Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine’s Dean and Vice Dean Tour NIE Research Facilities

On 26 November 2021, Prof Joseph Sung, Dean of the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKC Medicine)   and Prof Lim Kah Leong, Vice-Dean of LKC Medicine, toured various research facilities at the National Institute of Education. The visitors were welcomed by Prof Christine Goh, NIE Director, and Prof David Hung, Dean (Education Research) at the Office of Education Research (OER), NIE.

Prof Sung and Prof Lim first visited the NIE Visitors Learning Centre where they learnt about the history of teacher education. Next, they were led on a tour of the Science of Learning in Education Centre (SoLEC) by Asst Prof Azilawati Jamaludin, OER Asst Dean (Science of Learning in Education), who introduced the centre and its capabilities. SoLEC is a newly established research facility that began operations last year with the goal of bridging various academic fields, including neuroscience, cognitive science, psychology, technology, and education.

Asst Prof Jamaludin and Asst Prof Teo Wei Peng, from the Physical Education and Sports Science Academic Group (PESS AG) in NIE, demonstrated SoLEC's numerous state-of-the-art neuroimaging and psychophysiological tools, such as functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), electroencephalography (EEG), eye tracking, and electrodermal activity monitors that aid in Science of Learning in Education (SoLE) research. Prof Sung and Prof Lim were also shown around the centre's interactive classroom—equipped with visual and audio recording systems and an observational deck—where neuroscientific experiments are conducted in a well-controlled environment.

From L to R: Assoc Prof Swarup Mukherjee, Prof Lim Kah Leong, Prof Joseph Sung, Prof Christine Goh, Assoc Prof Koh Koon Teck, and Prof David Hung at the Human Bioenergetics Lab.

Following that, the delegation visited the Motor Behaviour Lab, and the Human Bioenergetics Lab at PESS, where Assoc Prof Koh Koon Teck, Head of the PESS AG, Assoc Prof Swarup Mukherjee, PESS, and Asst Prof Teo exhibited various research instruments used in the investigation of behaviour and the neural processes underlying human motor skill performance and learning, and presented key research undertaken in the lab, featuring ongoing research by PESS students.

Asst Prof Teo and PESS students showcasing their research project to Prof Sung and Prof Lim

The delegation concluded their visit by discussing prospective collaborations or joint research partnership opportunities between NIE, LKC Medicine, and NTU.