Outstanding Educator Award

"One has to love what is being taught and who is being taught - that makes teaching a rewarding and exhilarating experience for both the teacher and student."

• Introduction to Geography
• Tourism Geography
• Field Studies in Geography

• Actively involved in geography education in Singapore – he chairs the Singapore Geography Teachers' Annual Seminar series, which focuses on critical geographic issues facing Singapore and Singaporeans
• Contributes to a range of courses and activities conducted by the Centre for Development of Teaching and Learning
• Active collaborator with overseas universities (University of Hawaii Manoa in 2001; University of Malaya in 2005 and 2006) and colleagues in co-teaching modules involving NUS and international students, lending impact to area of study

• A gifted communicator with an outstanding ability to interest and engage large groups by introducing elements of challenge, interactivity and hands-on learning in the classroom
• Sets learning tasks which are aimed at facilitating independent inquiry and critical thinking and reflection of subject matter
• Invents new approaches to teaching so as to engage students in their own learning, challenge their existing ideas and make them think beyond the classroom

• Editor of Special Issue on "Place, memory and identity: Imagining New Asia", Asia Pacific Viewpoint (2005).
• Author of "Transborder tourism, borderless classroom: Reflections on a Hawaii-Singapore Experience", International Journal of Geography in Higher Education (2004)
• Co-editor of a book titled Interconnected Worlds: Tourism in Southeast Asia (2001)
• Co-author of a book titled Joo Chiat: A Living Legacy (2001)

• First Prize for best essay on urban and regional themes in an international essay competition for young authors organised by the Foundation for Urban and Regional Studies (FURS) 1999 (Milan, Italy)
• Member, Editorial Board of Current Issues in Tourism.
• Member, Editorial Board of Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography

• Faculty Excellent Teacher Award (2005)
• NUS Excellent Teachers citations (2001/02, 2002/03)
• NUS Teaching Excellence Awards, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (1998, 1999, 2000)