Speech by Professor Subra Suresh, President & Distinguished University Professor at NTU Convocation 2022

Professor Subra Suresh, President and Distinguished University Professor,

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

NTU CONVOCATION 2022

Nanyang Auditorium

Wednesday, 20 July 2022

 

Chancellor and President of the Republic of Singapore,

Pro-Chancellors,

Chair and Members of the NTU Board of Trustees,

President Emeritus,

Honorary Doctorate Degree Recipient,

Distinguished guests,

Graduates and family members,

Colleagues, alumni, and friends of the University,

Good morning and a very warm welcome to all of you. 

Today we honour you, the NTU Class of 2022.  At this year’s Convocation, the University will award 6,078 bachelor’s degrees, 4,002 master’s degrees and 536 doctorate degrees. Collectively, these numbers represent the hard work and achievement of students from across the globe, from Singapore and 60 other countries.  Just imagine the individual power of each one of you and the collective power of all 10,616 of you in making a positive impact on our world.

          Class of 2022, despite the challenges posed by the pandemic for more than half of your stay at NTU, you have excelled in your work, made the best out of adversity, and built a close-knit community here at NTU to support one another.  You have demonstrated remarkable resilience and innovation in overcoming formidable challenges, and we are immensely proud of what you have achieved. 

            I am deeply grateful to our NTU faculty, staff and leadership team who worked tirelessly to ensure that your NTU educational experience not only continued as smoothly as possible but also was infused with significant innovation.  I would also like to thank the Convocation Committee and the Events Office team for organizing this year’s in-person Convocation ceremonies.

NTU Class of 2022, since you joined NTU just four years ago, the world has changed dramatically:  global conflicts and wars, mass migrations, worsening climate crisis, and a lingering global pandemic.

You are graduating at a time when geopolitical events have:

• shattered the calm, peace and comfort we were accustomed to for so long; and
• even prompted us to look through a new lens at the future of our planet and the sustainability of its resources, and the growing inequality and polarization within and across communities and nations to the detriment of humanity.

It is understandable that many of you may feel helpless, frustrated, and even scared at times like this as we face an uncertain future.

What words can I offer you at this milestone event in your life as you graduate from NTU?  I have one hopeful message for your consideration.  This is the same message I had delivered recently as the Guest of Honour at another convocation half the world away.  Just two months ago, I was invited to speak at the undergraduate convocation at Iowa State University in the United States.  My message to an in-person audience of more than 12,000 people there focused on a theme that I repeat here with some modifications. 

The power of one.

Never underestimate the power of one individual, one idea, one act of courage, or one program to have a significant influence on local and global society.  I prefer to give specific case studies, rather than talk in hypotheticals.  So, let me give three concrete examples of “the power of one”. 

• First, the power of one individual.  One individual can have a profound positive impact on so many people through an act of bravery, courage, innovation, inspiration or imagination.  Let me begin with a personal story.  About one year ago, in July of last year, my wife Mary and I were in Washington DC, having dinner with Dr Alan Leshner, the former CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and his wife, Agnes Farkas Leshner.  During dinner, the conversation turned to NTU and nurturing young talent.  I mentioned about the Wallenberg-NTU Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowships established with support from the Wallenberg Foundation.  Immediately, Agnes, whose Jewish family escaped Hungary near the end of the Second World War, asked me:  Is it the Wallenberg family from Sweden?  I said, yes.  Her eyes lit up and at the same time I could see the weight of historical recollection of her family on her face.  She talked about Miklos, Jolan and Paul from the Farkas family and about Jeno Kurtos who introduced her parents. Agnes said to me: “I would not be here today if it was not for Raoul Wallenberg.  He helped to hide my family members from the Nazis in the basement of the Swedish embassy in Budapest.” 

  Mr. Raoul Gustav Wallenberg, a Swedish businessman-turned diplomat, arrived in Budapest, Hungary, in 1944.  He organized one of the most successful rescue efforts to save the lives of thousands of Hungarian Jews by distributing certificates and passports and set up safe houses for them.  According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Raoul Wallenberg holds the record for having saved the greatest number of people from extinction.  The power of this one individual was recognized by the United States which in 1981 made him an honorary citizen, only the second person in history to be so recognized.  A portion of the street housing the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC is also named after him. Yes, the power of one individual.

• Second, the power of one family. Successive generations of one family and that one family’s charitable foundation are continuing to have a remarkable impact across the globe.  I am of course referring to the Wallenberg family, and the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.  This Foundation was created in 1917 to support research in the natural sciences, technology and medicine by awarding long-term grants to basic research of the highest international class. The current generation of the trio of leaders of that influential foundation includes Jacob, Peter and Marcus Wallenberg.  We are delighted to have the distinguished Swedish industrialist, investor and philanthropist, Mr Marcus Wallenberg, with us today at this convocation ceremony, and we have the privilege of conferring upon him an NTU Honorary doctorate degree. 

  In Singapore, the Lee Foundation, the Tan Chin Tuan Foundation, and the Lien Foundation are examples of multi-generational family-led charitable organizations.  They have supported a wide variety of activities in healthcare, community development, and environmental sustainability in Singapore and beyond, and have had a profound impact on educational institutions, including NTU.

• Third, the power of one simple idea.   About 10 years ago, as the head of the National Science Foundation, NSF, in the US, I had the opportunity to establish a program to translate basic research into activities that benefit start-ups and industry:  the NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program.  This one program with a small initial budget in one federal agency has since created more than 1,000 start-ups across the US, collectively raising more than US$1 billion in external funding in less than one decade.  The Lean Launchpad program established by the National Research Foundation in Singapore is modelled after the US NSF I-Corps program.

These are just a few examples of the power of one individual, one focused effort of a family foundation, and one idea.

NTU Class of 2022:  How do you maximize your “power of one”?  It comes from individual responsibility, to shape long-lasting collective impact through mutual respect for differing opinions, backgrounds, and ideals.

Your generation has a significant opportunity to preserve this delicate balance between individual power and responsibility, by deploying the technology and tools at your disposal that no other generation before you had access to. 

The challenges for all of us today are all global in nature.  Challenges such as climate change, the threat of nuclear and technology wars, or growing inequality in our society, cannot be addressed with inward perspective.  You have inherited some of the toughest global challenges. Global challenges need global solutions, not unilateral and parochial decisions.

You have grown up exclusively in the digital and communication age of the 21^st century. You are uniquely influenced and shaped by a more global and inter-dependent world than prior generations.

My request to you is this:  Contemplate, cultivate, and elevate your global and historical perspective with patience and compassion, always. Combined with the strong education you have received from NTU, you will have an impact on not just your local community or country, but on the entire humanity. 

To maximize the power of one, that is you, it is critical that your perspectives do not focus on only the individual but also on the collective, not just on the local community but equally on the implications of your actions on the world around you.  This requires broad-mindedness and convictions grounded in principles and values. 

I greatly look forward to watching the distinctive ways in which each one of you will work to better the world. 

The famous Tamil poet, Thiru Valluvar, wrote nearly two thousand years ago in his classical collection of poems, Thirukkural:

 தந்தை மகற் காற்று நன்றி அவையத்து முந்தி இருப்பச் செயல்.

I paraphrase this verse 67 in English: 

The duty of a parent towards the children is to give them a head start in knowledge with the best of scholars.

Parents of today’s NTU graduates - you have already done this for your sons and daughters who have worked with the best of scholars at NTU. 

NTU Class of 2022.  What did Thiru Valluvar say 2000 years ago about what you should do?

மகன் தந்தைக்கு ஆற்றும் உதவி இவன் தந்தை என் நோற்றான் கொல் எனும் சொல்.     

I paraphrase this verse 70 in English:

The duty of a child towards the parent is to make others wonder what great things the parent did to deserve such a child.

I am sure that you will make your parents and NTU very proud in the years to come.

NTU Class of 2022, I congratulate all of you and your families on your graduation from NTU as you continue your lifelong connections with this university in your new role as alumni.

Thank you.