The 590th meeting of the Sydney University Chemical Society will be held on Wednesday 14th May in Le Fèvre Lecture Theatre 2 of the Chemistry Building on the campus of The University of Sydney. The speaker will be Professor Andy Hor from University of Singapore, who will present the 2003 Francis Lions Lecture.
The Making of a Chemistry Scholar for the New Economy
Professor Andy Hor
Head of School, School of Chemistry, University of Singapore
The popularity of Chemistry as a university subject has declined significantly in the last decade in most countries, especially in Europe & N America. This would have disastrous consequences since chemists continue to serve a pillar role in the new economy in this new millennium. Deprived of quality chemical scientists, the education sector, research and industry would have to settle for second-rate chemists or even pseudochemists.
Singapore, or Australia, is never shielded from the world trends/events in this global economy. How does Singapore react to this challenge?
Today, there are 637 undergraduate students majoring in Chemistry in the National University of Singapore (NUS); it means that 1 in 5 students in the Science Faculty are in Chemistry. Many Science "high-flyers" (defined, for simplicity sake, with A-Level entry qualifications of "ABB" or better) are in Chemistry. In the graduate program, there are 309 M.Sc./Ph.D. students in Chemistry, representing about 30% in the entire Science Faculty. Aren’t these inconsistent with the world trends? How is it possible?
The speaker will dissect these issues from the education angle, cutting to the research profile and exposing the economic impact, as well as reflecting on the international model that Singapore always adopts.
Wednesday 14th May at 5:30pm
Le Fèvre Lecture Theatre 2
Refreshments from 5:00pm