- Largest corporate gift received by NUS to date will support talent development and innovation in key areas such as AI and data science
- Deepens long-term partnership between NUS and Sea to nurture and grow Singapore's tech ecosystem
The National University of Singapore (NUS) and Sea Limited (NYSE: SE) (Sea) today announced that Sea has made a corporate gift of S$50 million to NUS to support the advancement of research and education at NUS School of Computing (NUS Computing), one of the world's leading computing schools. The gift agreement was signed today at NUS Kent Ridge Campus, where Minister for Education Mr Lawrence Wong witnessed the signing as the Guest-of-Honour.
The commitment, which is the largest corporate gift received by NUS to date, will support NUS Computing in its efforts to substantially enhance and develop pivotal areas such as:
- Cutting-edge research and education in critical, fast-growing areas such as artificial intelligence and data science;
- Recruitment and development of academic and research talent through scholarships for undergraduate and postgraduate students, research fellowships, visiting professorships, support for professional development and more; and
- Strategic initiatives including seed grants for enterprising projects and outreach programmes.
Mr Forrest Li, Sea's Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer, said, "Sea is fortunate to be deeply rooted in Singapore's world-class ecosystem of tech talent and research, and we are honoured to give back to our community by supporting the next wave of innovation. The talent, ideas, and breakthroughs in key technology areas that will result from this partnership will not only enhance Singapore's already vibrant tech sector, but also create good jobs and cement our nation's reputation as a global hub for technology innovation."
NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye said, "NUS is deeply appreciative of this generous gift from home-grown tech company Sea. We are particularly thrilled to collaborate with Sea as we share common values and world-class aspirations, a strong belief in nurturing talent, and a common vision of achieving long-term, positive societal impact. We hope to build upon this synergy between NUS and Sea to jointly advance our common goals through various exciting initiatives in the coming years."
"This transformative gift will dramatically accelerate the growth of NUS Computing to realise its vision of becoming a global computing tech magnet for Singapore and beyond, a grooming cradle for top infocomm talent who will join leading companies and organisations in various business and public sectors, and a rich source of cutting-edge research and impactful infocomm solutions," Prof Tan added.
This gift also marks the deepening of a productive long-term partnership between Sea and NUS. By combining the strengths of academia and industry, both parties plan to work closely together to nurture and grow Singapore's research and education ecosystem by leveraging impactful technologies such as AI. This will help raise the profile of local talent, create many rewarding jobs, and position Singapore as an attractive global hub for innovation and technology investment.
To this end, Sea recently announced the establishment of Sea AI Labs (SAIL) in Singapore to push the frontiers of AI research and develop leading technologies in the field. Sea is committed to advancing technology to drive the development of the digital economy in Singapore and across the regions where it operates.
About NUS Computing
NUS Computing is one of the leading computing schools in the world, with faculty members who are both internationally recognised researchers and inspiring teachers.
The School offers outstanding undergraduate and graduate degree programmes across the full spectrum of the field of computing, including Computer Science, Information Systems, Computer Engineering, Business Analytics and Information Security, as well as specialisations in emerging areas of importance such as artificial intelligence, fintech, blockchain, analytics and security. Correspondingly, the School attracts excellent students and produces talented graduates who are making their mark in the world.
The School's exceptional education, coupled with the demand for computing talent in all fields and industries, make NUS Computing graduates highly sought-after. The School instils in students leadership qualities and a spirit of entrepreneurship through mentorship, community service initiatives and special programmes, including The Furnace, a start-up incubator which offers funding, infrastructure and management support to bring original ideas to commercial fruition.
In research, NUS Computing has established long-standing excellence in areas such as database, multimedia, computational biology, social media and digital business, as well as digital innovation in service economy. The School is also strategically building research excellence in fields such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (robotics and machine learning), smart systems (Internet of Things), analytics, healthcare informatics, as well as computational social science.
