Speech by NTU President at NTU Service Week 22 Jan 2022

Welcome Address by

Professor Subra Suresh

President, Nanyang Technological University

 

NTU Service Week Official Launch

 

Saturday, 22 January 2022, 10:00 am

Ms Low Yen Ling, Minister of State, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry of Trade and Industry and Mayor, South West District.

Members of NTU Board of Trustees, Mr Lo Kien Foh and Mr Zainul Abidin Rasheed,

Distinguished Guests,

Alumni,

Fellow colleagues,

Ladies and Gentlemen.

 

Good morning,

A very warm welcome to the launch of the first NTU Service Week, where the OneNTU community comes together to do good for our communities and society. I would also like to thank our Guest-of-Honour, Ms Low Yen Ling, Minister of State, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry of Trade and Industry, and Mayor of South West District, who is an esteemed Nanyang Business School alumna, for being here with us today. The NTU Service Week is one of three signature events of the newly launched We Belong campaign, and part of the University’s 30^th anniversary celebrations.

I am proud that NTU has achieved global recognition for advancing knowledge, educating generations of students and creating the talent pool for Singapore, and catalysing innovation to make impactful contributions to society. The momentum that has pushed NTU forward over the last three decades has come from everyone in the OneNTU community: our students, faculty, staff, alumni, friends and family, and supporters – past and present. They all deserve full credit and our gratitude for NTU’s phenomenal accomplishments and for shaping this young university into what it is today.

More than 260,000 alumni in over 160 countries contribute significantly to the global impact of NTU.

This year, our 30^th anniversary year, provides us a compelling reason to celebrate our achievements, as well as successes in overcoming major challenges. We belong to the OneNTU family that has always come together to make an impact.

The We Belong campaign will stretch through the first quarter of 2022. Starting today, the week-long NTU Service Week aims to spur the wider NTU community to contribute to society through volunteerism. The University has partnered with local community organisations including charities, non-profits, and government constituencies to support over 30 service projects in the areas of digital inclusion, sustainability, health and well-being, and social welfare.

I hope you will join the campaign by volunteering your time and services. Or, you could choose to become a Service Week Champion by starting and leading a service project of your own.

One of the key partners for Service Week is the South West Community Development Council, with whom we will collaborate to execute projects on social welfare and sustainability, such as reaching out to the needy as well as recycling efforts.

To date, more than 300 volunteers from 43 NTU schools, student clubs, departments, and alumni associations have signed up to volunteer their time and engage in various service projects with 30 community partners. Through this inaugural Service Week, NTU aims to positively impact 5,000 or more beneficiaries from various community groups in Singapore and overseas.

I encourage everyone to scale up your volunteerism and acts of service over the next week as you will have the added advantage of converting all your volunteer hours into points that will be matched by sponsors as a donation to the NTU Priorities Fund to support financially disadvantaged students, bridge the digital divide, and address urgent needs of the University.

In addition to the NTU Service Week, the two other flagship events of the We Belong campaign are: Best Foot Forward – a virtual run that will take place in February – and NTU Giving Day in March, which will bring together the OneNTU community to raise funds for university-wide efforts that address critical needs as well as school-specific priorities.

Today, I would also like to take this opportunity to share that we are launching our brand new alumni magazine, U. This semi-annual magazine will help you to connect with your alma mater and strengthen your ties with your fellow alumni and professors.  The U magazine will be a platform for us to share and celebrate your successes with other alumni. Whether it is through your successful careers, personal endeavours or contributions to local communities and global society, you have flown the NTU flag high. We hope U will inspire the best in everyone and spark some ideas in you.

In this inaugural issue, you will read about how NTU is built on the collective power of people. Thirty years of astounding momentum have driven NTU to its global reputation today. And you have played a part in it.

These are all encapsulated in NTU’s 30^th anniversary digital time capsule and exhibition which I hope you will return to visit.

In closing, I would like to thank all of you for your dedication and commitment to effecting change in our society. Let us continue to look beyond our immediate environment, and work together to make a positive difference in the lives of those in need.

Thank you for joining me today on this special occasion, and I look forward to your meaningful participation in service of humanity.

Have a wonderful Service Week ahead.