23 February 2006
NOL Contributes S$10m To The NOL Fellowship Fund -
A Global Transport Initiative Led By NUS
The NOL Fellowship, a global transport initiative led by the National University of Singapore (NUS), will be launched on 24 February 2006 by Singapore’s Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, witnessed by Minister for Transport Yeo Cheow Tong and invited guests. Senior Minister Goh is the Patron for the Fellowship. The Fellowship has been seeded by a contribution of S$10 million from Neptune Orient Lines Ltd (NOL) to develop a top-rate research programme on important global transport and logistics issues.
NOL’s S$10 million endowment will be matched dollar-for-dollar by Singapore’s Ministry of Education. As a reflection of its strong commitment to the aims of the NOL Fellowship, NUS is contributing S$1 million to the NOL Fellowship fund, bringing the NOL Fellowship fund to a total of S$21 million.
The Fund is being launched to bring about multi-disciplinary, applied research among centres of excellence in universities and research institutes internationally, to enhance knowledge and expertise in the field of global cargo transportation and logistics.
In his speech at the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding and launch of the Fellowship, NOL Group Chairman Mr Cheng Wai Keung says that “NOL is keen to make a contribution towards realising Singapore’s aspiration to be a global transport hub.” He hopes that “the work of the NOL Fellowship will help position Singapore favourably as a thought leader” in this field.
As an innovative and progressive company, NOL is committed to investments in knowledge and R&D resources. NOL believes that innovative new thinking is key to enabling the global integrated services and business solutions needed to transform traditional shipping trades into high-tech supply chain enterprises.
Mr Cheng says that the NOL Fellowship is an extension of NOL’s educational and community relations initiatives, and part of its ongoing involvement in R&D aimed at developing innovative supply chain solutions.
Mr Cheng also says that the “NOL Group is today an integrated global transport solutions company, seeking to employ the best brain power, technology and R&D resources to meet the needs of customers in a fast-changing and an increasingly complex international trading environment.”
“Our hope is that the NOL Fellowship will lead to the development of innovative solutions which will be of benefit to our customers”, he adds.
Contributing to the Fund is consistent with NOL’s ongoing commitment to be a good corporate citizen.
NUS President Professor Shih Choon Fong says, “I would like to express my gratitude to NOL for establishing this Fellowship at NUS. The transportation and logistics sectors encompass many traditional and emerging disciplines, spanning geographical boundaries and business domains. Some of the most impactful research involves a multi-disciplinary approach, as well as trans-national partnerships with universities and other knowledge organisations that transcend geographical, political and cultural boundaries. These collaborative global endeavors will be crucial for NOL and NUS to exert an influence in maritime transportation and research.”
The NOL Fellowship will focus on issues concerning large-scale multimodal transportation in emerging markets, the impact of regulation, deregulation, globalisation and more. By bringing together industry and the academia, the Fellowship hopes to strike a good balance in the areas of interest that will benefit the industry on a global scale. The research focus of the NOL Fellowship can be found in Annex 1.
The fund will support research projects, lectures, conferences and short-term appointments of professors and research or industry fellows. In its first two flagship projects, NUS will collaborate with leading foreign universities such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Tsinghua University, as well as homegrown Singapore Management University to advance research in maritime transportation and development. Please refer to Annex 2 and Annex 3 for details on the two projects. The participation of other partners such as the Nanyang Technological University and other universities world-wide is also being explored.
Professor Shih adds, “NUS, as a global university, is ready to partner with researchers from around the world on research projects which further the Fellowship’s objectives.” Applications for research grant can be made to the NOL Fellowship Secretariat, Office of Research at NUS.
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