First Mover

Mr Kuok Khoon Hong greeted by scholarship recipients of NTU’s Mayor’s Class.

On April 25, NTU held a Safari-themed Barbecue dinner event to thank Mr Kuok Khoon Hong, Chairman and CEO of Wilmar International Limited for his instrumental and enduring support of the University.

The Meet-the-Scholars donor appreciation event provided a fabulous opportunity for students to meet and interact with their benefactor Mr Kuok whose gifts to NTU from both himself and his company, provided key support for scholarships for students from the Mayors’ Class and Nanyang Business School.

Wilmar International Limited, one of Asia's largest integrated agribusiness groups, made a gift of S$1 million to the University in 2010, the biggest gift that NTU has received so far in support of scholarships for Master of Science in Managerial Economics (MME) and Master of Public Administration (MPA) students.

In his speech at the event, Mr Kuok emphasised Wilmar International’s ongoing operations in the China market since 1980s and how the group as “first mover”, has greatly benefited from China’s economic growth through the years.

Said Mr Kuok: “As a responsible corporation, we have to make efforts to contribute back to the country. Our gift to NTU to establish scholarships for the Mayors Class at Nanyang Centre of Public Administration is one of our many efforts”.

Mr Kuok affirmed that by sponsoring the study of Chinese government officials in Singapore, his company hopes to help raise the standard of public administration in China.

Following Wilmar International’s gift in support of the Mayors’ Class, Mr Kuok committed a further $2 million as a personal gift to the University’s Nanyang Business School (NBS) last year. His gift was used to establish an endowed fund named The KKH Opportunity Scholarship Fund which supports a strategic internship programme for NBS scholars.

In line with NBS’ mission of providing its students with valuable opportunities for international exposure, the KKH Opportunity Scholarship allows NBS students to go on 10-week internships in emerging markets such as Africa, Russia and Central Asia.

Attributing a large portion of Wilmar International’s success to its early operations in the market, Mr Kuok espoused the need to tap into unchartered environments, “By sponsoring NBS scholarships, more budding entrepreneurs can be sent to untapped markets for internships. This will give them more exposure in relatively unstructured environments to build resourcefulness and business acumen”.

The event, held at the President’s Lodge Garden, gave KKH Opportunity Fund and Mayors’ Class scholars a priceless opportunity to meet and share their learning experiences and ambitions with Mr Kuok, and also to be mentored on entrepreneurship and business strategies by Mr Kuok.

NBS students relishing priceless lessons on entrepreneurship and business strategy by Mr Kuok Khoon Hong.

[For more information on Wilmar International Limited, please visit: www.wilmar-international.com]

Investing in the Future of Business

Mr Kevin Holmgren, CEO OF Prudential Assurance Singapore presenting a gift of US$100,000 to Professor Gillian Yeo, Interim Dean of Nanyang Business School

With its firm focus on education advancement in Singapore, Prudential Singapore made a generous gift of $100,000 to NTU’s Nanyang Business School (NBS) on its 80th Anniversary celebrations held on 23 July 2011 at Changi Exhibition Centre.

Officially presented to NTU by Prudential Assurance Singapore CEO, Mr Kevin Holmgren, the endowed gift of $250,000, after 1:1.5 matching by the Singapore government, will go towards the establishment of the Prudential Scholarship Fund. The fund will provide one scholarship per year to outstanding students in NBS.

In line with its Anniversary celebration’s theme of “giving back to the community", the life insurance giant has begun enhancing its CSR efforts by partnering established and successful educational institutions such as NTU.

NBS, with its cutting-edge curricula and outstanding business learning environment, is well-aligned with Prudential Singapore's CSR objectives, inspiring both confidence and hope for the future of business and finance in the region.

“We believe that education is a fundamental building block of society and we have always endeavoured to help impart financial literacy concepts to the younger generation,” said a spokesperson of Prudential Singapore. “NTU is a renowned institution that prides itself on offering a valuable and well-rounded education to young individuals. By donating this scholarship to Nanyang Business School, we hope to help develop youths to become savvy business professionals who can contribute positively to society."

Venturing Towards Global Innovation

Henry L. Ines (first row, third from left), Professor Lam Khin Yong (first row, fourth from left) and recipients of the DragonVenture-NTU Award

Imagine using sunlight to destroy harmful indoor air pollutants, or tapping the same kind of energy to reduce the running costs of air-conditioning systems in office buildings. These are but two of the many technologies that NTU’s postgraduate students are working on that could well make their way to Silicon Valley, USA, thanks to DragonVenture, an investment and advisory firm based there.

In June this year, DragonVenture announced that it will commit scholarship awards totalling US$50,000 annually to postgraduate students at NTU, the first time the firm is offering such an award at a Singapore university. Named the DragonVenture-NTU Award, it aims to spur tech-focused postgraduate students in their research into new and emerging technologies with strong commercial potential.

Mr Henry L. Ines, Managing Director of DragonVenture’s Singapore office, said: “DragonVenture is proud to offer these awards to NTU students, who we consider among the best in Singapore and in Asia. DragonVenture is keen to not only continue to support NTU's highly reputable, exceptional technology and academic programmes but also to potentially collaborate with its top students and budding entrepreneurs with significant business leadership potential.”

In addition to the awards, the students will also receive informal mentorship and have the opportunity to interact closely with DragonVenture and its affiliates to explore future investment, employment, or collaboration opportunities.

Professor Lam Khin Yong, NTU’s Chief of Staff-Designate and Associate Provost for Graduate Education & Special Projects said, “The DragonVenture-NTU Award is really about nurturing Asia’s future technology innovators. It will inspire our tech-focused graduate students to become the next generation of technology leaders and entrepreneurs, by venturing into new areas and finding solutions to the pressing issues of our time. I hope that by making connections with DragonVenture, our award recipients will flourish in their future careers.”

For Ms Zhang Li, a Singapore permanent resident, the award brings her a step closer to her dream of developing commercially successful light-reactive air purifiers. The PhD student at NTU’s School of EEE is working on emerging air purifier technology that converts harmful indoor air particles and toxic gases into safer compounds like carbon dioxide and water using natural light.

Said Ms Li: “Tighter office spaces, the growing use of synthetic materials and reduced ventilation have resulted in increased carbon dioxide and humidity in many office buildings, leading to the growth of contaminants and microorganisms. Improving indoor air quality is therefore important in this day and age, and I hope the light-driven photocatalysts I am studying can be commercialised in future.”

Fellow PhD student Ms Liao Qianfang is developing a computer intelligent system that leverages solar energy to save electricity and optimise the performance of HVAC (Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning) systems. She said: “A significant amount of electricity is used to run air-conditioning systems of office buildings in the tropics. What’s more, high cooling demand takes place during the hours when sunlight is strongest and electricity fees are at their peak. So it is potentially fruitful to develop a solar energy assisted air-conditioning system.”

Ms Li and Ms Lao are two of nine Masters and PhD students from NTU who received the DragonVenture-NTU Awards worth US$5,000 each in June this year. Award recipients will each receive their funds in two instalments of US$2,500 upon the successful completion of each academic semester.

[For more information on DragonVenture, please visit: www.dragonventure.com]