Professor Lai Choy Heng Won “The 2014 Suzhou Municipal Science and Technology Cooperation Award”
On February 26th, the Suzhou municipal government organized the "In-depth Implementation of the Strategic Innovation-driven Development cum Sunan National Innovation Demonstration Zone Promotion Meeting." During the meeting, members of the management committee of our research institute, Professor Lai Choy Heng was awarded “The 2014 Suzhou Municipal Science and Technology Cooperation Award" in view of his outstanding contribution made to the establishment of the National University of Singapore (Suzhou) Research Institute (“NUSRI”).
Professor Lai Choy Heng was one of the key members during the establishment of NUSRI, and he serves as a member of the management committee of NUSRI. Professor Lai currently is also the Deputy Director of Quantum Technology Center of National University of Singapore. During the period of 2010 to 2011, Professor Lai was appointed as the Chairman of Executive Committee of NUSRI and had made tremendous contribution to the establishment of NUSRI.
In the early stage of the development of NUSRI, Professor Lai actively involved in research projects’ screening and provided manpower and resource support with no hesitation. With its first 11 outstanding research projects successfully launched in Suzhou, to date NUSRI had successfully applied and received research grants at the national, provincial and municipal levels. These grants include the National Natural Science Fund, the Ministry Twelfth-Five Major Science and Technology Projects Fund and the Natural Science Fund of Jiangsu Province. In 2014, NUSRI had 7 projects been accepted and recognized by the National Natural Science Foundation. All these achievements of NUSRI are inextricably linked with the long-standing support rendered by Professor Lai.
Professor Lai has made tremendous contribution to the industrial transformation and upgrading and international development for Suzhou Industrial Park. NUSRI was established as the first research institute operated and managed independently by a foreign university in China. This innovative cooperation model between the National University of Singapore and the Suzhou Industrial Park not only brought an internationalization effect on Suzhou Industrial Park, but the scientific research and technology , industrial projects and intellectual resources had set a role model for Suzhou City , Jiangsu Province and China. Professor Lai is the advocate of the new collaboration model and led the NUS team bringing resources into Suzhou. What he has achieved no doubt inspires the future cross-border cooperation between Chinese and foreign universities and research institutions.
