A widely respected academic and passionate educator and horticulturist, Professor Lee Sing Kong passed away on 19 May 2017. Beyond his long list of career achievements, Professor Lee was known to many of his colleagues and students as a visionary leader with a heart, a selfless mentor and a great teacher. In honour of Professor Lee’s contributions towards education and Singapore, the University has launched the Lee Sing Kong Endowment Fund, which will carry on his vision and passion for education by supporting professorships in Early Childhood Education as well as NTU Bursaries for underprivileged students.

At Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), Professor Lee served in various leadership positions that included Director of National Institute of Education (NIE), Vice President of Education Strategies, Director of the Centre for Research and Development in Learning (CRADLE), and Vice President of Alumni and Advancement.

As a horticulturist, Professor Lee played a leading role in the greening of Singapore. His contributions to the preservation and development of the country’s national parks and greenery helped to realise the late founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s vision of a Garden City.

Professor Lee had the unerring ability to nurture and grow both teachers and plants. Tapping on innovation and creativity, he was able to define and refine the smallest detail without losing sight of the big picture. However, it was his special blend of truly connecting with people and being able to inspire them to want to push boundaries, to see how the future could be and, to invent solutions to realise dreams that made him the visionary he was.

Within a span of six short years as the Director of NIE (2006-2014), the dynamic Professor Lee built on the strong foundation he inherited and was able to mould NIE into an institution that has ambition, excellence in teaching, performance in useful research, and is a valuable member of the education fraternity. He led the development of teacher education in Singapore with many initiatives that drew on his belief about who a successful teacher is, i.e., “the best teacher is one who can inspire the heart of every student and through this, change their lives not only within the classroom but beyond.”