​Speech by NTU President at the Signing of Gift Agreement and Unveiling of the Ong Tiong Tat and Irene Tan Liang Kheng Auditorium

Welcome Address by

Professor Subra Suresh

President, Nanyang Technological University

Signing of Gift Agreement and Unveiling of the

Ong Tiong Tat and Irene Tan Liang Kheng Auditorium

13 August 2018 (Monday)

Clinical Sciences Building, Novena Campus

 

Mr Lim Chuan Poh, Chairman, of the Board LKCMedicine,
Mr Tan Hsuan Heng,
Prof James Best, Dean of the school,
Friends,

I am delighted to be here. There is no better way to start a Monday morning than to make an announcement of this nature and there is no better way to elevate the university than to support faculty and students. And this remarkable gift has all of that. In a nascent school which within five short years, has established itself as a powerful force in Singapore. Both in terms of its intellectual horsepower, as well as in terms of what it can deliver to Singapore. So on behalf of NTU, I would like to extend my warm welcome to all of you to here, the LKCMedicine.

The Growth of LKCMedicine

As James just said, just three weeks ago, we graduated our inaugural cohort of doctors, who are already beginning to have an impact on Singapore. Like our medical school students who are flying the NTU flag high, the faculty at LKCMedicine are also working to change the future of healthcare both through clinical practice and through dedication to research excellence.

For example, in June, we had launched the Population and Community Health Laboratories, to advance the prevention and treatment of some of the most pressing diseases affecting Singaporeans. And also broadly, the citizens of the world.

Earlier in March, LKCMedicine also led in the formation of The Academic Respiratory Initiative for Pulmonary Health (TARIPH), a nationwide initiative that aims to address the pressing gaps in knowledge of lung diseases for the Singapore population and Asian patients.

$11 million Gift from Estate of Irene Tan Liang Kheng

LKCMedicine could not have made such significant progress in research and education if not for the many supportive partners starting from the Singapore Government, but equally, each individual, philanthropists and donors from all walks of life.

We are blessed with the kindness of philanthropists like Dr Lee Seng Tee, Chairman of the Lee Foundation, who was instrumental in the Foundation’s generous $150 million gift to NTU to establish LKCMedicine, which was set up in partnership with Imperial College in London.

Today, I am pleased to announce that we are receiving an $11 million gift from the Estate of Irene Tan Liang Kheng, which will be used to establish the Memorial Fund in her name at NTU. With a matching grant from the Singapore government, the total endowment raised from this gift will be $22 million.

NTU deeply appreciates this gift from the Estate of Irene Tan Liang Kheng which will go towards research and education. This is an investment in the future of young people and the betterment of the human condition that will see ever-growing returns for years to come.

The gift will support the setting up of two chair professorships as well as an undergraduate scholarship at LKCMedicine. In addition, the gift will also support the research activities of the gAmes for heaLth InnoVations cEntre, for which the acronym is ALIVE, and it took me a long time to figure out how ALIVE came out of games. But it is the acronym. And it is a very important effort – it is a joint centre between LKCMedicine and the Tan Tock Seng Hospital, part of the National Healthcare Group.

Chair Professorships and Undergraduate Scholarship

The Ong Tiong Tat Chair Professorship in Diabetes Research will enable LKCMedicine to further our work in education and research in diabetes. The Irene Tan Liang Kheng Chair Professorship in Neuroscience, will support LKCMedicine’s research in understanding the human brain and its function and dysfunction.

The search for the Ong Tiong Tat Chair in Diabetes Research is currently underway. Today, I’m very pleased to announce that LKCMedicine Professor of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Professor George Augustine, has been named the inaugural Irene Tan Liang Kheng Chair Professor in Neuroscience. Deservedly so, as Professor Augustine had spent a good 40 years of his career at the cutting edge of neuroscience research around the world from the United States to Asia – and is most known for his studies of the brain’s synaptic mechanisms. You will hear more from him and his latest projects later in this programme.

Establishing an endowed professorship has many dimensions to this. First of all, it signifies the best form of philanthropy and contribution to education and research in our goal to improve the human condition. But there are three aspects to establishing a Chair professorship in any major university. The philanthropist’s name used in establishing the Chair professorship signifies the stature of the university. The name of the philanthropist signifies the stature of the chair. And the stature of the holder of the Chair contributes to furthering the cause of which the philanthropist is doing. In this case, all three are aligned. So I am really delighted by that establishment of this Chair in this particular way. The inaugural holder, the school and the way it is given to the university. And the entity is taking Irene’s name, which bodes very well for LKCMedicine.

So the professorships are very timely, given the Ministry of Health’s recent declaration of war on diabetes, and Singapore’s rapidly ageing society. Both diabetes and neuorscience are not only of academic importance and interest to LKCMedicine, and it is of equal interest to the country of Singapore.

The gift will also establish the Irene Tan Liang Kheng Scholarship, which will be awarded to first year LKCMedicine undergraduate students who are Singapore citizens. The scholarships will encourage outstanding students, especially those from financially challenged backgrounds, to take up a career in medicine and serve the community.

In recognition of this generous gift and in honour of the late philanthropist couple Mr Ong Tiong Tat and his wife, Madam Irene Tan Liang Kheng, this auditorium, this beautiful space, will be named the Ong Tiong Tat & Irene Tan Liang Kheng Auditorium.

The gift is testament to the strong credibility NTU has built up over the years as a technologically advanced and globally recognised university. At the same time, it is a very humbling experience for us all here. We greatly value the importance of research in developing innovative solutions to enhance living and learning experiences, and such a generous gift will go a very long way in furthering our efforts in both those regards.

Conclusion

So in closing, I would like to thank everyone for taking time off your very busy schedules to join us this morning. I would also like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Mr Tan Hsuan Heng, on behalf of NTU, for this generous gift from the Estate of Irene Tan Liang Kheng. Gifts to education and research at NTU are certainly powerful instruments in nurturing thoughtful leaders as well as building a sustainable future for us all.

Thank you very much.