Singapore
Hubs Partner: National University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore (NUS), founded in 1905, is Singapore’s oldest and most prestigious university, offering a global education with a strong focus on Asian perspectives. With 16 colleges, faculties, and schools across three campuses, NUS enrolls 44,000 students and offers over 4,000 courses each semester. Its reputation for research excellence and innovation makes it a leading institution in Asia, attracting scholars and students from around the world.
Fast Facts
48
Outgoing Cornell
exchange students
52
Incoming NUS
exchange students
12
Joint Research
Seed Grants
Campus Visits Deepen Cornell-NUS Partnership
(August 2023) Cornell hosted Associate Vice President George Loh (Strategic Partnerships) and Thomas Ho (Research & Technology), who met with Grace Xing, director of SUPeRior Energy-efficient Materials and dEvices (SUPREME), a microelectronics research center led by Cornell that brings together researchers across 13 universities.
(April 2023) A Cornell delegation, including Vice Provost Wolford, deans, and faculty from five colleges, visited the National University of Singapore to explore research and education collaborations.
Research Highlights
HEaTR for a Warming World
A climate collaboration with Global Hubs partners in Singapore, India, the UK, and Ghana, the Global Center for Household Energy and Thermal Resilience was launched with a Hubs joint seed grant and received a two-year $250K design grant from the National Science Foundation.
People experience climate change in their homes, the researchers argue, yet the design expertise of those living in climate-vulnerable communities has been overlooked. HEaTR aims to promote climate vulnerability solutions by analyzing and sharing the practical housing adaptation strategies of communities most affected by climate extremes.
Cornell-NUS Joint Research Seed Grant Awards 2024
"Multiple Diasporas: A Geopolitical Approach to Studying Chinese Migration to Singapore" | Eli Friedman (Cornell) and Zachary Howlett (NUS)
“The Role of Electric Vehicle Policies in Sustainable Transportation: A Global Inquiry” | Nicholas Klein (Cornell) and Shengxiao Li (NUS)
“Revealing Complex, Transient Structural Motifs Linked to Phase Instabilities in High-Entropy Alloys Using Unsupervised Machine Learning” | Judy Cha (Cornell) and Ne Te (Duane) Loh (NUS)
“Enantioselective Heterogeneous Catalysis and Separations with Chiral Fluorene-Based Metal-Organic Frameworks” | Phillip Milner (Cornell) and Ye Zhu (NUS)
“Does Environmental Degradation and Protection in China Affect Migratory Bird Sightings Along the East Asian–Australian Flyway?” | Wendong Zhang (Cornell) and Tong Liu (NUS)
Student Experiences
Global Fellows Intern at NUS
The CALS Global Fellows Program supports Cornell undergraduate students pursuing professionally focused summer internships and research placements that enhance their career goals and academic progress while enriching their undergraduate experience with diverse cultural and international immersion. CALS and NUS have been partners for more than a decade.
Sara Hishinuma ’24, a biological sciences major and CALS Global Fellow, spent the summer at NUS working alongside faculty in the Neurodevelopment and Cancer Lab to study the effects of gene manipulation on tumors.
“My time in Singapore has influenced my future plans by expanding my world views and widening my career choices. My experience working in a lab and meeting people of varying backgrounds and career paths has allowed me to realize my love for both research and intercultural exchange.”
Six Cornell colleges have sent students to study at NUS: Agriculture and Life Sciences, Arts and Sciences, Cornell Engineering, Human Ecology, ILR School, and SC Johnson.
Faculty Forward
Cornell Faculty Lead: Thomas Pepinsky
Walter F. LaFeber Professor, Department of Government, A&S
Tom Pepinsky studies the interaction of political and economic systems, mostly in emerging market economies. He serves as director of Cornell's International Political Economy Program and associate director of the Cornell Modern Indonesia Project, based in the Einaudi Center's Southeast Asia Program.
Pepinsky Visits Singapore
Pepinsky met with NUS university leadership and faculty, including Cornell alumnus Douglas Kammen '89, PhD '97. They discussed undergraduate student exchanges, including the potential for Cornell students to join short-term study abroad programs NUS offers throughout Southeast Asia. Read about summer 2023 Hubs visits.
Alumni Activity
"Alumni in Singapore are excited about the Global Hub in conjunction with NUS. It is a wonderful way to bring our alma mater to this side of the Pacific! Local alumni look forward to welcoming and supporting Cornell faculty and students who come to Singapore." — Mark Hansen '79, advisor to the Cornell Club of Singapore.
Global Cornell welcomed almost 100 representatives from 18 international Global Hubs partner institutions to London for the second network meeting, co-hosted by King's College London. Participants came together to exchange ideas and pave the way for collaborations and engagement to build a better world.
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With the support of Cornell Global Hubs joint seed grants, researchers are building international connections and advancing their research.
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Global Cornell has awarded five International Cornell Curriculum (ICC) grants totaling $114,000 to support faculty developing courses that feature international experiences for students.