Month: December 2010

To be or not to be … An Entrepreneur – A Panel Discussion

fasswebmaster Events

“What should I do when I graduate – Shall I become an entrepreneur? Or is it better to work for a few years and then go down that path?”

 At a time when everyone is talking about entrepreneurship, and new programmes and incentives are being launched to encourage graduates to BYOB (“Be Your Own Boss”), is becoming an entrepreneur the best career choice that one can make? Or is there still any merit in the more traditional path of finding a job and working in a more established company?

If you’ve ever asked yourself these questions, then here’s a session you will not want to miss. USP has invited three illustrious NUS alumni from three different backgrounds for an engaging panel discussion, where they will share their experiences starting and running a business, as well as taking on a job in local start-ups and international companies.

Panel Discussion

Date : Sat, 11 December

Time : 10am-11.30am

Venue: Training Room 3, Yusof Ishak House, NUS

 Registration is required, click HERE. (by Friday, 10 Dec, 12 noon)

(This talk to open to ALL NUS students)

 

More about the panelists:

Aileen Sim: A graduate of NUS and the NOC programme, Aileen founded her first start-up, First Meta fresh out of NUS and has been digging in the trenches since. Over the last 4 years, she has had to hire and fire, worry about making the next paycheck, quit products and strategies, change the business plan, raise money, and had the satisfaction of acquiring customers and watching the company grow.

Abhishek Mehrotra: Abhishek joined Proctor & Gamble after graduating from NUS in 2007. After a year at the company, he left to pursue a long-held passion – writing. Over the last few years, he has written across a broad variety of subjects in many local and international publications. Currently, Abhishek writes for ESPNStar.com where he is one of the senior members of the editorial team.

YiXue Chong: Yixue was one of the first employees at an NUS start-up, tenCube. He joined the company after graduating from NUS Engineering in 2007 and has been there through its acquisition by McAfee in August 2010. He has handled various roles as tenCube grew, working with tenCube’s customers, partners and distributors to bring tenCube’s services to a global audience – and continuing this role after the acquisition.

Psychology and Economics Professors awarded $900K Risk-taking Research Grant

victoria Announcements, Research, Staff Achievements

For their study on “Biology of Decision Making Under Risk”, FASS researchers Prof Richard P. Ebstein of the Department of Psychology and Prof Chew Soo Hong of the Department of Economics were awarded the first grant offered by the AXA Research Fund in Asia.

GRANT PRESENTATION CEREMONY: (From left) NUS Department of Psychology's Prof Richard Ebstein, NUS Deputy President (Research and Technology) Prof Barry Halliwell, Head of the AXA Research Fund Mrs Anne-Juliette Hermant, NUS Department of Economics' Prof Chew Soo Hong and CEO of AXA Life Singapore Mr Glenn Williams at the AXA University Asia Pacific Campus on 2 December 2010
GRANT PRESENTATION CEREMONY: (From left) NUS Department of Psychology's Prof Richard Ebstein, NUS Deputy President (Research and Technology) Prof Barry Halliwell, Head of the AXA Research Fund Mrs Anne-Juliette Hermant, NUS Department of Economics' Prof Chew Soo Hong and CEO of AXA Life Singapore Mr Glenn Williams at the AXA University Asia Pacific Campus on 2 December 2010

The AXA Research Fund, a major and innovative initiative of scientific philanthropy supported by the worldwide insurance group AXA, is awarding 517,000 Euros (S$904, 079) over a period of three years, to NUS for the Study. This marks the first time the Fund has awarded a grant to a university in Asia.

NUS Deputy President (Research and Technology) Prof Barry Halliwell said: “We are pleased to receive this esteemed gift from the AXA Research Fund which will support the work of NUS researchers to identify and explain the biological underpinnings of risk-taking in human choice and behaviour. The gift is recognition of NUS as a leading global university centred in Asia, and the University’s relentless drive to contribute to holistic understanding of critical issues for Asia and the rest of the world.”

“We are convinced that basic research is essential for the development of knowledge in this area and thus contributes to building stronger and safer societies. AXA teams in Singapore share with me the pride of this extension of the AXA Research Fund outside of Europe. I believe it is a very strong sign of our long term commitment to the region and its strategic importance for the Group,” said CEO of AXA Japan-Asia-Pacific Region and Member of the AXA Group Executive Committee Mr John R. Dacey.

Over a period of three years, the two researchers will look into identifying the genes and environmental influences that can be linked to an individual’s propensity to take risks. They will use methodologies from behavioural and experimental economics, psychology and the biological sciences. It is hoped that the Study will offer additional insights into the “nature versus nurture” debate about what influences an individual’s attitude towards financial risk.

In addition to support from the AXA Research Fund, a S$1.2million funding from the Singapore Ministry of Education will be used for the study of genetics of social decision making. The AXA Research Fund, which aims to encourage scientific research that would contribute to understanding and preventing environmental, life, and socio-economic risks, has supported 192 research projects implemented in 17 countries by researchers of 39 nationalities.

This article by NUS Office of Corporate Relations was first published in Latest@NUS at http://newshub.nus.edu.sg/headlines/1210/axa_03Dec10.php

4th CLS International Conference underway

victoria Events, Research
CLaSIC 2010, the Centre for Language Studies (CLS) International Conference, began today bringing together nearly 200 participants from the Asia-Pacific, Middle-East, Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Conference Chair Dr Izumi Walker welcomed the many language researchers and practitioners for the three day conference focusing on ‘Individual Characterisitcs and Subjective Variables in Language Learning.’

Participants arriving for the conference

Participants arriving for the conference

The guest of honour was the FASS’ own Dean, Professor Brenda Yeoh who spoke on the ability of language to build bridges and open windows in our increasingly cosmopolitan world.

Dr Walker presents a gift of appreciation to Professor Yeoh
Dr Walker presents a gift of appreciation to Professor Yeoh

The CLS was commended for its commitment to both active research and teaching which together provide a strong academic platform for this 4th biennial conference.

The first of four keynote lectures was delivered by Professor Richard Schmidt of the Department of Second Language Studies, University of Hawaii who revisited his original ‘Noticing Hypothesis’ with particular attention given to learner characteristics such as aptitiutde, motivation and language learning history.

The three day conference continues at the Orchard Hotel until Saturday 4th December.