Mr Hsieh Fu Hua (left), who chairs the boards of NUS and NUHS, was honoured with the Distinguished Service Order, while NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye (right) was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal, at this year’s National Day Awards.

More than 200 members of the NUS community were recognised for their merit and service to Singapore at this year’s National Day Awards.   

NUS leaders honoured

Mr Hsieh Fu Hua, Chairman of the NUS Board of Trustees and the Board of the National University Health System (NUHS), was conferred the Distinguished Service Order, while NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye was honoured with the Meritorious Service Medal.

The Distinguished Service Order was awarded to Mr Hsieh Fu Hua in recognition of his outstanding contributions to Singapore across multiple sectors, including education, healthcare, and the arts.

Mr Hsieh has steered the NUS Board since 2017, charting the University’s strategic goals towards becoming a leading global university. Under his stewardship, the University has implemented many impactful initiatives to develop future-ready graduates, enhance research impact, and deepen industry collaboration. He has also strengthened the University’s governance by implementing robust and comprehensive succession planning for key leadership positions, as well as inculcating a proactive risk management mindset.

As Chairman of the NUHS Board since 2019, Mr Hsieh has steered the group towards its vision of improving community health by delivering quality and cost-effective care to Singaporeans. During his tenure, NUHS has extended its services beyond the hospital walls through initiatives, such as its virtual care centre and telemedicine, that aim to increase access to patient care and reduce hospital admissions.

In addition to NUS and NUHS, Mr Hsieh also chairs the boards of several non-profit and business organisations, including the WWF Singapore, Eastspring Investments Group, and GXS Bank. He is also active in rallying philanthropic support for social services and the arts, as well as spearheading many ground-up efforts to advocate for mental health.

In response to receiving the award, Mr Hsieh said, “The privilege to serve NUHS and NUS alongside outstanding leaders and colleagues is an honour in itself. I am very grateful for this award which is personally meaningful.”

“More importantly, it is a tribute to these fine institutions and the many remarkable individuals that I work with. The incredible dedication and tenacity of our healthcare colleagues during the pandemic, as well as the passion of our academic community for excellence in research and education, are most uplifting.”

Prof Tan Eng Chye was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for his wide-ranging contributions to education and the University, as well as his community and leadership roles in Singapore and globally.

Prof Tan was appointed NUS' fifth President in 2018. As the University’s 23^rd leader, he propelled NUS to greater heights along numerous fronts – innovating education, building a deep bench of top talent, raising research impact, expanding the innovation and enterprise ecosystem, and championing organisational excellence.

A strong advocate of interdisciplinary education, Prof Tan spearheaded the launch of the College of Humanities and Sciences, College of Design and Engineering, and NUS College to equip students with knowledge and skillsets across breadth and depth to meet the demands of an increasingly complex and fast-changing work environment.

Under his leadership, the University reached – for the first time – into the top ten of the QS World University Rankings, emerging eighth globally while continuing to hold its lead as the top in Asia. It has also made strides in research, with nearly half its research publications featured in the top 10 per cent of the most cited journals globally, and research funding surging to S$4.3 billion in the past five years.

Prof Tan sits on the boards of NUS, NUHS, the National Research Foundation, and the Singapore Economic Development Board, among others. He is a member of Singapore’s Future Economy Advisory Panel, which is tasked with driving the growth and transformation of the country’s future economy. Prof Tan is also the immediate former chair of Universitas 21, a leading global network of 29 research-intensive universities, a member of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities Steering Committee, and an advisor with the global non-profit think tank, The Conference Board.

Prof Tan said he was honoured and deeply humbled by the recognition. “It has always been my aspiration for NUS to be a leading global university. Today, with our transformative educational offerings, groundbreaking research, and dynamic enterprise ecosystem, we have proven that we are able to hold our own among many outstanding institutions far and wide.”

“This award honours the collective dedication and hard work of the entire NUS community – our faculty, staff, students, alumni and partners who have been instrumental in shaping our success and the future,” he added.

A community making waves

Other members of the NUS community also featured in many of the 21 award categories.

Mr Peter Ho, the 2024 NUS Honorary Doctor of Letters recipient, and Chairman of the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), was bestowed the Order of Nila Utama (With High Distinction), one of the nation’s highest honours.

Mr Ho’s award comes less than a month after he was presented with the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters by NUS in honour of his distinguished service to Singapore, as well as his contributions towards the University and the field of higher education. He is a member of the governing board of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, and a former member of the NUS Board from 2011 to 2023. Mr Ho was also conferred the NUS Outstanding Service Award in 2022 for his contributions to the University. 

Having established a public service career spanning more than three decades, Mr Ho has been credited for steering the public service with visionary leadership, galvanising agencies to work together to tackle key national issues, and building a future-ready public service that has advanced Singapore's interests in defence, foreign affairs, security and governance.

Mr Goh Yew Lin, Chairman of the Duke-NUS Governing Board, was awarded the Public Service Star (Bar) for his role as Chairman of Singapore Symphonia Company, while Emeritus Professor Yong Kwet Yew from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the College of Design and Engineering received the same award for his work as an advisor on the Expert Resource Panel of PUB, Singapore’s national water agency.

Emeritus Professor Roy Joseph from the Department of Paediatrics and the Centre for Biomedical Ethics at NUS Medicine was presented with the Public Service Star for his contributions as Chairman of the National Medical Ethics Committee. Also being recognised for the award was Associate Professor Ang Seng Bin, Clinical Associate Professor at Duke-NUS and Chairman of Allkin Singapore, a social service agency.

Professor Ivy Ng Swee Lian, Clinical Professor and Governing Board Member of Duke-NUS, earned the Public Administration Medal (Gold) (Bar) in her capacity as Senior Advisor of the SingHealth Board and former Group Chief Executive Officer of SingHealth. Professor Ng is also Adjunct Professor at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (SSHSPH) and Clinical Professor at NUS Medicine.