"Trees for a Better World" Plant a Tree with Mapletree @ SUTD
Minister Tan Kiat How, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Communications and Information and Ministry of National Development;
Ms Jessica Tan, Member of Parliament, East Coast GRC;
Mr Tarun Kataria, Independent Chairman of the Investment Committee of MUSEL Private Trust, Mapletree;
SUTD Board of Trustees, SUTD Family and Friends;
Ladies and Gentlemen.
Good afternoon and thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to join us today. We are honoured to have Minister Tan and MP Ms Tan and join us for this special occasion.
Sustainability principles have always been integrated into the Singapore University of Technology and Design’s interdisciplinary and design-centric curriculum. Since our inception, we have been identifying key sustainability issues to form university-wide Design Challenges and incorporating them into projects within and across our pillars, and capstone projects. This approach has enabled us to not only equip our students with the skills, knowledge, and values needed to address complex sustainability challenges that the world is facing today, but also to develop innovative solutions that can drive more sustainable ways of living.
In December 2021, we launched the SUTD Sustainability Plan, with the aim of leveraging technology and design to build a more sustainable world. This comprehensive plan encompasses initiatives in Education, Research, and Campus sustainability.
In the area of Education, sustainability-related subjects spread across all five of our degree programmes have been introduced. Our Architecture and Sustainable Design pillar, for example, focuses on the changing reality of our times, and prepares students for the immediate present and future needs of architecture in a digital era.
This year, apart from launching our Master of Science in Technology and Design (Sustainable Product Design) in September, we will also offer Sustainability in Design, an interdisciplinary minor that is available to all SUTD students. The focus of this minor is to equip our students with the knowledge and tools on sustainability and design thinking and to broaden their views on the various environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainability.
We have also introduced SUTD sustainability trips where students will be given opportunities to travel to eco-cities worldwide to learn more about the sustainability strategies that are already in place there. This year, a group of up to 20 students will be travelling to Kyoto, Japan where they will look at sustainable mobility, circularity as well as trade and community through the AI lens, while another group will be travelling to Zurich, Switzerland where they will gain insights into renewable energy, and innovative technologies that have been integrated within the city.
In the area of research in sustainability, our researchers have published close to 5,000 papers related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, as reported by Clarivate.
This afternoon, we are thrilled to be a part of “Trees for a Better World” Plant a Tree with Mapletree at our SUTD campus – the planting of 250 trees – the highest number of trees ever donated to an Institution of Higher Learning in Singapore, and our largest Campus sustainability initiative yet. This is made possible only by Mapletree’s generosity. It not only aligns with the Singapore Green Plan, but also embodies a science-based approach to regenerative sustainability.
Our research with the National Parks Board has shown that increasing the tree coverage ratio could potentially reduce outdoor temperatures by at least one degree Celsius. As such, these trees have been specially selected by SUTD for their ability to provide organic shade. This new research will enable us to understand better whether SUTD will achieve the same level of thermal comfort improvement as a result. It will also be complemented by a multi-year study that we are mounting to see if the chosen tree and scrub species will increase the biodiversity here. We hope that with these additional trees, diverse wildlife, including rare kingfishers, will soon take residence on our campus.
On behalf of the SUTD Community, I would like to extend our deepest gratitude to Mapletree for your generous donation and partnership. We would also like to thank Minister Tan, Ms Tan, Mapletree staff, friends and family members for volunteering to plant these trees alongside us. Together, let us roll up our sleeves and green our campus as we continue to trailblaze a better world by design!
Thank you.