On 24 July, 2018, the national anthem Majulah Singapura rang in a much-awaited moment. NTU Singapore’s first convocation ceremony of 2018 were presided over by none other than the President of the Republic of Singapore, Madam Halimah Yacob, her first as NTU Chancellor. It was also a first for newly-appointed NTU President Professor Subra Suresh. And a first for LKCMedicine, a joint medical school by NTU and Imperial College London officially signed into existence on 29 October 2010.
Opening his first convocation ceremony, Prof Suresh said in his address, “This convocation is special to me personally because it is my first as President of NTU.”
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He went on to acknowledge the many individuals who were receiving their honorary and academic degrees, including LKCMedicine’s inaugural cohort of 52 medical doctors. “Singapore and the world will benefit from them as they take on the important responsibility of caring for patients, and advancing the frontiers of medical and clinical practice in Singapore and beyond,” said Prof Suresh, who is also Distinguished University Professor.
One honour bestowed that morning was the conferment of President Emeritus on Prof Bertil Andersson, who served NTU for more than 10 years, first as Provost then President of NTU from 2011 to 2017.
In his acceptance speech, Prof Andersson said that if he had to pick one highlight from his time at NTU, it would be the setting up of LKCMedicine together with Imperial. Prof Andersson, who described himself as the happiest president emeritus in the world that morning, said, “I’m, therefore, very happy that I’m receiving the president emeritus honour here today on the same very day that the first cohort of LKCMedicine students graduate and become medical doctors.”
LKCMedicine graduates receive their joint NTU-Imperial MBBS degrees
In front of their parents, well-wishers and the many proud faculty and staff from LKCMedicine, NTU and Imperial, the LKCMedicine graduates went on stage to receive their joint degrees. They were presented to the NTU Chancellor by LKCMedicine Dean Professor James Best and Imperial Faculty of Medicine Dean Professor Jonathan Weber.
It fell to the valedictorian, Dr Ang Jia Wei, to bring the ceremony to a close. She reflected on her and her batchmates’ five years at medical school. “Together we were the pioneer batch, not just in name but in spirit. It was with each other that we broke new ground,” said Dr Ang.
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“Together we faced uncertainty with confidence and a can-do spirit. More importantly, we did not only survive, we thrived.”
Speaking after the ceremony, Prof Best said, “I am very excited about the graduation of our first class because it has been many years in the planning and today is the day that it has all come together. Our doctors have been educated to work as good team members, to support each other. They’ve also been educated to always put the patient first and I am sure that that will be the legacy of the medical school.”
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