Cheers and applause rang out at the University Hall Atrium on 23 November 2023, as NUS honoured the pivotal roles played by various administrative teams in spearheading and implementing various projects and practices that have supported the University’s drive to be a workplace of the future.
17 teams were accorded the inaugural NUS Admin Excellence Awards in two categories, President’s Innovative Project and Unit of the Year. These awardees were recognised for their contributions towards implementing best practices and innovative approaches to improve processes, deliver exceptional results and help each other succeed.
Acknowledging the need to diverge from traditional perceptions of administrative work, NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye reflected on the University’s journey on Organisational Excellence (OE). “Our executive and administrative staff must adapt to modernised systems and acquire disruption-ready skill sets. Our OE journey began in 2018 with these goals in mind, to strengthen and empower administrative staff to make bold, effective changes,” said Professor Tan during his opening speech.
“Over the past five years…we have cultivated a new organisational culture that embraces change, drives innovation, and fosters agility. I am proud of our accomplishments,” he shared.
Trophies for the NUS Admin Excellence Awards were handcrafted using eco-friendly jesmonite, with upcycled wastes such as plastics and used coffee grounds.
The awards were given out in two categories: President's Innovative Project and Unit of the Year.
The President's Innovative Project seeks to recognise projects that have significantly impacted the University and its community through adopting innovative approaches in problem solving. These projects also reflect the diverse spectrum of transformative initiatives within the University. The 50 projects, nominated by staff, hail from 22 departments that implemented initiatives ranging from Business Process Reengineering to the digitalisation of administrative processes, and the use of Artificial Intelligence to enhance administration.
Judges on the evaluation panel for the President’s Innovative Project had observed a significant number of projects enabled by learning and development or digital enablement tools provided by the Office of Human Resources (OHR), NUS IT, and the Data Literacy Programme (DLP) team. In recognition of their crucial support, OHR, NUS IT, and the DLP team received Special Mentions for their instrumental role in enabling many of the innovative projects.
The Unit of the Year award further honours teams with best performance in three sub-categories, namely, cost savings, efficiency, and impact across the University.
Mr Pang Chong Ning, NUS Chief Procurement Officer, shared his vision for his team which clinched the Unit of the Year Award for Highest Cost Savings. “We must strive for excellence, not just compliance,” he emphasised. “Our commitment to good procurement work is not merely about saving money; but to create value, forge partnerships and build a foundation for sustained success,” Mr Pang added.
NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye presented the top honours for Unit of the Year for Highest Impact to NUS Medicine, represented by Professor Lynette Shek.
Two teams from NUS Medicine clinched the Unit of the Year Award for Highest Impact as well as a President's Innovative Project Award. Emphasising the importance of leveraging data and Artificial Intelligence (AI), Professor Chong Yap Seng, Dean of NUS Medicine, said, “In the current digital age, we need to continuously strive for improvement and progress by leveraging data and AI. With less dogma and more data, we can truly focus on the work that matters and make a difference to our stakeholders."
Congratulations to all the award winners!
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Please see below for the full list of award winners:
Unit of the Year:
- Highest Cost Savings
- Unit of the Year − Central Procurement Office
- Honourable Mention − Office of Admissions
- Honourable Mention – Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
- Highest Efficiency
- Unit of the Year − NUS IT
- Honourable Mention − NUS Business School
- Honourable Mention − University Campus Infrastructure
- Highest Impact
- Unit of the Year − NUS Medicine
- Honourable Mention − Office of Finance
- Honourable Mention − Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
President's Innovative Project Awards:
- NUS Medicine − “Clinical Faculty Appointment Management System”,
- School of Continuing and Advance Education − “NUS CET Dashboard”,
- Registrar’s Office − “Enabling Agile Curriculum Management through Digital Transformation”,
- Duke-NUS Medical School − “Integrated eWorkflow and DocuSign Solution”
- NUS Business School − “Fostering a Culture of Innovation and Digital Empowerment”
By NUS Agility Office
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