NUS College of Design and Engineering

NUS College of Design and Engineering To meet the needs of a rapidly-evolving & complex world, CDE has imagined & created a future-focused. MISSION
To inspire, innovate and transform.

Social Media Guidelines: tinyurl.com/CDE-Soc-Med-Guidelines VISION
A leading college uniting creative minds to build a better future.

CDE has already made its mark at the Inter-Faculty Games 2026, with several teams making it through to the semi-finals a...
02/09/2026

CDE has already made its mark at the Inter-Faculty Games 2026, with several teams making it through to the semi-finals and finals!
 
Swimming got us off to a great start, with the Men’s team finishing 1st overall and the Women’s team taking 3rd. Both teams also picked up podium finishes in the 4 x 50m Medley, Breaststroke and Freestyle events. 
 
“We’re incredibly proud of the result. What mattered most was that we enjoyed the process and were there for one another throughout the competition. Even without being able to train together as much as we would have liked, we trusted and encouraged each other, and that really showed during the races.” said Swimming Captain Samuel Koe (Year 2, Biomedical Engineering). 
 
Over on the track, the Men’s team finished 1st overall, with a 1st-place finish in the 1600m and 3rd in the 400m races. The Women’s team finished 5th overall, with 2nd in the 1600m race. 
 
Track Captain Cheok Xiu Yang (Year 4, Mechanical Engineering) shared, “Initially, it was hard to coordinate a time for training due to everyone’s busy schedules, but the team put in the effort and set aside time to train together. On race day, the team came together to support each other across our events. Ultimately, we gave our all on the track, and that’s how we went from good players to great players, and from a great team into champions.” 
 
Other teams have also delivered some strong results along the way, with Reversi finishing 3rd and the Netball Women’s team coming in 4th. Finals for Table Tennis and Touch Rugby are up next on 5 September. 
 
“Getting to the semi-finals wasn’t easy. We had to adapt to different opponents, work through mistakes, and stay calm during tough moments. But everyone kept their heads up and gave their best, which helped us get through the games as a team,” reflected Touch Rugby Captain Chavi Ngam (Year 4, Chemical Engineering).
 
Catch the action and cheer our teams on to victory. Let’s go CDE!
 
NUS CDE Sports NUS CDE Student Life NUS Biomedical Engineering Club NUS Mechanical Engineering Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering 
 

Intrigued to Innovate, the Innovation & Design Programme podcast, returns for its second season, kicking off with a stor...
01/09/2026

Intrigued to Innovate, the Innovation & Design Programme podcast, returns for its second season, kicking off with a story of bold prototyping and innovation in action. In the season premiere, host Dr Jovan Tan speaks with Sarah Tan and Tay Hock Jun of team bmETER. The team comprises of Biomedical Engineering students Leo Kee Kiat Ethan, Tan Min Min, Tay Hock Jun, Sarah Tan and Jordan Low Jun Yi who worked on FreeStryde — a wearable device for lymphedema patients designed to automate manual lymphatic drainage.

What made Sarah and Hock Jun’s journey remarkable is when it began: the two were still first-year students when they took part in NUS’ flagship innovation makerthon IDEATE 2025, where their team clinched first prize with FreeStryde.

The episode offers a closer look at how the two then-freshmen tackled a complex yet underserved medical condition affecting 250 million people worldwide, with resourcefulness and a drive to build. From understanding the lived realities of lymphedema patients to turning that insight into a prototype, Sarah and Hock Jun share how the project reshaped their thinking on innovation and validation.

Along the way, the two offer advice on entering one’s first makerthon, with Sarah speaking about “falling in the love with the problem and not the solution” and Hock Jun reflecting on the need to embrace failure.

Since then, team bmETER took part in the Engineering Innovation Challenge during National Engineers Day 2026, turning their insights into functional prototypes and learning to test the highest-risk assumptions. Earning a Merit Award, the team hopes their work will serve as a foundation for future research on accessible and effective therapy.

Tune in to hear Sarah and Hock Jun’s full story on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and catch new episodes of Intrigued to Innovate every last Wednesday of the month.

Visit the Innovation Day Pitch and Showcase on 21 October 2026 to see finalist teams from the IDEATE, EUREKA, and IMPACT tracks present their final pitches and prototypes, and discover how CDE students are addressing real-world problems with innovative solutions.

NUS Innovation & Design Programme NUS Biomedical Engineering Club

CDE Dean’s Message August 2026 This past month, members of our community were recognised for their contributions to lead...
31/08/2026

CDE Dean’s Message August 2026
 
This past month, members of our community were recognised for their contributions to leadership, service, creativity, and innovation.
 
Faculty, staff, and alumni were honoured at this year’s National Day Awards for their service to the university and to the nation. Department of Design PhD candidate E Ian Siew was featured at the National Day Parade on a People’s Parade float in recognition of his work on Auxobrace, an award-winning rehabilitative device for open-heart surgery patients developed when he was an undergraduate.
 
Professor Lim Chwee Teck (Biomedical Engineering) was appointed as NUS Distinguished Professor; recognised for his pioneering contributions across biomedical engineering, medical devices, mechanobiology and translational health innovation, bridging fundamental engineering discoveries with technologies that address real-world healthcare needs.
 
These achievements remind us of what defines CDE at its best: a community committed not only to excellence, but to impact.
 
May these achievements continue to inspire us to give our best in all that we do.
 
- Prof Teo Kie Leong, Dean of CDE

Read more in the latest Dean’s Message, link in bio

Connect ESE 2026, organised by the Environmental Science and Engineering Students’ Club (ESESC) [NUS Environmental & Sus...
31/08/2026

Connect ESE 2026, organised by the Environmental Science and Engineering Students’ Club (ESESC) [NUS Environmental & Sustainability Engineering], brought freshmen together with seniors to explore what the Environmental and Sustainability Engineering (ESE) journey looks like in Year 1 and beyond.
 
Through sharing sessions with Year 2 to Year 4 students, freshmen heard about their seniors’ experiences – from the curriculum and college life to internships, exchange opportunities and getting involved beyond the classroom. The session also included arts and crafts activities and plenty of snacks, giving freshmen and seniors a chance to get to know one another along the way.
 
Wang Yuhan (Year 2, Environmental and Sustainability Engineering) shared what her first year was like, from living at College of Alice and Peter Tan (CAPT) Residential College to exploring sustainability through different disciplines. She also spoke about her experience with ESESC, where she found a community for ESE students to share ideas and grow together, and Project OceaNUS, which gave her the opportunity to work on sustainable solutions and contribute to the wider community. Reflecting on her experiences, she said, “Sustainability isn’t just what we learn – it’s how we connect, explore, and grow, every single day.” 
 
Moving from student life to experiences outside the classroom, Chia Min Shen (Year 4, Environmental Engineering) (Pic 3) shared about his undergraduate research project on cellulose-based superabsorbent hydrogels for sustainable agriculture, his internship as an Environmental Consultant, and his Semester Exchange Programme at The University of Hong Kong (HKU). 
 
NUS Civil and Environ Eng NUS CDE Student Life 

From chip fabrication to AI applications, Semiconductor Awareness Day showed students how the semiconductor industry is ...
28/08/2026

From chip fabrication to AI applications, Semiconductor Awareness Day showed students how the semiconductor industry is changing. 

Organised by the Singapore Semiconductor Industry Association (SSIA), the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the NUS Semiconductor Club, the event brought together 31 leading companies and gave students a closer look at the industry. Through conversations with company representatives, students learned more about emerging technologies and discovered internship and career opportunities. 

Industry experts also shared real-world insights on potential career pathways and the sector’s changing demands.  

Gn Fang Hong, Senior Director of Technology Services and PMO at Global Foundries, shared about semiconductor fabrication processes at foundries, and the growing need for AI and automotive chips as physical and generative AI expand.

Kaijun Kee reflected on his own professional journey from a Class of 2026 Mechanical Engineering graduate to a Manufacturing and Automation Engineer at Applied Materials. Speaking on the evolving role of engineers in an increasingly automated and AI-driven manufacturing landscape, he shared, “Future engineers must move from being simple problem-solvers to system thinkers who understand end-to-end impacts”.

In a fireside chat, Dr Venkat Ravikumar, Fellow Product Development Engineering at AMD, explained his work in failure analysis and the process of bringing a product to market, while also encouraging students to align their research with immediate industry needs.

For students seeking more tailored mentorship, flash mentoring sessions offered short group conversations with industry professionals who shared practical advice on breaking into the field. 

Year 3 Electrical Engineering student Tang Jing Hong gained further interest in equipment manufacturing after speaking with companies such as ASML, while Year 3 Electrical Engineering exchange students Viktoria Laurova and Rachel Lenoir shared that seeing how theory is applied in industry settings made a career in the sector more palpable.

NUS Electrical and Computer Engineering NUS Mechanical Engineering NUS Semiconductor Club Singapore Semiconductor Industry Association (SSIA)

More than just finding their way around CDE, incoming Industrial Systems Engineering & Management (ISEM) graduate studen...
26/08/2026

More than just finding their way around CDE, incoming Industrial Systems Engineering & Management (ISEM) graduate students had a chance to find new friends at a Campus Scavenger Hunt organised by the NUS ISEM Graduate Club (NUS ISEM Graduate Student Club). The orientation also included course introductions by professors, giving students a clearer sense of what to expect in the semester ahead before they set off in teams of five to six to explore campus together.  
 
Guided with photo clues, the students made their way across different locations of NUS, discovering key campus landmarks, completing challenges, and submitting their findings through a Telegram group chat. The scavenger hunt helped students to get familiar with their new surroundings in a fun and interactive way, while getting to know their new coursemates along the way
 
Reflecting on the goal of the scavenger hunt, NUS ISEM Graduate Club president and MSc (Supply Chain Management) student Dominik Alexander Bendrien shared, “The mission of the ISEM Graduate Club is to elevate our postgraduates’ experience while at NUS – academically, professionally, and socially. We decided to focus on the social component for the Scavenger Hunt this year to provide a platform for new students to find new friends on day one.” 
 
NUS Industrial Systems Engineering & Management NUS CDE Student Life

     

At the Developing an Innovation Mindset Workshop on 19 August, students heard candid advice from alumni on the realities...
25/08/2026

At the Developing an Innovation Mindset Workshop on 19 August, students heard candid advice from alumni on the realities of entrepreneurship — from finding customers and co-founders to navigating rejection, raising funds, and building credibility in traditional industries.

Co-organised by CDE, NUSOne and NUS Enterprise as part of the lead-up to CDE Innovation Day on 21 October, the session was moderated by Remi Choong from Elev8.vc and featured:

Qingyang Chang (Civil and Environmental Engineering ’21), co-founder and CEO of ConcreteAI

Raphael Chew (Business Administration ’26), co-founder and CEO of Ecovolt, developed through the Innovation & Design Programme (iDP) at CDE

Vishnu Saran (Materials Science and Engineering ’19), co-founder and CEO of Invigilo

In his opening talk, Assoc Prof Khoo Eng Tat, Assistant Dean (Research and Technology), reminded students that entrepreneurship is about testing the riskiest assumptions first.

Key takeaways from the session:

𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞
For young founders entering established industries, trust is built through persistence, progress and relationships.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐲
Ideas often change once founders speak to customers, build prototypes and test their assumptions.

𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬
The panellists stressed the importance of attitude, work ethic and shared goals when choosing co-founders and early teammates.

𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝
Remi offered a memorable networking tip: standing near the start or end of the buffet line creates a natural opening to say hello and start a conversation.

𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬
In a heartfelt moment, the panellists reflected on how their parents’ support and influence helped them push forward through uncertainty.

For many students, the workshop made entrepreneurship feel more concrete and accessible — a path that begins with curiosity, experimentation and the courage to start.

As CDE builds towards Innovation Day, the workshop highlighted a clear innovation mindset: start with a real problem, test what matters most, and keep moving ideas closer to impact.

Sign up for the finale here: https://tinyurl.com/InnovationDayTickets2026

NUS Materials Science Engineering NUS CEE - Civil & Environmental Engineering
NUS Innovation and Design Programme

Not every race ends as expected, but every season leaves behind lessons that shape the next. After the recent season, NU...
25/08/2026

Not every race ends as expected, but every season leaves behind lessons that shape the next.

After the recent season, NUS FSAE hosted its Annual Sponsor Appreciation Event to recognise the vital support of industry partners, including DHL Express Singapore, Altium, Siemens, Batemo GmbH, Tian Ching Long, Wurth Electronics Singapore, Polymer Technologies Pte Ltd, Admiralty International Pte. Ltd., NSK International (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Interhorizon Corporation, Prof Lim Seh Chun, Infineon Technologies, Borgwarner Cascadia Motion, RVI Inspection and Equipment Pte Ltd, TwinVac Industries, Mingda (Top Battery), Bender, Binder, Borgwarner, Bossard Group, Hirose Electric Singapore Pte Ltd, KISSsoft Gear Design Software, Li Wei, Littelfuse, Motul Asia Pacific.

The event followed the 2026 FSAE Michigan competition where R26e was unable to pass the rain test, preventing the team from competing in the dynamic events. Despite the team’s strong track record, unfortunate events left the car vulnerable to water ingress, compounded by the increased water pressure of this year’s test rig. After a post-season review, the team is now refocusing on waterproofing, fast-tracking development, and prioritising validation for the next season.

R26e Team Lead Xu Zhen (Mechanical Engineering, Class of 2026) expressed gratitude to the team and supporters: “Success in racing is never a given, and even the most well-established protocols can be challenged by unforeseen circumstances. I hope that the team will not allow this season’s events to extinguish their passion but use them to fuel future endeavours.

To our sponsors, thank you for your unwavering support, your belief, and the opportunities you have given us to grow. We are grateful for your partnership and hope it continues for the seasons to come.”

Guest of Honour Deputy Dean (Education) Assoc Prof Buist also thanked sponsors. “By standing with the team through successes and setbacks, you are investing in tomorrow’s engineering leaders.”

As NUS FSAE begins work on R27e, they do so with optimism and a stronger determination to keep pushing forward.

NUS Formula SAE Team 🇸🇬 NUS Mechanical Engineering NUS Electrical and Computer Engineering NUS Innovation & Design Programme

The third cohort of students in the Master of Design in Integrated Design (MDes) programme embarked on their journey wit...
24/08/2026

The third cohort of students in the Master of Design in Integrated Design (MDes) programme embarked on their journey with a week of orientation activities designed to build connections and foster the collaborative spirit at the heart of the programme.

The week opened with a welcome session introducing students to the programme’s core courses, faculty members, and research opportunities across different labs.

Students then took part in a two-day Design Sprint facilitated by colleagues from the NUS Agility Office, where they worked in teams to tackle a real-world challenge: designing a self-sustaining system that supports comfortable movement across campus rain or shine. After conducting interviews, gathering insights, and carrying out live usability testing, the teams presented their ideas to Assoc Prof Donn Koh and the Agility Team.

MDes student Aditi Malik observed that campus navigation can be especially difficult for new students on rainy days who may be unaware of the sheltered pathways. This insight led her team to shift from an umbrella-finding concept to a three-dimensional wayfinding solution that shows how different building levels connect, helping users discover sheltered routes across campus.

The week concluded with a team-building workshop led by leadership coach Andre Rubin, who shared practical insights on team dynamics, collaboration, and conflict resolution in multidisciplinary settings.

Speaking about what he looked forward to most in the programme, MDes student Ong Kong Jin said, “The department’s various industry partners provide opportunities to ideate and tackle problems in a plethora of local contexts, which is really exciting.”

Aditi added, “I’m excited to see that the programme encourages us to develop skills across different areas, giving designers the flexibility to explore different approaches to solving a problem.”

NUS Department of Design

What started as discarded plastic boxes in NUS labs grew into a project with wider sustainability promise. Class of 2026...
21/08/2026

What started as discarded plastic boxes in NUS labs grew into a project with wider sustainability promise. Class of 2026 Mechanical Engineering and Innovation & Design Programme (iDP) graduate James Wang shows how innovation can give waste new possibilities. 
 
As team lead of Plastics to Possibilities, James worked alongside fellow iDP students Jay-En Chong (Electrical Engineering, Class of 2026), Yi Chee Huang (Computer Science, Class of 2026) and Tse Han Low (Year 4, Electrical Engineering) to explore how routinely discarded polypropylene plastic boxes from NUS labs could be transformed into 3D printing filament. 
 
Driven by the belief that recycling is “a game of supply and demand”, James and his team aimed to develop high-quality 3D printing filaments with a circular and even cross-section that could make polypropylene recycling more commercially viable.

Getting there required extensive research on how polypropylene responded to different temperatures, cooling speeds and pulling rates during filament formation. When project supervisor Dr Jovan Tan advised the team to identify the few factors with the greatest impact on filament quality, the team eventually took a step back and refocused their efforts.  
 
Selected for the Youth for Environmental Sustainability (YES) Leaders Programme supported by the National Environment Agency (NEA), James further developed a prototype with the aim of creating a practical circular solution for plastic waste, first within NUS and potentially beyond campus.
 
James shared that both programmes taught him that environmental issues are not just problems to observe, but ones to solve with purpose. Now working in the Sustainability Strategy Unit under NUS’ University Campus Infrastructure, James continues to build on these skills and perspectives, from analysing complex systems to learning from industry experts. 
 
He shows how initiative, persistence and purpose can turn ideas into real-world outcomes. As James put it, “No matter how small an action may be, take that first step and the rest will follow.”
 idp NUS Mechanical Engineering NUS Electrical and Computer Engineering .computing National Environment Agency 
 

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