The Department of Biological Sciences (DBS) of the Faculty of Science at the National University of Singapore has received a generous gift of S$1 million from Singapore Exchange Catalist-listed developer SingHaiyi Group Limited and its parent company, privately held Haiyi Holdings Pte Ltd. The donation will attract the prevailing matching grant from the Singapore Government.

On the gift, Mr Neil Bush, who is a Non-Executive Director and Non-Executive Chairman of SingHaiyi, said: "The National University of Singapore is recognised as a leading academic institution globally. This gift - our first to NUS - will help advance life sciences research which can have positive far-reaching consequences beyond Singapore." The well-known Texas-based businessman is the son and brother to two former US Presidents.

Prof Tan (left) with Mr. Bush during the cheque presentation. Photo courtesy of the National University of Singapore

The donation will support up to 150 undergraduate students in DBS in their research, as well as fund scholarships for some 50 graduate students. The Xiamen Winter Symposium, an annual life sciences conference jointly organised by the Department, Xiamen University and Tsinghua University as a platform to promote research of life sciences, will also benefit from a portion of the donation.

At the cheque presentation ceremony, NUS President Professor Tan Chorh Chuan thanked the group and Mr Bush for their generous contribution. "We will make sure that the gift will make a huge impact for the students," he said.

Department Head Professor Paul Matsudaira gave an overview of the department and highlighted the vibrant education which students enjoy, ranging from contributing to publications to research endeavours. Students can also learn more about issues through events such as the upcoming Xiamen Winter Symposium, which will focus on infectious diseases.

Mr Bush shared that his father - former US President Mr George H W Bush - has been actively involved in the US-Chinese Program on Emerging and Re-Emerging Infectious Diseases, which brings together stakeholders for action and collaboration.

Following the cheque presentation, Mr Bush met students from the department where they had an engaging session discussing various topics in education and research.