Oh NTU, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways
by Derek Rodriguez / Videos by Ei Ei Thei / Illustrations and animations by Vivian Lim
1. COMPARED TO OUR PEERS RANKED AMONG THE WORLD’S TOP 20 UNIVERSITIES, WE’RE REALLY YOUNG
The average age of the top 20 universities in the QS World University Rankings is 265 years. And NTU? We’re 30 this year. No, we didn’t forget to add a zero.
2. … WITH ONE OF THE WORLD’S BEST DATA SCIENCE AND AI UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMMES
Artificial Intelligence and data science are synonymous with the hot jobs of tomorrow and NTU is the place to kickstart a budding career in this sector. According to Forbes, we offer one of the top 10 such undergraduate programmes in the world.
3. … AND FOUR SUBJECTS ABSOLUTELY THE WORLD’S BEST
We’re tops in Materials Science, Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Condensed Matter Physics and Physical Science, say several global ranking indicators. These are also expanding fields that will revolutionise many industries.
4. WE GIVE YOU FOOD FOR THOUGHT…
With 14 food courts housing 114 stalls, and 31 other F&B outlets on campus, you’ll have a hard time picking your lunch. The next eatery popping up is a café at Yunnan Garden – keep your eyes and ears peeled!
5. … AND WE EVEN GET OUR LUNCH AND DINNER FROM CUTE ROBOTS
Created by NTU students, the FoodBot is Singapore’s first outdoor delivery robot. These dependable little blue bots have completed over 12,000 deliveries on campus, rain or shine.
6. WE’LL BE THE ONLY SINGAPORE CAMPUS WITH 3 MRT STATIONS
All aboard the rail-volution! Set to be ready by 2029, these MRT stations will make it even more convenient for the 40,000 people who live, work, study and play in NTU to travel in and out of the campus. Cheers to the power of three!
7. WE HAVE REDEFINED THE CLASSROOM AND CURRICULUM…
Cast aside all classroom conventions. With flipped learning and experiential pedagogy, the onus is on students to hone their craft by practising it in cool environs like an air traffic control tower or through virtual and augmented reality.
8. … SO STUDENTS CAN BE WELL-VERSED IN ALL THE IMPORTANT THINGS
Make friends from other disciplines as you work in teams to master digital literacy, communication and inquiry, ethics and global issues, under the new common interdisciplinary curriculum. A wide spectrum of double major and double degree combinations, and one-of-a-kind courses such as the Renaissance Engineering Programme offer bright, ambitious young students fast tracks into that niche role they’ve been dreaming of.
9. EVEN OUR HALLS OFFER THE PERKS OF MODERN RESIDENTIAL LEARNING
Learning in class is so mainstream. So we extended it to all corners of the campus. From picking up astrophotography on the rooftops of your hall and gardening to cooking in specialised kitchens and even dabbling in graffiti art, you’ll find skills to fall in love with right in your own backyard.
10. OUR DOCTORS-IN-TRAINING ARE RIGHT AT THE HEART OF HEALTHCITY NOVENA
Connected directly to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, the NTU medical school’s Clinical Sciences Building is in the main artery of healthcare. But the school building itself is also outfitted with realistic hospital settings, and better yet, lets doctors-to-be take chill pills between lessons in student lounges that inspire creativity and in a library that boasts spectacular views of the Singapore skyline.
11. WE’VE ENGINEERED ROBOTS THAT ARE ALMOST HUMAN
They even have jobs! Nadine the social robot has had gigs as a receptionist, at a financial firm and at the ArtScience Museum, where she admittedly stole the limelight from some exhibits. EDGAR made a name for himself too, as the first robot host in Singapore’s 2017 National Day Parade.
12. SOME OF THESE BOTS STAND IN FOR US DOING TRICKY WORK
They have even taken on the hardest task known to man – assembling furniture from IKEA. NTU-made robots have also found swift success in the construction industry, where they have performed in roles such as painters and quality inspectors.
13. ON TOP OF THAT, THEY FIX US TOO
Inventions like the EndoMaster and rice-sized robots allow surgeons to perform surgeries without incisions and help deliver drugs to parts of our bodies. There’s even an orally ingested self-inflating weight management capsule that could be used to treat obesity.
14. THE WHO’S WHO OF INDUSTRY ARE HERE
NTU has the most number of corporate and joint labs in a Singapore university, with Rolls-Royce, Alibaba, Saab, HP and L’Oréal among those who have set up labs with us. Courses co-designed with companies like Google, AMD and DBS also give students an edge in employability. And have you visited Dyson’s studio in NTU, a cool makerspace for those interested in product development?
15. OUR INNOVATIONS IN SINGAPORE’S COVID-19 ARSENAL REGULARLY MAKE THE NEWS
We’re at the front lines of the fight against COVID-19. Made-in-NTU innovations include a semiautonomous disinfection robot, a wastewater surveillance system, a breathalyser that takes just two minutes to detect positive cases, and a nanotech mask that kills 99.9% of bacteria and viruses. NTU is also helping the nation process COVID-19 test results more quickly through big data and using a robotic arm to transfer samples accurately for lab testing.
16. DESPITE THE PANDEMIC, 9 IN 10 NTU GRADS RECEIVED A JOB OFFER WITHIN 4 MONTHS OF GRADUATION
According to a graduate employment survey, 2020 graduates also earned more than those from previous cohorts, with grads from Business & Computing, Medicine and Accountancy and Business among the highest paid.
17. WE DONATED OUR LEAVE AND RAISED $10 MILLION FOR NTU STUDENTS
When breadwinners lost jobs during the pandemic and NTU students were affected, we stepped in. More than 1,800 NTU faculty and staff donated 20,145 days of unused vacation leave last year, raising more than $10 million to help these families. NTU President Prof Subra Suresh and his wife, Mary, also gifted $100,000 to kickstart the NTU Priorities Fund, which rendered aid to students affected by COVID-19.
18. AND EVEN IN A DOWNTURN, THE CLASS OF 2021 RAISED THE LARGEST CLASS GIFT IN FIVE YEARS
They raised over $124,000, which will be used to relieve the financial burden of needy students.
19. IT’S OFFICIAL, WE’RE BEAUTIFUL
We’ve made the “most beautiful” lists of American Express’ Travel + Leisure magazine and Business Insider, joined Fodor’s Travel’s list of Fantastic Modern Architecture to Blow Your Mind, and been described by Times Higher Education as “a haven for modern design addicts”. And not forgetting our listing in QS’ 10 of the Most Photogenic Universities in the World, which pointed out that we have “more than just good looks”. Brains and brawn for the win!
20. AND NO DOUBT ABOUT IT, WE’RE HOME TO SOME OF SINGAPORE’S MOST PHOTOGRAPHED LANDMARKS
With eye-catchers like The Hive, the School of Art, Design & Media building and the waterfall at the historical Yunnan Garden, the campus is a playground for wedding and architecture photographers, as well as influencers seeking the perfect backdrop for their next post. It’s also why alumni keep coming back.
Photo: Shootsprouts Media
21. DID WE MENTION THE NATIONAL MONUMENTS ON CAMPUS?
We value our rich heritage as a university sited on lush grounds that once housed Singapore’s first Chinese-medium university outside China. See if you can spot national monuments such as the Nanyang University Memorial and the old Nanyang University Library and Administration Building (now the Cultural Heritage Centre). There is also a replica of the Nanyang University Arch in Yunnan Garden. Bonus points if you hunt down the original arch, which was also declared a national monument.
22. WE’RE TODAY A LIVING LAB OF SUSTAINABILITY…
Hop onto the future of smart transportation with autonomous electric buses that are being tested on campus roads and at NTU’s driverless vehicle test centre, Singapore’s first, complete with mock skyscrapers and simulated rain. We also lead research on Singapore’s smart grid and work with big industry to showcase how to cut energy use and develop smart and safe city solutions. Everything we discard as trash on campus is collected and treated at our own plant and converted to electricity and construction materials.
23. … WITH THE MOST NUMBER OF GREEN MARK PLATINUM-CERTIFIED BUILDINGS ON A CAMPUS
We walk the green talk through achieving greater environmental sustainability too with all NTU complexes Green Mark Platinum-certified. In fact, as early as 2016, we picked up the inaugural Green Mark Platinum Star Champion award, the highest accolade given out by the government for sustainable design.
24. WE MAKE WOOD WOW
NTU’s cavernous sports complex, The Wave, will stop you in your tracks. But beneath its striking surface is an equally impressive array of technologies that keeps energy consumption low. Hot on its heels is the upcoming six-storey, 40,000 square metre home for the business school that’s ready to take its place on the podium as the largest wooden building in the region. What’s more, trees felled to make way for NTU’s new buildings have been turned into usable pieces of furniture and art displayed around our two campuses. Don’t be surprised to find yourself sitting on a chair that’s made from a campus tree!
25. WE TURN SCIENCE FICTION INTO REALITY…
Batman might soon need to visit NTU if he needs a replacement cape, like one made from 3D-printed fabric invented by scientists here that stiffens on demand. He could also use other made-in-NTU upgrades too, such as invisible cloaks and sweat-powered batteries.
… AND TRASH INTO TREASURE
Unwanted bits of fruits don’t always go into the bin. They often find a second life in our labs, with durian husks turned into bandages, fruit peels into batteries and discarded fruits into energy sources, among others.
26. WE GO ALL OUT TO PROTECT SINGAPORE FROM CLIMATE CHANGE
Our researchers regularly clinch large research grants to tackle global issues like natural disasters, the ecology of oceans and forests, food security and climate change. Recently, they’ve extended the records of Singapore’s sealevel history to almost 10,000 years ago, a vital step in helping Singapore’s coastal defence plan against rising sea levels.
27. WE’VE GOT NPARKS CRED AS A HAVEN FOR WILDLIFE
Who needs Animal Planet when our 200-hectare campus is a lush home to numerous species of wildlife. Because of our unique location, we’ve seen pangolins, wild boars, macaques, birds of all flocks and frocks, and even a skirmish between a king cobra and a python. “Caution! Animal Crossing” signs on our roads are there for a reason – to ensure the safety of this treasure trove.
28. OUR STUDENTS BUILT SINGAPORE’S FIRST 3D-PRINTED CAR
All 150 parts of the Nanyang Venture 8’s body were made entirely in NTU by 3D printing, taking four months to assemble in 2015. The solar-powered race car is no slouch either, reaching a top speed of around 60km/h.
29. WE’VE MADE READING A THREE-DIMENSIONAL EXPERIENCE
We breathed new life into the world of print with the HEY! AR app. By harnessing augmented reality technology, 3D objects leap from pages into the real world and still images turn into videos. Try it, the power is in your hands!
30. WE HAVE AN ADORABLE MASCOT THAT YOU’LL WANT TO GET YOUR HANDS ON
First conceived by an NTU student in 2013, our beloved mascot Lyon makes his mark on NTU’s 30th anniversary celebrations with a cuddly new look. Awwwww…
This story was published in the Oct-Dec 2021 issue of HEY!. To read it and other stories from this issue in print, click here.
