Saya kurang tahu
im fickled-minded.
Gloomy weather got me thinking.
Juz as i start thinkin abt next sem, thinkin of givin up honours, thinkin of graduation, thinkin of givin up to persist in my field of interest, thinkin that i shld juz be an ordinary OL, LSM3261 posted the following article.
It got me thinking again.
I guess I need serious career advice.
“Environmental biology a hot subject,” by Grace Chua.
The Straits Times, 31 Oct 2009
http://www.straitstimes.com:80/Review/Tech%2B%2526%2BScience/STIStory_448694.html
NUS, NTU to offer more courses in recognition of field’s growing value
ENVIRONMENTAL biology is making a comeback here as well as worldwide, as universities recognise the discipline’s role in the study of climate change and environmental issues like pollution.
Both the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) plan to revamp their curricula to include more topics in the field, and the latter has applied for funding to set up a Research Centre of Excellence for environmental science.
As NUS’ biological sciences head Paul Matsudaira put it: ‘Singapore is at the epicentre of some of the major and most challenging environmental problems that have to be addressed.
‘The equatorial location is one asset, since tropical environmental problems are comparatively under-researched.’
Like other biology disciplines such as molecular biology and genetics, environmental biology is the study of living things, but in terms of their surroundings.
For example, it looks at how pollution and climate change affect species and biodiversity. Thus ecology, ecotoxicology and conservation biology might be considered aspects of environmental biology.
NUS, for instance, is offering several new courses on ecology and evolutionary biology this year, and in the last two years, it has hired at least four new faculty members in biology.
Meanwhile, NTU’s school of biological sciences has hired several international faculty members to study microbial ecology, said provost Bertil Andersson.
NTU’s attention to environmental biology, the school’s expertise in earth sciences and its experience in environmental engineering are all part of a new university-wide Sustainable Earth initiative, which is expected to be launched formally in February next year.
But these changes are not driven solely by university administrations. They have also come about because of rising student interest.
One in five life sciences majors at NUS, for example, now opts for environmental biology modules, up from 12 per cent seven years ago.
NUS started its integrated life sciences curriculum in 2001 and NTU started its School of Biological Sciences the following year, as part of a nationwide drive to train more students in the field.
But NUS biological sciences graduate Huang Danwei, now 28, felt he was not getting enough training in biodiversity and ecology. So in 2006, he and 10 others met the dean to propose curriculum changes.
The department listened to them, and classes in biodiversity and ecology are now available in the first- and second-year syllabuses.
There is demand for people with taxonomy skills and biodiversity know-how as fields like climate modelling and conservation grow.
For instance, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research’s Institute of High Performance Computing had a recent job posting for a research officer with ‘expertise in data management, database, climate change scenarios and biodiversity’.
But will these changes translate into real environmental policy changes or scientific advances?
Professor Matsudaira said he expects the biggest impact to come from the development of science-backed environmental policy, where Singapore will directly influence the Asia-Pacific region.
‘Because we are scientifically strong, we will train students and scientists for jobs in government, research and industry,’ he said.
However, students and universities should not jump on the bandwagon simply because the field is hot, warned National Institute of Education biologist Shawn Lum.
‘We should do it not because it’s a fad, but because as educational institutions and as a country, we value it as a worthy field and endeavour, and our interest in it is not going to fall by the wayside the moment the next big thing comes along,’ he said.
Baru menikah (just married) !
This gotta be those harder posts to do when i’m trying to upload pictures that I can’t even bear to see myself..lets just say, I’ll avoid a red gown on my real wedding…
oh ya, so I got married (for 10 min) last fri >_<"'
The project day for Bahasa Indonesia was real funny..esp those corked up dances and romance-turned-comedy cinderella play. But i bet HY love the play e most…german nemo tampan dan gagah, ya
Another song for you, my fren (yes, its u )
I thot its a sentimental song which seemed to contain many 遗憾.
May you wun have regrets in life and treasure every happiness to ur fullest. I’m sure you ‘d want that for me too.
Smile and take care =))
Dr. Therapy, Retail.
So i broke my 2nd pair of sandals within 2 weeks. Boo.
And was fightin with my sis for bags.
And was wearing close to wearing ‘uniform’ to school.
Thus, this called for EMERGENCY SHOPPING.
Dr. Retail Therapy helps, really. =)) =)) =))
Now its time to get back to the irritating webcast.
On a side note, in my personal opinion, e-learning week is a waste of time. It upsets everyone’s time-table and webcasting always took longer than its supposed to be. So if NUS wanna implement this system in the long run, my vote ‘d be NO, THANKS.
bits and pieces
Hmm… some bits and pieces of updates…
2 weeks ago
Attended Huiyan’s sweet and sleepy 21st partay. Loved the deco (becuz we made them..hah), and the cake cutting ceremony was a blast! Never see such a happening cake-cutting ceremon b4..she sure gonna rmb it for life!
all snoozing away
2 days ago
Went for our 2nd annual moon-cake fest gathering! It was a first time everyone (well, except u-noe-who) turned up. Luckily e weather was fine until our weather-forecaster who can only predict rainy weather but not dry weather started predicting it would rain.
Den we started playing pick-the-candle game where ur fate for kj’s party would be determined by the candle’s colour. Hope kj can come up with a better n creative idea… why let a candle control ur fate??
LOL.
1 day ago
MY NEW IDOL IS DR. HENRY C. LEE. Dun ask me why he becomes my idol even though he was like alr 70+ yr old. He gave us a very inspiring talk about forensic science as well as abt life. No, he wasn’t really preaching away, he had a very good sense of humour and spouted the word shit here and there. I muz say, i was inspired by him and decided to carry out his advice: persist and believe.
HOWEVER i failed him before i even began persisting and believing. Got some what a bit sleepy and groggy during the talk and well, almost fell down the LT’s stairs when e talk ended. This was the 3rd time my fate tied with the staircase. STAIRCASES ARE MY BANE.
And the worst thing is not slipping down the stairs but breaking my shoe strap. I have no more nice nice shoes liao. Gotta wear my old-but-strong-and-reliable slippers 走天涯 le.
henry lee
Its one of my busiest recess week ever.
Aren’t year 3 supposed to be more relaxed than year 2?
And there are some complicated awkward stuff going on with my supervisor. One piece of advice (if you trust me): do not get too close and friendly with your boss. I mean, it’s best if one can be on good and friendly terms with the boss and everyone in the workplace (or anywhere). But there must still be a hint of formality with the head and trust me, this makes discussion with the boss easier and more effective.
Tues and Wed is when i put my speaking skills (which i dun haf) to the test.
