and reach those I have not had the opportunity to lately,” he said.

Meanwhile, Raffles Hall students, staff, and alumni turned up in force to volunteer at the Ready, Set, Gold! Charity Walk to Unity 2022 in collaboration with Blossom Seeds @ Sembawang, an organisation that supports lonely seniors in staying socially connected with the community.

Aiming to encourage active ageing for active and vulnerable seniors regardless of their mobility, the event saw 24 Raffles Hall volunteers befriending and accompanying them through the 1.5km walkathon and a plethora of carnival game booths, performances and other on-site activities.

Mr Leonard Tan, a Raffles Hall alumnus from the Faculty of Engineering, Class of 2018, said, “To our beneficiaries, it was a rare moment to enjoy the lively atmosphere and feel that connection with their community. It was really heartening to experience the joy of the seniors as we guided them through the walkathon and performances.”

Chong Yong Rui, a Year 2 student from the NUS School of Computing, also felt the event taught him to “empathise with the elderly more”, while Raffles Hall Master Associate Professor Stella Tan lauded the increasing “attention now being paid to help the elderly in their golden years stay active and connected socially”.

The event was graced by Minister for Health and Advisor for Sembawang Central GROs, Mr Ong Ye Kung and NUS Deputy President (Research and Technology) Professor Chen Tsuhan.

Other events saw participants offer music and meals to the elderly. The NUS Alumni Sing-Along belted out classic hits for nursing home residents at All Saints’ Home (Hougang), as did the NUS Senior Alumni and Office of Alumni Relations, who entertained needy seniors at Kampung Senang.

The National University of Singapore Society (NUSS) also held a lunch and family day at Dover Park Hospice for low-income families with loved ones suffering from end-stage diseases. 

Other programmes held included a Sports Day organised by NUSS for beneficiaries of the Children’s Wishing Well, which focuses on providing children and youth from disadvantaged backgrounds with a holistic education, and the packing of food donations by the Registrar’s Office for The Food Bank Singapore.

Find out how to give back to the community through volunteering opportunities here.

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

Singaporeans are well-known foodies who are willing to queue for an hour just to dig into, say, a perfect bowl of noodles. But they dump lots of food too. Last year, the country discarded 817,000 tonnes of food, a 23 per cent increase from the year before. And that is only part of the mounting waste problem. The total amount of waste generated – which includes paper, plastic, glass and textile – has also risen by 18 per cent in the same period to hit 6,944,000 tonnes.

With Singapore’s only landfill fast filling up, two entrepreneurs from NUS have made it their mission to divert as much waste as they can away from it. Their tactic: turning one man’s trash into another man’s treasure.

treatsure: From costly restaurant surpluses to bentos at a bargain

Grilled chicken satay drizzled with peanut sauce, chilled tiger prawns and ondeh ondeh (tapioca rice balls infused with gula melaka, or palm sugar). These dishes are part of a tantalising buffet spread at the Grand Hyatt hotel which, if unfinished, would normally end up in the bin.

But not with food-saving app treatsure. treatsure is a mobile app platform that tackles food wastage by connecting businesses with surplus and sustainable food to consumers at affordable prices. With just a tap of a button, hungry Singaporeans can sample these delectable dishes as “Buffet-in-a-Box” meals.

Not only does this reduce the amount of surplus food that go to waste, it is friendly on wallets too – the bento boxes go for $10 each, a fraction of the buffet price.

“We are in the business of making being sustainable attainable,” said Mr Preston Wong, 30, chief executive officer and co-founder of treatsure.

The NUS alumnus, who studied Law (Class of 2016) and Accountancy (Class of 2013) grew concerned about food waste in 2016 after realising how much expired food his family threw out from the fridge. Then a final-year Law graduate, he set out to study the food and beverage (F&B) market with fellow NUS undergraduate Kenneth Ham, who was majoring in Computing.

Through the NUS Stellar Global Alumni Network, the duo reached out to university seniors who were in the F&B and hospitality industries and had insightful conversations with them about wastage. They found that discarding surplus food was part and parcel of the business, as there were no viable ways to distribute them.

With the guidance of mentors at NUS’ on-campus startup incubator The Hangar, they launched treatsure – based on the philosophy of treating food as treasure – in 2017 to link consumers with eateries and grocers.

Besides allowing consumers to buy food from hotels or restaurants at a steal, it also offers surplus grocery products at a discounted rate, giving them a new lease on life. Such groceries include blemished food items that fall short of cosmetic standards, excess food, or expiring food, which has not yet met its expiration date but is no longer allowed on shelves by retailers.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, treatsure has also introduced a lifestyle category which features more sustainable products, such as reusable cups and bowls that can be used for takeaway food orders.

Today, the app has more than 30,000 users and has saved an estimated 30 tonnes of food from going to waste. The start-up has also been awarded NEA’s Towards Zero Waste Grant and Call for Ideas Grant. The pair are now looking to do more on the education front to nudge people from awareness to adoption.

“Our mission has not ended; it has just started,” said Mr Wong.

Linens N Love Singapore: From unwanted hotel linen to tote bags

Stacks of bedsheets, pillow cases, blankets and towels often lie hidden in storerooms or car parks, banished there because of a coffee stain, pen mark or other minor blemishes. Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon practice among hotels.

In an industry where spotless bedding is a must for guests, large amounts of high-quality linens are having their lifespan cut short, leaving hotel operators in a dilemma.

“They want to maintain high standards, yet they don’t want the linens to go to waste,” said Yale-NUS fourth-year undergraduate Rachel Lim. She saw the issue first-hand while doing research for the Hult Prize competition, which challenges young people around the world to solve the planet's most pressing issues.

To tackle the linen wastage problem, her team pitched to bring Linens N Love to Singapore. The student-run non-profit organisation, which was founded in California by her teammate May Wang in 2014, collects discarded linens from hotels and donates them to local shelters.

Their proposal won them first place in the NUS Hult Prize competition in 2019 and placed them among the top seven teams in the regional finals held in Melbourne. But that was just the beginning.

To bring their proposal to life, the team of four went from hotel to hotel, speaking to the management to understand the challenges faced, and to convince them to partner with Linens N Love Singapore. The team also wanted to do more than donate linens to charities.

Ideas such as selling linens or turning them into tapestries were tossed around. “At one point we probably had 30 ideas on the table. We scratched some, or combined parts of different ideas together. We realised that something that sounds stupid at first can pivot to a great idea,” said Rachel, 22, co-founder of Linens N Love Singapore.

Their mentors from the NUS Overseas Colleges (NOC) Programme helped them to refine their ideas by pointing out potential issues and giving them advice on the ins and outs of managing a business. Through NOC, they were also connected to alumni who ran full-fledged start-ups and could give valuable advice based on their own entrepreneurial journeys.

Today, Linens N Love Singapore saves discarded hotel linens in two ways – either by donating them to charities such as children’s homes and animal shelters, or upcycling them into items such as tote bags, handkerchiefs, shopping bags and coasters which they sell at corporate events. Since 2020, they have repurposed and upcycled 7,614 pieces of linen.

Setting up the Singapore chapter of Linens N Love has made Rachel more conscious of her lifestyle choices.

“Talking to social enterprises has made me think about what else I can do to be more sustainable. I might not be the most sustainable person, but I’m trying,” she said.

This is the fifth instalment of the Greening the Future series on sustainability and climate change.

Read about green finance, why it is important to sustainability efforts, and how everyone can play a role in this development to effect tangible change in the environment.

Read about NUS' key efforts in sustainability research, including Prof Lee Poh Seng’s work on developing alternative liquid cooling systems for heat-producing data centres, and Assoc Prof Yan Ning’s work on ammonia as a clean energy source.

Read about Prof Koh Lian Pin's work in championing sustainability and researching solutions that harness nature as a tool in the fight against climate change.

Read NUS President Prof Tan Eng Chye's commentary on the role that universities play in driving climate change action.

Officially launched on 10 August 2022, the Singapore in Global Natural History Museums Information Facility (SIGNIFY) project is a five-year endeavour initiated by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) at NUS. The project is supported by Mr Terence Anthony McNeice (in honour of Sir Percy McNeice), the Lee Foundation and Mr Goh Geok Khim.

SIGNIFY aims to digitally catalogue over 10,000 historical specimens of Singapore’s biodiversity collected over the last 200 years. These specimens are currently housed in museums and research institutions across the world. Through this initiative, LKCNHM hopes to foster collaborations with these institutions to digitise Singapore's historical biodiversity specimens for future research. For a start, LKCNHM has partnered with the Natural History Museum (NHM) in London to digitise natural history specimens located there that were collected from Singapore through the years.

An event was held at NHM in London to launch the project, with participants from LKCNHM in Singapore attending virtually.

“This landmark endeavour aims to bring together digitisation and research on as many of Singapore’s native plants and animals as possible. We are aiming high, but the potential returns are well worth it,” said Associate Professor Darren Yeo, Head of LKCNHM.

Speaking at the launch event, Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore and Chairman of the Advisory Committee of LKCNHM, highlighted the importance of the stories that these historical specimens can provide by preserving them digitally.

He said, “The United Kingdom and Singapore have a very rich shared heritage in terms of language, parliamentary and legal systems, education, scientific research and on many other fronts. Today we celebrate another, one which we hope will increase in the years to come, one that of natural history and heritage.”

Strengthening research on Singapore’s natural history

SIGNIFY will be the first international endeavour to make Singapore's historical biodiversity data freely available online to the world. The digital archive will also serve to bridge data gaps in the understanding of Singapore’s historical biodiversity. Working with counterparts from NHM in London, the project hopes to facilitate and strengthen research collaboration between scientists from Singapore and the United Kingdom in areas such as biodiversity, conservation, and ecology.

“I believe at the end of this project, besides getting a huge digital archive of Singapore’s historical biodiversity, we will reinforce and strengthen the collaboration and shared history that goes back hundreds of years ago,” said Professor Peter Ng, Principal Investigator of SIGNIFY.

"Our two museums will combine our expertise and strengths to better study, understand, and contextualise natural history material from Singapore to answer scientific questions - both big and small - on biodiversity, conservation, ecology, population genetics, and paleoenvironments. Some of the knowledge gaps we will be filling use historical material that only older collections from overseas like the one in NHM can provide,” said Assoc Prof Yeo.

First steps towards the digitisation of natural history

To kick off SIGNIFY, the team has made an impressive achievement in documenting and digitising some of Singapore’s oldest animal specimens. These specimens include the green broadbill, the Singapore Longhorn beetle, and Raffles’ banded langur. Stories of each of these specimens were succinctly described by Prof Ng at the SIGNIFY launch event.

The green broadbill – a bird previously known to be extinct in Singapore – was first described by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1822. Through the digitisation of the green broadbill specimen, the LKCNHM team hopes to be able to understand how to conserve this species of bird that once graced the skies of Singapore. Since its recent sighting on Pulau Ubin in 2014 and 2021, Prof Ng shared that the green broadbill is “one of the animals that we are very keen to conserve and hopefully bring back to the main island.”

Another specimen that has been digitised is the Singapore Longhorn beetle, first described in 1835. This beetle was commonly found in Singapore as described by Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913) in his observations that “insects were exceedingly abundant and very interesting, and every day furnished scores of new and curious forms.”

A prominent specimen from 1838 that was collected by Sir Stamford Raffles from Singapore is Raffles’ banded langur. It is a species of monkey known to be endemic to Singapore and Southern Peninsular Malaysia. Raffles' banded langur is highly threatened to be extinct with only a small population left in Singapore.

Prof Ng was heartened to find out that the first original specimen of this monkey is still residing at NHM.

“Digitising the specimen by scanning it to obtain the highest resolution possible will allow scientists studying the taxonomy and biology of this monkey to use the data to expand their research,” he added.

Prof Tan, NUS’ fourth President, has been the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) Chief Health Scientist and concurrently Executive Director of the Ministry’s Office for Healthcare Transformation since 2018. At the ministry, he works with the healthcare and government sectors as well as industry and community partners to identify future-oriented concepts and care models to enhance patient care and ensure its cost-effectiveness and sustainability. He also guides the ministry’s research and development agenda, particularly in the health and biomedical sciences. 

Prof Tan has been a key figure at critical moments in Singapore’s public health. As Director of Medical Services at MOH, he oversaw the ministry’s battle against the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak, receiving the Public Service Star in 2003 for his exemplary leadership. More recently, he was appointed member of the Expert Committee on COVID-19 Vaccination in 2020, which advises the government on Singapore’s vaccination strategy.

In 2018, Prof Tan was conferred the title of University Professor, the highest academic appointment accorded by NUS. He was recognised for serving the University with distinction – first as Provost and Senior Deputy President between 2004 and 2008, and subsequently as President from 2008 to 2017. In its citation, the University placed on record initiatives he spearheaded that helped NUS become one of the world’s leading universities with a reputation for innovative global education and world-class research. These included the opening of University Town, the expansion of NUS Overseas Colleges, and the growth of the University’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Also lauded for his distinguished contributions was Mr Pillai, former Chairman of the Indian Heritage Centre Advisory Board.

Mr Pillai is known for playing a leading role in fostering Singapore-India relations, both as an investor in India and through his work as the founding Chairman of the NUS Institute of South Asian Studies from 2004 to 2021. Under his leadership, the institute has become one of the most influential think-tanks focusing on South Asia through initiatives such as the South Asian Diaspora Convention, which featured senior political and business personalities. For his efforts in advancing Singapore-India relations, Mr Pillai was conferred the Padma Shri Award by the Indian government in 2012.

A veteran diplomat at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Pillai has served as ambassador-at-large and was Singapore’s longest-serving Non-Resident Ambassador to Iran.

Rounding up the recipients of this year’s most prestigious National Day Award is Mr Lee, Chairman of the Public Service Commission since 2018.

A former member of the NUS Council and later, NUS Board of Trustees (2004 to 2010), Mr Lee was Chairman of Shell in Singapore until his retirement in 2014. He was conferred the NUS Outstanding Service Award in 2016. Mr Lee’s involvement with the Institute of Policy Studies started when he was invited to sit on the institute’s Board of Governors in 2002, a position he held until 2007. Since then, he has served as member of its Academic Panel from 2012 to 2018, and is currently a member of the S R Nathan Fellowship Committee.

The Meritorious Service Medal, the second-highest award this year, went to Dr Andrew Phang Boon Leong, Justice of the Court of Appeal and Chair of the NUS Law Advisory Council.

Several members of the NUS Board of Trustees also received awards. The Public Service Star went to Mr Chaly Mah, who is also Chairman of the Singapore Tourism Board, and Dr Sudha Nair, who is also a member of the Public Service Commission. Mr Lai Chung Han, Permanent Secretary for Education at the Ministry of Education, received the Public Administration Medal (Gold).

Themed “Against All Odds” to signify resilience in spite of the challenges posed by the pandemic, NUS students demonstrated the true spirit of giving, raising close to S$230,000 for 21 beneficiaries from Community Chest through generous donations from members of the public and corporate partners.

Dating back to 1958, the NUSSU Rag & Flag Day is an annual university tradition, where students and staff rally together to give back to society. The event comes in two parts, firstly Flag Day, where NUS students head out into the community with tin cans to seek donations in aid of the beneficiaries from members of the public. The charity effort culminates in Rag (Receiving and Giving) Day, where students stage spectacular performances in a show of appreciation to donors for their generosity.

Braving the heat

The sun was out in full force on 1 August 2022, but that did not dampen the enthusiasm of about 1,600 NUS students from different colleges, faculties, schools, halls and residential colleges. Traversing in groups to 60 locations islandwide, they braved the sweltering heat to cover as much ground as possible to raise funds for the beneficiaries.

The collection might have ended in the evening but it was not a wrap for nearly 120 students who volunteered as “counters” to help tabulate the donations. That extensive effort lasted through the night, finally concluding at noon the following day. In total, an impressive S$83,000 was raised in just one day.  

A vibrant show of appreciation to donors

As the morning sky brightened on 6 August 2022, the air of hustle and bustle was palpable at University Town Green. In a culmination of the fundraising effort, about 1,000 students armed with eye-catching props put together elaborate performances that they had rehearsed for NUSSU Rag Day over the past two months.

Gracing the event were Guest-of-Honour, Minister for Education Mr Chan Chun Sing, who officiated the opening of the finale, along with NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye and NUSSU President Mr Lee Yat Bun.

Despite starting their day in the wee hours of the morning – with some even forgoing sleep – the students captivated the audience with 14 engaging finale performances to thank the public for the donations. The dazzling performances as well as the eye-catching floats and props used showcased the students’ creativity and their commitment to the cause.

Ms Dorothea Ang, freshman from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, injured her right leg during rehearsal three days before Rag Day. “I was initially devastated for not being able to perform with the full team. However, with their encouragement, I still put on my costume and makeup, and cheered them on stage,” said Dorothea who was seen cheering her lungs out by the stage side and even swung a costume change in sync with the dancers. “Rag is much more than performing. It’s being united and together on stage. I’m so proud of the team!”

This year was the second time Ms Chelsea Goh, NUSSU Deputy Student Life Secretary of Rag & Flag, was involved as an organiser. Recalling last year’s iteration which was held virtually and on a smaller scale, Chelsea shared that organisers had to put in extra work, including crafting multiple proposals, to keep up with changing safe management measures.

This year also saw an immense effort put in by the various organising committees. Nonetheless, she was glad that the Rag & Flag tradition could resume physically. “I hope that everyone will enjoy themselves during Rag & Flag, and that our friends will come down to witness the results of months of hard work from the performers!” she enthused.

For NUSSU President Lee Yat Bun, this year’s Rag & Flag Day event was especially meaningful, given the impact of the pandemic especially on the less fortunate. “The guiding principle of NUSSU Rag & Flag – giving back to the greater community – has remained constant despite the pandemic. With the effects of the pandemic felt significantly by the needy and disadvantaged, NUS students remained resolute and steadfast in their outreach efforts,” he said.

In the last decade, NUS students have raised more than S$3.3 million in donations for Singapore beneficiaries through the annual NUSSU Flag and Rag events. Members of the public can continue to contribute to this worthy cause through the Giving.sg online donation platform until August 15.

Winners of Rag Day 2022

Every year, the line-up of Rag Day performances are awarded Gold, Silver or Bronze award prizes. Here are the winners. 

Gold

• Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine
• Faculty of Science
• NUS Business School
• Raffles Hall
• KRaSheares

Silver

• College of Design and Engineering
• Faculty of Law
• Faculty of Dentistry
• Pharmaceutical Society

Bronze

• Eusoff Hall
• Temasek Hall
• Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
• King Edward Hall and Pioneer House
• School of Computing

See press release.

One such competition is the annual Herbert Smith Freehills Competition Law Moot, which NUS Law undergrads first participated in, and won, in 2015. The competition has grown in size over the years, with participation almost doubling to 40 applications from top law schools around the world in 2022. 

Despite intense competition from the Jindal Global Law School, Utrecht University Law School, Hong Kong University (HKU) Law School, Mumbai University and the Dickson Poon School of Law from King’s College London, NUS Law once again emerged victorious at the competition.

The winning team, sponsored by the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS), comprised of students Stanley Woo and Samuel Ye from the Class of 2022, and Brandon Wong and Zhong Tianyu from the Class of 2023.

Team coach, Associate Professor Burton Ong, attributed their success to three key factors: A secure foundational knowledge of the underlying legal principles and economic concepts,  with every team member having completed the competition law and policy module at NUS Law School; ready access to a network of helpful legal experts and enthusiastic alumni; and all-round support from faculty and staff members, including our librarians and technology support assistants.

Can you share with us the team's experience in preparing for the competition?

Prof Ong: I met the students once a week from January to April to discuss their research for the moot problem and test out their legal arguments for each side. It was also an interesting learning experience because I was previously unfamiliar with some of the European law issues the team had to grapple with as part of their preparations for this competition.

What stood out to you most in terms of the team’s preparedness and determination to win?

Prof Ong: Two things about the performance of this team left a strong impression on me: Their resilience (even when stricken by COVID-19!), and their enthusiasm in embracing offers of assistance from senior alumni and other subject matter experts who readily supported the team over six months of preparation.

How important are such moot competitions in enriching a student’s learning, and even preparing them for life after the classroom?

Prof Ong: Moot competitions offer students an extremely unique learning experience outside of the conventional classroom setting. While they work on a problem modelled closely after current legal or policy controversies, they are given opportunities to apply what they have learnt to unchartered areas of law and to learn from competition law experts who offer them insights and perspectives that are beyond their textbooks. Beyond that, I would say that the diverse learning experiences of participating in moots like this mimic the kind of “lessons” they will encounter after they graduate from our classrooms. First, good teachers can be found everywhere - you just need to embrace the opportunities you are given to learn from them. Second, persuading your audience is not always about having the best substantive arguments, but also about being able to present your arguments in a compelling way that connects with those you are trying to convince. Last but not least, success is achieved not just through individual determination and discipline, but also requires collaborative effort and a shared vision.

Adding to their achievements at the 2022 Herbert Smith Freehills Competition Law Moot was having the team’s written memorial rank second in the competition, and team member Brandon Wong receiving a Certificate of Achievement for his outstanding advocacy skills.

How would you sum up your experience taking part in this competition?

Brandon: The moot competition was an immensely enriching educational experience which provided a unique dimension to my studies at NUS Law. The weekly team discussions, as well as the practice sessions with experts and senior alumni, stretched my abilities in various aspects, sharpening my legal analysis and oral advocacy skills. Overall, the experience will be hard to forget, as it was a collection of “firsts” for me: My first time auditioning for an international moot competition, first trip to Europe, and first interaction with foreign lawyers and law students.

Did you and your team feel well-prepared, after six months of intense research and practice?

Brandon: I did feel that our team was tangibly well-prepared due to the copious amount of time we spent preparing for the moot. Nevertheless, there were some nerves during the knock-out rounds, knowing we were up against graduate law students who were much more familiar and even specialised in European competition law, and especially when we faced opponents we had lost to in the past, such as the formidable team from HKU. There was always a sense of pride when, in the face of intense questioning by the judges, we were able to defend our arguments and point out the flaws in our opponents’ arguments with poise. Each team member – Stanley, Samuel, Tianyu and myself – gave our peak performance even though we struggled with the time-zone difference in London!

What does attaining the Certificate of Achievement for outstanding advocacy skills mean to you?

Brandon: Receiving an honourable mention for my advocacy skills is a significant personal achievement which I will be proud of for many years to come. Law students will relate to me when I say that being in law school, where one is surrounded by naturally gifted speakers, can make one insecure about one’s speaking abilities. Participating in this moot competition forced me to confront the flaws of my speaking abilities and find confidence in my strengths. With the support of Prof Ong, the senior alumni and my teammates, the hours spent practicing the delivery of my oral arguments thankfully materialised into this reward.

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

By Prof Sumit Agarwal and Assoc Prof Zhang Weina

“Green finance” is one of the hottest buzz words in town. The massive amount of information from different sources, however, could be misleading and potentially crowd out the holistic understanding of this crucial topic. There is now an urgent need to present a clear message of what green finance is, why it is important, and how everyone can play a role in this development.

As a part of the frontier research movement in green finance, and with funding support from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, NUS established the Sustainable and Green Finance Institute (SGFIN) in September 2021. The new institute aims to dive deep into the key questions of how businesses and various stakeholders in Singapore and Asia Pacific can transition into a greener economy through rigorous evidence-based research.

There are no clear defining boundaries of “green finance”, similar to how the concept of “finance” has been seamlessly adopted as an integral part of economic developments, businesses, consumers, households, regulators, and governments in the world. Broadly speaking, anything in the finance sector that is related to environmental issues, activities, targets, performance, and impacts can be considered a part of green finance.

In practical terms, it is much easier to understand the boundaries of green finance by exploring existing financial products that are labelled as “green”. To name a few, they include green bonds, climate bonds, transition bonds, sustainability-linked bonds or loans, green equity funds, green Exchange-Traded Funds, and green Asset-Backed Securities. In addition, practitioners in the financial industry observe that customised and structured green financial services are also growing fast in Asia. This is due to the increased demand from firms in various sectors aiming to transit into greener technology and business models, as well as the increased supply of green capital from environmentally-conscious investors.  

Environmental challenges such as climate change, global warming, excessive waste generation, and rapid depletion of natural resources continue to increase. What role can green finance play to make real changes to the environment, such as achieving carbon neutrality goals?

To answer this question, we need to return to the very core function of finance—to provide the capital that businesses need to engage in productive activities so that the capital providers can share the profits generated without participating directly in the production activities. To put it simply, finance functions to direct money to the right party so that it can perform the right activities, generating more money so that everyone is better off.

In order for this process to work effectively and efficiently, accurate and clear information is key. Hence, many finance researchers consider academic research in finance as playing the crucial role of establishing a clear causal relationship between relevant information and the direction and allocation of capital flows. Indeed, the “efficient market hypothesis” is a famous finance theory that builds upon efficient information dissemination processes so that investors can invest fruitfully. In this hypothesis, the prices of financial products constitute a useful reflection of market participants’ demand and supply for the underlying payoff of these products. Relevant information about these products drives the formation of the demand and supply forces. For example, stocks are traded at the price where the demand and supply for the stocks reach a consensus. The arrival of new information related to these stocks would drive the fluctuations of stock prices because the new information affects the demand and supply of the stocks.

Precisely because of such an economic mechanism, “green finance” is much more complicated than traditional finance. The lack of transparent and consistent information disclosures related to the environmental activities and performance of green financial products hampers the ability of financial markets and institutions to price these products efficiently.

Green bonds are among the oldest and most well-established green financial products in the market. The awareness of green bonds as investment vehicles has been growing exponentially, as evidenced by the double-digit growth rate of green bond issuances in the past five years. The Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) recently reported that issuances of green bonds have totalled more than US$500 billion in 2021, and forecasted that the market will continue to grow to reach US$5 trillion by 2025. As part of this big wave, many Asian companies and governments have actively issued green bonds in the past few years to finance the transition into greener technology and infrastructure.

NUS is part of this frontier development with its inaugural S$300 million green bond issued in May 2020, and a similarly-sized second offering in May 2021. The proceeds are allocated towards financing various green projects, including research facilities for green-related topics as well as energy-related initiatives.

Nevertheless, the public criticism of “greenwashing” has also become louder amid positive market sentiments toward green bonds. The European Union Taxonomy Regulation defines “greenwashing” as the practice of gaining an unfair competitive advantage by marketing a financial product as environmentally-friendly, when in fact basic environmental standards have not been met. According to this definition, many issuers of green securities would not be guilty on the “greenwashing” charge, primarily because they did not even set any clear environmental goals and metrics in the first place. 

When financial institutions or firms label their bond issues as “green” bonds, they need to meet the eligibility criteria defined by various green bond principles. A few examples include the European Green Bond Standard, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the International Capital Market Association’s and CBI’s green bond principles. Unfortunately, there is no current global standard on the definition and certification of green bonds. Indeed, many issuers would even try to set their own definition in order to manage their green bonds.

To validate the issuers’ compliance with their chosen green bond principles, a third-party assurance entity would evaluate the project allocations and impact reports of each green bond issue. However, assurance is not a guarantee of the complete environmental results and impact, particularly beyond the scope of the chosen green bond principles.

For example, an issuer can be reporting a positive environmental performance under the chosen principles, but the project could still result in negative environmental impacts in other dimensions. This may be even worse than “greenwashing” because the issuer is truthful in what it discloses and may even believe that it is doing good for the environment, but an absent holistic environmental impact assessment muddies the picture. Moreover, a green project financed by an issuer may overshadow other environmentally-damaging activities performed by the same issuer elsewhere.

In traditional finance, the definition of fraud is the inconsistency between the self-declared and real accounting numbers. Auditors serve as gatekeepers to prevent cheating and mis-reporting by the firms. In the case of green bonds, auditors are largely missing, and the assurance party is used in place of auditing.

For green finance to play its core function in improving environmental sustainability, the quality of information around green financial products has to be dramatically improved. Many governments and international organisations have been working hard to standardise the disclosure requirements for the environmental performance of green products. The private financial sector, as well as the non-profit and academic sectors, can also contribute to improve the transparency and completeness of sustainability.

SGFIN has set one of its core objectives in creating a transparent and holistic impact measurement generated based on various information sources. One of the institute’s goals is to contribute to a higher-quality information network around each green project to help green capital flow more productively and investors to have a more complete and holistic understanding of the environmental impacts of the green financial products in their portfolios.

Rigorous learning and training are key to equipping participants in the green sector to integrate the total impact of corporate activities into the environment, people, and the economy. These impacts have to be measured and evaluated using a rigorous process with reliable data rather than merely anecdotal evidence and story-telling. Researchers in SGFIN and the NUS academia are also working to curate new modules and courses in the green finance field to disseminate relevant and holistic knowledge to key stakeholders. These include students at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and participants in executive and lifelong learning. Indeed, the very first intake of students pursuing the Master of Science in Sustainable and Green Finance will soon embark on their exciting learning journey through classroom and capstone projects in August 2022.

About the authors

Sumit Agarwal is the Low Tuck Kwong Distinguished Professor of Finance, Economics, and Real Estate at National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School and Managing Director of the Sustainable and Green Finance Institute (SGFIN) at NUS.

Zhang Weina is Associate Professor of Finance at NUS Business School, Deputy Director of SGFIN and Academic Director of the NUS MSc in Sustainable and Green Finance programme.

This is the fourth instalment of the Greening the Future series on sustainability and climate change.

Read about NUS' key efforts in sustainability research, including Prof Lee Poh Seng’s work on developing alternative liquid cooling systems for heat-producing data centres, and Assoc Prof Yan Ning’s work on ammonia as a clean energy source.

Read about Prof Koh Lian Pin's work in championing sustainability and researching solutions that harness nature as a tool in the fight against climate change.

Read NUS President Prof Tan Eng Chye's commentary on the role that universities play in driving climate change action.

Connecting movement with mental wellness 

For 23-year-old Coco Yau, dance is inseparable from her identity. The Psychology major was only six when she went for her first dance class. “My dad told me I could one day be like the dancers in High School Musical,” she chuckled.  

Coco nurtured her interest, building foundational skills in jazz, Chinese and modern dance. “Before university days, dance to me was very performative. You usually work towards a choreography or competition piece,” she said. That perspective changed when Coco joined NUS Dance Synergy, opening her eyes to a new dance style.

“The way that NUS Dance Synergy teaches contemporary dance is extremely raw. It brought me out of my comfort zone because I was so used to structured techniques. They encouraged me to be comfortable in my own skin and to feel, which was intimidating. That was the first time I tried to have conversations with myself through body movement,” said Coco.

Coco went on to serve as President and Dance Mistress of NUS Dance Synergy in Academic Year 2019/2020. During her term, Coco and her executive committee organised Fuse(d) 2019 - a two-day contemporary dance showcase. The indefatigable performer even coordinated seven dance groups for the HERE! Arts Carnival 2020 Virtual Opening Show.

While there were many highs during her time in NUS Dance Synergy, the pandemic almost ground things to a halt, putting her leadership of a performing group to the test. As infection cases climbed and social restrictions were tightened, Coco recalled having to make the tough decision to shelve Venture 2020, to the disappointment of fellow dancers who had trained hard for weeks.  

“That showcase was a very important growing point for many people, and we were all working so hard to make it happen… As a leader, that burden [of letting people down] was very hard to bear,” she said.

Mental wellness is also an issue Coco cares deeply about. Together with three seniors, Coco established SPECTRUM, a university-wide initiative to raise awareness and improve mental health for students. SPECTRUM went on to win first place in the 2020 Public Health Challenge.

Where possible, Coco incorporates elements of mental wellness with contemporary dance. As a leader and senior member of NUS Dance Synergy, she often led tutorials for fellow dancers and Tembusu College residents, carving out a space for them to express themselves through movement.

“Having internal dialogue, being able to connect with yourself – these are aspects I learnt in psychology that I brought into dance. Sometimes I received messages saying ‘I've never felt so connected when I'm dancing’. That really means a lot to me,” said Coco.

After graduation, Coco will be joining the National University Hospital as a psychologist associate. She will be working with REACH, a mental healthcare service to help students in the community.

Reflecting on her experiences in NUS, Coco said, “My four years as a leader, senior and teacher has contributed to a better understanding of how to connect with people. This is something I will bring with me, anywhere I go.”

Advocacy through the arts  

What started as passion, evolved to become something more.  

Environmental Studies graduate Chua Wei Qian loved the performing arts from a young age. While he made his stage debut as a chorister, he found himself drawn to acting and eventually joined NUS Chinese Drama when he entered university.  

In NUS Chinese Drama, Wei Qian had the opportunity to explore various forms of theatre-making, such as Playback Theatre, Devised Theatre and Guerrilla Theatre. The fun and enriching experience spurred him to take up the role of President in August 2019.

One of the most memorable productions during Wei Qian’s leadership term was a play titled Blindspot. An original production by NUS Chinese Drama, Blindspot tells the stories of two young persons; one visually-impaired, and the other grappling with a loved one experiencing gradual vision loss. The play brings into focus how our blind spots prevent us from seeing those in need around us. A nod to its title, Blindspot was also produced with the intention of making theatre more accessible to visually-impaired audiences, making available audio descriptions of each scene.

The planning for Blindspot began in June 2019 and the play was slated to premiere at NUS Arts Festival 2020. However, the pandemic derailed plans and the entire production had to be moved online. This was not the only setback.

“A day before it (Blindspot) was supposed to be up, we received news that there were some issues with the music copyright. We couldn’t use the music...and had to redo the last scene, stitch the different scenes together and re-export two versions of the play. We had to decide whether we wanted to have the normal version up first, then upload the accessible version (for visually-impaired audiences) another day.”

While it was not an easy decision to make, Wei Qian felt strongly that it was important for all audiences to gain equal access to the show.

“At the end of the day, we pushed both versions back. Whether you are visually-impaired or fully-sighted, you will have access to the show at the same time,” he added. 

Through the various productions and plays, Wei Qian hopes to encourage discussion on social issues that might be hard to broach. This was also part of the reason he chose to major in Environmental Studies.  

Grounded in the belief that environmental and social issues are not distinct, Wei Qian said: “The environment is integral to our everyday lives… [Raising] carbon taxes would have an implication on our everyday expenses. It is an environmental issue but it is also social.”

NUS’ multidisciplinary approach to Environmental Studies was another key factor in his choice of study. Wei Qian credits his education at NUS for exposing him to various ideas and perspectives on environmental issues.  

After graduation, Wei Qian will be pursuing a career in journalism. The 25-year-old wants to continue championing social issues, especially those that resonate with the younger generation. Through this, he hopes to help bridge generation gaps and promote greater mutual understanding.

A voice for social mobility

With no formal music background, Amir Mirza first discovered an interest in singing while he was in secondary school.

“It started from just wanting to explore singing after watching shows like High School Musical and Camp Rock… It turned out to be something that I really enjoy,” the Sociology major said.

Amir joined his school’s choir and rose through the ranks to become its pioneer student conductor – leading his school to clinch its first Silver medal in the Singapore Youth Festival Central Judging.

Entering university, Amir wanted to improve his skills and continue his choral journey with a reputable varsity choir. He set his sights on joining The NUSChoir, inspired by their achievement of clinching the prestigious “Choir of the World” title at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in Wales, United Kingdom in the year of his matriculation.

In his second year, Amir was elected President of The NUSChoir - an experience which saw him gaining fresh perspectives on leadership, people management and communication.

“I placed a lot of emphasis on inclusivity. Being a choir centred on excellence, there will be members who may not be able to cope with the learning pace… Relating to that experience myself, it was vital for me to be as grounded as possible and engage with members often, especially those who may be left behind,” he added.

While the pandemic meant that live singing and large performance opportunities were not permitted for a time, Amir worked closely with his members, student leaders and stakeholders to ensure The NUSChoir could still engage in meaningful activities.

Amir expressed his heartfelt appreciation for the support alumni and fellow members gave during his leadership, and added that alumni had been very generous with their guidance. “It was also a gratifying experience forging friendships with fellow student leaders and staff from NUS Centre for the Arts,” he said.

The 26-year-old also lends his voice to another cause close to his heart – social mobility.

The oldest of four children to parents working in the service industry, Amir remembers his family always having to spend prudently and keep an eye out for financial assistance schemes. Today, he is the first in his family to graduate with a bachelor’s degree.

Reflecting on his life experiences, Amir explained, “I want young people in difficult situations to believe it can be a reality for them, and resilient individuals who are now in better positions to make a difference for them.”

To this end, Amir is a PEER Community Programme volunteer involved in organising experiential learning programmes and cohesion activities for secondary school students. He also serves with the Ministry of Social and Family Development’s social service offices as a ComLink volunteer supporting families living in rental flats.

Following his interests, Amir chose to read Sociology in NUS, where he enjoyed discussions on topics related to race, education, and social class. He credits his professors for ensuring the classroom remained a “safe and brave space” where he and his classmates could articulate views authentically and respectfully without the fear of being judged or criticised.

After graduation, Amir will be embarking on his career as a child protection officer, guided by his belief that every young person deserves a strong, stable, and supportive home to thrive.

This story is part of NUS News’ coverage of Commencement 2022, which celebrates the achievements of our 13,975 graduates through 28 in-person ceremonies. For more on Commencement, read our story on the opening ceremony, check out the official Commencement website, or look up (and tag) #NUS2022 on our social media channels!

Taking place at the University Cultural Centre, the ceremony kicked off bright and early on 6 July to an effervescent buzz of anticipation from the graduates and their loved ones, inaugurating a total of 28 in-person ceremonies to be held over the following 10 days.

In keeping with the Commencement traditions and the proud ceremonial heritage of NUS, the ceremony showcased the pageantry of the Ceremonial Procession, the fanfare, and playing of the National Anthem, all culminating in the highlight of the ceremony—the presentation of graduates. Graduates from the Class of 2022 celebrated their achievements amid the applause of family and friends, a momentous apogee of their time in NUS.

Speaking at the ceremony, NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye reflected on the qualities needed for graduates to thrive in today’s dynamic environment: an attitude of resilience and adaptability to overcome challenges, and a willingness and boldness to view problems as opportunities, exercise creativity, and apply their skills and knowledge to create solutions.

“For the Class of 2022, you are crossing the threshold into a wider world of dynamic change and great possibilities, but also of discomforting uncertainty,” he said.

“But I am fully confident that the NUS graduates of today share the same ethos of excellence and service to community of generations past. In time to come, you will undoubtedly make your own unique contributions, and become the vanguard in elevating our collective prosperity and well-being.”

Contributions to law, nature and culture: Prof Tommy Koh

Two illustrious NUS alumni were also honoured as Honorary Graduates for the Class of 2022—lawyer and diplomat Professor Tommy Koh, and historian Professor Wang Gungwu.

In recognition of his dedication as a practitioner-scholar and decades of service to the University, Singapore, and the world, Prof Koh, who wears many hats including Ambassador-at-Large at Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Special Advisor of the Institute of Policy Studies, and founding Rector of NUS’ Tembusu College, was conferred the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws.

Highlighting three areas on which he has focused his energies — law, nature, and culture — Prof Koh said, “I chose to study law, not to enrich myself, but to pursue justice and to promote the rule of law.”

He also spoke about his work concerning nature and the environment, including chairing the 1992 Earth Summit, being patron of the Nature Society, and helping NUS establish the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum as its founding Chairman. “My vision is to live in harmony with nature.  My agenda is to promote sustainability in all our endeavours,” he added. “I am [also] glad that I have been able to play a very small role in transforming Singapore, from a cultural desert to a cultural oasis.”

Delivering the citation for Prof Koh’s conferment, Professor Simon Chesterman, Vice-Provost (Educational Innovation) and Dean of the NUS Faculty of Law and NUS College, referred to Prof Koh’s “academic milestones [which] are but one strand of the rich tapestry of his professional life”, as well as his leadership and guidance in education at NUS, and his eminent contributions to state and environmental diplomacy.

An inspiring story worth retelling: Prof Wang Gungwu

Prof Wang, one of the world's foremost experts on the Chinese diaspora and Sino-Southeast Asian historical relations, was conferred the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters, the latest in a long list of accolades that includes the prestigious Tang Prize in Sinology, and the Distinguished Service Order of Singapore.

Reflecting on his time as a student of the University in colonial Malaya, Prof Wang said: “You can imagine how happy I am to be a graduand again with my alma mater. The university gave my generation a good start in life. It went on to adapt to the rapid changes of our time. In so doing, it has come out better and stronger.”

He spoke about the “inspiring story worth retelling” of how the University had set out and followed its own aspirations, becoming a major centre of learning by being actively connected to the world, as well as regularly reinventing itself.

“The way our university strives to keep our humanity always in our sights is something to be very proud of. I hope that all of us graduating today, no matter where life leads us, will never hesitate to help our university to enhance this capacity to advance our human condition,” Prof Wang stressed.

Prof Lionel Wee, Dean of FASS and co-Dean of the College of Humanities and Sciences,  who delivered the citation on Prof Wang’s conferment, lauded the latter as “an eminent figure and brilliant mind” who has made manifold contributions as a leading figure in Sinology, a renowned public intellectual, and a visionary leader and administrator at leading academic institutions around the world.

“This doctorate symbolises the meaningful connections between Professor Wang and the University, and it celebrates the long-standing contributions and value that Professor Wang’s scholarly insights bring to Singapore, to Southeast Asia and, indeed, to the world,” he said.

Parsing the path forward

Infusing the celebrations with a spirit of introspective gratitude, Valedictorian Mr Nickson Quak, who is graduating with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours (Highest Distinction) in Philosophy, Politics, And Economics said, “As varied as our journeys may have been, each and every one of us graduates here could have only made it thus far because of the unwavering support that our parents, our families, our loved ones, and our friends have so generously afforded us.”

His words further summarised the spirit of determination and community that will carry graduates onwards in their lives: “If [the journey ahead] appears daunting to you, I say to you: fret not… because when you look to your left and your right, you see the resilient men and women who, forged by the challenges brought upon by the global pandemic, will always offer you a helping hand.”

This story is part of NUS News’ coverage of Commencement 2022, which celebrates the achievements of our 13,975 graduates through 28 in-person ceremonies. For more on Commencement, look out for our upcoming graduate profiles, check out the official Commencement website, or look up (and tag) #NUS2022 on our social media channels!

Read the press release on the Honorary Graduates here.

Founded in 1802 by Napoléon Bonaparte, the National Order of the Legion of Honour is the highest French distinction for military and civil accomplishments. The National Order of Merit consist of three ranks: Chevalier (Knight), Officier (Officer) and Commandeur (Commander).

On behalf of the President of the French Republic, His Excellency Mr Marc Abensour, Ambassador of France to Singapore, bestowed the award upon Prof Tan at the Residence of France.

Prof Tan said, “I am deeply honoured and humbled to receive this prestigious award on behalf of my colleagues in the National University of Singapore. This is a strong recognition of our continuous quest for excellence and our deep commitment to be a pathfinder in the advancement of education and research to create a better world for all.”

“I would like to thank our friends in France for their longstanding friendship and support, and NUS looks forward to strengthening our existing collaborations in both education and research as well as exploring new areas of common interest.”

Promoting strategic partnerships with French institutions

Speaking at the conferment ceremony, HE Mr Abensour said: “Professor Tan Eng Chye, your leadership and mentorship abilities and openness to Franco-Singaporean collaborations have solidly laid the foundation for long lasting bilateral relations. This impact is a far-reaching and long-lasting one."

Similarly, Prof Tan lauded the affinity between France and Singapore, two countries seemingly unconnected by geography or history.

“Over the years, with the advent of trade, technology and travel, the interactions and friendships between France and Singapore have blossomed; both countries have learnt much from each other, and have developed substantive diplomatic, defence, economic and educational ties,” Prof Tan affirmed.

He spoke about the healthy pipeline of exchange students between NUS and French universities and the mutual compatibility and trust in institutional standards, which have led to a notable number of double degree programmes between NUS and French institutions such as the Ecole Polytechnique, Sciences Po, HEC Paris and CentraleSupelec.

NUS has also collaborated with several French institutions in important research projects in areas such as artificial intelligence, biomechanics, defence, engineering, mathematics, synthetic biology and quantum matter physics, as well as hosting the French National Centre for Scientific Research’s first overseas subsidiary on campus.

Further, the latest development in the enduring friendship between NUS and its French counterparts is the NUS Overseas College Programme in Paris. Under the NOC Programme, students take on full-time internships at high-tech start-ups or innovative companies overseas while simultaneously reading entrepreneurship-related or discipline-based courses offered by NUS or partner universities.

The NUS Overseas College programme in Paris, Prof Tan shared, will be launched this academic year. The very first batch of NOC Paris students – with an initial target of 20 students – will be heading to Paris from January 2023 to undergo six-month internships. They will be attached to start-ups in the digital, food technology and retail technology sectors, exciting sectors that Paris is leading in.

“I am optimistic that the NOC programme in Paris will be a conduit which facilitates the flow of innovation and entrepreneurial talents, ideas and opportunities to access markets, investors and funding opportunities across both countries,” Prof Tan enthused.

Beyond the NOC Programme, NUS is also in discussion with the Institut Polytechnique de Paris on a new entrepreneurship-themed partnership to support students and start-ups from both universities.

Innovating higher education

A mathematician by training, Prof Tan is a passionate, award-winning educator. He was a pioneer architect of the current academic system in NUS, and has seeded many initiatives such as the Special Programme in Science, University Scholars Programme, University Town Residential College Programme, Grade-free Year, and Technology-enhanced Education.

A passionate champion of interdisciplinary teaching and learning, he oversaw the formation of three new interdisciplinary colleges between 2020 and 2022 – the College of Humanities and Sciences, College of Design and Engineering, and NUS College –  that deliver flexible, interdisciplinary education more accessibly, and at greater scale.

Prof Tan has also led strategic efforts to bolster lifelong education, transforming NUS’ operational model and institutional culture accordingly. One such instance was the bold approach of extending its student enrolment to 20 years from the point of admission – a world’s first – so as to seamlessly integrate lifelong learning with undergraduate education. To date, NUS has provided continuing education opportunities to more than 450,000 learners.  

As the Chair of Universitas 21, a leading global network of 28 research-intensive universities, Prof Tan plays an active role in promoting collaboration among universities around the world.

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

Growing up in the early 80s, Professor Koh Lian Pin enjoyed the best of both worlds: natural wonders and urban comforts.

Home was a cosy HDB flat in Teck Whye, and weekends were spent in the great outdoors. Around his grandparents’ rural kampongs, he rode bicycles through dirt trails and caught critters like spiders and butterflies.

“I was very much exposed to nature from a very young age, which led me to have an affinity with it,” said the 46-year-old researcher in sustainability and environmental science. 

But Singapore’s rapid urbanisation also meant he felt increasingly torn between both spheres. While he bemoaned how nature paid the price for progress as buildings replaced trees, he also acknowledged the ways in which he benefitted from such developments.

It was a difficult conundrum. “I always grappled with the reconciling and balancing of economic development with environmental protection,” he shared.

The search for solutions led him abroad in 2004, working at various institutions across the world since then.

He was a Swiss National Science Foundation Professor at ETH Zurich, before becoming the Chair of Applied Ecology and Conservation at the University of Adelaide in Australia. Later, he joined non-profit environmental organisation Conservation International Foundation in the United States, as vice-president of science partnerships and innovation.

Three continents and 16 years later, the prominent conservation scientist returned to Singapore in 2020 under the National Research Foundation’s Returning Singaporean Scientists scheme.

Besides missing friends, family and his favourite plate of char kway teow (fried rice noodles), the homecoming was also motivated by a desire to make a difference to environmental conservation efforts back home and in the region.

Balance between development and sustainability

As director of the NUS Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions, Prof Koh is seeking to strike the perfect balance between sustainability and development. 

Set up in 2020, the Centre explores deploying nature – including forests and mangroves – to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change impacts.

“In Singapore, it’s about balancing our priorities and understanding the trade-offs,” said Prof Koh, who was a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader in 2013. “We don’t have enough land to protect all the forests we want and also build enough housing for our people.

“As a scientist, this tension underpins my desire to always use science to inform our discussions in society, and our decisions that we make to reconcile our society’s priorities.”

Apart from helming the Centre, he also directs the NUS Tropical Marine Science Institute and serves as a Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP), among other roles.

His various capacities complement his role as an NMP, as they are all platforms for stakeholders, students and youths to share their concerns on environmental issues. “I try to take into account what their concerns are and raise these issues in Parliament in a sensible way,” said Prof Koh, who champions sustainability issues.

Fighting climate change with an unusual tool

While technology is recognised as the tool of choice in the fight against climate change, he believes there is a largely overlooked tool – nature.

For instance, forests act as vast reservoirs of carbon, while mangroves provide the added benefit of being natural barriers against rising sea levels.

Harnessing the Earth’s elements also offers an added advantage over man-made technology – accessible, large-scale solutions that are instantly impactful. It could be something as simple as putting a stop to cutting trees, which releases carbon into the atmosphere.

“That is an important tap of emissions that we can turn off immediately,” stressed Prof Koh, adding that commercially viable carbon capture and storage technologies may not be available for another decade or more.

“We cannot wait for that. For the purpose of avoiding further emissions and capturing carbon, nature-based solutions can do both immediately.”

His team began identifying high priority areas in Southeast Asia to deploy such nature-based solutions, resulting in the creation of a carbon prospecting map in 2021 that focused on the region’s tropics.

Like a treasure map, it reveals swathes of forests and mangroves where carbon is most richly stored, as well as potential areas to invest in reforestation efforts. Ultimately, the goal is to expand this regional map across all tropics worldwide.

From the Alps to Bukit Timah

As the award-winning scientist continues to scale summits in his high-profile career, the self-confessed “mountain person” also enjoys alpine hiking as a hobby, and has explored some of the world’s most majestic mountains.

“I really enjoyed Switzerland. During the weekends, my wife and I used to hike in the Alps. When we lived in Washington State, we had the Cascade mountains. Now, there’s Bukit Timah,” he said with a laugh.

For now, he has swapped his hiking boots for two wheels, cycling from Marina Bay Sands to Changi Village and back every weekend.

As this conservation crusader helps Singapore shift into high gear in the ongoing fight against climate change, he said the city-state should look beyond its shores to make a real difference – by deploying conservation efforts and resources around the region and by sharing research and education capabilities.

“We can do a lot of good and create a lot of impact in the countries and natural environments around us,” he said. “By working together with likeminded partners, we can deploy solutions that will benefit the world, and be part of something bigger than ourselves.”

This is the second instalment of the Greening the Future series on sustainability and climate change.

Read NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye's commentary on the role that universities play in driving climate change action.

“I was lucky enough to be able to explore ditches, drains and streams crisscrossing the neighbourhood,” reminisced Assoc Prof Yeo. The area that is now mainly occupied by part of Changi Air Base was not fenced up in the past, which enabled a curious child to explore the various flora and fauna that proliferated.

Little did he know that what began as a childhood pastime would blossom into a lifelong career in taxonomy, the science of classifying, describing, and naming organisms.

While in the third year of reading for his bachelor’s degree in Zoology (a precursor to the current Life Sciences major) at NUS in 1994, he became convinced of his passion for this area of study.

Surveys of nature reserves and a project on freshwater shrimps took him back to his childhood days. “But this time with a little bit more knowledge and understanding of what I was doing,” he quipped.

He then pursued a PhD at NUS to study freshwater crabs in the Indochinese region, expanding his scope of fieldwork and taxonomic study to Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar. Remaining in academia, he was a researcher and then instructor in the Department of Biological Sciences at NUS before being appointed an Assistant Professor there in 2010.

A decade later, Assoc Prof Yeo was appointed Deputy Head of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM), which has one of the most comprehensive collections of zoological specimens from Southeast Asia that dates back to the 19^th century.

In July 2022, he will take on the mantle as Head of Singapore’s only natural history museum with over a million specimens—from dinosaur fossils to the skeleton of a sperm whale that was discovered off the shores of Jurong in 2015.

Not just a depository of “dead animals in a bottle” 

Assoc Prof Yeo first joined the Museum in 2001—then known as the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research—as a research officer for four years. Even after he left to focus on undergraduate teaching as an instructor, he continued to conduct research in close collaboration with the Museum.

“As a researcher, I would deposit specimens I collected for my research projects in the Museum or refer to the specimens in the Museum for my work,” he said, happy to contribute to the collection and learn at the same time.

His return to the Museum as Deputy Head, however, while informed by his experience in it, has less to do with hands-on taxonomic research and deals more with managing the Research, Curriculum and Collection (RCC) section—the largest group in the Museum.

This section comprises about 20 people, including lecturers, scientific managers and officers, and specialist associates. “All of them are responsible for some aspect of managing, running and taking care of the specimen collections,” added Assoc Prof Yeo.

He oversees the RCC team and their meticulous handling of all specimens, which includes vertebrates such as mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fishes, as well as invertebrates like insects, molluscs and crustaceans. They are either kept dry or in ethanol, as microscope slides or in other collections.

“These collections are really important as they form the core of the Museum’s specimen-based research,” he explained. They are not simply “dead animals in bottles”, but provide plenty of biological and historical information. 

For example, if a new species was discovered, one of the original specimens identified would be designated the holotype specimen, serving as a permanent reference point, for that species. “A hundred years down the line, when all of us at the Museum are no longer here, this will remain the key representative that defines the species,” he added.

Keeping natural history alive

As Head of the Museum, his primary focus will be to keep the facility funded, support and further strengthen its specimen-based research capabilities, and raise awareness of its rich collections, including Singapore’s only record of a leatherback turtle that was found dead on a beach near Siglap in 1883.

The Museum was officially launched as the LKCNHM in 2015 and became a self-supporting unit. Part of Assoc Prof Yeo’s job will be to ensure the Museum remains self-funded and self-sufficient through fostering continued as well as new engagements of donors, and by boosting the Museum’s programmes and development.

Having worked closely with other prominent natural history museums around the world such as London’s Natural History Museum, the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, the Netherlands, and the National Museum of Natural History in France, he believes that LKCNHM is comparable to them in terms of its role as a repository of zoological specimens and information, and international centre for taxonomic research. He intends to continue to support and enhance existing programmes in the Museum for zoological exploration, discovery and research as well as to initiate new ones.       

But the Museum is perhaps less recognised locally in Singapore, he observed, attributing this to its location within the university in the western side of the country, and highlighting, as another of his priorities, the push for greater outreach to raise awareness of the Museum and attract more Singaporeans from across the island to visit.

Going forward, he intends to actively oversee the raising of the Museum’s profile through social media, and enhance engagement with schools, companies, government agencies and the public. Bringing in more youths and younger leaders interested in natural history will also be a boost—there are plenty of opportunities for them to engage with the Museum, he shares. “We have student interns helping with various aspects of operating the Museum, including curation, field and lab research and managing the front-of-house of the gallery,” said Assoc Prof Yeo.

Discovering new species, and giving others the opportunity to do the same, is what Assoc Prof Yeo finds most fulfilling about his job. “The exploration and discovery that go on in and through the Museum, and witnessing other people's excitement in that discovery, are very rewarding,” he reflected.

As part of Ecosperity Week 2022, a panel came together to address the issues faced by sustainability leaders who aspire to move from planning to execution in their decarbonisation journey. Themed “From intent to action: Understanding the decarbonisation levers for your net zero transformation”, the discussion was part of a deep dive session organised by sustainability consultancy ENGIE Impact.

Speaking at the panel, NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye, who also chairs the University Sustainability and Climate Action Council, reflected that “sustainability has to be at the core of our decision-making”. He shared how the University has been working on organisational sustainability issues on campus for many years now, with its latest plan for 2030 comprising three main components – to be carbon neutral, to cool NUS, and to achieve a zero-waste campus.

At NUS, interventions for carbon neutrality include changing the mindset of individuals to achieve an overall reduction in carbon footprint, which is the most challenging. Equally important are maximising the photovoltaic coverage on campus, consolidating district cooling plants to improve energy efficiency for air-conditioning, and raising the thermostat temperature for air conditioning.

Opportunities over compliance

Providing her observations at the recent World Economic Forum Meeting held in Davos, fellow panellist Ms Jessica Cheam, Managing Director of media and business intelligence company Eco-Business, shared that it is encouraging that we are transitioning from roadmaps to an era of overdue, actual action. Companies are forming coalitions to decarbonise industries, and governments are forming partnerships to create the market signal and market demand to transition to green technologies.

Scaling it down to the company level, Ms Cheam highlighted the Science Based Target initiative as one of several mechanisms that companies can use to set net zero targets. “And rather than view Environmental, Social and Governance and sustainability from a compliance and disclosure lens, we need to think about this more from the opportunity lens, because it creates resilience and generates new business lines,” Ms Cheam underscored.

Role of the ecosystem

Ultimately, a strong ecosystem is critical to support the adoption of innovative solutions for the decarbonisation journey. Concerted effort has to be put in to incubate or originate ideas, and this requires the participation of stakeholders such as the National Research Foundation, research universities such as NUS, laboratories, and corporate venture teams.

Prof Tan shared that NUS has seen strong efforts by its professors and researchers in their research on sustainability. NUS Enterprise forms part of the ecosystem to push ideas in the early stages of innovation as close to the market as possible, by facilitating collaborations with companies and Small and Medium Enterprises.

As a microcosm of society, NUS uses its campus, with its more than 250 buildings, as a living lab. One outstanding innovation example is SDE4, a zero-energy building which has been recently named one of the six most beautiful and sustainable buildings in the world. The building incorporates deep engineering inspired by many tropical elements, including a larger roof to lower temperatures and shade the building from direct sunlight, and the use of large ceiling fans to cool the building for its occupants’ comfort.

“These are some examples of using ‘traditional wisdoms’, and they are low-hanging fruit, especially for retrofitting existing buildings to minimise their carbon footprint,” Prof Tan elaborated.

The NUS Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore, which looks at optimising photovoltaics, is also studying the possibility of incorporating solar cells on building facades in addition to roofs.

“We welcome collaborations. Whatever the innovation, we will put it in one of our buildings, test it, pilot it, and if it works, we will scale it to more buildings,” explained Prof Tan.

By University Sustainability and Climate Action Council Secretariat

This was the warning issued by Malaysia’s Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, who cautioned: “The question of another global pandemic in the foreseeable future is not a matter of if, but rather when.”

As the pace of urbanisation, climate change and global connectivity accelerates, he noted that this could also exacerbate the spread of more zoonoses – infectious diseases that are transmitted between animals and people – like SARS, MERS, and COVID-19.

Mr Khairy was speaking at the Public Health Thought Leadership Dialogue on 2 June, organised by the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (SSHSPH). Now in its 10^th edition, the event focuses on major health issues that affect local and regional populations, with this year’s topic revolving around how countries can future-proof their public healthcare systems.

Observing the pressing need for long-overdue reforms that COVID-19 has highlighted, Mr Khairy noted, “The systems we have today are arguably stuck in paradigms of past models, population profiles, or ways of working that no longer serve us.”

For countries like Singapore and Malaysia, there is also another worry besides acute pandemics: ageing populations. With non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and cancers becoming more prevalent in older adults, meeting these changing demands is another reason why healthcare systems need to be reviewed.

“We need to build back better… towards a resilient health system that is capable of absorbing shocks such as public health emergencies or managing demographic challenges like an ageing population,” he added.

A healthcare makeover

To do so, Mr Khairy underscored four key areas of reform.

First, countries have to ensure that basic healthcare needs are equitable for all, in terms of quality and efficiency. One way to achieve this aim is by fostering strong public-private partnerships. 

He raised the example of Malaysia proving the effectiveness of this approach during the pandemic. When cases spiked last year, the government transferred non-COVID patients to private facilities, allowing the public hospitals to fully focus on the fight at hand and preventing more deaths and severe illnesses.

Second, an increase in healthcare financing is necessary. Thanks to the pandemic, it is increasingly seen as an investment rather than an expense. Now, the Malaysian government is engaged in serious discussions to raise its spending on healthcare, which has been chronically underfunded for years.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has lifted the veil and shown the true human cost of not resolving this issue,” said Mr Khairy, noting that Singapore has been at this critical juncture before. In 2013, the Republic had revamped its healthcare financing framework by having the government shoulder a larger portion of healthcare costs through subsidies and schemes.

Third, countries need to pivot from a curative, treatment-focused mindset to a holistic approach that emphasises wellness and preventive healthcare. “We need to genuinely bring health back into healthcare. Right now, it is more ‘sickcare’,” he quipped.

As part of its preventive healthcare approach, Malaysia is looking to introduce a smoking ban for those born after 2005. The move will also be closely followed in Singapore, said SSHSPH Vice Dean (Global Health) Associate Professor Hsu Li Yang in his opening address.

“Malaysia and Singapore share a history that extends beyond economic ties…the health and wellbeing of our people are also linked,” said Assoc Prof Hsu. “We (NUS) also study and learn from the health policies and interventions of both countries.”

Finally, countries need to ensure wide-changing reforms and increased spending are also accountable. This is where governance is critical.

Malaysia’s Health Ministry, for example, is proposing to establish a healthcare reform commission that will independently monitor, advise and report on the status of reform implementation to the government and people. Such transparency would “help inject institutional checks and balances”, said Mr Khairy. 

Power of partnerships

At a subsequent panel discussion moderated by Associate Professor Jeremy Lim, Director at SSHSPH’s Leadership Institute for Global Health Transformation, speakers also highlighted how cooperation can better prepare healthcare systems for future challenges.

“When we want to future-proof healthcare, we cannot think of it as silos,” said Dr Ong Suan Ee, Chief Operating Officer and Senior Health Systems Researcher at social enterprise Research for Impact. “We have to think of these issues as intertwined… and requiring a lot of collaboration among different parties.”

Referring to Mr Khairy’s point about strong public-private partnerships, Dr Lei Hsien-Hsien, Chief Executive Officer of The American Chamber of Commerce, narrowed partnership down to three areas for potential collaboration: product, platform and processes.

For instance, private firms can harness public data to create health platforms that focus on preventive healthcare.

Countries can also come together to generate greater results. During the question and answer session, Mr Khairy revealed his hope for Singapore and Malaysia to explore avenues for developing digital health capabilities together. 

“If we can get the regulations in place, it can be seamless both ways,” he said.

The 51-year-old recounted with a chortle his colleagues’ reactions whenever they ask him out for a meal at a Western restaurant. “I’ll say: ‘Why don’t we eat at the hawker centre?’ You’ll see the disbelief on their faces.”     

There is a good reason for this. More than 20 years of living abroad has given him a seemingly insatiable craving for local delights. The self-professed “chicken rice guy” simply loves hawker centres, explaining, “You get to pick everything on a whim – you can’t beat that.”     

There are two other things he cannot get enough of: electronics and education. As Dean of the newly-established College of Design and Engineering (CDE), he is harnessing the best of both worlds for students.

Launched in November 2021, the College is a merger of the Faculty of Engineering and the School of Design and Environment as NUS seeks to offer a new model of interdisciplinary education. This also means encouraging students to push the boundaries – a challenge that Prof Thean relishes.

“The most enjoyable part is working with my students and research groups to explore new ideas,” he said. “How can I inspire students to think differently about a problem, and then look at something that’s never been done before?”

From tinkering to innovating

His passion for electronics was sparked by his father, a self-taught and talented technician who could fix everything from radars to televisions. 

Growing up, his home was always chock-full of gadgets. “We were always tinkering with stuff,” he recalled. “From a very young age, I’ve always been immersed in electronics.”

There is a look of wonder in his eyes as he holds up a vacuum tube – a black, light-bulb shaped device that used to be a crucial component for home appliances like televisions.

Today, these tubes are artefacts that have been replaced by semiconductor switches filling coin-sized computer chips that power almost everything electronic.

The ingenuity behind these inventions has always astounded Prof Thean. “Back in the 1950s, these (vacuum tubes) used to be in big-box televisions. Today, we have billions of semiconductor switches in thumb-sized chips that run our phones. Today, you never see a TV that’s thicker than an inch,” he noted.

It was this fascination that led him to dive into the world of semiconductors. After finishing his PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana in the United States, he worked for tech giants such as IBM and Motorola, where he helped to take nanotechnology to the next level.

The adventurous nomad

Over the years, work has taken him across the United States; the rolling hill country of Texas, the picturesque Hudson Valley in New York and California’s coastal city of San Diego have all been home to Prof Thean and his family.

“We led a fairly nomadic life,” said the father of one son. “I survived on IKEA furniture for a long time – easy to put together, easy to dispose of.”

They also lived in the Belgian city of Leuven for almost five years after he accepted a job offer at research and innovation centre IMEC in 2011.

Moving from America to Europe came as a culture shock. From a country that was largely monolingual, they suddenly found themselves among people who spoke three languages – Dutch, French and German – but none that they could understand.

“When we first got there, we turned on the radio and nothing was in English,” recalled Prof Thean, who eventually picked up Dutch while his wife learned French.

But after living in four American states and one European city, Singapore beckoned.  “It’s like going away on a very long trip,” he explained. “You start off very enthusiastically, but after a while you start thinking: Maybe it’s time to go home.”

Interesting opportunities also awaited back home. “Singapore has transformed over the years – it’s become a lot more exciting,” he enthused. “The community for technology, research and innovation has grown a lot.”

True to his adventurous spirit, Prof Thean sought a new challenge even as he returned to familiar surroundings in 2016. “Since I’m coming home, I wanted to try something different,” he said, explaining his switch from industry to academia.

A perfect pairing

As Dean of CDE, his priority now lies in developing young minds rather than technology.

Like how chicken and rice make a delectable pairing, Prof Thean pointed out that human connection is an indispensable ingredient of success. 

He cites the analogy of NASA assembling a diverse, synergistic team of engineers, scientists and astronauts that made it possible to break the frontier of space. “No man is an island. You have to work in teams. You have to work with people with different skill sets and backgrounds,” he said.

With the fields of design and engineering converging at CDE, the school is a perfect platform for such productive collaborations.

“That ability to get people comfortable about working across boundaries will prime them later in life to be open-minded and use ideas from other disciplines,” he added. “Besides, life and work are so much more interesting across boundaries; we hope our students will be inspired to be adventurous with their learning experience. That is something I hope we can inculcate through our programmes.”

In the first SEA Games since the pandemic, the NUS athletes - 13 students and 11 alumni - took part in a wide array of events which included fencing, taekwondo, golf, bowling, beach handball, e-sports, dancesport, shooting and more. Their valiant efforts contributed to the nation’s third-best showing away from home at the SEA Games.

Historic victory for Singapore

Third-year student Kiria Tikanah Abdul Rahman (Faculty of Science) and first-year student Rebecca Ong (Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine) were part of the women’s fencing epee team that bagged gold after a historic victory over Thailand. Both ladies were overjoyed with the milestone win for the nation after a heart-wrenching loss to Philippines in the 2019 SEA Games.

Kiria, who also won a silver in an earlier individual epee event, was focused on the prize for the entire duration of this game. “We were all very elated and excited about what we had accomplished. Getting to the finals in the 2019 SEA Games was already historic, and we knew that a gold medal was within reach. To be able to better ourselves this time was very fulfilling,” she shared.

“NUS has helped me to be more independent, as a student and an athlete. Being empowered to build my class schedule, I learnt to manage my time between trainings and lessons better. This helps me fully focus on trainings,” continued Kiria.

The finals, played on 15 May 2022 at the My Dinh Indoor Games Gymnasium, was a keenly contested match which saw the women’s epee team triumph with a 45-36 lead over its Thai opponents.

Quietly confident of the progress made by the team, she hopes this team can continue playing for more SEA Games and Asian Games to come. “Taking it one step at a time, we hope to compete together in the Olympics,” she added.

Shining debutant on the green

Aloysa Atienza from College of Design and Engineering made her Games debut in golf. Back from Australia after competing in several tournaments for a month, she went into her game calm and confident. She proceeded to secure a silver medal in the individual golf event, a performance with which she is pleased.

“I am excited to fly the Singapore flag high in Hanoi. Having to endure the period of lockdowns, finding the drive to keep working hard and being 1 per cent better every day - that was really tough. I’m glad to see all that dedication and hard work paying off,” the debutant recounted with joy.

With this achievement, she becomes the first female golfer to win Singapore a medal at an away SEA Games since 1991. Grateful for the love and support she has received, Aloysa also credited her community for her achievement. “I would like to thank my family for being my number one supporters since I started chasing the dream. My friends, classmates and professors have been very accommodating when I travelled and missed classes especially in my final year of school,” she shared. “I would not be where I am without all their constant belief in me."

Alumnus setting a new national record

Over at the track, NUS alumnus Ang Chen Xiang (Medicine, ’19) is no stranger to breaking records. Putting his best foot forward, the national track and field athlete set the new national record for the ninth time in his career when he clinched silver in the 110m hurdles segment. The time clocked at the Games was 0.03 seconds faster than the national record he set at the Singapore National Track & Field Championships in January 2022.

A seasoned athlete since his undergraduate days in NUS, Chen Xiang recounted how TeamNUS has journeyed with him this far. “NUS sports and the medical faculty were extremely supportive in my sporting endeavours, which allowed me the flexibility to compete at multiple international races whilst juggling my academic requirements,” he reflected.

“Iron sharpens iron, and these competitions and training stints have formed the basis of my maturity as an athlete.”

This is Chen Xiang’s fourth SEA Games, and he is grateful to have been a part of Singapore athletics’ exceptional showing this year – also its best since the 1993 SEA games. He candidly shared what his plans are after the Games: “As with each major event, we go back to the drawing board to solidify strengths and work on weaknesses. The next SEA Games is just around the corner and the Asian Games has been postponed with no definite date, so planning for training will need to incorporate an element of flexibility.”

Congratulations to all our NUS student and alumni athletes who have done the nation proud! Find out more on the list of participants and medal tally here.

In this series, NUS News profiles the University’s Presidential Young Professors who are at the forefront of their research fields, turning creative ideas into important innovations that make the world better.

We all like to believe that we make good decisions, and for a long time, most economists believed that we did. In textbook economic models, it was assumed that people were super-intelligent rational actors who made perfectly optimal choices.

However, in 2008, Assistant Professor David Peter Daniels would read a book that would shape his future career. Nudge was written by the 2017 Economics Nobel Prize winner Richard H. Thaler and Harvard Law School professor Cass R. Sunstein. The book questioned whether people were all that good at making choices, and pointed out how human decisions are often distorted by systematic biases. Moreover, it turns out that the context in which a choice is presented to us has a big impact on the decisions we end up making. This means that policymakers, by tweaking the context surrounding a choice, have a powerful ability to use “nudges” to steer people towards better decisions.

Still a student at Harvard University when he read Nudge, a young David Daniels knew he wanted to research how biases influence human behaviour. His body of work now covers a wide range of the irrational and imperfect things that people do in decisions, negotiations, and organisations. Hearing the cheerful Californian talk about his research is similar to seeing a magician doing a magic trick. He outlines what assumptions people have about certain behaviours – what they anticipate others will do – but like a magician that pulls out a rabbit from a top hat, Asst Prof Daniels, who is Presidential Young Professor at NUS Business, unveils how lots of his research actually contradicts what we would expect.

Making choices in surprising ways

Asst Prof Daniels focuses on three broad research areas related to choices: influence and negotiation (how good are people at influencing other people?), diversity assessments and policies (what do investors think about gender diversity in companies?), and prosocial behaviours (do major disasters cause people to volunteer less?).

As an example of how his research is often surprising, he talks about prosocial behaviour. “We know that small harms often attract help. If Person A trips and falls while Person B doesn’t, we have a stronger impulse to do something nice for Person A,” he said. “And for a long time, it was assumed that if people feel the impulse to help after small harms, they would feel even more of an impulse to help after big harms.”

“But we find the opposite: after major disasters like a huge hurricane, prosocial behaviour actually goes down,” Asst Prof Daniels said.

His work is full of unexpected twists and turns, as well as an attempt to understand why they happen using an interdisciplinary perspective that draws on psychology, economics, and management research.

His research on diversity has equally fascinating results. Often businesses wish to increase workplace diversity since research suggests that diversity is correlated with improved company performance. But how do people actually evaluate diversity and do they evaluate it well?

In fact, our evaluations of diversity are impacted by a lot of unexpected things. If Team A has more racial diversity than Team B, people rate Team A as also having more gender diversity than Team B – even if both teams have identical numbers of men and women! In other words, information about one kind of diversity “spills over” to distort our evaluations of other kinds of diversity.

By exploring how biases influence our thinking, Asst Prof Daniels hopes to understand how we can become better decision makers.

“A common saying in economics is that there is no such thing as a free lunch,” Asst Prof Daniels commented, “But when you bring psychology and behavioural science into the picture, you often do find free lunches. For example, when people are not currently making the best decision possible, there exist solutions which can make some people better off without making anyone worse off.”

This brings Asst Prof Daniels onto his final area of research: influence and negotiation. He has been studying the behaviour of “choice architects” – influencers who present choices to others. Think: a Wall Street broker presenting their client with a list of various stocks they could buy; a real-estate agent bringing a young couple to see different flats; or a mid-level manager who discusses multiple project ideas with his/her team. All these influencers must decide how to present options to others – hopefully in a way that helps nudge the people around them in beneficial directions.

“For a while now, we've known that it really matters whether you describe choices to other people using a positive frame or negative frame. When you describe choices by highlighting what people stand to gain from doing something – when you use a positive frame – then people act very conservatively and cautiously,” Asst Prof Daniels said, “However, if you talk about what people stand to lose from not doing something – when you use a negative frame – then people start flipping coins and taking risks.”

This is exactly the kind of bias that a choice architect or influencer should be using to influence others. If you want to influence others to act risk averse, you should use a positive frame. If you want to influence others to act risk seeking, you should use a negative frame. Sounds easy enough. But in a study of business managers, Asst Prof Daniels found that managers’ actual behaviour didn’t always follow this pattern. When managers wanted others to act risk averse, they did use a positive frame. So far, so good. But when mangers wanted others to act risk seeking, they still used a positive frame. This was suboptimal; in fact, it meant that managers’ influence strategies were actually backfiring on them!

“There’s a free lunch right there,” he points out. Sometimes in organisations, the smart play is for people to take calculated risks. In such cases, leaders need to resist their instinct to use a positive frame when presenting choices to followers. Instead, leaders should use a negative frame. If they did – if they used a better nudge – then everyone would be made better off.

Using big data to learn more about ourselves

Asst Prof Daniels has now been at NUS for about two years after holding a post at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. His work contains a blend of both classic experimental approaches and newer methods that use big data and machine learning. “Classic experiments, where you invite people to participate in a research study, are great because they allow control over randomisation and over causality,” he said, “But ‘new school’ approaches allow you to analyse huge datasets involving naturally-occurring phenomena that you just can’t recreate in a lab. This opens the door to answering many exciting research questions, like how prosocial behaviour changes after an earthquake.”

He believes machine learning and big data will become bigger and bigger parts of research as computers continue to improve: “Big data and machine learning are here to stay – they can really help us learn about ourselves through the unprecedented availability of so much information, and the ability to analyse it using cutting-edge machine learning tools.”

More Proof of Passion stories here.

The NUS Presidential Young Professorship (PYP) scheme supports talented young academics with excellent research track records in advancing their cutting-edge research. More information about the PYP scheme is available here.

Attracting bold and curious students keen to expand their interdisciplinary knowledge and global perspectives, Experience NUSC Day provided a taste of what to expect at the College.

The students who attended Experience NUSC Day had gone through a stringent admission and selection process before earning their spot in NUSC. Outstanding academic results, co-curricular records and exemplary conduct are a given. More importantly, they are aligned with NUSC's ethos of cultivating students who are not only intellectually curious and critical, but also future-looking, global and committed to making an impact.

“NUSC is going to be about our students, who will form the heart and soul of this new college. Our vision is for NUSC to be a college known for its commitment to service, to creating positive change in the community, to being inclusive and united in its diversity,” said Prof Quek Su Ying, Vice-Dean (Designate) of Outreach at NUSC.

“We want to co-create this new college with our students and build a supportive community where our students can chart their own paths and come together in their pursuit of common passions.”

Experience NUSC Day welcomed the college’s pioneering batch of prospective students with a host of activities and avenues for interaction. Many stepped out of their comfort zones to attend the “Great Conversations” sample classes, make new friends, and connect with seniors and professors from the College.

One of the “Great Conversations” sessions, “What makes some thinking critical?”, was conducted by Professor Barbara Ryan. Known for her incisiveness and dedication towards her students, Prof Ryan helped deepen the students’ thinking by asking questions and probing the students further during the class. There was incessant chatter as the students eagerly shared their ideas with one another and engaged in thoughtful discussion.

With the multidisciplinary focus of NUSC, some students also had the opportunity to experience STEM-related classes. One such session, helmed by Dr Chan Kiat Hwa, asked the intriguing question: “How much science does a Martian need to know in order to survive?”. After watching a short clip from the movie The Martian, the class engaged in small group discussions on possible questions the main character Mark Watney would have asked in his bid to farm on Mars. Through the class, Dr Chan emphasised the College’s focus on inquiry and the importance of asking questions to learning and thinking.

After attending sample classes, the students bonded with their seniors and professors over a meal that provided much food for thought. They gained deeper insights on academic structure and student life through hearing seniors share personal stories of learning and living on campus, as well as advice on a plethora of items – from the module registration system and lesson structures, to the best food spots in University Town and the dining hall meal credits system.

Thung Yee Shien, a student who attended Experience NUSC Day, remarked, “Overall, the whole event was super enjoyable and I can't wait to see what else NUSC has to offer!”

Experience NUSC Day serves as a foretaste of NOW! – or NUS College Onboarding and Welcome –  welcoming the pioneer batch of NUSC students to a vibrant collegiate experience.

By NUS College

Grip Buddy, a simple device that helps a user to open and close jars using one hand and the hip, will benefit seniors like Mr Ng. Developed by a team of NUS students from the College of Design and Engineering, Grip Buddy is a device measuring 12cm by 21.5cm, equipped with features like anti-slip design and cushioned contact points.

This practical innovation, designed by students under the “bGood” initiative of the NUS Biomedical Engineering, has caught the eye of local social service agencies and to date orders have been placed for around 100 Grip Buddies to be deployed at various centres in the community.

Grip Buddy was one of the 21 exhibits at the GeronTech Showcase organised by NUS, in partnership with Lions Befrienders and People’s Association. The event, which was also part of the engagement activities of the University’s Health District @ Queenstown initiative, was held on 22 April at a community pavilion in Stirling Road.

With Singapore facing an increasingly ageing population, the event introduced emerging and innovative technologies that alleviate challenges associated with growing old, showcasing projects by NUS Biomedical Engineering students as well as innovations from NUS faculty members and NUS start-ups.

“While we have been working closely with Lions Befrienders for various initiatives, this is the first time we are holding a gerontechnology showcase in the community,” said Dr James Kah, a Senior Lecturer with the NUS Department of Biomedical Engineering. Dr Kah teaches the module “BN4102 Gerontechnology in Ageing” at NUS, which produced several of the projects on show, and oversees the bGood initiative, which also co-creates solutions for the disability community. Dr Kah is also a member of the Health District @ Queenstown initiative.

“By bringing this Showcase to senior residents at their estates, and having our NUS students and researchers interact with the older adults, we hope to co-design and jointly develop technological innovations that will improve the quality of life of our seniors. Prototypes will first be tested in community, and eventually be deployed in a larger scale within the community to benefit more seniors.”  

Senior-friendly innovations

Besides Grip Buddy, another NUS student project featured was Happy Feet 2.0, an elderly-friendly dancing game designed to keep the elderly physically and mentally active as they dance to popular songs they are familiar with. 

To encourage older adults to both move their feet and promote cognitive stimulation, the students came up with an engaging and fun activity where players follow a series of arrows shown on a screen and steps on corresponding tiles on the mat to earn points. Created specially for seniors, Happy Feet 2.0 comes with a non-slip mat, cushioning foam, slower game speeds and larger on-screen icons.

NUS researchers also participated in the community event. One of their inventions on show was the EsoGlove, a lightweight, soft robotic glove that enables patients with impaired hand functions to perform rehabilitation exercises in the comfort and convenience of their home. Designed to detect and interpret muscle signal, the EsoGlove also serves to assist patients in carrying out tasks like holding a cup.

Also on display was a tablet-based remote digital therapy game known as Multi-Attribute Task Battery (MAT-B), in which players complete multiple tasks in an air-flight control simulation setting. Data collected from the game can then be used to construct individual performance profiles, providing information on how digital therapy can be personalised for senior users to address cognitive decline.

The event attracted about 200 residents from the Queenstown area who tested the devices on show and provided feedback to the developers.

“This is a good event; after the students have designed (their products), you seek opinions from the end-users,” said Mr Ong, a resident who attended the GeronTech Showcase with his wife.

“We give feedback on whether it is feasible or applicable, and you can rethink and improve on the design to suit the targeted users.”

The Health District @ Queenstown is co-led by NUS, National University Hospital System, and Housing & Development Board. The pilot initiative aims to co-design and testbed design and programme strategies to support the health and well-being of residents throughout their life journey.

Reflecting on her childhood, when Baba Malay was already facing the brunt of endangerment, Dr Lee shared: “When I was much younger, I did not know I was Peranakan Chinese because it was naturalised that we would do certain things in very different ways.”

She continued, “The older members of the family would wear the sarong kebaya, whereas other families would dress up in cheongsams for Chinese New Year. We would be hearing older members of the family speak Baba Malay and not other Chinese dialects or languages. It was only much later that I realized that we were Peranakan Chinese and a very different being from other Chinese groups in Singapore.”

It was this connection with her heritage, together with community and family support, that led her to eventually choose to focus on Baba Malay for her PhD in Linguistics dissertation at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa.

Contributing hope for Baba Malay

Since 2011, Dr Lee has been carrying out language documentation work on Baba Malay. She has documented and archived hundreds of hours of Baba Malay conversations and stories, and the work continues. She adds, “I am archiving into perpetuity so that younger generations can listen to what Baba Malay sounds like, and hopefully, it would pique their interest in the language.”

Her Baba Malay grammar has also been used as the basis for pedagogical work to revitalise the language.

She also teaches a language documentation class at the Department of English, Linguistics and Theatre Studies, formerly the Department of English Language and Literature. “I teach tools with which language documentation can be carried out for any community, such as those for dictionary making and transcription, so that students who are interested are able to go home and document their own heritage language.”

Prof Tan takes his place among the ranks of NUSS Honorary Members which include Singapore's founding Prime Minister the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew; former state President the late Mr S. R. Nathan; former state President Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam; former Prime Minister Mr Goh Chok Tong, and incumbent Prime Minister Mr Lee Hsien Loong. Former NUS Presidents Professor Shih Choon Fong, Professor Lim Pin and Professor Tan Chorh Chuan are also among the ranks of honorary members that have made their mark in NUS history.

The NUSS Honorary Membership is the highest accolade the premier graduate club may confer on an individual for distinguished service and contributions in public service, NUS or NUSS.

The conferment took place at the Kent Ridge Guild House during the Honorary Membership Conferment cum Sub-Committee Appreciation Dinner, after a hiatus of three years. It was attended by Prof Lim Pin, Prof Tan Chorh Chuan, former Chairman of the NUS Board of Trustees Mr Wong Ngit Liong, and other NUSS Honorary Members and senior management.

Prof Tan has been the NUS President since January 2018. He is the University’s fifth president, and the 23rd leader to head Singapore’s oldest higher education institution. He holds a first class honours degree in Mathematics from NUS and a PhD from Yale University.

A pioneering architect of the current academic system in NUS, Professor Tan is a passionate and award-winning educator who has seeded many initiatives such as the Special Programme in Science, the University Scholars Programme, University Town Residential College Programme, Grade-free Year, and Technology-enhanced Education.

Under Professor Tan’s leadership, NUS has maintained its strong international performance in worldwide rankings. NUS was once again ranked the top university in Asia according to the QS World University Rankings by Subject, released on 6 Apr. This has played a big part in Singapore being assessed as having the best higher education system in Asia.

Prof Tan’s outstanding contributions to education are widely recognised and he received the Public Administration Medal (Gold) at Singapore's National Day Awards in 2014.

He also serves on the boards of various public organisations including the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), National Research Foundation (NRF) and NUS High School of Mathematics and Sciences.

“Prof Tan has been a good friend of NUSS, always making time to join in our major events and working to forge closer ties between NUS and NUSS through programmes such as the NUSS Mentorship programme,” said NUSS Vice-President Tong Hsien-Hui.

“NUSS is proud and privileged to present Prof Tan Eng Chye with the NUSS Honorary Membership, a symbol of our warm friendship, appreciation for his support of NUSS, and recognition for his inspiring leadership and contributions to the University community and Singapore,” he added.

As the avid runner savoured her -15 °C journey past glacier tongues and moraine landscapes, her mind was also on the receding Greenland Ice Sheet, recalling the alarming photos shared by a local on how far the glaciers had retreated over the last two decades.

The timing was uncanny. It was October 31, 2021, and nearly 3,000km away across the Norwegian Sea in Glasgow, another race was just starting – the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) that signalled the world’s marathon efforts to get to net-zero emissions.

Ms Wong’s arctic experience was a chilling reminder. “When we talk about the melting ice sheet and the rise in sea levels that would result, it’s not an abstraction for me,” said the Chairperson of the Singapore Institute of Directors at the Tembusu Forum on April 5, titled “COP26 and Singapore”.

The session on April 5 was the 41^st iteration of the Tembusu Forum, the flagship event of NUS Tembusu College which is held twice every semester. Moderated by College Rector, Professor Tommy Koh, this edition of the forum discussed the results of COP26 and Singapore’s role to fight climate change.

Cooperation from corporates

To Ms Wong, COP26 “signals a new reality” for corporate leaders, who are expected to create value for stakeholders rather than just shareholders. This means that businesses are compelled to set solid net-zero targets or risk being left in the cold by clients and the public.

As more eco-conscious investors vote with their dollars, the pressure is on businesses to “follow the money” and go green. “Evolve or die,” was how Ms Wong put it, adding: “The shift to net-zero is the next great Industrial Revolution.”

And businesses are heeding the green call. At COP25 in 2019, fewer than 100 companies committed to being net-zero by 2050. At COP26, this number soared to about 5,000.

Singapore, staunch supporter

While Ms Wong left footprints on the arctic tundra, Mr Joseph Teo was part of a Singapore delegation that intended to make an imprint at COP26.

For Singapore’s Chief Negotiator for Climate Change at the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, it was the “COVID-19 COP” which came with new challenges.

With the pandemic causing COP26 to be delayed by a year, expectations were heightened. Yet, the limited informal pre-event meetings due to COVID-19 restrictions also curtailed the success of potential agreements at COP26.

“If securing an agreement at a normal COP was already difficult, doing so now under COVID-19 restrictions would be all the more difficult,” said Mr Teo.

This complicated his task of helping Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, in co-facilitating ministerial consultations for a divisive issue – Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. Covering the rules for the global carbon market, agreements had been at a standstill since 2015.

Eventually, with plenty of bilateral work done together with fellow co-facilitator Norway, the agreement was brought across the finishing line, affirming Singapore’s reputation as a staunch supporter of the multilateral, rules-based process.

Singapore aims to do more to meet net-zero goals despite limited renewable energy options due to its small land size. A significant move was taking the “painful decision” of raising carbon tax progressively even in a time of rising costs, said Mr Teo, with Singapore “sticking our neck out” to be the first in Southeast Asia to do so.

Nature can nurture

While Singapore has taken strides towards net-zero, the region also has a significant role to play to limit global warming, said the third and final speaker on the panel, Professor Koh Lian Pin, Director of the NUS Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions.  

This is because Southeast Asia is home to nearly 15 per cent of the world’s tropical forests, the most important ecosystem in mitigating climate change effects.

Prof Koh highlighted that protecting tropical forests can help “turn a tap off on carbon emissions”, alleviating 1.8 billion tonnes of carbon annually, a notable portion of the 36 billion tonnes emitted worldwide.

Despite the steps taken, some in the audience of 95 students remain pessimistic about Singapore’s ability to reach net-zero by mid-century.

In response, the panellists offered some optimism. Mr Teo foregrounded the fact that Singapore has piloted solutions such as laying solar panels on reservoirs and is also considering buying clean fuels from regional neighbours.

Weighing in, Prof Koh added: “Speaking from my heart, we don’t have the luxury to be pessimistic. We need all of you to be optimists because we need you, your brains and brilliance, to help Singapore come up with even better solutions to achieve our climate goal… the future belongs to you.”

Read more about what was at stake at COP26 here.

Conceived in January, the garden is located next to PH Block 23 which was established in 2017 as a housing model in NUS that incorporates proactive pastoral care and mentoring for residents. Over the past few years, PH has rolled out innovative programmes such as community gardening and composting to develop a familial and inclusive residential community. Aligning with the theme of frugality and sustainable living, the programmes encourage residents to contribute meaningfully to the betterment of self and the community.

Coined the ‘PHertical PHarm’, the garden expands on the success of an existing one set up since 2019, which includes crops such as mint, basil and bananas. Inspired by Singapore’s vision of ’30 by 30’ to build up Singapore’s agri-food industry’s capability and capacity to produce 30 per cent of our nutritional needs locally and sustainably by 2030, an interest group consisting of 19 student residents came together to create this vertical farm.

Departing from traditional soil gardening, the vertical garden employs the Nutrient Film Technique, a hydroponics system where plants are arranged in vertical rows of descending height. Dissolved nutrients required for plant growth are re-circulated through a channel in a shallow stream of water, past the bare roots of the plants.

For the students, caring for the garden is a commitment to planning and running activities to nourishing the garden, such as germination, transplantation, monitoring the condition of the plants and hydroponics system, training and rostering themselves for daily tasks.

For Ramond Ang, second year student in Accounting, it was his family’s love of nature and passion for gardening which motivated him to join the interest group. Ramond has also learnt new things through the experience. “It was a new experience, growing edibles in mediums other than soil which is what my family uses at home to grow herbs and edibles,” shared Ramond.

Ramond’s sentiments were echoed by fellow student Jenna Ong, first year student in Business Administration. “I was always interested in gardening, however there are few opportunities to farm especially in urban Singapore. I wanted to explore and learn more about the process of farming, as well as get some practical experience in planting my own crops,” enthused Jenna.

An ecosystem of learning

The vertical garden has also provided students with a fertile environment for learning. Students nurtured their green fingers through experimentation, altering variables such as light exposure to learn more about optimal growing conditions for the plants. Residents also found it fun to see what works and what does not, according to Shirmin Lim, second-year student in Life Sciences who is overseeing one of these experiments.

With close guidance from staff, some students also took their interest to the next level and embarked on a Design Your Own Module (DYOM), an award-winning NUS initiative that leverages technology to encourage more independent, self-directed learning among students. As part of DYOM, students established learning outcomes and research pursuits pertaining to urban farming, and participated in a broad range of learning activities including seminars, research, site visits to farms and interviews with experts.

Beyond building a new ecosystem for gardening, the garden is also an avenue for PH residents to cultivate community interaction and a holistic educational journey. A successful harvest brings a community together. Students are able to relish the work of their own hands through a collaboration with the cooking interest group at PH, transforming the harvest of bok choy into a delectable dish of bibimbap!

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The University Awards represent NUS’ highest tribute to excellence in educating and nurturing talent, advancing knowledge and fostering innovation, and contributing to country and society.

Speaking at the ceremony, which was held at the Regent Singapore this year and webcast live, NUS Senior Deputy President and Provost Professor Ho Teck Hua said, “To all our award recipients, I convey my heartiest congratulations. Today’s celebration is a reminder that even in a pandemic, your work has continued at the highest levels.”

“Your dedication to pursuing your passions, honing your craft, and reaching for excellence serves as an inspiration to us all.”

In his speech, Professor Ho also touched on the bold initiatives that NUS is leading in the areas of education, research, and innovation and enterprise, as well as its sustained investment in talent.

The honour roll

Six educators and researchers from the NUS Business School, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, College of Design and Engineering, College of Humanities and Sciences, and School of Computing were honoured with these awards:

University Research Recognition Award

• Professor Ooi Beng Chin                                                                                                                                     Lee Kong Chian Centennial Professor                                                                                                                 Department of Computer Science, NUS School of Computing                                                                                                                                                                       

Young Researcher Award

• Assistant Professor Shao Huilin                                                                                                                           Department of Biomedical Engineering, NUS College of Design and Engineering                                                 Institute for Health Innovation & Technology                                                                                                                                                                                                    
• Associate Professor Benjamin C.K. Tee                                                                                                                   Department of Materials Science and Engineering, NUS College of Design and Engineering                               N.1 Institute for Health, NUS College of Design and Engineering                                                                   Institute for Health Innovation & Technology                                                                                                                                                                                                        
• Associate Professor Wu Jie                                                                                                                           Department of Chemistry, NUS College of Humanities and Sciences                                                                                                                                                      

Outstanding Educator Award

• Associate Professor Marleen Dieleman                                                                                                       Department of Strategy and Policy, NUS Business School                                                                                                                                                                          
• Associate Professor Alfred Kow Wei Chieh                                                                                                             Department of Surgery, NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine

Outstanding Service Award

Ms Janet Ang and Mdm Kay Kuok Oon Kwong were awarded the Outstanding Service Award for their inspiring leadership and tireless service to the University and society.

Ms Janet Ang

NUS-ISS Chairman Ms Janet Ang graduated from NUS with a Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in 1982 and went on to achieve a long and illustrious career in the Information and Communications Technology industry, notably with IBM in Singapore, China and Japan. During her years at IBM as Managing Director and Vice President, Industry Solutions, IBM Asia Pacific, she orchestrated several noteworthy collaborations in education and research between IBM and NUS.

Helming the NUS-ISS Management Board since 2016, Ms Ang has overseen NUS-ISS’ transformation into a leading institution for the development of industry digital talents. Among her many contributions, she spearheaded ground-breaking strategies, such as the appointment of NUS-ISS as the operations partner of The Digital Academy, serving the whole of government in Singapore.

On her vision for NUS-ISS, Ms Ang said: “In the interconnected, complex and digitised future, I hope for NUS-ISS to be at the heart of the always-learning digital economy, delivering multiple learning pathways and industry-relevant learning experiences that enable Singaporeans to build resilient careers and social mobility.”

“I am deeply humbled by this award, and I share this honour with all NUS-ISS colleagues and board members, past and present,” she added.

Ms Ang is also a passionate advocate for gender equality and women’s career advancement, serving on the Council of Board Diversity since 2019. She is also a Past President of the International Women’s Forum (Singapore Chapter).     

Mdm Kay Kuok Oon Kwong

Mdm Kuok has dedicated much of her time to serving Singapore, wearing many different hats and making an impact in healthcare, sustainability, diversity, education and the arts.

A hospitality and tourism stalwart, Mdm Kuok was a member of the Singapore Tourism Board’s Tourism Consultative Council and Board of Directors, as well as co-chair of the COOL Taskforce during the SARS crisis in 2003. She played a key role in implementing various initiatives to mitigate the impact of the SARS crisis on businesses, helping the tourism industry recover rapidly.

In her 12 years as a member of the NUS Board of Trustees from 2008 to 2020, Mdm Kuok served the University with tireless dedication. She provided astute leadership and vision in charting the University’s strategic goals in education and research, in addition to ably discharging the Board’s fiduciary duties.

As the Founding Chair of the Yale-NUS College Governing Board, Mdm Kuok provided strategic direction, guidance and support to the College in various aspects, from curriculum development and faculty hiring, to finances and infrastructure. She has also chaired and served on several community service and statutory boards, including the Wildlife Reserves Singapore Conservation Fund, National Arts Council, Singapore Environment Council and National Environment Agency.

Envisioning the future directions of the University, Mdm Kuok said: “NUS is working towards creating change drivers through new and exciting innovative programmes and learning opportunities for students to self-actualise and develop their own strengths. This transformation will build capability and cohesiveness in our society”.

“Thank you for this award and for the opportunity to have served on the Board.”

Read more about the NUS University Awards recipients here. 

At the peak of the pandemic in 2020, NUS joined hands with the Multi-Ministry Taskforce to tackle an unprecedented challenge for Singapore: how do we create sufficient recovery facilities for the tens of thousands of migrant workers in order to curb the raging virus that was spreading across the dormitories?

We sprung into action and emptied our hostel rooms at Prince George’s Park Residences (PGPR) during the long vacation from May to July, and committed this timely asset to reinforce the national efforts. In fact, we did more than just availing the rooms. Students across our hostels stepped up spontaneously and put together an online programme called Guest Students@NUS for the migrant workers to do daily exercises, enjoy song and dance performances online, learn basic skills such as financial literacy and conversational English.

This experience culminated in a dignified send-off when the workers completed their stay with us, where each of them received a gift pack reminiscent of the extraordinary hospitality that took them by surprise. In retrospect, we offered more than a safe space for recovery; we offered a learning experience and a glimpse into the heart of the NUS community.

While this exercise is done and dusted, a few learning points illuminated more strongly on hindsight:

(1) We have a sizeable hostel capacity that can do a lot more than just providing accommodation;

(2) With thoughtful planning, a living space can be a good learning space; and

(3) If you can define a compelling cause, students will respond generously and out-give your expectations.

These are the very ideals that now undergird the hostel transformation that is coming to life this August 2022.

But wait – what is there to transform?

More than four walls

Today, NUS hostels hold approximately 11,000 students on campus. For our residents, a campus hostel is a home away from home. It sounds like a tired cliché, but absolutely true. At the most basic level, all homes must satisfy essential physiological and security needs. We pride ourselves in keeping all amenities adequate for the occupants so that our students may focus on other aspects of learning, but given the high proportion of  time spent at the hostels for any resident, we can do so much more within the same space.

Specifically, hostels offer the privilege of a close-knitted community, brought together by a common identity as NUS students. This neighbourhood then becomes a conduit to exchange ideas, to share common interests, or simply to provide proximal support in times of need. Through corridor conversations, lifelong friendships are nurtured, and good ideas can be incubated and refined to become tomorrow’s innovations.

In fact, the hostel identity can even supersede the NUS identity for alumni – I remember meeting some alumni who spent the entire dinner talking about their hostel memories instead of talking about what they remember from their classes! Clearly, providing accommodation is only the starting point. The deliberate shaping of this space with additional activities will then create a multiplier effect to bring both tangible and intangible benefits beyond the physical dimensions.

Hostels offer holistic development at its core

Hostel living is an extension of holistic learning. But must it be? This is an interesting question to consider, because one would think that at a University, we already have more than enough rooms for “learning”. Why do we need another one?

I will answer this by making reference to the NUS educational philosophy. The expressed statements in this philosophy articulate a few key attributes of a desired NUS graduate. Upon closer examination, it becomes apparent that most of these attributes cannot be accomplished within the confines of a classroom. Rather, it advocates the holistic development of individuals by exploiting opportunities nestled within living space.

For example, one learns how to be a constructive and responsible member of a community, by simply organising a block supper, that helps foster camaraderie within the neighbourhood.  Perhaps another will learn to supercharge their communication skills through running for a hostel council election, and persuading others to vote for their new ideas. Intuitively, to thrive in such an environment would require a complete embracing of diversity and inclusiveness as one grows the cultural intelligence quotient amidst their day-to-day experience. Such is the celebrated life skills for the future where global citizenship will become common place.

Building a strong connection to give

Next, effective learning in the hostels can evoke generous giving. As residents begin to feel comfortable and connected to the community, they may also subscribe to the cause of the hostel as their own cause.  A good illustration would be the few blood donation drives initiated by residents across NUS in 2021. Even while we still maintained relatively strict safe management measures within campus, our residents put forth compelling proposals to run such campaigns on campus. Their efforts garnered strong backing from the rest of the residents and they outpaced the donation from the rest of NUS for any given year.

This brings to mind how the hostel environment can widen the worldview of individuals and to nurture interest beyond self. By leveraging the zeal and talents of residents within the same space, we can harness and proliferate individual empathy through communal accountability, gearing the entire hostel to become an unstoppable force for greater works.

Learning to give, starts at home.

So really – what are we transforming?

The ongoing hostel transformation is a deliberate attempt to advance the philosophies that we described. There are two key strokes that characterise this change.

For one, we are formalising a new housing concept titled ‘House’. This is defined by existing hostel Pioneer House (previously PGP House) and an upcoming LightHouse. Houses are positioned with reduced requirements for CCA participation, and in so doing, help channel the resources and time towards strengthening peer mentoring and support. Devoid of a meal plan that binds the students within a community hall, the House concept advocates smaller group engagement, which in turn catalyses greater peer accountability. We also envisage more Houses to be launched in the coming years to create and grow a new vibrancy around this concept.

On the other hand, our existing Student Residences model, consisting of PGPR and UTown Residence (UTR), continues to offer no frills accommodation for students who desire such arrangements. Yet, even this model would benefit from enhanced onsite pastoral care and a greater sense of home. Therefore, we are installing full-fledged Masters and Residential Fellows to provide an increased level of local governance and wellness support. Through this provision, our residents can be assured of a safe and warm environment that liberates them to excel.

In totality, all these changes embrace student diversity by providing more options to meet individualised needs. Effectively, we now present four distinct housing concepts where students can choose according to their preferred level of engagement:

(1) Halls of Residence with a plethora of CCAs and rich heritage;

(2) Residential Colleges with thematic academic programmes;

(3) New Houses with emphasis on peer mentoring and collaborative leadership; and

(4) Student Residences with reinforced pastoral care.

It is our hope that this transformation will firmly integrate campus life into the tapestry of holistic learning, and grow our students into tomorrow’s leaders of change.  It takes a village, and this is ours.

About the author

Associate Professor Ho Han Kiat is the NUS Dean of Students, and an academic staff of the NUS Department of Pharmacy. In 2009, he started his own research programme in NUS, exploring various aspects of liver diseases including the management of drug-induced liver toxicity, liver fibrosis and liver cancer. Over the years as a faculty member, he has published more than 90 papers in internationally recognised journals and has won multiple university-level teaching excellence awards, including the Outstanding Educator Award in 2020. He is the Vice President of the Toxicology Society of Singapore, and a diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology.

Looking to 2022 is a series of commentaries on what readers can expect in the new year. This is the final instalment of the series.

Click here to read Professor Tommy Koh's commentary on three upcoming anniversaries that will be key to international geopolitics.

Click here to read Professor Danny Quah's article on how societies can build back stronger from the pandemic.

Click here to read Professor Freddy Boey's views on opportunities for start-ups in the New Normal.

Click here to read Associate Professor Tan Ern Ser's commentary on enhancing retirement financial adequacy for our seniors.

Click here to read Professor Paul Tambyah and Assistant Professor Lionel Lum's views on the direction of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Click here to read Associate Professor Simon Poh’s take on Singapore’s upcoming tax landscape.

Her love for bugs saves the earth

Assistant Professor Nalini Puniamoorthy

They may sting, scare and make us squirm. But insects, so often dismissed as tiny pests, are of colossal importance to the world.

Just ask Assistant Professor Nalini Puniamoorthy, who has combed the dense jungles of Costa Rica in search of a dung fly no larger than a fingertip, and bred black soldier flies in the lab to help recycle Singapore’s food waste.

“They play such big roles in our livelihoods. When we lose insects, we lose a keystone component of our biodiversity,” said Prof Puniamoorthy, a researcher at the NUS Department of Biological Sciences who has spent the last two decades studying these critters.

She cited how some bugs help pollinate food crops and are sources of treasured commodities like silk and honey. In nature, they also break down dead organic matter to release nutrients back into the environment, and are a staple diet of many larger animals.

Her research is all geared towards building a better world. “At the end of the day, we want to leave something behind that is useful for other people,” she said.

For instance, her studies on how mosquitoes reproduce is helping to combat the periodic dengue outbreaks in Singapore. 

In recent years, she has also observed that insects are slowly shedding their bad reputation and gaining recognition for their importance. For example, protein-rich crickets are increasingly being viewed as a sustainable food source of the future.

“The knowledge about insects is also getting more popular in science,” she said. “There is an increasing number of people who realise that they might be useful.”

Setting the stage for this rookie actress to bloom

Ulfah Irdina Bte Affandi

Ulfah Irdina’s first foray into acting in August last year left her trembling in fear. The audition by Temasek Hall’s drama CCA, Theatrette, required her to sing in front of a room full of people – a prospect that terrified her.

“I couldn’t even open my eyes to sing and had to get people to look away,” recalled the first-year Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences student. “I was so shy. I thought it was impossible to even act.”

But six months later, she made her acting debut. For two nights, in front of over 200 people at the Gateway Theatre, she played the lead character of a musical – Labyrinth Coldridge – with aplomb.

“For me, it was about taking that leap. It’s okay to embarrass yourself – just do it,” said Ulfah, who has always had a keen interest in films and Broadway musicals.

“I felt like I had this desire to do something artistic but I just never had the chance to,” she said. University life opened a window of opportunity.

But her journey from nervous rookie to fearless thespian was not an easy one. Preparations for Labyrinth Coldridge consisted of six-hour daily practices for over two months. To hone her craft, she would also pore over the script for hours, meticulously annotating every page.

“It was fun, but also scary and tiring,” she said. To build composure, she tried everything – whether it was practising in front of friends or strangers, or simply standing on stage. Having a compilation of Broadway videos and clips of her favourite actress, Lea Salonga, at hand also offered some much-needed inspiration.

Her theatre community helped immensely too. “When you have people around you who are equally into something and are supportive, things are so much easier,” she said.

With her first musical all wrapped up, there are bigger plans in store. Works on a second production are currently underway, with Ulfah looking to broaden her skill sets in theatre by venturing into scriptwriting.

“When I envision a future for myself, it’s either writing for or standing on a stage,” she said. Her dream is only just beginning.

How holistic development led to healthcare success

Maybelline Ooi

Like the versatile Swiss Army knife, Maybelline Ooi possesses a vast armoury of skills.

She credits this to her insatiable curiosity, which led her to hone various talents during her time in NUS – from throwing kicks at karate tournaments, to shooting air pistols, to breaking out complex dance moves onstage.

“You can’t say you’re truly interested in something until you’ve tried it for yourself,” said Ms Ooi, who joined a slew of CCAs such as NUS Dance Synergy, NUS Nihon Buyo – a traditional Japanese dance club – and the university’s Air Weapons and Karate clubs.

One passion, however, stands out: healthcare. The interest was seeded when she was part of her junior college’s Red Cross Disaster Management Committee.

“I loved being with people and helping people,” said the NUS Nursing alumna. “So I knew I definitely wanted to do something related to healthcare.”

Today, she is helping to enhance the sector as the CEO and co-founder of VIRTUAI, an integrated platform that trains healthcare professionals using virtual simulations.

“Our aim is to revolutionise health training with a platform that uses AI and data analytics to enhance learning,” said Ms Ooi, who set up VIRTUAI in 2021. To better understand the technologies behind her startup, she has also picked up basic programming skills through online modules. 

For her contributions, she was one of 36 NUS staff and alumni members to make the Singapore Computer Society’s SG 100 Women in Tech List, just four months after setting up VIRTUAI.

Rather than being a drain on her energy, Ms Ooi believes every venture and interest she pursued over the years has contributed to her success.

Her four-year stint as a nurse at the National University Hospital allowed her to pinpoint the gaps in healthcare, while her eclectic mix of CCAs in school helped sharpen her communication skills with people from diverse backgrounds.

“If you are passionate about something, you will find time for it,” she said.

To mark International Women’s Day, check out a series of talks for women that NUS has lined up throughout March.

Painted by artist and NUS alumnus Mr Yeo Tze Yang, the art pieces took around two years to complete, in light of COVID-19 challenges. The Southeast Asian Studies graduate from the Class of 2019 at the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences was selected to work on this commissioned collection.

Gathering a diverse yet collegial community

Baby steps towards putting together this exhibition started in 2020, as the NUS community banded together during the early days of the pandemic. A series of virtual get-togethers called “NUS OK’ or ‘NUS, Our Kampung” was organised for the community to stay in touch. “We Are NUS: The People and Everyday Life of a University” built on this to celebrate the treasured bonding and shared experience.

In the spirit of capturing the zeitgeist of the NUS community, staff, students and contractors were selected through an open call, along with iconic scenes from various corners of the campuses.

Said Tze Yang, “I painted a diverse range of people from different backgrounds, faculties and offices. Some have spent only a couple of years in NUS. Some have spent almost half a century. Everyone's story is unique – for some, an NUS education was a first in their family. For others, NUS was a workplace where they found friendship and meaning. Everyone's experience of the University is different.

“The project kickstarted with a vision in mind, to fill three walls with small paintings of the people, places and things that make up NUS. The University is a large institution, with so many facets, corners and nitty-gritty that called for such a display format.”

In order to bring out the essence of the people he painted, Tze Yang said he adopted the approach of painting them in a setting where he engaged them in direct conversation, citing two Asian artists, Thailand’s Navin Rawanchaikul and China’s Liu Xiaodong, who are known for this approach.  

A sensitive and perceptive eye

Tze Yang’s talent extends beyond the artistic – he has the ability to connect with others to help them relax, feel comfortable and draw out their stories, bringing out different sides of people hitherto unseen.

“We had a really intense conversation on weighty subjects such as politics, privilege and purpose during the portraiture session,” said Associate Professor Daniel Goh, NUS Associate Provost (Undergraduate Education).

“That was how he painted me, wisened and wizened, with the severe frown that I often carry on my face when I am alone with my thoughts of the issues I wrestle and memories of the good fight I tried to fight. Tze Yang peeked into my inner struggles and painted it.”

This sentiment was also echoed by Ms Daphne Chua who works at NUS Business School.  “We chatted over various topics, such as art versus design, family backgrounds, personalities, personal setbacks, and mental health, which I have never openly shared with anyone throughout my two years of work in NUS. It was rare to connect with someone as understanding as Tze Yang, who held space to embrace my thoughts and vulnerability without judgment,” said Daphne who has a background in visual arts.

Daphne also recounted how Tze Yang’s patience and discipline resonated with her, sharing an interesting snippet. Tze Yang had painted her portrait twice because he was not satisfied with the first iteration. However, she loved both portraits because they represented his own time, effort and unique perspective.

“This experience made me feel incredibly seen and appreciated as a person, rather than what I can simply produce,” she added.

Also part of the exhibition is a familiar face to those who frequent the canteen at Faculty of Science – Uncle Wong, who mans the drinks stall at Frontier. To Uncle Wong, who has been a steadfast presence in NUS since 1996, the University represents a place where he has met many people and developed close friendships with them. He described the painting process as “relaxing”, where he was able to chat with Tze Yang and answer his questions. It is Uncle Wong’s hope that “current students or alumni will reminisce about their time in NUS, when they see the painting of my likeness”.

Celebrating a community

Associate Professor Erle Lim, NUS Vice Provost (Teaching Innovation & Quality), a member of the committee involved in spearheading this project, shared, “I am very proud to see the project come to fruition. We hope that this exhibition can convey how special NUS is, that we are more than a place of study for the community – we are a family.”

For Tze Yang, as an alumnus and the artist behind this project, the collection of paintings represents his hope that it will “serve as a reminder of what makes a University special, beyond the newspaper headlines and trophies. These tiny moments and stories of people are what make this institution matter so much to many of us over its many decades of existence”.

Even as one steps away from the exhibition, the NUS story continues. The visual tapestry of NUS will evolve and transform, as new experiences are lived, and exciting discovery moments celebrated in the years to come.

Take a virtual tour of the art gallery here or visit the gallery and take wefies or selfies with the paintings at the photo booth.

You can also catch a short video on what Tze Yang and his subjects said about their experience here.

He succeeded Associate Professor Leong Ching, and now, four and a half months into his appointment, continues to bring his energy and vision to NUS student life.

In his capacity as the Dean of Students, Prof Ho oversees OSA, whose raison d’être is to provide institutional support for the holistic development of students into leaders of change for tomorrow. This covers a wide scope of functions in enhancing the quality and effectiveness of student life on campus.

The engines that power this growth include the training, support and management of student activities and initiatives, residential life, clubs and societies, sports, community engagement, student wellness and mental wellbeing, pastoral care, and student services.

OSA also holds leadership summits with the student leaders of Halls of Residence and Residential Colleges, as well as dialogue sessions with the NUS Students’ Union (NUSSU). These address students’ concerns and facilitates proper communication with student stakeholders.

“There is no short cut to effective student engagement, except to spend quality time with them. Students do reciprocate because they are empathetic about the world and feel strongly enough to speak up to make a difference,” Prof Ho shares on student-championed causes. “By creating suitable platforms for engagement, we hope to build the trust for students to come to us as their first resource rather than the last resort.”

In fact. one of the most memorable issues he has handled since becoming the Dean of Students epitomises precisely this spirit of engagement between students and university management.

There were reservations over two student groups’ proposal to hold blood donation drives on campus amid COVID-19. However, the students’ passionate debate for their cause, strong justifications, risk mitigation plans as well as support from the health authorities allowed the blood donation drives to proceed, which turned out to be rousing successes.

“The takeaway from this is that we should not be too quick to dismiss possibilities on the basis of past experiences,” Prof Ho reflects. “Consistent with the age of disruptive change, we should be mindful that the risk management approach may be more meritorious than simply risk aversion.”

A culmination of past experiences

No stranger to engaging with students at the ground level, Prof Ho also brings a wealth of pedagogical and professional experience to the table, tapping on a trove of past experiences to contribute in his new role.

Besides his position as Deputy Head (Education) at the Department of Pharmacy from 2016 to 2020, he held a joint appointment with the University Scholars Programme, and is an elected fellow of the NUS Teaching Academy. He also spent 6.5 years as a Resident Fellow at NUS Raffles Hall from July 2011 to December 2017, where he oversaw student impact and leadership development.

“Indeed, every experience counts for something, and hence I do not see my role as Dean of Students as a diversion of my career, but rather as a culmination of my purpose,” he muses, citing his years at Raffles Hall for opening his mind to a significant part of student life that eludes the classroom, yet shapes the character and soft skills of individuals for the future.

“This exposure has helped me appreciate, rationalise and even defend educational policies where necessary,” he adds.

Assoc Prof Ho fondly recalls the original musical productions students put up at Raffles Hall, which saw them take charge of all elements of the projects, from script-writing, to music composition, to dance choreography, all from scratch.

“It is always a great delight to see students put their creativity into action, combining their varied skill sets to assemble something that surprise you. It is eclecticism at its best,” he marvels.

Now, as the Dean of Students, he strives to make more of such opportunities available and accessible to all students.

A vision of holistic development

Armed with the philosophy that student life is integral to holistic development, Prof Ho’s vision is simple: since the majority of values found in the NUS educational philosophy— a well-rounded mind and character, a resourceful and enterprising spirit, responsible and constructive membership in the community—cannot be achieved purely within the classroom, student life must be mobilised as the platform to materialise this vision.

Asked what words of advice he has for students on making the most of their university life, he says, “Try to see the many facets of university life beyond the classroom, because this is what holistic development is all about. However, one should pick and choose according to one’s interests and ability to cope.”

“It is just like going to a buffet table, you will need to pick and choose what you like. If you take a piece of everything, you will end up with indigestion and may end up enjoying the meal even less,” he quips.

Of hormesis and resilience

As a strong advocate for the concept of anti-fragility, which is to perceive disruption not only as a stress point but as a vehicle for growth, Prof Ho also identifies resilience as a critical life skill in an age of change.

What does the toxicological principle of hormesis have to do with cultivating a mindset of resilience in students? Everything, according to Prof Ho. The scientific analogy states that a controlled amount of stress substance actually produces beneficial effects rather than harm.

“This is because stress itself can trigger stress responses in a biological system that are protective in nature, as long as the stress point is not overwhelming. Therefore, this concept validates Friedrich Nietzsche’s ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’,” he explains.

“As we embrace this knowledge, I hope students will develop courage through trials.”

Ultimately, Prof Ho’s personal philosophy boils down to this: “The extraordinary is not limited to a few, but to everyone who pursues the ordinary with unequivocal authenticity and passion. To get there, individuals will have to find their cause, stay the course and count the cost.”

“With the training in hard and soft skills that students have received from a university education and student life experience, they have to engage the world with passion and purpose,” he says. “When their skills meet their hearts, and their works meet the world, I believe they will truly become the leaders of change that we hope them to be.”

Hear more from Prof Ho below.

| By Professor Simon Chesterman |

Once upon a time, education meant the transmission of knowledge.

Teachers and professors like me were in possession of that knowledge, and we were paid by students (or their parents, or the state) to pass it on.

Aristotle thought of those students as empty vessels, ready to be filled with facts and wisdom. The very first university, in Bologna, consisted solely of students who would pay teachers on an annual basis, depending on the classes they wanted to take.

Technology demolished all that nonsense.

It began with writing, a practice that Socrates himself fretted about. He worried that if humans relied on it, rather than our minds, we would become lazy. Yet the benefits of expanding our memory through the written word have been immense — among other things, we only know about Socrates’ fears because Plato, his student, wrote them down.

Today, Plato’s notes are available instantly and freely from dozens of websites to anyone on the planet.

In my classroom, every student holds a device that can access almost all of human knowledge. Though I may be a little ahead of my students, our phones are a portal to vastly more knowledge than will ever fit into any of our brains.

So, what are those students (or their parents, or the state) paying me for?

Until recently, I might have said to teach them the skills of applying that knowledge.

This view of education also has old roots. A saying often misattributed to Confucius (it was probably Xunzi, one of his students) runs as follows: “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.”

Critical and analytical skills remain an important part of education, but this is an area in which computers are making inroads also. The jobs most threatened by artificial intelligence are not all low-paying manual labour, which uses hand-eye coordination that took hundreds of thousands of years to evolve. Nor are they high-end conceptual jobs that use creativity and imagination.

Some of the easiest jobs to automate, it turns out, are the ones that involve the kind of thinking you can teach someone in a few years. An undergraduate education, in other words.

What, then, can we teach our undergraduates to prepare them for this brave new world?

Knowledge remains important. You still need an architecture of information on which to build your understanding of the world.

Skills are also vital. Your ability to acquire new knowledge and apply it to new circumstances must go beyond a carefully crafted Google search.

Perspective and values

To these I would add perspective and values.

Perspective means the ability to look at a question in context, to see it from different angles.

I think of this as transcending boundaries. That comprises literal boundaries, meaning that different people from different countries and life experiences may understand a problem differently. It also includes metaphorical boundaries, the disciplinary silos within which many academics confine themselves.

Helping students to think this way requires nudging all of us out of our comfort zones. Travel helps, as does ensuring that our classrooms and our living spaces are diverse.

Values are harder to teach, but start with a shared commitment to basic principles of fairness and justice, personal integrity and mutual respect.

In August this year, the National University of Singapore will welcome the first students in our new NUS College (NUSC). The name epitomises our goal of offering a residential experience that is rich and rigorous, but with all the resources of one of the world’s leading universities.

A T-shaped programme

The NUSC academic programme is “T”-shaped — offering broad, interdisciplinary competencies that equip students for life, along with the opportunity to dive deep into areas in which you are passionate. (Or, as NUS President Tan Eng Chye says, it can also be π-shaped — like the Greek letter “pi” — if you want two specialisations.)

The common curriculum itself is organised around skills, perspectives, and values.

Foundational modules draw on the liberal arts tradition that cultivates critical and analytical skills, supplemented with data and computational studies. In a world being reshaped by artificial intelligence, our graduates need qualities that machines don’t yet have — as well as the ability to understand and work with those machines.

New Making Connections and Global Pathways programmes will enable our students to take these skills to the world. Within NUSC, that involves bringing global perspectives to bear on issues. We will also support curated programmes for students to pursue studies or internships abroad — in places like the United Nations or a museum, a Fortune 500 company or a Silicon Valley start-up.

Underpinning all of this is a commitment to making Singapore and the world a more just and sustainable place. These values are epitomised in the signature Impact Experience team project. Students will co-create a project that addresses a 21^st century challenge — whether that’s climate change or inequality, public health or cybersecurity — proposing solutions through innovation, service delivery, or creative expression.

University should be about more than just studies and preparing for a career, however. It’s a time of self-exploration and growth.

This is more than self-indulgence. On most measures, success in life has little to do with narrow benchmarks of academic achievement. Having a successful career, being a happy and fulfilled person, has more to do with your ability to work with others, to overcome setbacks, to lead and to inspire.

Our residential programme will cultivate these traits — sometimes led by us, but also making space for students to create their own opportunities.

The first NUSC cohort will commence studies in August 2022. These pioneers will join trailblazers from the University Scholars Programme and partners in the Yale-NUS College.

My colleagues and I look forward to welcoming that cohort in a few months. And though we plan to offer them a world class education, I’m confident that my colleagues and I will learn much from them also.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on 6 January 2022 under the title “A New Chapter for NUS”.

About the author

Professor Simon Chesterman is Vice Provost-designate (Educational Innovation) at the National University of Singapore, and Dean-designate of the new NUS College. He continues to serve as Dean of the Faculty of Law.

Fast forward to 2021, and she is the first female President of Singapore, providing a steady hand to guide the country through the worst pandemic to ravage the country since its independence. We have read a lot about President Halimah, but not many of us know about her childhood years. I asked if she could tell us more about her life growing up, and whether there were any significant challenges for her and her family.

Childhood days

President Halimah recalled the times when she grew up amidst great deprivation and hardship: “We were poor when my father was alive, but the situation worsened after his death when I was eight years old. I spent a lot of my childhood days helping my mother run a cooked food stall.” When her father died, her mother became the sole breadwinner having to raise five children. “It was a real struggle trying to keep body and soul together, and that almost caused me to drop out of school. It’s difficult to describe that childhood journey except that I hope no child would ever have to go through that. Every year we celebrate Children’s Day. It’s a joyous day for children, but growing up I didn’t know such a day existed as I didn’t even get to celebrate my own birthday,” she said.

President Halimah remarked that today she sees many adults posting happy photos online of their childhood clasping toys or having parties with their families. However, she did not remember having toys or having her photos taken. So, when she became a public figure, she had great difficulty producing any childhood photographs when asked by the media, and indeed, by LawLink. “I have no regrets though as deprivation and hardship taught me very valuable lessons that stood me in good stead when I went to work and entered politics,” she shared. “It taught me resilience, the ability to bounce back and not let setbacks and difficulties overcome me and define who I am.”

From NUS to NTUC

How did President Halimah end up studying law at NUS? She explained that studying law had always been her choice because when she was young, she was seized with the idea that she could help the most vulnerable and deprived gain access to justice and fair treatment. President Halimah said: “This was due in part to my own growing up years where I witnessed how little power and voice those without resources have. Although I was called to the Bar, I didn’t practise law but became an in-house counsel in the NTUC Legal Department, advising unions and workers on their industrial relations and employment rights. It was a very fulfilling period as I felt that I was giving voice to workers, fighting for their rights and ensuring a fairer workplace.”

Indeed very few law graduates back then wanted to join NTUC as it was not considered a glamourous job or a good paymaster. Most wanted to work for big employers such as the banks or the Legal Service, or go into private practice. President Halimah recalled: “In those days, every time I told a friend or former law classmate that I worked in NTUC, they asked whether I was working for Income or the supermarket. I saw my role then as balancing the bargaining power between unions and employers who had much more resources and were in a stronger position.” She found a niche for herself working in NTUC. “At that time, there were not many lawyers who were well-versed in labour or employment laws,” she elaborated. “Even the university stopped teaching labour law many years ago, maybe because of our peaceful industrial relations climate and labour laws being seen as having little commercial value.”

President Halimah’s legal background also helped her to represent workers’ interests and those of Singapore well when she served on the Board of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) for 12 years. She became the Workers’ Spokesperson, representing the global workers, on a couple of standard-setting committees including her last piece of work where the ILO Convention on Domestic Workers was successfully negotiated and passed.

Entering politics in 2001

President Halimah was then persuaded that by entering politics, she could potentially contribute to all of Singapore, and not just to the labour movement. She was also very aware of the fact that women leaders must themselves walk the talk in order to be credible. “One of my tasks in NTUC was to persuade younger women to take up leadership positions in their own unions or in NTUC. It was a daunting task because many cited the difficulty of balancing work and family as a huge deterrent. Having spent time cajoling and persuading women to step up and be prepared to sacrifice for a higher purpose, I felt that I should practise that myself,” she shared. “I believe that it is important for women to be involved in policymaking and make their voices heard. When I first joined NTUC in the late 70s, I was inspired by some very strong women and that left quite an impression on me.”

Madam Halimah was a backbencher for a decade between 2001 and 2011, and during this period she was able to raise numerous issues pertaining to workers and lower income families. She then served at the Ministry of Community Development and Sports (MCYS), now known as MSF, for a relatively short period from May 2011 to January 2013. Finally, Madam Halimah served as Speaker of Parliament for four-and-a-half years between January 2013 to August 2017.

Core Values

In her inaugural speech, President Halimah highlighted three core values of multiculturalism, meritocracy and stewardship that are fundamental to Singapore’s economic development and social cohesion. I asked her to expound on how these values continue to be relevant in a new normal defined by the COVID-19 pandemic. She explained: “As President, I experienced first-hand the importance of stewardship of our precious financial resources. Without the Past Reserves, we would not have been able to navigate the serious disruptions to the economy and our people’s lives caused by the pandemic. We would have had to borrow to mitigate the impact and in the process incur serious debt which would have burdened future generations. Good governance, honest leadership and prudent management of our financial resources have helped us tremendously during such rainy days.”

What about multiculturalism? Is it a term that has been bandied around too often such that people have become desensitised to its fundamental ethos? President Halimah was adamant that “multiculturalism is not just a mantra but something that underpins how we organise our society and our people’s relationships with each other.” She added: “Singapore became independent in 1965 based on this very important principle that every race and creed has a place, and none is more equal than others. But we must expect that multiculturalism will come under tremendous pressure as people struggle to establish their own identities and increasingly recede into their own enclaves of race, language and religion. It’s already happening all over the world and in many cases the politicians have exploited this for their own benefit. This has led to a lot of conflicts and harm. Whilst our multiculturalism is still strong, we must continue to invest in strengthening it. This cannot be done by the Government alone. Everyone has a part to play.”

Last but not least, while meritocracy has served Singapore well by spurring us to do our best to uplift our lives, there are murmurs about its relevance in the years ahead. President Halimah commented: “The concern with meritocracy however is that its rewards may not always be due to one’s efforts alone as other circumstances may impinge on our ability to achieve the desired outcomes. As a result, a smaller group may end up benefitting more because those who have been more successful have the resources to invest in their children’s futures. Hence, there is a need to balance meritocracy with doing more to support those without means. Those who are successful should give back to society and help those who have less. We should work together as a society to be more caring and inclusive. This is a work in progress and I now see many efforts to help level up children from low-income families through various programmes.”

Challenges facing the minority communities in Singapore

Minority communities, like all Singaporeans, want to live in a prosperous Singapore that offers them many opportunities to work, live and play. They understand the challenges faced by a small nation state that must punch above its weight despite having no natural advantages like others with more resources. They want to be part of Singapore’s narrative for the future. President Halimah is cognisant of these challenges, and phrased the issues as follows: “Their dreams and hopes are no different from others and they want fair and equal treatment. At the same time, the minority communities too struggle with issues of identity. They are Singaporeans but they are also Malays, Indians and Eurasians with their own faiths, cultures and languages that they struggle to keep amidst the constant changes that our society faces. The Malay community, for instance, find that increasingly, younger Malays cannot speak Malay well, so concerted efforts are made to enhance the use of Bahasa.”

The 21st Century brings with it a digital convenience that may empower these communities. President Halimah agrees: “Younger Malays have grown up in a very different environment. They are better educated and are exposed to many different ideas particularly through the internet. They have strong opinions and are more confident in articulating their views. Like other young people, they want their voices to be heard and their views reflected in policymaking.”

Looking back, looking forward

I asked President Halimah to reflect on some of her many achievements, and wondered if she could single out some memorable moments. She said: “At MCYS, I mooted the idea of the Enabling Village. It was meant to be a community space that would embrace the diversity of our abilities. At that time, it was a novel concept. I am glad it has since broken many new grounds. Just last year, the Enabling Village celebrated its fifth anniversary!” The Constitution prescribes President Halimah’s role as Head of State, whose function includes strengthening bilateral relations through state visits, and she had done quite a few until COVID-19 put a halt to them. Nonetheless, US Vice President Kamala Harris did call on President Halimah during her visit to Singapore in August 2021. Perhaps true to her grassroots days, President Halimah shared that the role which she truly enjoys is her community role: “Through my community engagements, I met many vulnerable groups in society. I have sought to give them a stronger voice, particularly people with disabilities, those with mental health issues, ex-offenders and those affected by the digital divide. I used the President’s Challenge, a fund which raises more than $10 million every year, to empower our vulnerable groups through various programmes run by social service agencies. I initiated the $20m Empowering for Life Fund under the President’s Challenge. I also launched the Enabling Employment Pledge where more than 175 employers have signed on to train and place people with disabilities. I intend to launch a programme organised by IMH and some social service agencies to help youth with mental health issues.”

In 2019, Singapore held its first International Conference on Cohesive Societies. His Majesty King Abdullah II ibn Al-Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan delivered a keynote address at the Conference, which was well attended by local and overseas participants from many countries. This Conference was mooted by President Halimah, and it was a great platform to discuss plans and strategies on strengthening peace and social cohesion. President Halimah shared that there are plans to do a follow-up conference in 2022.

On the need to advance the cause of gender equality and ensure greater fairness, equity, and inclusivity in the treatment of women, President Halimah was optimistic about the future. “Whilst I’m glad that we are having this conversation, and efforts to elevate women’s status are more prevalent now, the fact that we are still talking about it, shows that we still have some way to go in achieving equality. It’s a work in progress. The reality is that laws and policies alone will not work, although they are important in framing the issues and ensuring certain desired outcomes. We need a strong mindset shift where women are treated with respect and as equal members of society.” I agree with President Halimah that there are many women of good calibre and capabilities in Singapore achieving success in various industries. Indeed, as she observed, many have broken the glass ceiling to reach where they are now and have paved the way for others. Although she hopes that her Presidency has helped to inspire other women that glass ceilings are meant to be broken and they should always push boundaries, she cautioned: “At the same time, we must acknowledge that societal attitudes towards women have not fully modernised – there may still be expectations on women to shoulder more caregiving responsibilities and pre-conceived notions of the roles women should play and how women should behave.” To increase diversity on public listed boards, President Halimah initiated the Diversity Task Force in 2012. The Task Force’s recommendations included the establishment of the Diversity Action Committee, which has since been succeeded by the Council for Board Diversity in 2019. “The results are still not satisfactory, but we are making progress as more women are now represented on boards,” she mused.

Advice to women in law

As 2021 has been designated the Year to Celebrate SG Women, I cannot resist posing the question to President Halimah if she had any advice for our young female law graduates or for women in the practice of law. She was quick with her reply: “Prior to 1994, there was not a single female High Court judge in Singapore. Today there are seven female High Court judges. This is progress and things will continue to change as momentum builds.” President Halimah notes that there is no stopping this progress as women have entered the workforce in large numbers because of education and will not be content to play a subsidiary role in the workplace. She concludes: “They want their voices to be heard and have access to equal opportunities. My advice to women in law is to be the best that you can be and never settle for second fiddle. Never think from a position of weakness but from a position of strength.”