2nd NUS-Tsinghua University -Xiamen University Trilateral Biotechnology Symposium

hosted by Tsinghua University
September 6-7, 2001

On 5 September 2001, a delegation of 16 scientists from the Department of Biological Sciences of the National University of Singapore, led by Dean of Science Prof. Lai Choy Heng and Head of Dept. of Biological Science , Prof. Hew Choy Leong arrived in Beijing to attend the 2-day 2nd International Trilateral Biotechnology Symposium.

The Symposium, jointly organised by the Departments of Biological Sciences of Tsinghua University, Xiamen University and the National University of Singapore, was hosted by Tsinghua University from 6 to 8 September 2001 and held at the LIGUOWEI Hall in the School of Life Sciences and Engineering in Tsinghua University. The conference was officially opened by the Vice-President of the Tsinghua University Prof. Cen Zhangzhi.

This two-day symposium featured 3 scientific sessions on Structural Biology, Proteomics and Genomics, Developmental Biology and Biotechnology. A total of 25 speakers, of which 12 are from NUS, presented their findings at this symposium. This Symposium was covered by a Beijing correspondant for Lian He Zao Bao and featured in the press on 7 September 2001. (press clipping).

This symposium is the second of a symposium series as part of a 5-year research and academic exchange initiative aimed to facilitate research collaboration between the three universities. The first symposium was held in Singapore in March 2000 in the National University of Singapore during which a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the three Universities, marking the start of a 5-year collaborative and exchange programme to promote research interaction between our 3 universities in the areas of Marine Biology and Biotechnology, to be extended to research in Plant Molecular Biology, Structural Biology and Proteomics, as well as annual symposiums to be rotated between Beijing, Xiamen and Singapore.

While NUS has its strengths in Developmental Biology, Proteomics, Infectious Diseases and Marine Biology, Tsinghua is known in Structural Biology and DNA Chip Technology. Xiamen University, one of the top universities in southern China, has a reputable Marine Biology program. More importantly, Xiamen University shares strong historical ties with Singapore as it was founded by the late Tan Kah Kee, who was a great supporter of education in Singapore.

Since the signing of this MOU, NUS has received numerous scientists and students from Tsinghua and Xiamen Universities on exchange programmes and conference visits to Singapore. In August and September of 2001, the Department of Biological Sciences of NUS hosted its first 2 undergraduate exchange students from Tsinghua University in Singapore for curriculum and research exchange.