Director's Message
AY2023/2024 was a very fulfilling year for us.
We launched four courses for the residential colleges, and five e-modulets and the Graduate Communication Support Space (GCSS) for graduate students.
The four courses for residential colleges (RC) add to the repertoire of courses we offer to the RC students. These courses are RVX1005: Intersectionality, Identity, and Inequality, UTW1001K: Meaning of Home & Identity in the Diaspora, RVX1004: Cultural Expressions of Science, Technology & Warfare, UTW1001L: Intimate Others: Animals, Animality & Representation.
The five e-modulets on Academic Career Preparation for Graduate Students were developed together with the NUS Graduate School. Accessible online, they are complementary academic support and resources for our graduate students. These e-modulets are (1) Crafting an Academic CV; (2) Writing a Research Statement; (3) Developing a Teaching Statement; (4) Designing Academic Posters; (5) Giving an Elevator Speech.
Again in collaboration with the NUS Graduate School, the Graduate Communication Support Space (GCSS) was set up to support the writing needs of our graduate students, especially in their thesis writing journey.
On top of these courses launched in AY2023/2024, five courses have been approved for offer in AY2024/2025. They are EM1180 Foundations in Communicating about Music, GEN2006 Communications for Inter-Generational Engagement, SP1541/SP1541X Communication Practices in Popular Science, and THE1005 Guide to Use of Generative AI Tools.
Altogether, there are at present 32 courses offered by CELC. I am most privileged to have a very strong team of CELC colleagues who are committed to ensuring the quality of our current courses and to increasing the diversity of courses we offer.
Another major academic activity in AY2023/2024 was the visit by the CELC Visiting Panel. The three-member panel visited classes, and had dialogues with students, CELC colleagues, and NUS senior management. It’s been most assuring to have the panel’s strong affirmation on what we do.
We also produced three publicity videos to promote the GCSS, the Writing and Communication Hub’s Oral Communication services, as well as the work of the Oral Communication Committee.
This academic year, we also celebrate the achievements of colleagues who won awards for their excellence in teaching, the teaching and learning grant awards colleagues received, the active and extensive publications by colleagues, and the excellent range of scholarly projects that colleagues have been involved in. These are an embodiment of reflective educators.
Finally, our colleagues have contributed to the NUS community and beyond in various ways through conducting workshops, serving as editorial board members, and as reviewers.
Thank you for taking the time to get to know what we do through this issue of A Year in Review. Happy reading!
Kooi Cheng