Yale-NUS students initiate platforms for community discussions on current affairs, economic matters and urbanisation

New academic year begins with host of activities for both local and international students

Students at Yale-NUS College will kick off the new academic year 2015/2016 with three events aimed at generating open exchanges of views on topics such as current affairs, politics, economics, as well as urbanisation. With the recent third intake of students, the College now has over thirty active student groups with diverse areas of interest. Over the next three months, three Yale-NUS student groups will be organising events and conferences that will be attended by students from pre-tertiary and tertiary institutions, from Singapore and around the world.

These events and conferences will be graced by luminaries such as Mr Lee Yi Shyan, Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of National Development and the Ministry of Trade and Industry; His Excellency Dato’ Husni Zai Yaacob, Malaysian High Commissioner to Singapore; and Mr Emmanuel Daniel, the Founder and Chairman of The Asian Banker.

Yale-NUS Model ASEAN (YMA) 2015, 28–30 August 2015

The second installment of the annual Yale-NUS Model ASEAN (YMA) conference will have over 250 participants from local, regional and international high schools and tertiary institutions. Organised by the Yale-NUS International Relations and Political Association (YIRPA), the annual conference started in 2014 and is one of the largest model ASEAN conferences in the Asia Pacific region. Many YIRPA members have honed their skills at various Model UN conferences and are now sharing their knowledge and tactics with younger students from schools such as Yishun Junior College, Dunman High School and NUS High School of Mathematics and Science.

YMA promotes awareness of Southeast Asian politics and the spirit of ASEAN diplomacy among students in Singapore and the region. By encouraging students to roleplay delegates to the ASEAN committees, they are able to hone their critical thinking and public speaking skills through rigorous debate. This year, YMA will introduce a new Social Venture Challenge that will be co-conducted with NUS Enterprise. The Challenge focuses on creating a sustainable social enterprise, and will result in a modest seed fund for the winners to kickstart their proposal. The opening ceremony will be graced by the Malaysian High Commissioner to Singapore, His Excellency Dato’ Husni Zai Yaacob. The conference will run from 28 to 30 August 2015.

YMA’s advisory panel includes Ambassador-at-Large Ong Keng Yong, Executive Deputy Chairman of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at NTU; Ms Vivian Claire Liew, Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum; and Professor Danny Quah, Director of the Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre at the London School of Economics’ Institute of Global Affairs.

Inaugural Southeast Asia – Latin America (SEA-LATAM) Conference, 14 September 2015

Organised by the Asia-LatAm Connection (ALC), the inaugural Southeast Asia – Latin America (SEA-LATAM) Conference 2015 is the first platform of its kind in Singapore designed to enable business to explore expansion and collaborative opportunities in the world’s fastest growing emerging markets of Southeast Asia and Latin America. It will bring together more than 100 executives from small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and undergraduates in Singapore to discuss new opportunities in the two emerging regions. Based on the central theme of ‘Bridging Emerging Markets’, and targeted to help SMEs grow and develop, participants at the conference will be exploring key issues such as SME financing, go-to market strategies in Southeast Asia, the Pacific Alliance and its influence on SMEs, as well as solutions to supply chain and logistics complexities in emerging markets.

The SEA-LATAM Conference is held in partnership with the Latin America Chamber of Commerce, INSEAD Emerging Markets Institute as the official knowledge partner, and with the support of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council, Singapore Exchange (SGX), ProMéxico, Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry, among others. ALC is founded by two Yale-NUS students, Sheryl Foo and Shermin Chan, who have worked with peers from Yale-NUS, the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to establish this not-for-profit endeavour, which will enable businesses to explore expansion and collaborative opportunities in both markets. This inaugural conference is the first of a series to be held, and will be followed by sessions in Jakarta in 2015 and Mexico in 2016.

ASEAN-China Case Competition, 21 September–17 October 2015

Yale-NUS Global China Connection (GCC) will hold their first case competition, the ASEAN-China Case Competition, which focuses on ‘Urbanisation in China’. Eight finalist teams will present their case resolutions on 17 October 2015 to a panel of judges, including Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Trade & Industry and Ministry of National Development, Mr Lee Yi Shyan.

For the ASEAN-China Case Competition, an estimated 300 undergraduates from universities across ASEAN will participate in teams of three to five to propose sustainable solutions for the establishment of eco-cities in China.

The competition encourages multidisciplinary problem solving for participants, and provides a platform for students who have creative solutions or who may be skilled at problem resolution to gain in depth training and support. Through this, youths who participate will also foster lasting relationships with peers of diverse nationalities as well as industry leaders, and will have a chance to form networks across regional industries.

Part of a global network with headquarters in New York City, Yale-NUS GCC is one of more than 60 university chapters dedicated to building relationships between the future leaders of China and the international community. GCC aims to foster engagement with traditional and contemporary Chinese culture, and build corporate links between youth leaders and professionals with a Chinese focus. University chapters include Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University and Fudan University.

Events At A Glance

For media enquiries, please contact publicaffairs@yale-nus.edu.sg.

11 June 2019: Some links have been updated. Outdated links have been removed.