NUS Department of Communications & New Media

"If everyone around you is experiencing such harms, why make a fuss?"

This is the reality that 's Asst Prof Michelle Ho has been documenting since 2021. Together with the NUS CASMIDA project team, she has surveyed over 3,000 undergraduates across two studies, finding that around 2 in 5 university students have experienced technology-facilitated sexual violence. Despite the scale of the problem, many young people dismiss their own experiences or make excuses for those responsible.

Asst Prof Ho's research, recently featured in The Straits Times, makes the case that addressing online sexual harms requires more than policy fixes. It starts with changing the culture around them.

Learn more about the research coming out of NUS Communication and New Media: https://fass.nus.edu.sg/cnm/

🎉 We are extremely proud to announce that Instructor, Mr Tan Kai En, has received the NUS Annual Teaching Excellence Award (ATEA)!

🏅Among the University's highest honours for teaching, the ATEA recognises educators who have demonstrated sustained excellence in teaching, educational design, assessment, and feedback, while making a lasting impact on student learning and the wider teaching community.

💡 The award also celebrates educators who thoughtfully integrate innovative approaches and technology to enhance learning, foster student engagement, and create inclusive learning environments.

📚 In AY2024/25, he taught Principles of Visual Communication Design (NM3217), Strategic Communication Design (NM4208) and Multiplatform Advertising Strategies (NM4257).

👏 Kai En's dedication to advancing teaching excellence and enriching the student experience reflects the very spirit of the ATEA. His contributions extend beyond the classroom, helping to shape and elevate teaching practices across the University.

🧡💙 Well deserved, Kai En! Learn more about our programmes and the people behind them: https://fass.nus.edu.sg/cnm/

📱🎬 You have the device, now learn to tell the story

✨ Join Mr Jonathan Choo, Part-time Lecturer at the NUS Department of Communications and New Media ( ), for Smartphone Photography and Videography — a hands-on synchronous e-learning course that explores how you can harness the power of your smartphone to create compelling visual stories

In a single day, you will learn to:

1️⃣ Record media effectively using their mobile device
2️⃣ Master storytelling techniques tailored for smartphones
3️⃣ Adapt professional photography and videography techniques for mobile
4️⃣ Use mobile editing apps with confidence
5️⃣ Complete a practical project to put their new skills to the test

👤 Executives looking to sharpen their skills in smartphone photography and videography — including those in communications, marketing, public relations, and content creation – are welcome to join us!

📌 Course details:

🗓 24 Jul 2026
💻 Online via Zoom
🔗 Register now: tinyurl.com/cnm-cet-photography

‼️ Participants are required to bring their own smartphones

National University of Singapore
NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
NUS School of Continuing and Lifelong Education - SCALE

🧠 Great media thinking lives at the intersection of art, culture, and communication and that's where this partnership begins.

🤝🏻 The NUS Department of Communications and New Media (CNM) has signed yet another Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), this time with the College of Arts and Media at Tongji University. The MOU was formalised on 23 April 2026.

Students from Tongji University will have the opportunity to be nominated for graduate programmes at , while faculty from both sides can look forward to exchange opportunities that bring fresh perspectives into their classrooms and research. Joint conferences, shared research initiatives, and co-developed courses are all part of what this MOU makes possible.

🧡💙 We are excited to see what emerges when two creative, research-driven communities come together.

📸 In the photos (left to right):

1️⃣ Front row: Professor Li Linxue, Dean of the College of Arts and Media, Tongji University, and Associate Professor Natalie Pang, Head of Department at CNM. Back row: Prof Wang Xin, Head of Department of Communication; Ms Cui Ying, Secretary of the Party Committee — both from the College of Arts and Media, Tongji University — alongside Assoc Prof Jiang Shaohai from CNM.

2️⃣ Prof Li Linxue, Dean of the College of Arts and Media, Tongji University, and Assoc Prof Natalie Pang.

🔗 Learn more about CNM: fass.nus.edu.sg/cnm/

🌐 In a world where organisations must navigate both digital and traditional media, how do you ensure your message cuts through the noise?

✍️ Join Dr Shangyuan Wu, Senior Lecturer at the NUS Department of Communications and New Media ( ), for Getting Your Message Across in Today's Media Landscape — an e-learning course designed to equip professionals with the tools to communicate with clarity, purpose, and impact.

📰 Participants will gain a deeper understanding of Singapore's evolving media landscape and new media consumption habits, learn how to write effectively for print, broadcast, web, public relations, and social media, and develop skillsets used to inform, educate, and persuade.

👤 Executives looking to deepen or broaden their skills in media engagement and communication are welcome to join us!

📌 Course details
🗓 16 & 17 Jul 2026
💻 Zoom
🔗 Register now: https://tinyurl.com/cnm-cet-message

National University of Singapore
NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
NUS School of Continuing and Lifelong Education - SCALE

🛍️📱 Livestreaming and social commerce have fundamentally changed how people in Southeast Asia shop. Speaking to The Edge Singapore, Associate Professor and Head of Department at Natalie Pang explained that TikTok's rise as a live-selling platform during Covid-19 was driven by its unique ability to combine entertainment with consumption — and that the habits formed during the pandemic have proven remarkably sticky.

🌏 Dr Pang points to Southeast Asia as the global bellwether for social commerce, noting that the region's "relational and conversational nature" makes it a natural fit for the format. This is reflected in TikTok's own product strategy — TikTok Shop was rolled out to Southeast Asia ahead of other markets following the success of its initial launch in Indonesia.

📊 On the future of the space, Dr Pang notes that while a few prominent creators will inevitably dominate attention, platforms like TikTok maintain low barriers to entry. "There will always be new content creators and live sellers that emerge," she says — good news for the growing number of people looking to build a living through livestreaming.

🔗 Read the full feature in The Edge Singapore: https://tinyurl.com/cnm-livestream-theedge

🤝🏻 Some partnerships feel like a natural fit from the start.

On 21 April 2026, the NUS Department of Communications and New Media (CNM) signed another Memorandum of Understanding, this one with the School of Journalism and Communication at Peking University, one of China's most respected institutions for journalism and media education.

The MOU opens a direct pathway for Peking University students to be nominated for graduate study at . Beyond that, both institutions will work towards faculty exchanges, joint research, and co-organised conferences — with the co-development of courses and teaching materials also on the table.

🧡💙 Two institutions, two cities, one shared commitment to shaping how the world communicates.

📸 In the photos (left to right):

1️⃣ / 2️⃣: Associate Professor Natalie Pang, Head of Department, CNM, and Professor Chen Gang, Dean of the School of Journalism and Communication, Peking University

3️⃣: Asst Prof Mengxue O., Asst Prof Lu Liang, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee; Prof Wang Weijia, Vice Dean — all from the School of Journalism and Communication, Peking University — alongside Assoc Prof Natalie Pang, Prof Chen Gang, Assoc Prof Shaohai Jiang, and Prof Xu Jing, School of Journalism and Communication, Peking University.

4️⃣: Mr Michael Basaldella, Assoc Prof Jiang Shaohai, and Assoc Prof Natalie Pang – all from CNM – alongside Prof Chen Gang, Prof Wang Weijia, and Asst Prof Ou Mengxue.

🔗 Learn more about CNM: https://fass.nus.edu.sg/cnm/

🇿🇦 takes on ICA 2026 @ Cape Town, South Africa!

The International Communication Association (ICA) Conference is one of the world’s biggest gatherings for communication scholars, practitioners, and students. Now in its 76th year, explores the theme: Communication and Inequalities in Context.

🎉 We’re excited to share that our faculty members and graduate students have a total of 50 accepted presentations, two of which received Top Paper Awards:

🏅 “Depression Is a Rich Word”: Framing Mental Illness and Stigma in Women's Stand-Up Comedy — 𝗚𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗙𝘂

🏅 Anonymity and Cyberbullying Perpetration: A Meta-Analytic SEM of the Cognitive Restructuring Pathway — Xiaohuan Zhang; 𝗛𝗮𝗼𝘆𝘂 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝗴; Jia Yee Tan; He Gong

🧡💙 Congratulations to Gina and Haoyu on this wonderful accomplishment!

➡️ Swipe for a day-by-day breakdown of where to catch CNM at ICA26

🔗 To find out more about CNM’s research impact, visit:
https://fass.nus.edu.sg/cnm/research

🗓️ For the full conference schedule, visit:
https://icahdq.org/mpage/ICA26-program

🌏 What does it mean to be a fan across cultures and borders in Asia today?

🎉 We are proud to share that 's Senior Lecturer Dr Bertha Chin, Assistant Professor Michelle Ho, and Provost's Chair Professor Weiyu Zhang, are organising the Trans-Asian Transcultural Fandom Symposium — an international pre-conference to the Mechademia Conference, hosted at National University of Singapore.

The symposium will bring together scholars and researchers from across the region for a full day of conversations on transcultural fandom, fan cultures, and the intersections of gender, identity, and media in contemporary Asia.

🎤 The plenary, "Trans-Asian Transcultural Fandoms: Reflections, Directions, and Futures", features three leading voices in the field:

➡️ Anthony Fung, PhD, JP: Wei Lun Professor of Journalism and Communication and Dean of Social Science at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, whose research spans popular culture, youth identities, fandom, and online communities.

➡️ Wikanda (Tan) Promkhuntong: Assistant Professor in Film and Cultural Studies at Mahidol University, whose work covers fan tourism, transnational cinephilia, and film and media labour in Thailand and Asia.

➡️ Lori Morimoto: Assistant Professor of Asian Studies at Temple University Japan, Kyoto Campus, specialising in transnational and transcultural fandoms and media co-production.

🗓️ 28 May 2026, Thursday
🕙 9.00am to 6.00pm
📍 AS7 Shaw Foundation Building, Room 01-01 & 01-02, 5 Arts Link, S(117570)

🔗 Register here: tinyurl.com/tatf2026

🎉 We are thrilled to announce that the NUS Department of Communications and New Media (CNM) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the School of Information Resource Management at Renmin University of China — formalised on 20 April 2026 in Beijing!

Through this partnership, students from Renmin University can be nominated for graduate programmes at NUS CNM, opening a direct pathway into one of Asia's leading communication and media departments. Both institutions will also pursue faculty exchanges, joint research, co-organised conferences, and the development of shared courses and teaching materials.

Information and communication sit at the heart of both institutions. This MOU is a recognition that the questions worth asking are bigger than any one campus.

📸 In the photos
1️⃣, 2️⃣: Professor Liu Yuenan, Dean of the School of Information Resource Management, Renmin University of China, and Associate Professor Natalie Pang, Head of Department, NUS CNM
3️⃣: Prof Huiyan, Secretary of the Party Committee; Assoc Prof Wang Di, Director of the International Exchange Center; Prof Ren Ming, Vice Dean; Prof Liu Yuenan, Dean — all from the School of Information Resource Management, Renmin University of China — alongside Assoc Prof Natalie Pang, Assoc Prof Jiang Shaohai, and Mr Michael Jonathan Basaldella from NUS CNM.

🔗 Learn more about CNM: https://fass.nus.edu.sg/cnm/