PRESS RELEASE
| Date: | 16 Aug 02 |
| Subject: | LEE HSIEN YANG AMONG INDUSTRY CAPTAINS APPOINTED TO REPUBLIC POLYTECHNIC BOARD OF GOVERNORS. |
| Other key personnel from diverse and unconventional backgrounds |
1 The Government has appointed BG Lee Hsien Yang, President and CEO of SingTel, as Chairman of the Republic Polytechnic Board of Governors with effect from 8 Aug 02.
2 BG Lee brings a record of dynamic leadership to Singapore’s newest polytechnic at a time of testing change in the local education sector. His experience in various organizations, such as the Land Transport Authority, the Singapore-British Business Council, and INSEAD, will be invaluable as we develop programmes to meet the challenges of a changing world. BG Lee will provide the Polytechnic with a leader who, through his national and international links, will help to establish and strengthen the Polytechnic’s identity and status. BG Lee will be assisted by Ms Lien Siaou-Sze who will be Deputy Chairman of the Board. Ms Lien is the Senior Vice President, Hewlett-Packard Services Asia-Pacific.
3 On the Board are 16 distinguished members who are leaders in their field. Representing industry, the public sector and the tertiary institutions, they are captains of industry, professionals, business leaders and academicians who will help to steer the Polytechnic on its unique path. The names and details of the Board members can be found in Annex A.
4 At a time when ‘diversity’, ‘alternative routes’ and ‘more options’ are the buzzwords in education, the Polytechnic’s senior management team looks set to lead the institution forward and ‘out-of-the-box’. Their combined experience and background is an unconventional mix of academia, entrepreneurship, higher education policy-making, and the service / retail sector. The Board of Governors has approved and appointed the following key personnel:
More details and the complete list of the Polytechnic’s key personnel can be found in Annex B.
With the insight and experience of the distinguished Board and the senior management members, Republic Polytechnic is set to break new ground in polytechnic education in Singapore.
Ms Hamida Zam Zam Office of Corporate Communications Republic Polytechnic DID : 6376 8011 Email : hamida_zam_zam@rp.edu.sg
ANNEX A
The members of the Republic Polytechnic Board of Governors are as follows:
BG Lee joined SingTel in April 1994 and has been the President and CEO of SingTel since May 1995. Prior to joining SingTel, he served (from 1975) in a variety of command and staff appointments in the Singapore Armed Forces. He is the Chairman of the Singapore Science Centre Board and a member of Singapore's Land Transport Authority Board. He is also a member of the Singapore-British Business Council, Egon Zehnder International Global Corporate Governance Advisory Board, and the Board of Directors, INSEAD. He graduated with First Class Honours in Engineering from the University of Cambridge and has an MSc in Management Science from Stanford University.
Ms Lien is the Senior Vice President, Hewlett-Packard Services Asia-Pacific. Her impressive track record at HP began in 1978, starting off as a Systems Engineer. She proved her mettle as a leader when she led her division to achieve growth and posted gains in revenue in the midst of the Asian economic crisis. She now holds Directorships at PSA Corp and several HP entities in the Asia Pacific region. Ms Lien graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Physics and a Master’s in Computer Science from Imperial College, London University.
Mrs Koh graduated with a B.A. (Honours) from Cambridge University (Churchill College) in 1982 and a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University in 1993. She was with MOF from 1982 to 2001 before being seconded to Singapore Health Services Pte Ltd in July 2001 as the Deputy CEO.
Dr Lai is Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of BuzzCity, a leader in Asia’s wireless and Internet communications industry. Prior to setting up BuzzCity, Dr Lai’s research work at Kent Ridge Digital Labs achieved significant breakthroughs in the area of pattern recognition and text retrieval which have since been adopted by the industry. He is the recipient of the 1998 Tan Kah Kee Young Inventors’ Award, a testament to his pioneering and inventive spirit. Dr Lai graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor in Electrical Engineering and obtained his Doctorate in Electrical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Dr Lim has been in private practice as a Consultant Physician and Cardiologist in Singapore since 1985. In addition to being the Managing Director of Parkway Group Healthcare Pte Ltd, he is also a Director and Executive Director of over 80 mostly medical-related companies.
Dr Martin has been the Vice President, Technology Development for Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing since January 1998. He has held various positions at Motorola Inc.'s Semiconductor Products Sector prior to joining CSM. Dr Martin holds a BA (Chemistry) from De Pauw University and a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Arkansas.
Mr Martino is the Managing Director of Merck Sharpe & Dohme (S) Manufacturing Operations. He has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Pennsylvania State University.
Mr Philip Ng is currently Chief Executive Officer of Far East Organization (Singapore). He also holds the Directorship of numerous companies locally and regionally. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from King’s College, London University and Master’s degrees in Technology and Policy, and City Planning, both from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Mr Tan is the Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Asia Operations, Flextronics Technology (S) Pte Ltd. He attained a Graduate Diploma in Management Studies from the University of Chicago and an Executive MBA from Golden Gate University.
Mr Teh is Managing Director and CEO of MMI Holdings, which is engaged in precision engineering, contract manufacturing and factory automation, with operations in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and China. Mr Teh holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degree from the National University of Singapore.
Mr Yeo is currently President and CEO of Singapore Computer Systems. He was formally Chief Executive of the National Computer Board, now known as the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore. Mr Yeo has played pivotal roles in the development of IT and electronic commerce in Singapore.
Mr Zahidi set up his own architecture firm in 1992. He is a graduate of the School of Architecture, National University of Singapore, and a member of various community organizations. In addition, he has been a guest critic for Temasek Polytechnic Interior Architecture for the past 3 years.
Prof Goh has been teaching at the National University of Singapore since 1974 and is currently Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering. He is also Director of the Office of Quality Management at NUS. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada, and his PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Prof Low Teck Seng
Prof Low is the Principal/CEO of Republic Polytechnic.
Please refer to Annex B for information on Prof Low.
Mr Lu graduated in 1984 from Oxford University, UK, with a B.A. (Honours) in Engineering Science and Economics and a M.Sc. (Management) from Stanford University in 1994. He is presently Director (Personnel), MOE.
Mr Thiagarajan is the Director of the Ong Teng Cheong Institute of Labour Studies. A graduate of Monash University, Australia, he has a Diploma in Education from the National Institute of Education.
Prof Yap has taught at the National University of Singapore since 1982 and is currently a professor at the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering and Director of the Bioprocessing Technology Centre, NUS. She has a First Class Honours degree in Applied Chemistry from the University of Singapore, a Masters with Distinction in BioChemical Engineering from University College London, University of London and a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Toronto.
ANNEX B
The following key personnel have been approved and appointed by the Board of Governors.
Professor Low Teck Seng graduated with a B.Sc. (First Class) and Ph.D, in 1978 and 1982 from Southampton University, United Kingdom. He joined the National University of Singapore in 1983. In 1992, he founded the Magnetics Technology Centre. This research centre was the predecessor of the Data Storage Institute (DSI), a national research institute focusing on technologies in magnetics and optics relevant to data storage. Under Prof. Low’s leadership, the DSI grew and is now recognized as one of the leading research institutions in this area of research. DSI is now 250 strong. In 1998, he returned to the Faculty of Engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS) as Dean. During his tenure as Dean, he initiated four faculty level multi-disciplinary laboratories: the Laboratory for Concurrent Engineering and Logistics (LCEL), the Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering (LBME), the Large Scale Systems Laboratory (LSSL) and the Information Storage Materials Laboratory (ISLM).
Prof. Low is on the Board of several companies listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange. He is also a Director of Semicaps Corporation, a company that he started with three other colleagues from NUS. This company was spun out from NUS. He was also instrumental in spinning out a company, Laser Research, whilst he was Director of DSI.
Prof. Low is well-networked internationally and is presently a Director of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The IEEE is the biggest professional organization in the world with more than 370,000 members. He has been vice president of the Industrial Electronics Society of the IEEE. Prof. Low is currently the Chair of the Audit Committee of the IEEE. His other international activities include membership on the editorial boards of 3 international refereed journals.
Prof. Low is a Fellow of the IEEE and he continues to be active in research. His technical interests are in computational electromagnetics, nanomagnetics and data storage technologies. He is a recognized expert in the design and control of permanent magnet motors and actuators.
Prof. Low’s other interests are food, wine and golf. He cooks, enjoys fine wines and plays to a handicap of 13.
Eden graduated from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK, in 1976 with B.Sc. (Hons) in Marine Engineering. He subsequently obtained his MSc in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the National University of Singapore and MEng in the field of Energy Technology from the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand.
He started his career in the Navy as a Marine Engineer in the Republic of Singapore Navy and was subsequently posted to the then Material Management Organisation within MINDEF. Since then he has been involved in several programmes and organisations including: manpower development in EDB, the restructuring of Singapore General Hospital and Tan Tock Seng Hospital, the establishment of Nanyang Polytechnic, and higher education policy formulation in MOE. Eden was also CEO of Mt Alvernia Hospital between 1998 and 1999.
A/P Alwis graduated from the University of Ceylon, Sri Lanka with a Bachelor of Science of Engineering (BScEng) in 1975. He subsequently obtained his Master of Engineering (MEng) from the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from Monash University, Australia.
A/P Alwis was Associate Professor at the Department of Civil Engineering at the National University of Singapore from 1982 to 2002. He has written more than 32 international refereed journals and was the principal inventor of a patent in passive attenuator against blast loading which is registered in the US and Singapore. A/P Alwis was actively involved in the various innovation activities in Singapore like the Innovation Programme for primary and secondary students, Singapore Science and Engineering Fair, National Junior Robotics Competition and the Innovators Club. He has also conducted many lectures on innovation in education to the educational community in Singapore.
Anderson graduated from the University of London with a first degree in Mechanical Engineering (1st Class Honours). He was with Philips Singapore Pte Ltd as a senior R&D engineer for 5 years and was involved in design and development of domestic appliances for worldwide distribution. He was instrumental in helping the Philips factory implement 3D design and manufacturing techniques in the entire manufacturing process when most companies were still using the 2D technique.
Anderson spent another 7 years with the National Science & Technology Board (NSTB) promoting Research & Development (R&D) to the local industry, managing technology infrastructures and research institutions and research human capital development. His last appointment at NSTB (now A*STAR) was Head, Human Capital, Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) and he was involved in setting up the prestigious $500 million National Science Scholarship (NSS) programme for postgraduate R&D education.
Lim Tuan Seng graduated with B Soc Sci (Hons), Singapore University, in 1970. He was commissioned as an officer in the Singapore Armed Forces and served his full time N S from 1970 -1973. He joined the University of Singapore in 1973 and was appointed to several positions, namely Deputy Director,1991 & Director,1998 in the Office of Estate & Development. In his service with the University, he was involved in the planning and development of the Kent Ridge campus in 1973 and the subsequent review of the Kent Ridge Campus Master Plan in 1990. He was responsible for the facilities management of the campus from 1988-2002.
Samuel obtained his first degree in Engineering in 1985 and Master Degree in Engineering in 1988 from Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He started his career in the IT industry as an engineer. Prior to joining the Polytechnic, he was a manager in Temasek Polytechnic. During the eleven years of service in Temasek Polytechnic, he won the National Quality Convention Gold Award in 2001, the Temasek Excellence Award in 1993 and 1999, and the Temasek Team Award in 1997 and 1998. He has also provided IT consultancy services to manufacturing, trading and financial companies.
Glen graduated in 1989 from Monash University with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons IIA, Double Major) in Politics and Sociology. He obtained an MA in Applied Social Research at the same university in 1991. Since then, Glen has been working in the higher learning educational sector for more than 10 years. He started in 1992 as a Senior Research Assistant working on Educational Development areas in The University of Queensland (Australia). He then left Australia to come to Singapore in 1997 and worked for Ngee Ann Polytechnic as the Head of Education Staff Development Section. In 2000, Glen joined the National University of Singapore (NUS) in the same field before moving on to the Republic Polytechnic.
Glen’s core expertise is in developing methodologies to stimulate learning. In particular, his main focus is in learning through the non-traditional method of lecture, tutorials and the all encompassing single final examination. Glen has extensive competencies in imparting life long learning skills to post secondary students mainly through stimulating students’ self-discovery, inquisitiveness and interests.
Mrs Mary Tan is a Certified Public Accountant. She graduated with an Honours degree in Accountacy and holds a Master in Business Administration. She has many years of working experience in the public sector namely PSA, HDB, MND and NSTB.
Sean graduated from the National University of Singapore with a first degree in Engineering (Honours) and subsequently Masters of Science (Applied Finance). He spent 6 years with the National Science & Technology Board (NSTB) facilitating Research & Development (R&D), promoting Innovation and Science & Technology to the young (PSTY) as well as fostering International Co-operation with R&D communities overseas. As a manager under the Manpower Development & International Co-operation Division, his responsibilities included planning and administering manpower training programmes, scholarships, schools promotion programmes as well as international R&D collaborations.
He was seconded to EDB in 1998 during which he was involved in promoting the Education Sector and developing the Skills Re-development Programme (SRP) to meet the challenges of the structural unemployment situation in the Knowledge-based Economy. He subsequently joined NSTB Holdings Pte Ltd as an investment manager, managing the US$1 Billion Technopreneur Investment Fund. His portfolio included investments in Israel and Europe.
Prior to joining the Polytechnic, he started an educational firm that provides technology enrichment programmes, as well as develop and supply scientific instruments to schools.
Warren graduated from the National University of Singapore in 1988 with B. Eng (Mechanical) with Honours as well as an MBA from the same university in 1995. He worked with SCS-Grumman Computer Systems for three years, providing consultancy to the Singapore Technologies Group of Companies on the implementation of Computer Integrated Manufacturing. He joined the National Science and Technology Board in 1991 and was involved in a broad spectrum of functions like industry promotion, management of research institutes and centres, strategic planning and administration. Some of his achievements include attracting over $400m of R&D investments to Singapore, setting up the Apple-ISS Research Centre, National Supercomputing Research Centre (now the Institute of High Performance Computing), Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing and Processing and Centre for Signal Processing. He was also actively involved in the formulation of the 5-year science and technology plans - the National Science & Technology Plan (NSTP) as well as Science & Technology 2005 (S&T 2005) Plan.
Hamida graduated from the National University of Singapore in 1984. She has a degree in Arts & Social Science, majoring in English Language. Her career spans various industries, from education to broadcasting and the beauty industry. She has vast experience in the education sector, having taught Communication Skills at the polytechnic level, as well as GCE 'O' level English and Literature. She was a Course Manager at the Institute of Technical Education prior to joining Republic Polytechnic.
Hamida was also the PR and Training Manager for the cosmetics brand Clinique (part of the Estee Lauder group). Whilst at Lauder, she especially enjoyed her training / working stints in New York and London. She gained valuable knowledge about the company’s world class business operations, corporate culture and service standards. One of Hamida's varied interests is public speaking. She has won various local and regional speech contests, including the National Toastmasters Speech Contest twice, in 1996 and 1997. She was also the winner of the 1996 Pan-Southeast Asia Toastmasters Speech Contest. She enjoys giving motivational talks to young people on various topics, such as self-esteem and positive thinking. She also likes movies, Neil Simon and Woody Allen comedies, travelling, music, and dancing.