Veteran diplomats and tech pioneer given honorary degrees by NUS

Straits Times

2 days ago

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(From left) Honorary graduands Chan Heng Chee, Dr Noeleen Heyzer and Wong Ngit Liong, and NUS president Professor Tan Eng Chye (far right) during the graduation ceremony on July 14.
SINGAPORE – Veteran diplomats Chan Heng Chee and Noeleen Heyzer, as well as tech pioneer Wong Ngit Liong, received honorary degrees from the National University of Singapore (NUS) on July 14.
The honorary Doctor of Letters degrees were presented by Education Minister Desmond Lee at the commencement ceremony for 99 graduates from the NUS Business School, held by NUS at the University Cultural Centre.
The honorary degrees are the university's highest form of recognition for outstanding individuals whose service has had an impact in Singapore and globally.
Professor Chan Heng Chee is an NUS alumna who graduated with first class honours in Political Science in 1964 when it was then known as the University of Singapore, and returned to do her PhD in 1974.
She was NUS' first female head of Political Science, before being appointed to lead the new Institute of Policy Studies in 1988.
In 1996, at the start of her 16-year stay in Washington as Singapore's UN Representative and Ambassador to the United States, Prof Chan deepened ties, culminating in the US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement which was signed in 2003.
In a citation, Professor Simon Chesterman, NUS' vice provost and dean of NUS College, said that through her career transitions, from academic to diplomat and then public intellectual, Prof Chan brought together a rare combination of intellectual independence and global experience.
'Throughout her career, Ambassador Chan has helped to shape how Singapore understands itself and how Singapore is understood by the world... at a time when expertise is not always valued quite as much as it is needed,' he said.
While students of her time were focused on being 'present-ready' to grapple with political developments of the time such as Singapore's separation from Malaysia, Prof Chan said universities today have to prepare students to be 'future-ready'.
With unpred icta bility and volatility being the new normal in 2025, she said students need to also develop an interest in politics and geopolitics.
Addressing the graduands, she encouraged them to understand and follow what is happening in the world and locally, as it is crucial for their futures.
'Going forward, geopolitics is an inescapable part of our future, and we should be prepared to ride it, to deal with it,' said Prof Chan.
Ambassador-at-Large Chan Heng Chee (left) being conferred the Honorary Doctor of Letters by Education Minister Desmond Lee on July 14.
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
Fellow honorary degree recipient and NUS alu mn a Noeleen Heyzer was former Under-Secretary-General of the UN and the highest ranking Singaporean in the UN system from 2007 to 2014.
A leadership pioneer for women, Dr Heyzer was the first woman from outside North America to head the UN's Development Fund for Women, and the first woman to serve as the executive secretary of the UN's Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific since its founding in 1947.
Calling her a trusted voice in global governance, NUS' vice provost of student life and acting dean at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy Leong Ching said that Dr Heyzer is a trailblazer for women's empowerment across the world.
'Her leadership has redefined the nature of power itself – as a force for dignity, inclusion, and transformation,' said Prof Leong.
Speaking at the ceremony, Dr Heyzer said that she is blessed to be born and raised in Singapore, where social mobility was provided for many, including her and her family.
'The transformative role of education and the thirst for learning played a big part in my evolving life,' she said.
She called on graduates to provide new leadership in a world filled with paradox and disruptions, but also immense possibilities.
Said Dr Heyzer: 'We are not just inheriting an emerging new world order. We are called to co-create it.'
Dr Noeleen Heyzer being conferred the Honorary Doctor of Letters by Education Minister Desmond Lee on July 14.
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
Mr Wong Ngit Liong, the final honorary degree recipient, is the executive chairman and founder of Venture Corporation.
Since its inception in 1984, Mr Wong has led the company's evolution from a start-up in electronics manufacturing services into a globally recognised technology powerhouse.
In public service, Mr Wong has been on numerous national boards and committees, including the Economic Development Board, 2002 Economic Review Committee and Singapore Exchange, among others.
In a citation, Professor Aaron Thean, NUS' provost and deputy president of academic affairs, called Mr Wong a 'distinguished leader and pioneer in the global technology industry'.
He added that as chairman of NUS' Board of Trustees from 2004 to 2016, Mr Wong's leadership was crucial in the university's structural transformation, including its propulsion into the ranks of the world's top universities.
Recounting NUS's transformation since 2005, Mr Wong said he was part of a team that toured top universitie s in the US, Europe and China to learn and exchange ideas.
Mr Wong Ngit Liong, executive chairman and founder of Venture Corporation, speaking after being conferred the Honorary Doctor of Letters by Education Minister Desmond Lee on July 14.
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
Though foreign experts were invited to review local tertiary education strategy and curriculum, he said after some years, they were no longer needed.
'We adopted best practices, learned and leapfrogged to greater heights... We are so much more ahead of them, that they now have to learn from us,' said Mr Wong.
A total of 17,646 students will receive bachelor's or graduate degrees this year from NUS at ceremonies taking place over 12 days from July 10 to July 21.