1. Imperial College London, one of the world’s leading institutions for science, technology, and medicine, has honoured Mr Lim Chuan Poh, Chairman of the Singapore Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), by appointing him a Fellow of the College today. The Fellowship is the highest award that Imperial bestows on individuals judged by the College to be persons of outstanding distinction.
2. Mr Lim is receiving the award in recognition of his significant contributions to Science and Technology in Singapore as well as fostering robust linkages between Singapore and Imperial College. The Fellowship was conferred upon Mr Lim by the Rector of Imperial College, Sir Keith O’Nions at the College’s Postgraduate Awards Ceremony held at the UK’s famous Royal Albert Hall.
3. Said the Pro-Rector for Postgraduate and International Affairs for Imperial, Prof Mary Ritter, “It’s a great pleasure to have the opportunity to pay tribute to Lim Chuan Poh. Imperial holds both him and the organisation he leads in enormous esteem. Mr Lim has had an exceptionally distinguished career - first in the Singapore Armed Forces, then more recently as Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Education. In his current role as Chairman of A*STAR, Mr Lim ensures that science and technology are at the heart of Singapore’s strategy for ongoing economic and social success. He is a long-standing advocate of international cooperation between leading scientific institutions in Singapore and worldwide and we at Imperial have many extremely fruitful research partnerships with the A*STAR Research Institutes, as well with Singapore’s universities. Our Imperial-A*STAR collaborative PhD Programme builds on these links to give talented scholars the opportunity to study and research in not just one but two centres of excellence – so setting them on the path to being amongst the top researchers and global citizens of the future.”
4. Mr Lim said, “It is a great honour to be conferred the Fellowship of Imperial College. Singapore shares a common vision with Imperial, one that sees science and technology as being central to economic development and societal progress. Both A*STAR and Imperial College also share the same belief that new knowledge creation and innovation are accelerated when scientific communities around the world work collaboratively together towards a common purpose. A*STAR will continue to deepen our linkages with Imperial and other esteemed scientific institutions.”
5. Launched in 2004, the A*STAR-Imperial Partnership PhD Programme (AIP) is a four-year PhD scholarship, which gives A*STAR scholars the opportunity to spend two years of their PhD studies at Imperial and another two years at A*STAR Research Institutes (RIs). The programme currently boasts four participants and six alumni. Another 42 A*STAR scholars are studying at Imperial under the auspices of other A*STAR scholarship programmes. Imperial and A*STAR RIs also have research collaborations in areas such as tuberculosis and materials research and engineering.
About the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
A*STAR is the lead agency for fostering world-class scientific research and talent for a vibrant knowledge-based and innovation-driven Singapore. A*STAR oversees 14 biomedical sciences, and physical sciences and engineering research institutes, and nine consortia & centres, which are located in Biopolis and Fusionopolis, as well as their immediate vicinity.
A*STAR supports Singapore’s key economic clusters by providing intellectual, human and industrial capital to its partners in industry. It also supports extramural research in the universities, hospitals, research centres, and with other local and international partners.
For more information on A*STAR, please visit www.a-star.edu.sg.
