2010

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Developments

  • NUS Chancellor President SR Nathan officiated at the Flame Arrival Ceremony at NUS, the first torch stop of the YOG Olympic Flame, in celebration of the inaugural Youth Olympic Games hosted by Singapore.
  • "Why am I here?", the first book authored by NUS Chancellor President S R Nathan, was launched at the University. Published by the NUS Centre for Maritime Studies and sponsored by Keppel Corporation, the book recounts the President's experiences as a Seaman's Welfare Officer from 1956 to 1962 and also provides fascinating insights into Singapore's maritime history.
  • NUS established its first research institute in China, the NUS Research Institute (NUSRI), within the Dushu Lake Science and Education Innovation Park of the Suzhou Industrial Park. Slated to be completed by end 2011, NUSRI aims to maintain a high-level research programme to champion research areas which are of strategic importance to NUS. An NUS Incubation Centre housing NUS' spin-offs and Chinese companies working with the University's intellectual properties and start-ups will also be established at NUSRI.
  • NUS President Professor Tan Chorh Chuan signed the Sustainable Campus Charter at the World Economic Forum in Davos together with 24 other leading universities, pledging to develop environmentally sustainable campuses.
  • Former United Nations Secretary-General and Nobel Laureate Professor Kofi Annan delivered his first public lecture as the inaugural Li Ka Shing Professor of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy titled “Asia and Africa: Past Lessons, Future Ambitions”. Professor Annan spoke on how Africa can learn from the approach and success of Asia so that both can build a mutually beneficial partnership. The Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy also celebrated its 5th anniversary with a gala dinner and a dialogue session with Guest-of-Honour Singapore Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.
  • Singapore Health Minister Mr Khaw Boon Wan launched the NUS Initiative to Improve Health in Asia (NIHA) at the East Asia Healthcare Policy Dialogue. The $17 million programme is supported by the GlaxoSmithKline-Economic Development Board, Singapore (GSK-EDB) Trust Fund.
  • NUS and the Singapore Ministry of Defence jointly opened the new $42 million T-Lab Building in NUS to focus on research in defence science and technology. The 11-storey high building, which spans 24,700 square metres, is the first permanent home of Temasek Laboratories and also houses the Mechanobiology Institute, NUS Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Initiative, NUS Environmental Research Institute as well as other research laboratories
  • The NUS Finance and Risk Management Cluster, comprising the Risk Management Institute, the Institute of Real Estate Studies, the Saw Centre for Quantitative Finance and the Departments of Mathematics, Statistics and Applied Probability, Finance and Economics, was set up to provide integrated and interdisciplinary solutions to critical financial issues in Asia and beyond, and to ensure Singapore's continued stature as a financial hub.
  • The Centre for Health Policy and Management, a joint initiative between the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NUS Business School and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, was established. The Centre aims to provide world class scholarship in areas such as optimal healthcare resource allocation for an ageing population, the value of medical care, research and education and cost effectiveness of specific interventions, especially in chronic disease management.
  • The Prime Minister of the Netherlands, His Excellency Dr Jan Peter Balkenende, together with the NUS Board of Trustees Chairman Mr Wong Ngit Liong, inaugurated the NUS Centre for Aquatic Science Research (subsequently renamed Aquatic Science Centre at Sungei Ulu Pandan), an initiative by the Singapore-Delft Water Alliance at NUS. Dr Balkenende also unveiled the Albert Winsemius Lane, named in honour of the late Dr Albert Winsemius, who was an economic advisor to Singapore from 1961 to 1984.
  • The Centre for Social Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy at the NUS Business School was launched to advance social entrepreneurship and philanthropy research and education, as well as to enhance the community development efforts of the University.
  • The Faculty of Dentistry was officially opened by Guest-of-Honour Mr Wong Ngit Liong, Chairman of the NUS Board of Trustees. The new building will house three student clinics and facilities such as laboratories, an X-ray facility as well as seminar and tutorial rooms for both undergraduate and graduate students.
  • Guest-of-Honour Dr Tony Tan, Chairman of the National Research Foundation, graced the inauguration of the new premises of the NUS Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS). SERIS, which is sponsored by the Singapore Economic Development Board and NUS, aims to take the lead in solar energy research and development in Asia.

 

Academic Initiatives

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

  • Dr Li Yuanchao, Member of the Political Bureau and Secretariat of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Minister of the Organisation Department of the CPC Central Committee, officiated at the launch of the new Master in Public Administration and Management (MPAM) programme. The MPAM programme, which is conducted in Chinese and jointly offered by the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and the NUS Business School, will enable students to develop skills in decision making and policy analysis, and participate in overseas study missions and attachments.
  • The NUS-Cambridge Scholarship was launched to support one Singaporean scholar each year to pursue PhD studies at the British university, so as to strengthen existing areas of research and collaboration, as well as institutional links between the two universities. NUS is the first Asian university to establish a student exchange programme with the University of Cambridge.
  • NUS and Imperial College London have inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a joint PhD degree. The MOU was signed by Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost Prof Tan Eng Chye and Imperial College Pro Rector for Postgraduate and International Affairs Prof Mary Ritter.
  • The Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine developed the NUS Wiki platform MedWiki which allows nominated faculty members and clinicians from NUHS and other teaching hospitals to update their educational blueprints and lesson plans. This will help facilitate curriculum review for standardisation across the teaching hospitals.
  • The School of Computing launched two programmes in Computer Science - the Von Neumann programme which is catered for students who wish to pursue a technical career in a high-end computing engineering centre of large information and communication technologies companies and the Turing programme which prepares students who are keen on a research career in computing.
  • NUS offered two new international summer programmes called Semester at Sea and the Mayan Route. The Semester at Sea is a shipboard programme for global study abroad operated by the non-profit Institute for Shipboard Education and the University of Virginia. Two NUS students set sail for the first time on the Summer 2010 voyage which stopped at Canada, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco and the US. The Mayan Route is a four-week summer programme in the south of Mexico, where students attend lectures at the Tecnológico de Monterrey and learn about the history and culture of the Mexican state of Chiapas.
  • NUS joined iTunes U, making it the first university in Singapore and Southeast Asia to leverage on the platform's capabilities. Other international top universities which are part of the iTunes U community include Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Oxford and HEC Paris.

 

Research

  • NUS formed a $63 million Singapore, Peking and Oxford Research Enterprise for Water Eco-Efficiency (SPORE) initiative with Peking University and the University of Oxford to promote research, education and commercialisation of environment and water technologies.
  • NUS, Tsinghua University and the Media Development Authority of Singapore launched the NUS-Tsinghua Extreme Search Centre to develop research and commercialisation of real-time interactive media search technologies.
  • The National University Health System (NUHS) and Harvard University's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre (BIDMC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate in the areas of research, education and clinical care.
  • Singapore's fifth Research Centre of Excellence (RCE), the Singapore Centre on Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SCELSE) was established with a funding of S$120 million over a period of five years. The RCE, which will be hosted at the Nanyang Technological University, will operate in close collaboration with NUS with part of the SCELSE physically housed at the University. The SCELSE aims to be a world leader in microbial biofilm research and control, as well as a source of novel environmental engineering applications.
  • Nagasaki University and the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine inked a Memorandum of Understanding to advance the study of infectious diseases and engage in collaborative research projects.
  • NUS opened a new $24 million Centre for BioImaging Sciences for life science research. The centre will pioneer leading-edge development and application of novel imaging techniques and computational methods to solve key problems in life sciences, medicine, environment and energy.
  • NUS unveiled its Plasmonics and Advanced Imaging Technology Laboratory (P&AIT), which focuses on interdisciplinary research in science and technology at the nano-scale level. The P&AIT Laboratory houses the cutting edge Helium Ion Microscope, the first to be showcased in Asia.
  • The National University Cancer Institute was inaugurated to provide comprehensive oncology care to adult and child patients in one facility under one holistic programme. The Institute will conduct translational clinical research in collaboration with the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore and A*STAR.

 

Benefactions

  • Tan Sri Khoo Teck Puat's family gave a gift of S$50 million to the National University Health System and NUS for the expansion of the University's Children's Medical Institute.
  • The Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research received pledges of S$45 million from the Lee Foundation and two anonymous donors to develop a new natural history museum. Alumni and supporters, including the Shaw Foundation, also collectively made gifts of S$1 million to the same initiative. The new museum will be named the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum.
  • The Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy received S$23.8 million in gifts and pledges from various donors including Dr Chang Yung-fa, Mr Kuok Khoon Hong ('72), Mr Martua Sitorus, Mr Tay Liam Wee, Mr Teo Kim Yong (‘77), Boustead Singapore, Golden Agri International, HSH Properties, Kewalram Singapore, the Lippo Group, Spice Global Holdings, Wilmar International and Wii Pte Ltd.
  • NUS Global Asia Institute received a total of S$20 million through a pledge made by the GlaxoSmithKline-Economic and Development Board (GSK-EDB) Trust and a gift from Dr Wee Cho Yaw (Hon DLitt ‘08). The family of Dr Wee Cho Yaw, Chairman of the Overseas Chinese Banking Corporation, donated $3 million to start the Wee Cho Yaw Singapore-China Financial Banking Forum.
  • Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore received S$13 million in pledges from the Goh Foundation and Ngee Ann Kongsi.