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Year in Review

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Year in Review

The year in review saw brisk developments in undergraduate and postgraduate education, new academic and research collaborations, and the launch of a new alumni-student mentorship programme. NUS’ Research Centre on Sustainable Urban Farming (SUrF) also commenced operations.

Undergraduate education

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Students admitted

The College of Humanities and Sciences (CHS) admitted its inaugural batch of students in Academic Year 2021/2022.

In addition to an array of 29 primary majors, 30 second majors, around 70 minors, three Cross-Disciplinary Programmes, around 20 specialisations and over 1,000 modules per academic year, CHS launched a basket of Scientific Inquiry II modules and new interdisciplinary pillars under the Common Curriculum. These interdisciplinary pillars were jointly developed with the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. We also formalised mappings of the CHS Common Curriculum with other Colleges / Schools / Special Programmes in NUS. 

Postgraduate education

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Enrolled

The curricula of our longstanding Master of Science (MSc) in Mathematics and Physics programmes were reviewed and updated to be more industry relevant. The MSc in Pharmaceutical Science and Technology programme, launched in 2008, will now offer a full-time track to train its graduates for the pharmaceutical / biopharmaceutical industries in Singapore and beyond.

Pioneer cohort of graduates

This year marked the graduation of our inaugural Pharmaceutical Science cohort as well as the first batch of graduates from several postgraduate programmes. These include the Master of Science (MSc) in Biodiversity Conservation and Nature-based Climate Solutions, the MSc in Biotechnology, the MSc in Chemical Sciences and the MSc in Physics for Technology. 

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Research

The Faculty has stepped up sustainability research in response to climate change challenges, particularly in the areas of green energy technologies, agrifood technologies and nature-based climate solutions.

Our initiatives include NUS’ Research Centre on Sustainable Urban Farming (SUrF), which brings together interdisciplinary experts, such as plant and food scientists, engineers and computer scientists, to develop novel science- and technology-based solutions for urban farming in Singapore.

These solutions will address the challenges faced by indoor farms in the various stages of crop production, contributing to more efficient and sustainable food production and enhanced food security in Singapore and the region. SUrF commenced operations in January 2022.

In 2021, NUS’ Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions began identifying high priority areas in Southeast Asia to deploy nature-based solutions, resulting in the creation of a Carbon Prospecting Dashboard, which supports the preservation of carbon-rich, natural ecosystems.

New Collaborations

New Student Exchange Programme (SEP)

The Faculty established a five-year SEP with City University of Hong Kong (CityU) from March 2021, enabling our undergraduate Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics students to read courses from various specialities across established and emerging science disciplines in CityU.  

New research collaboration

The Faculty is working in partnership with the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) on a joint laboratory for sustainable materials development. The laboratory will combine the deep expertise from both organisations to codevelop solutions which include upcycling biodegradable polymers and converting waste plastics into functional materials. This collaboration will further our efforts in sustainable materials innovation.

Continuing education and training

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SSG-approved courses

Credit: NUS School of Continuing and Lifelong Education (SCALE)

The Department of Statistics and Data Science offers a suite of data analytics courses for working professionals. Some 1,500 students were trained over the last year, from up to 85 courses such as ‘Data Analytics Begins With Me’ and ‘Data Visualisation Begins With Me’.  

Since August 2021, the Faculty, in consultation with the Ministry of Education, has offered a series of short modules for educators, namely: ‘Energy and Environment for Chemistry Teachers’, ‘Data Science for Mathematics Teachers’ and ‘Smart Devices for Physics Teachers’. Participants receive guidance to develop lesson plans that are suitable for classroom or project-based teaching.

Benefactions

Quantedge Advancement Initiative has pledged $320,000 to the Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions to support research for exploring the opportunities and constraints of green infrastructure compared to conventional grey infrastructure for climate mitigation and adaptation. The Centre also received $320,000 from RS Group to support two research fellowships to study financial and policy instruments for carbon markets.

Prof WEE Yeow Chin, on behalf of his late wife, Mdm Eileen TAN, gifted $500,000 to the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum for the Eileen Tan Siew Lean Biodiversity Fund. The fund extends the scope of an earlier fellowship – covering the research and study of bird ecology and taxonomy – to support activities in research, education and outreach, and the Museum’s operations.

Alumni-student mentorship programme

We launched our inaugural programme in July 2022 to create a shared community for forging stronger bonds between our students and alumni. Through this mutually beneficial programme, our students acquire industry-relevant insights and career guidance, better enabling them to prepare for life and work after graduation. Our alumni mentors in turn contribute meaningfully to student development by coaching them. We successfully paired 25 mentors with 56 mentees in the inaugural run.

Student wellness initiatives

To enhance student support, we put in place new initiatives, including a dedicated team of Student Wellness Managers to guide students through their academic journeys. We are also training a team of Science Peer Student Supporters to provide our students with emotional support. The newly launched PitStop@Science features new amenities, such as games and massage chairs, serving as a multipurpose space for students’ rest and recreation.

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Shaping Future Talent

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Box Story

New bent-toed gecko species in Timor-Leste

“We have barely scratched the surface of Timor-Leste’s biodiversity. New discoveries can have profound impacts on conservation and policy-making.”

In August 2022, we led an expedition to Timor-Leste in collaboration with Conservation International and the government of Timor-Leste. The Museum’s herpetologist, Dr CHAN Kin Onn, discovered a new species of bent-toed gecko which was named Cyrtodactylus santana, in reference to the Nino Konis Santana National Park, in which the gecko was discovered.