Corporate Social Responsibility is the key to a competitive European Union. This was the challenging topic that two combined teams of six debaters from the business schools of the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), National University of Singapore and Singapore Management University sparred about in an interactive debate at NTU this morning.
The debate was held as part of Discover Europe 2009, a one-day cultural and career exhibition organised by the Delegation of the European Commission to Singapore, the European Union Centre in Singapore and the European Chamber of Commerce, in cooperation with the EU Member States and NTU, to promote a better understanding of the European Union and the opportunities it offers in terms of cultural exchanges, education, research and careers.
Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to Singapore, His Excellency Ambassador Holger Standertskjöld, and NTU Provost, Professor Bertil Andersson, officiated at the opening of Discover Europe, which was attended by about 800 students and faculty members.
"We are glad to be at NTU because it is a multicultural research university that is keen to reach out to Europe and the rest of the world," said Ambassador Standertskjöld. "Discover Europe brings the 'European part of the world' to NTU, and showcases our cultures and research capabilities. We hope that students and faculty members will take advantage of the natural synergies between Singapore – via NTU – and Europe, and be inspired to interact and collaborate more with each other."
"We are proud to host Discover Europe," said Professor Andersson. "The collaboration with the Delegation of the European Commission to Singapore complements NTU's drive to become a great global university. Discover Europe provides NTU with a platform to showcase some of our research collaboration with the EU Member States and corporations. This will strengthen our position as a premier global campus for science and technology. The Discover Europe event is a great learning opportunity, not just for students, faculty and staff at NTU, but indeed, for the university community in Singapore as they get to engage EU diplomats and business leaders in discussions."
During the interactive segment of the debate, the audience had the opportunity to pose questions to the debaters. Members of the audience also cast their votes, which made up 50 per cent of the total score, for their preferred team. Adding to the other 50 per cent of the total score were votes of the three judges: Ambassador Standertskjöld; Mr Tan Choon Seng, Chief Financial Officer, ING Wholesale Banking Asia, ING Bank NV; and Ms Esther An, Deputy General Manager, Corporate Affairs and Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, City Developments Limited. The debate was moderated by Ms Claire Chiang, Chairperson, Banyan Tree Global Foundation and Senior Vice President, Banyan Tree Holdings Limited.
Discover Europe also featured an exhibition by several cultural, educational and research centres of the EU Member States. Visitors had the chance to interact with these exhibitors to find out more about cultural and educational opportunities, language courses, and travel information in Europe. A research pavilion showcased some of the state-of-the-art technology and cutting-edge research projects that NTU has been working on in collaboration with leading European institutions.
In addition, various European companies leveraged the opportunity and showcased their internship and recruitment programmes at a career fair. Career seminars were held to provide information to visitors who were interested to learn more about working in Europe.
Among the distinguished guests present at Discover Europe were Ambassadors and diplomats from the EU Member States, as well as business leaders of European multinational companies.