Dean's Message
The Faculty of Science is at a challenging, yet exciting time. Looking back, despite the prevailing challenges of constant change and disruption, we have much to be proud of. We strengthened the intellectual foundations of our interdisciplinary undergraduate curriculum and continued to advance research that benefits society and the economy. Our postgraduate educational programmes were well-received.
“Our Science community showed once again, our resilience and commitment in working around and through post-pandemic challenges. We have much to be proud of.”
Shaping Future Talent
The College of Humanities and Sciences (CHS) admitted its inaugural cohort of more than 2,300 students in Academic Year 2021/2022, showing the demand for interdisciplinary education.
The skills and knowledge needed to collaborate across different domains and cultures to solve interdependent problems are more essential than ever in a fragmented world. This year, we introduced multidisciplinary modules under the Scientific Inquiry II and Interdisciplinary Modules pillars to further train students on the ability to connect insights across multiple disciplines at a higher level. We have also mapped CHS modules with those offered by other Colleges, Schools and special programmes in NUS, thereby opening up even more academic pathways for students to pursue broad-based learning.
As pandemic restrictions eased, we renewed efforts to encourage our students to connect (or reconnect) with the community, industry and the world. Our students resumed going on overseas exchanges and the first CHS cohort embarked on internships this year. We also provided students new experiential learning options, such as internships under the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, and beyond academics, student leadership development opportunities.
To support lifelong learning, we offer over 150 Continuing Education and Training modules, as well as a suite of 14 industry-relevant Master’s degree programmes and seven PhD programmes across our quantitative and experimental majors. This year, we enrolled over 1,100 candidates in our postgraduate programmes. Many of these programmes are co-delivered by our industry partners and some programmes integrate industry consultation projects and internship modules into their curriculum. The contributions of our industry collaborators, in no small part, ensure that our curriculum stays current amidst shifting market demands.
Shaping Future Solutions
Our research continues to closely support national priorities under the Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2025 plan. In the area of sustainability sciences, the newly established NUS Research Centre on Sustainable Urban Farming (SUrF) brings together an interdisciplinary team of scientific experts – including plant and food scientists, engineers and computer scientists – to develop novel science- and technology-based solutions that solve urban farming challenges.
Several of our researchers secured grants from funding agencies to pioneer low-carbon energy technology research. We are also working in partnership with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) on a joint laboratory to codevelop sustainable materials.
We continued to extend the sphere and impact of our scientific endeavours beyond Singapore. This year, the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum inked an agreement with the Natural History Museum in London to catalogue over 10,000 historically important specimens of Singapore’s biodiversity collected over the last 200 years. Through this initiative, the museum plans to foster collaborations with partner institutions to digitise these specimens for future research.
Shaping Future Society
The Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions (CNCS), helmed by Prof KOH Lian Pin, continues to plays a pivotal role in shaping climate policy in Singapore and beyond. CNCS researchers attended the Conference of Parties (COP27) at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, in November 2022, where they supported the Singapore government at the inaugural Singapore Pavilion and shared their expertise at numerous panels. Our presence at COP27 boosted NUS’ thought leadership in this space and our research helps to inform climate action priorities in Singapore.
Our students and alumni continued to actively support diverse causes, ranging from environmental conservation to helping underprivileged communities and promoting digital inclusivity, to name but a few. Others have done us proud and put Singapore on the world map in entrepreneurship and sports excellence.
2023 and Beyond
While most of the major concerns of the time remain, I have great hope for 2023. Our Science community showed once again, our resilience and commitment in working around and through post-pandemic challenges.
I look forward to your ongoing support as we continue to collaborate and create to stay at the forefront of scientific education and research. By collaborating with industry, academia and alumni, we can better understand the challenges facing our society and industry and apply our expertise to solve them. By creating new knowledge and scientific innovations, we can better prepare our graduates for the future workforce and for leadership to improve lives and livelihoods.
My best wishes