image: NTU Singapore President Professor Bertil Andersson (left) received his honorary doctoral degree from Tianjin University President Professor Li Jiajun. view more
Credit: Nanyang Technological University
Professor Bertil Andersson, the President of Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore) was conferred an honorary doctoral degree from China's Tianjin University today.
Singapore's founding Prime Minister, the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, received an honorary doctorate from Fudan University in 2005 while Singapore President Tony Tan Keng Yam was conferred the honour by Nankai University this year.
Honorary doctorate degrees from Chinese universities undergo a strict selection process which requires the approval of the Office of the State Council Academic Degrees Committee from China's Ministry of Education.
Prof Andersson received the honorary degree in recognition of his outstanding contributions in academia and in forging international partnerships, especially his commitment in fostering close ties between Tianjin University and NTU.
The first modern university in China and one of the country's largest multidisciplinary engineering universities, Tianjin University has been a forerunner in the transformation of China's evolving education scene.
A Swedish, Prof Andersson is also the first from Singapore to receive an honorary doctorate from Tianjin University.
Prof Li Jiajun, President of Tianjin University conferred the honorary doctorate on Prof Andersson at a special ceremony held at the Zheng Dong Library today on the university's campus.
The conferment ceremony was especially meaningful as it is held in conjunction with Tianjin University's 120th anniversary celebrations.
"It is a great privilege to receive an honorary doctorate from Tianjin University. As the first President amongst its partner universities to be presented with this prestigious title, I am deeply honoured, and humbled," said Prof Andersson.
"NTU has a strong legacy of ties with China and our partnership with prestigious Chinese universities like Tianjin University will only deepen. I am sure NTU and Tianjin University will find new opportunities and seek out new challenges so that we can push new frontiers together."
NTU and Tianjin University currently run a joint yearly summer exchange programme that is popular amongst students from both universities, as well as with students from other partner universities.
In research, both universities have undertaken joint projects on green electronics and the Internet of Things - the vision of a future where "anything that can be connected, will be connected."
The two universities have also set up joint virtual research centres, focusing on Environmental Sciences and Engineering, New Media, and Business Case Writing.
"Such collaborations allow us to tap on each other's strengths and share our expert knowledge in different fields. Today, research needs not only to be multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary but also transnational," said Prof Andersson.
A world-renowned plant biochemist, Prof Andersson has authored more than 300 papers in basic photosynthesis covering topics from photosystem structure to biological membranes and light stress in plants.
He received the prestigious Austrian Wilhelm Exner Medal in 2010 for his life-changing work, joining a list of laureates that includes Nobel Prize winners. He has more than 12 honorary doctorates including from University of Edinburgh, University of New South Wales, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and South Korea's Hanyang University.
Since becoming President of NTU Singapore in 2011, Prof Bertil Andersson has led the University to global distinction. NTU is the world's fastest-rising young university and is ranked first among the world's young universities.
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In the latest QS World University Rankings, NTU is ranked 13th globally and emerged among the top two Asian universities.
Media contact:
Ang Hui Min
Assistant Manager
Corporate Communications Office
Nanyang Technological University
Email: huimin@ntu.edu.sg
About Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
A research-intensive public university, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has 33,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students in the colleges of Engineering, Business, Science, Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences, and its Interdisciplinary Graduate School. It has a new medical school, the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, set up jointly with Imperial College London.
NTU is also home to world-class autonomous institutes - the National Institute of Education, S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Earth Observatory of Singapore, and Singapore Centre on Environmental Life Sciences Engineering - and various leading research centres such as the Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute (NEWRI), Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N) and the Institute on Asian Consumer Insight (ACI).
A fast-growing university with an international outlook, NTU is putting its global stamp on Five Peaks of Excellence: Sustainable Earth, Future Healthcare, New Media, New Silk Road, and Innovation Asia.
The University's main Yunnan Garden campus has been named one of the Top 15 Most Beautiful in the World. NTU also has a campus in Novena, Singapore's medical district.
For more information, visit http://www.ntu.edu.sg