The 5th APRU Undergraduate Summer Program on "Rising to New Challenges - Impactful Leadership in the 21st Century" was hosted by National University of Singapore (NUS) from July 5 to 16, 2010 in Singapore. The program succeeded in attracting 49 student leaders from 25 member universities and all 16 economies from APRU's membership was represented for the program. Participants were selected and nominated by APRU universities from undergraduate applicants who hold leadership positions at their home universities and who were interested in learning more about leadership and how leadership could impact global issues and effect global change.
APRU Secretary General Kenneth McGillivray (front row, 8th from the left) with program organizers, participants and the NUS management team - (front row, 6th from the left) Associate Professor Anne Pakir, Director of International Relations Office (IRO); Professor Tan Eng Chye, Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost; and Associate Professor Peter Pang, Assistant Vice President (University and Global Relations).
Participants were engaged in talks and dialogue sessions with well-known leaders in the arts, political arena and different religious faith, as well as activists, entrepreneurs in business and social enterprises in Singapore. Invited guest speakers included Mr Howard Shaw, Executive Director of Singapore Environment Council; Associate Professor Pauline Tay Straughan, Vice-Dean, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at NUS and Nominated Member of Parliament of Singapore; Professor Walter Woon, David Marshall Professor at Faculty of Law at NUS and Dean of Singapore Institute of Legal Education; Mr Lim Biow Chuan, Advocate and Solicitor with Derrick Wong & Lim BC LLP and Member of Parliament of Singapore; Ms Sylvia Lim, Law Lecturer with Temasek Polytechnic and Non-Constituency Member of Parliament of Singapore; and young leaders like Mr Louis Ang, Founder and Executive Director of Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES). In addition to the talks and forums, the participants also visited places like the PSA International Pte Ltd, National Museum of Singapore, the NEWater Visitor Centre and social entrepreneurs and their enterprises such as the School of Thought and Bizlink Centre.
A highlight of this year's program was the Proposal Competition which took place on July 16. Forty-three students who participated in the summer program formed teams and submitted proposals on innovative ideas or approaches relating to the program theme of impactful leadership. The winning team comprising participants from Kyoto University, University of Auckland, University of Oregon and University of Southern California, presented on "Drink Responsibly" - a proposal based on the necessity of sustainable resource use and promotion of sensible consumption of disposable bottled water. The team walked away with the prize money of US$900. US$600 and US$300 were awarded to the first and second runner-ups respectively. All three winning teams were to report on the progress of implementation of their proposals after six months of conclusion of the summer program.
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