NUS Asia Research Institute receives S$3 million gift to establish the Nalanda Endowed Professorship in India-China Studies
April 9, 2025

The NUS Asia Research Institute (ARI) announced today the establishment of the Nalanda Endowed Professorship in India-China Studies. The Professorship seeks to promote research and education on India-China relations – specifically, the political, economic, historical and cultural interactions between India and China – with the overarching goal to shape policy and deepen societal understanding in the interdisciplinary field.
The Professorship is made possible through a generous S$3 million gift from the Nalanda Library Fund Limited (NLFL) which was presented by Former Minister Mr George Yeo as NLFL Trustee to Director of ARI, Professor Tim Bunnell in a ceremony witnessed by NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye at NUS this afternoon.
The NLFL was established to collect donations for the Nalanda University Library in India, providing facilities for study, research, and teaching. Its trustees include Mr Yeo, Ho Bee Land Executive Chairman Mr Chua Thian Poh and NUS University Professor Wang Gungwu. Donors from Singapore had agreed to gift up to S$10 million for the construction of the library to be designed by Singapore architects. After plans were shelved, the Trustees decided, with the approval of all donors, that the remaining amount of S$3 million be donated to NUS for the establishment of the Nalanda Endowed Professorship in India-China Studies.
Prof Tan said, “NUS is delighted to be partnering with the Nalanda Library Fund Limited to establish the Nalanda Endowed Professorship in India-China Studies at ARI. This collaboration underscores our shared commitment to illuminating the deep history and contemporary significance of India-China relations and advancing this field of research.”
He added, “By promoting study of the many ways in which India and China have influenced each other over long centuries, this Nalanda Endowed Professorship will contribute to advancing understanding between the two countries in ways that serve as ballast for regional stability and prosperity today and into the future.”
The Professorship will be awarded to leading scholars in the domain for a fixed term. The appointed professor (otherwise known as the Chair) will spearhead original research through a long-term project on India-China relations, lead archival initiatives to collect, digitise and preserve original materials related to historical research on India-China ties and their regional influence, mentor graduate students, as well as contribute to the broader discourse in the field through engagements with the academic and policymaking communities and the public in the form of workshops, public lectures and an annual conference. The global search for the first Chair has already begun.
Prof Bunnell said, “Trans-Asian research has been part of ARI’s DNA for some time, the Nalanda Endowed Professorship in India-China Studies builds on this legacy of trans-regional research. We look forward to the new professorship complimenting the important work provided by ARI’s Asian Peace Programme on India and China by situating contemporary geo-politics as one form among many forms of relations between these two historically consequential Asian countries.”
Mr Yeo, who is also a current visiting scholar at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at NUS added, “The prospect for peace and development in our region this century depends much on good relations between China and India. I hope the professorship can, in a small way, contribute to greater understanding between these two great civilizations. Southeast Asia is where the mandalas of India and China overlap. We provide a natural platform for the convening of discussions on their contact with each other over the centuries in different domains and their contribution to Southeast Asia.”
About ARI
ARI was established in 2001 to provide a focal point and resource for world-class research on the Asian region at NUS. ARI engages the humanities and social sciences broadly defined, and especially interdisciplinary frontiers between and beyond disciplines. As a university-level institute, ARI brings together scholars from different departments, faculties and colleges across campus for seminars, conferences and collaborative research projects. Located at one of Asia’s communication hubs, the Institute is also an important place for scholarly encounters between Singapore, the region and wider worlds.