Speeches
Excellence: not an act but a habit
26 April 2013
Last year, in my State of the University Address, I spoke of some powerful drivers that could potentially re-define and transform teaching and learning in the university.
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Of Whales and the Campus Tsunami
12 October 2012
Some of you may recall that I wrote last year's State of the University Address while trekking in Bhutan. At a small village five days walk from the nearest town (for non-Bhutanese), we visited a horse-trader's house.
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A Guide to Our University: On Survival, Inquiry and Sophistication
6 August 2012
My colleagues and I share your great excitement at starting your NUS experience, and we look forward with anticipation to the new energy and creativity which you will bring to our community.
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Commencement Dinner 2012
20 July 2012
When the very first graduates from our University received their diplomas in 1910, there was a brief ceremony, followed by a tea reception on the school grounds.
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A century of achievement and contribution
05 July 2012
We are delighted to celebrate this special day with you, your parents and loved ones, to mark your achievements and the fruits of your hard work.
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The Many Facets of Excellence
04 May 2012
This evening, we celebrate exceptional members of the NUS community, and recognise their passions, contributions and achievements.
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Welcome Lunch for NUS' Ninth Chancellor, His Excellency Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam, President of the Republic of Singapore
28 November 2011
It is a great pleasure and honour for me, on behalf of the NUS Board of Trustees and the entire University community, to welcome warmly President Tony Tan, as NUS' 9th Chancellor...
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Appreciation Dinner for Mr S R Nathan
28 October 2011
I remember vividly my first week as an NUS medical student, and in particular what Professor Khoo Oon Teik said then at the Master's Welcome Tea at the King Edward VII Hall at Sepoy Lines...
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"Sky-pointing" and Changes in Global Higher Education
14 October 2011
If you walk along the beaches of the Galapagos Islands you will see what look like big black clumps of seaweed. You should not step on them because these are not seaweed...
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Launch of Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health
19 September 2011
Without doubt, health and public health rank high among the most critical issues of this century, for Singapore and for all nations of the world...
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Pursuing the "Useless"
01 August 2011
Each of you has many talents - some are known to you but others are yet to be uncovered and nurtured. My colleagues and I look forward to working with you, to help you become the best that you can be.
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Commencement Dinner 2011
15 July 2011
I always enjoy Commencement because it has so many fascinating dimensions. At the centre are our happy graduands, their proud parents and families.
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Commencement 2011
04 July 2011
We are delighted to celebrate this happy occasion with you. It marks the end of a chapter of hard work and achievement for you, and signals the start of a new and exciting next phase of your lives.
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Leading Positive Change
15 May 2011
The future that lies before you is full of promise and potential. And what makes it especially exciting, are the myriad of opportunities for you to be a driver for positive change...
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Excellence and the art of making tea
29 April 2011
According to the annals of tea, the first cup of tea came about by accident – it happened when a dead leaf from a wild tea bush fell into water that was being boiled for the Emperor Shen Nong to drink...
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Launch of Yale-NUS College
11 April 2011
There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune...On such a full sea are we now afloat, and we must take the current when it serves...
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Opportunities and Challenges Facing Asian Higher Education
14 November 2010
In 1943, Winston Churchill said "the empires of the future are the empires of the mind". This prescient quotation is even more relevant today, where the success of societies and economies is increasingly dependent on the creation and innovative application of knowledge.
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Reading the Water Well
11 October 2010
Like me, you would be amazed if you saw this Opera House which was completed in 1896. The tiles for the roof came from France, the marble in the columns from Italy, and the steel from England.
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Setting Out to Stand Out
02 August 2010
One of the things I enjoy most in NUS is that every year, at around this time, we have an infusion of bright young talent that adds to the freshness, energy and creativity of our campus...
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Reflecting on the NUS Spirit
16 July 2010
Commencement, like good wine, can be enjoyed at many levels...
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Curiosity, Passion and Community
05 July 2010
Today we celebrate our University's 98th Commencement or Convocation as it was previously known.
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In Pursuit of Excellence
21 May 2010
Earlier this evening, we marked with sadness, the passing of Dr Goh Keng Swee. Dr Goh was foremost among the architects of modern Singapore. He laid the foundations for many of the systems and things that we enjoy and perhaps take for granted today. Beyond that, he was a giant of a man, in intellect, conviction, action and influence.
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Launch of President S.R. Nathan's book, Why Am I Here?
29 April 2010
It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the launch of President S R Nathan's debut book titled, "Why Am I Here?" The NUS Centre for Maritime Studies and our partner in this initiative – Keppel Corporation – are truly honoured to have worked with President Nathan on an intensely personal, yet nationally important piece of narrative. President Nathan, I would like to express our appreciation to you for giving us the privilege of publishing your book.
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NUS Excellence Day
11 March 2010
In my last State of the University Address, I spoke about the need to be nimble in response to the rapid and profound changes to the world's economy. To become a leading global University, NUS' administrative system must be world-class, and support and drive our academic enterprise.
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NUS Career Fair 2010 Opening
04 February 2010
This time last year, the mood was a somber one. The global financial system was in turmoil. Singapore was bracing for the full impact of the global recession. For the graduating class of 2009, the immediate future then appeared fraught with difficulty.
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Global Entrepreneurship Week
16 November 2009
On behalf of co-hosts, NUS Enterprise and the Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE), welcome to the launch of the Global Entrepreneurship Week 2009 (GEW). This is the second consecutive year we are organising this event in Singapore, as part of a world-wide effort to increase awareness of entrepreneurship among the youth.
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NUS Alumni Awards Ceremony 2009
10 November 2009
Tonight is a happy and special event. We gather to recognise the outstanding achievements of our NUS alumni and to celebrate their great contributions and impact in Singapore and globally.
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Faculty of Dentistry's 80th Anniversary Celebration Dinner
07 November 2009
It is wonderful that all of us are gathered here tonight to celebrate the 80th Anniversary of our Faculty of Dentistry.
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Global Human Resources Forum 2009
3-5 November 2009
There is no denying that our world has been changing very rapidly, especially in the last decade, with globalisation being one of the central drivers of that change...
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Student Achievement Awards Ceremony 2009
30 October 2009
This annual Student Achievement Awards is something I look forward to every year. It is a special opportunity for me to meet so many students from across the University,...
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Scaling New Heights in a Changed World
30 October 2009
Our world is changing rapidly and profoundly. As our Prime Minister, Mr Lee Hsien Loong noted in his speech to Parliament on 29 May, "After this crisis, the world is not going to be the same again. It's not just another cyclical downturn and recovery. The world's economy is undergoing a structural shift."
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Official Opening of 54-56 Jln Tun Tan Cheng Lock
26 September 2009
Thank you very much for joining us today on this special and happy occasion - the official opening of Townhouses Numbers 54 and 56 at Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock.
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Green Carnival 2009 - NUS Fights Climate Change: What About You?
7-8 September 2009
Good morning and thank you for joining us at the opening of NUS' Green Carnival 2009. I am happy to see so many of you here today. In particular, I wish to thank Dr Amy Khor for gracing this occasion.
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World Dental Education Society - FDI Cheque Presentation Ceremony
4 September 2009
Good afternoon. Thank you very much for inviting me to join you for this important event. On behalf of the National University of Singapore, I would like to extend our sincere best wishes and to all our friends from abroad, a very warm welcome to Singapore.
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Gaining, Giving, Growing
03 August 2009
Freshmen of 2009, my warmest welcome to the NUS family! My colleagues and I are looking forward to the new energy and fresh voices that you bring, adding to the vibrancy of our campus.
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Shaping Our Future, Celebrating Our Past
17 July 2009
What a Commencement this has been! The "Liveliness index" was certainly very high - led by the Social Work graduating class which cheered almost continuously for each other.
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New Alumni Welcome Lunch 2009
11 July 2009
Fellow alumni, colleagues, students and friends, Class of 2009, Congratulations! It is with great pleasure that I welcome you as NUS alumni. You are now part of our extended family of over 196,000 alumni members spread around the world. This is a ready-made global network to which you, our alumni have automatic membership.
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Main Commencement Ceremony
06 July 2009
Graduating class of 2009, my warmest congratulations on this special day! As NUS students, you enriched our campus with your vigour, passion and idealism. As NUS graduates, you bring that same energy and talent, that same youthful optimism to Singapore and to society.
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BTC Alumni Reunion
08 July 2009
I am delighted that so many of you are able to join us this afternoon for the Bukit Timah Campus Reunion. Today's event is triply auspicious.
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ICMAT & IUMRS-ICA 2009 Closing Ceremony
03 July 2009
Allow me to first warmly welcome all of you to the Closing Ceremony of the combined meeting of the 2009 International Conference on Materials for Advanced Technologies (ICMAT) and the International Union of Materials Research Societies' International Conference in Asia (IMURS-ICA).
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Opening of the Investigational Medicine Unit National University Health System
25 June 2009
Over the past 10 years, biomedical sciences R&D in Singapore has made dramatic progress. Today, we have a critical mass of excellent basic biomedical science researchers and state-of-the-art infrastructure.
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Launch of NUS-GE Singapore Water Technology Centre
22 June 2009
Welcome to the National University of Singapore and to the launch of the NUS-GE Singapore Water Technology Centre. I am pleased that we are able to hold this event in our new NUS T-Lab Building, which will be officially opened next year, after all the research units have fully moved in.
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Germany, France and Singapore: Together for Green Innovation
22 June 2009
I am delighted to join you for the Workshop on Industrial Water Management: "Germany, France and Singapore: Together for Green Innovation".
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Nurturing the Talent of Tomorrow: Global Education for a Globalised World
01 June 2009
The topic I have been asked to address today relates to the role that global universities can and should play to nurture students who will succeed in the globalised world ...
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Unleashing The Potential Within
24 April 2009
I would like to start tonight with a question. If you look at the picture on the screen, what do you see? Most of us would see a nice block of marble.
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NUS Safety and Health Award Ceremony 2009
22 April 2009
Thank you for joining us today for the NUS Safety and Health Award Ceremony 2009. Now a key event on our University's calendar, this award ceremony presents a wonderful ...
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Launch of the NUS Virtual Institute for the Study of Ageing (VISA)
20 April 2009
Good morning and a warm welcome to the launch of the NUS Virtual Institute for the Study of Ageing (or VISA) ...
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Homecoming 2009
21 March 2009
When I was a student in the NUS School of Medicine, "homecoming" had a much more literal meaning. Most weekends ..
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Official Opening Of Alumni Complex
20 March 2009
I would like to welcome you warmly to this special event - the Official Opening of the Alumni Complex and the NUSS Dialogue ...
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National Innovation Systems in a Global Context - Perspectives from Singapore
4-6 March 2009
Universities Australia Inaugural Higher Education Conference
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National Sustainability Conference
21 February 2009
Good morning. I am delighted to join you for the National Sustainability Conference. In particular, I would like to thank Ambassador Chew for agreeing to speak this...
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Emerging Directions in Global Education
9-11 February 2009
Change is the constant ingredient in today's environment. Macro forces like globalization, economic change, knowledge-based economies are perpetually forcing...
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Launch of new NUS Vision and Mission & Welcome Lunch for new NUS President
08 January 2009
In 1993, my wife and I were doing some walking in Pakistan. One day, we came to this bridge and we stopped. We looked behind us and we could see the village of Hussaini...
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Student Achievement Awards
31 October 2008
Four years ago, we launched the Annual Student Achievement Awards to celebrate the many unique talents and contributions of our students....
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Official Opening of Khoo Teck Puat Advanced Surgery Training Centre
24 October 2008
Good afternoon and a very warm welcome to the Khoo Teck Puat Advanced Surgery Training Centre, or ASTC. I am delighted that you are able to join us....
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State of the University Address
10 October 2008
Giving the State of the University Address today is a privilege which is very special for me, an NUS alumnus and President-designate of NUS. It is a great honour for me to ...
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Green Carnival at NUS
25 August 2008
A very good afternoon to all of you! I am very delighted to be here today. It gives me a unique opportunity to address issues which are of utmost impor tance to NUS...
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