Prime Minister Lee Officially Opens University Town
Text: Yip Wai Yan
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong officially launched University Town at the National University of Singapore on Oct.17. More than 1,000 students, faculty members and staff attended the evening occasion which featured cultural dance performances and a brief firework display.
University Town, which is more commonly referred to as UTown, is an integrated living and learning environment featuring residential colleges, research centres and educational and recreational facilities.
Lee said UTown’s residential colleges, which function as living quarters as well as learning spaces, improve NUS students’ university experience through the colleges’ emphasis on multidisciplinary teaching and smaller sized seminar-style classes.
"It shrinks NUS into a smaller community so that students can foster closer ties with their school mates and teachers," he said.
Fourth-year political science undergraduate Sean Yap, who attended the opening event, said he valued having a close-knit community at Cinnamon College, a dormitory that is specially catered to students and professors under the University Scholars Programme.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong officially launched University Town at the National University of Singapore on Oct.17. More than 1,000 students, faculty members and staff attended the evening occasion which featured cultural dance performances and a brief firework display.
University Town, which is more commonly referred to as UTown, is an integrated living and learning environment featuring residential colleges, research centres and educational and recreational facilities.
Lee said UTown’s residential colleges, which function as living quarters as well as learning spaces, improve NUS students’ university experience through the colleges’ emphasis on multidisciplinary teaching and smaller sized seminar-style classes.
"It shrinks NUS into a smaller community so that students can foster closer ties with their school mates and teachers," he said.
Fourth-year political science undergraduate Sean Yap, who attended the opening event, said he valued having a close-knit community at Cinnamon College, a dormitory that is specially catered to students and professors under the University Scholars Programme.
“Prime Minister Lee is right in saying that UTown shrinks us into a smaller but closer community. When I entered NUS, I didn’t expect that I’d be having breakfast and dinner with my professors on an almost daily basis,” Yap said. “It brings everyone together on a more personal level and somehow makes learning more effective. I guess it’s because you get to have more frequent and deeper discussions about your courses.”
However, Lee also said that tertiary institutions in Singapore must look beyond academics and work to better equip its students with skills that will be relevant for a career in a fast-changing and competitive environment.
“Besides maintaining good research rankings, our universities have to work hard to develop each student to his or her full potential,” Lee said.
He also emphasised the need for universities to take on a wider national and social mission, and instill Singaporean values and ethos in its students.
“The challenge is to keep improving and serving Singaporeans better,” he said.
Prior to giving his speech, Lee toured the various facilities in the mini-campus, including the College of Alice and Peter Tan, one of UTown’s undergraduate residences. Students staying at the hostel introduced the prime minister to their dining hall, classrooms and common lounges.
However, Lee also said that tertiary institutions in Singapore must look beyond academics and work to better equip its students with skills that will be relevant for a career in a fast-changing and competitive environment.
“Besides maintaining good research rankings, our universities have to work hard to develop each student to his or her full potential,” Lee said.
He also emphasised the need for universities to take on a wider national and social mission, and instill Singaporean values and ethos in its students.
“The challenge is to keep improving and serving Singaporeans better,” he said.
Prior to giving his speech, Lee toured the various facilities in the mini-campus, including the College of Alice and Peter Tan, one of UTown’s undergraduate residences. Students staying at the hostel introduced the prime minister to their dining hall, classrooms and common lounges.
Second-year business undergraduate Shirlyn Koh gave Lee a tour of her six-bedroom suite.
“I was honoured and thankful for the opportunity to interact with him up close. I found him to be very approachable and humble,” Koh said. “We are lucky to have him be the guest-of-honour for this opening event.”
However, other students like Amy Lee, a third-year college resident and computer science undergraduate, were less enthusiastic about the launch of UTown.
“UTown has already been open for more than two years so I don’t get why we are only launching it now,” she said. “I had the chance to talk to Prime Minister Lee and while I felt privileged to meet him, at the same time I felt like the whole thing was kind of staged because there were so many cameras around. And I bet NUS must have spent a lot of money on the event, especially with the fireworks.”
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“I was honoured and thankful for the opportunity to interact with him up close. I found him to be very approachable and humble,” Koh said. “We are lucky to have him be the guest-of-honour for this opening event.”
However, other students like Amy Lee, a third-year college resident and computer science undergraduate, were less enthusiastic about the launch of UTown.
“UTown has already been open for more than two years so I don’t get why we are only launching it now,” she said. “I had the chance to talk to Prime Minister Lee and while I felt privileged to meet him, at the same time I felt like the whole thing was kind of staged because there were so many cameras around. And I bet NUS must have spent a lot of money on the event, especially with the fireworks.”
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