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U Roundup
Thank you, Mr Koh Boon Hwee
At an appreciation dinner held in honour of former NTU Chairman Mr Koh Boon Hwee, Deputy Prime Minister Mr Heng Swee Keat presented him with a commemorative book titled "The Visionary Chairman: How Koh Boon Hwee Steered NTU From Fledging to Fast Rising".
Mr Heng said in a tribute to Mr Koh: “You have done so well that all education ministers have refused to let you go. So you had to serve 28 years – an amazing record.”
During his three decades of chairmanship, Mr Koh – who was Singapore’s longest-serving university chairman – worked with four NTU presidents. Through all these changes and transitions, he provided the steady hand that steered NTU and ensured it stayed its course.
Three other retiring NTU Board of Trustees members Mr Inderjit Singh, who was Chair of the Alumni and Development Committee, Mrs Lee Suet Fern and Ms Lai Wei Lin, were also honoured at the appreciation event.
Record S$13 million raised through Leave Donation Exercise
A unique employee leave donation programme saw close to 2,000 NTU employees pledge over 27,000 days of leave towards their favourite NTU cause. The sum raised is an increase of over 33 per cent from the 2020 Leave Redemption and Staff Giving initiative.
About one-third of the funds raised went towards the NTU Priorities Fund established in April 2020 as part of the University’s COVID-19 relief package to help needy students affected by the pandemic. NTU President Subra Suresh and his wife, Mary, seeded the fund with a personal gift of S$100,000. To date 1,425 students have received financial assistance totalling more than S$2 million from the University’s COVID-19 relief package.The response from the latest leave donation exercise is a “strong demonstration of the OneNTU community coming together to support our students’ success and wellbeing”, says NTU Senior Vice President (Administration) Tan Aik Na.
“This latest round of donations will enable us to boost our programmes and financial assistance to our students and ensure that no NTU student is left behind due to this pandemic," Ms Tan says.
A homecoming to remember
It was a unique and historic moment: all four NTU Presidents past and present took centre stage together at the annual NTU Alumni Homecoming in December.
Professors Cham Tao Soon, Su Guaning, Bertil Andersson and Subra Suresh shared about their respective NTU journeys and how they built upon their predecessor’s momentum to transform NTU into the world-class university it is today.
This special gathering has also been entered into the NTU 30th anniversary digital time capsule to inform and inspire future generations of the NTU community.
The 2021 Homecoming also featured an Alumni Masterclass with CEO of Sunseap Group alumnus Mr Frank Phuan (MSE/2001), who spoke about solar energy industry trends. Amongst some of the Schools’ networking programmes, MAE celebrated its anniversary with the launch of a commemorative book and panel discussion, while CEE presented awards to its outstanding alumni. The event concluded with a guided tour of the rejuvenated Yunnan Garden.
Watch all four presidents share their insights and memories from their time at NTU.
View more photos from NTU Alumni Homecoming 2021 here.
This article first appeared in the first issue of U, the NTU alumni magazine.
