2009

Developments

• NUS President Prof Tan Chorh Chuan launched the University’s new Vision and Mission. With a Vision of “A leading global university centred in Asia, influencing the future”, it is hoped that NUS will be recognised as a key authority on Asia that could influence the future of the region.
• NUS President Prof Tan Chorh Chuan was named Chair of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU) at the annual IARU Presidents’ Meeting. He will serve a two-year term.
• The Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore (Duke-NUS) was officially opened by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Duke-NUS’ inaugural class, which commenced in 2007, would be graduating in 2011 with a joint M.D. degree from NUS and Duke University – the first such degree in the history of both universities.
• Senior Minister and Co-ordinating Minister for National Security Prof S Jayakumar launched the Centre for International Law (CIL), a collaboration between NUS, the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Centre aims to be an intellectual hub and a thought leader for the teaching, research and development of international law and policy in the region.
• The Alumni Complex, which comprises the Shaw Foundation Alumni House and the NUS Society’s Kent Ridge Guild House, was officially opened by NUS Eminent Alumnus Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew. The Alumni Complex aims to be a special “Home on Campus” for all NUS alumni and also serve as a focal point for the NUS community to strengthen ties with one another.
• The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry and Faculty of Science commemorated their 80th anniversary with the launch of the Faculty Square located at the Alumni Terrace at the Shaw Foundation Alumni House.
• The Centre for Instructional Technology established an official NUS channel on YouTube. NUS is the first tertiary institution in Singapore to use this platform to showcase selected public events and lectures thus increasing its global exposure.
• NUS Libraries launched a 3D interactive map of the Central Library, the world’s first Google Earth tool designed to find the location of books and navigating space inside a library. Multimedia features such as text and images, including videos and narrations, are used to introduce landmarks and educate users on the library’s facilities in a fun and interactive way.

Academic Initiatives

Ongoing efforts by the University to provide more diverse learning opportunities include:

• The NUS Teaching Academy was established, with 18 Fellows inducted for the first year. As a ‘think-tank’ in education matters, the Teaching Academy will drive various projects which includes developing new educational thinking and initiatives that are aligned with the University’s Vision and mission. It aims to contribute to key educational processes within the University and help to shape the development of NUS education.
• As part of the University’s innovative programme to promote entrepreneurship, NUS inked an agreement with Tsinghua University to set up NUS College in Beijing, its second college in China and sixth in the world.
• The Faculty of Engineering introduced a Design-Centric Engineering Curriculum in Academic Year 2009/2010, which prepares students to handle complex and multi-disciplinary problems through fundamental principles relevant to an engineering discipline. Another new initiative is the Global Engineering Programme, an exclusive programme for top students which leads to an NUS Bachelor’s degree after three years followed by a postgraduate programme at a top partner university in the fourth year.
• The NUS Business School and HEC Paris School of Management signed an MOU to launch a leading Double Degree MBA programme which will equip students with the sought-after expertise of European and Asian markets.

Research

• NUS’ third Research Centre of Excellence (RCE), the Mechanobiology Institute, was established with a funding of $150 million over 10 years from the National Research Foundation and the Ministry of Education. The new RCE aims to break new ground in studying diseases through the mechanisms of cell and tissue mechanics.
• The NUS-GE Singapore Water Technology Centre, a collaboration between GE Water and NUS, was officially opened at NUS by Dr Tony Tan, Chairman of the National Research Foundation. The $150 million centre, which aims to support Singapore’s aspiration as a global water technology hub, will develop new solutions for low-energy seawater desalination, water reclamation and more efficient water reuse.
• The Keio-NUS CUTE Centre, a joint collaboration between NUS and Keio University, was established. This is Keio University's first full-scale international research centre located outside of Japan. The Connective Ubiquitous Technology for Embodiments (CUTE), which focuses on connected lifestyle media and embodied interactive technologies, will have a presence in both Singapore and Japan.
• The NUS Virtual Institute for the Study of Ageing (VISA) was launched to further develop research for the creation of new knowledge on the ageing process and its application to improve the social and individual consequences of ageing in Singapore. VISA comprises a multi-disciplinary group of researchers who will assist organisations in exploring issues and technologies related to the elderly.

Donations

• The Goh Foundation made a gift of $12 million to support efforts to advance knowledge in the treatment of childhood cancer under the Viva Children's Cancer Programme established by Viva Foundation at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. The gift helped set up the Viva-Goh Foundation Professorship in Paediatric Oncology as well as fund four cancer research programmes.
• Singapore businessman Mr Oei Hong Leong made a gift of $7 million to provide scholarships to students from China at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.
• The Yong Shook Lin Trust made a $3 million gift to the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy to support the School in its bid to attract the world’s best academic talent in public policy.
• Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong pledged $2 million to the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine which will help set up the Isabel Chan Professorship and advance the School’s efforts to recruit top faculty.
• The Estate of Foo Hee Lim made a gift of $1.77 million to provide financial assistance for NUS students pursuing the Bachelor of Business Administration (Accountancy) programme at the NUS Business School.
• An anonymous donor made a gift of $1 million to the Faculty of Law to establish the M. Amaladass Fellowship, in honour of the donor’s late friend Mr M. Amaladass. The Fellowship will support the appointment of an academic who preferably specialises in criminal law.