HKUST-NUS: Navigating a World of Disruption

THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC HAS IRREVOCABLY changed the world, empowering us to take new approaches and employ new methods to do just about everything—from administering public policy and trade relations to managing economic and social activities.

The National University of Singapore’s Associate Professor Itty Abraham (Department of Southeast Asian Studies), Sooyeon Kim(Department of Political Science) and Prof David Taylor (Department of Geography) will be discussing this topic along with counterparts at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in the concluding episode of the HKUST Global Webinar Series.

During this session, “Navigating a World of Disruption”, the panel will be sharing their research and perspectives on the deep and varied effects of COVID-19 on food security, climate change, air quality, global trade, trends in international migration, remittances and scholarship.

Do not miss this! Register here https://bit.ly/HKUST_NUS_Webinar_Reg.

Joint Book Launch – Citizens in Motion: Emigration, Immigration, and Re-migration Across China’s Borders & Marrying for a Future: Transnational Sri Lankan Tamil Marriages in the Shadow of War

A joint book launch celebrating the release of Citizens in Motion: Emigration, Immigration, and Re-migration Across China’s Borders by Associate Professor Elaine Ho (NUS Department of Geography and FASS Research Division) and Marrying for a Future: Transnational Sri Lankan Tamil Marriages in the Shadow of War by Assistant Professor Sidharthan Maunaguru (NUS Department of South Asian Studies and NUS Department of Sociology) will be held at the Pod, NLB on Tuesday, 7th May 2019.
 
In Citizens in Motion, A/P Ho examines the migration patterns and multifaceted national affiliations of both elaine hoChinese migrants overseas and foreign migrants in China. Through interviews and ethnographic observations conducted in China, Canada, Singapore, and the China-Myanmar border, A/P Ho captures the rich diversity of contemporary Chinese migration processes. By bringing together these various experiences and national contexts, A/P Ho offers an insightful analysis of the challenges and opportunities facing nation-building and cultural diversity management mediated by the influences of migration processes.
marrying for a futureAsst Prof Maunaguru focuses on Sri Lanka in Marrying for a Future, where he argues that the social institution of marriage sidharthan maunaguruserves as a critical means of reuniting dispersed segments of Tamil communities who fled Sri Lanka during the almost 26 year civil war. This is because key agents and elements of marriage such as marriage brokers and transit places help foster connections between these fragmented communities. Importantly, the book offers an interesting take on migration issues by situating transnational marriage within the larger scholarship of forced displacement and refugees.
 
Together, A/P Ho and Asst Prof Maunaguru contribute unique approaches to studying migration and opens up possibilities for future scholarship to build on these alternative perspectives. If you are interested to hear more from the authors themselves, please RSVP to reserve your seat. The event details are as follows:
Date: Tuesday, 7th May 2019
 
Time: 6.00–8.30pm
Venue: The Pod, National Library Building
 
Organizers: Singapore Research Nexus and FASS Migration Cluster, FASS Research Division
 
Click here for additional details.
 

FASS Bookshare – 2 March (Thursday), Noon, at the RD Seminar Room on L6, AS 7

FASS Bookshare is back for 2017! Check out the Bookshare catalogue here and reserve your seats here.

Programme

11:45am-12pm: Registration and Refreshments

12-12:05pm: Lionel Wee introduces the authors and books

12:05-12:20: Khairudin Aljunied presents Muslim Cosmopolitanism: Southeast Asian Islam in Comparative Perspective

12:20-12:35: Tim Bunnell presents From World City to the World in One City: Liverpool Through Malay Lives

12:35-12:50: Jamie Gillen presents Entrepreneurialism and Tourism in Contemporary Vietnam

12:50-1:05: Q & A session

1:05: Light Bites

 

FASS Geography Students Win at GENC 2016

The team (from left) Liu Weiting, Jiang Xiaoshuang Grace, Raqibah Binte Abdul Razak & Fatin Farzana Binte Mishwan
The team (from left) Liu Weiting, Jiang Xiaoshuang Grace, Raqibah Binte Abdul Razak & Fatin Farzana Binte Mishwan

FASS would like to congratulate the NUS team comprising of FASS Geography students, Liu Weiting, Jiang Xiaoshuang Grace, Raqibah Binte Abdul Razak and Fatin Farzana Binte Miswan, on winning the Grand Prize at the Geoscience Exhibition and Competition (GENC) organised by the University Technology Petronas! The Prize consisted of a Trophy, Certificates of recognition and a cash prize of RM1000.

The team of four geographers beat 26 other participating teams from universities in South East Asia, which is a commendable feat especially because the NUS team were exposed to geology through only one or two modules.

The competition, held on 19 and 20 July 2016, consisted of two parts: the first part was a team oral presentation and the second involved putting up an exhibition of a poster, related material evidences and videos on the same theme. The NUS team name was “SENTOSA 4G SECRETS” and their work was based on the rocks of Sentosa (the one and only rock outcrop in Singapore that is accessible to general public and exposed only at low tides).

GPN@NUS Leading in Global Production Network Research

“It’s not just about ‘Made in China’! Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and so on are all heavily involved in global production networks in different industries, such as automobiles, electronics, shipbuilding, agro-food, banking and finance, transportation and so on,” says Dr Henry Yeung, Co-Director of the Global Production Networks Centre (GPN@NUS) and Professor of Economic Geography. Read the complete interview in the latest issue of The Alumnus (page 18) here: http://alumnet.nus.edu.sg/magazine/2015July.pdf
Visit the GPN@NUS website: http://gpn.nus.edu.sg/

Commencement Celebrations 2014

Another eventful year has come to pass. Another batch of graduating students marked the end of their formal school years and the beginning of an exciting future ahead with the annual Commencement Ceremony at the University Cultural Centre. On top of that, respective departments also held Commencement Celebrations for their graduates to bid them farewell, as well as to welcome them into the FASS Alumni family.

 Other than the usual get-togethers, some departments added in a dash of intellectually engaging components.  The Department of History had a quiz on history and, as with tradition, held their famous customary event – Mad Hatters! – inviting alumni from the Classes of 2013, 2007, and 2008. Some hats on display included a Samsui woman’s, a Bollywood Cop’s, a Shameless Monarch’s, and even a Bird’s Nest hat. The English Language department also had a pub quiz of sorts which tested the graduates’ linguistic and general knowledge about NUS. They also had a graduate who recited a poem he had specially penned for the occasion. Graduates too did not miss out on the opportunity to showcase their musical talents. The Department of Japanese Studies invited alumni from previous years and many friendly exchanges were made between the graduating class, faculty, and alumni, while sharing a communal Japanese meal at Waraku Restaurant. A happy coincidence occurred during Social Work Department’s graduation event – two PhD graduates found that they were classmates from the same Honours batch 18 years ago. All in all it was a joyous occasion for all parties involved.

Click on the following links to read more about the individual events that were held, as shared by the respective departments!

collage for blog

Chinese Studies     Communications and New Media     Economics    English Language     English Literature

Geography     History     Japanese Studies    Philosophy   Political Science   Psychology     Social Work     Sociology

 We wish the Class of 2014 the best in their endeavours!

Disclaimer: Links are correct and available at the time of posting.

Geography Major Bright Ong on puppeteering

Friday, 11 July 2014

Straits Times

Actor-puppeteer Bright Ong made a pact with his parents, after graduating from university, that he could be financially independent as an actor in two years, but managed it in half the time by eating just one or two meals a day.

The 26 year old’s love for performing was ignited when he started acting in amateur productions at university, and was trained in theatre as a member of  the Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT)’s The Young Company.

Commencement 2013 Celebrations

This year, a good number of the departments in FASS, together with some of their alumni associations, organised events to celebrate their graduates’ commencement. Lunches, dinners, and even themed parties were held. Some of the highlights include: personalised congratulatory letters with calligraphy (Department of Chinese Studies), performances put up by the NUS Rondalla and the Chorda Trio (Department of Economics), instant photo booth with fanciful props (Department of Political Science), and students and staff coming with ‘mad hats’ of their own (Department of History). 

Click on the following links to read more about the individual events that were held, as shared by the respective departments!

   Chinese Studies      Communications & New Media      Economics       Geography

History      Japanese Studies      Philosophy     Political Science     Psychology

   Social Work       Sociology      South Asian Studies Programme    

 

We would also like to take this opportunity to wish all graduates the best in their future endeavours!

 

Disclaimer: Links are correct and available at the time of posting.

 

Prof Henry Yeung conferred as Academician with the Academy of Social Sciences

Prof Henry Yeung, Department of Geography, was recently conferred as an Academician with the Academy of Social Sciences (ASS). Prof Yeung shares the honour with only over 700 academics and is the only academic from an Asian university.

Prof Yeung is a highly influential academic whose research interests cover, broadly, theories and the geography of transnational corporations, Asian firms and their overseas operations and Chinese business networks in the Asia-Pacific region. Throughout his career, he has been accorded many honours, among which, he was ranked first on the list of top 50 human geographers in the Journal of Economic Geography (Vol. 10), placing him in the ranks of prominent geographers such as Nigel Thrift, Peter Taylor, Billie Turner and Michael Goodchild.

The Academy’s mission is to promote social sciences in the United Kingdom for the public benefit and is composed of over 700 Individual Academicians and 43 Learned Societies. Academicians are distinguished scholars and practitioners from academia and the public and private sectors. Most of the Learned Societies in the social sciences in the United Kingdom are represented within the Academy.

Being an Academician means that a peer group has reviewed the standing and impact of one’s work and found it worthy of the conferment of the award of Academician. Typically, the award would not be conferred until the person being nominated is in at least mid career, with significant achievements to their name, and they must have contributed to social science more broadly than the normal demands of their job. This contribution can be the area of thought leadership, practitioner applications or policy development. This peer group recognition is valued by holders of the award and has often been found to be helpful in supporting applications for new roles, internal promotion and wider standing.