Festive Mood at Celebrate NTU

By Saranya Mahendran

TIME OFF: Faculty, students and staff found time to take a break the the annual Campus Party. Other than free food, they were treated to performances by various groups, such as some of the Hall Jam Bands.
PHOTO: S GOWRI

Amid the flurry of midterm examinations and assignment deadlines was a much welcomed break for students at the Celebrate NTU! Party held at The Quad on 12 Mar.

Students and staff were entitled to a free ticket each, which gave them entry to a buffet spread and a meal at any two of the nine food stalls at the fair. The buffet featured an array of local favourites such as roti prata and cheng tng.

Other than food, there were many activities that students could try out, such as going on a human gyroscope or riding on a mechanical bull. Performances by various groups like the Guitar Ensemble and Hall of Residences’ Jam Bands also took place throughout the event.

Yeo Qian Yi, 23, was one who embraced the opportunity to join in the festivities.

“The (gyroscope) was really fun, although it left me a little dizzy,” said the final-year student  from the School of Biological Sciences.

“My group and I spend most of our time daily working on our final year project, so this event provided us with a much needed break.”

The international buffet spread proved to be the main attraction for some, such as Anna Song, an exchange student from Seoul University.

However, the 20-year-old added: “The atmosphere is really lively, but if I could change anything, I would change the venue as it’s too hot.”

Students and staff were not the only ones immersed in the celebratory atmosphere, with NTU President Professor Bertil Andersson also joining in the festivities.

Having performed several retro songs at last year’s event — with the video of his performance shared on YouTube by the students — this year’s events proved to be less eventful for Prof Andersson.

He joked: “I am on strike. They didn’t pay me last year so I decided not to do it this year.”

“I’ve been travelling, and we didn’t have enough time to prepare (a performance). But next year, I will be singing Dancing Queen by ABBA,” he added.

Video of Prof Andersson’s performance last year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqFMp3cPK54

For Jason Lim, 22, chairperson of the performing NTU Jazz and Blues Club, the opportunity to perform and watch others on stage was an enjoyable experience.

“We are grateful for the privilege of being able to play in front of NTU. But since it was held on a weekday, I think many students were busy studying, so they couldn’t make it (for the performances),” added the third-year student from the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

Including the State of University Address and the Fuse Jam Band’s performance, the entire Celebrate NTU! event was organised by several bodies, including the school and student representatives.

The student involvement in the event was praised by Associate Provost (Student Life) Kwok Kian Woon. Impressed by the students’ efforts, he added: “We would definitely show our support and encourage students as long as they are entrepreneurial and cost-effective.”

RIDING HIGH: Two attractions available at the event was the human gyroscope and a mechanical bull.
PHOTO: SARANYA MAHENDRAN

New teaching award launched

The carnival event was preceded by Prof Andersson’s annual State of University Address and the Nanyang Awards Ceremony earlier on in the afternoon. Both the address and the ceremony were held at the Nanyang Auditorium.

Prof Andersson had announced the launch of the Nanyang Education Award (University) during his address, with five professors becoming the first ever recipients of this new award.

Professors Vijay Sethi from the Nanyang Business School and Jenny Higham of the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine were both conferred the Gold Award, and bestowed with the honorary title of ‘Educator of the Year’, while Associate Professor Roderick Wayland Bates from the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences received the Silver Award.

Rounding off the list of awardees were Associate Professors Ruth Wong from the National Institute of Education and Jung Younbo from the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, who took home the Bronze Award each.

It was also announced that S$400,000 will be set aside in research funding to encourage faculty members to develop practical and innovative teaching tools that could be implemented in the university.

In addition, Prof Andersson covered topics ranging from plans to improve the campus landscape to NTU’s involvement in celebrations for SG50 through this year’s NTU Fest.

Another event lined up to coincide with the SG50 festivities is the commendation of pioneer batches of students from Nanyang University, which was established in 1955. According to Prof Andersson, around 600 of these pioneers will be honoured during the university’s alumni homecoming event in October.

For a detailed report on Prof Andersson’s speech, readers can refer to: http://www.jayyeo.com/projects/nanyangchronicle/2015/03/ntus-year-of-celebration/