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Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Economics Nanyang Technological University (NTU)

Study options.

• International

What will I learn?

Economics offers full-time and part-time Ph.D. by research program. We provide students with a stimulating research environment which merges academic rigor with intellectual breadth. The program equips students with a strong knowledge of economic theory and analytical techniques, which enables them to conduct solid research in their chosen field of specialization.

The program curriculum includes coursework, participation in seminars and workshops, as well as research under the mentorship of research supervisor(s). The program generally takes four years to complete. It begins with one year of intensive study in the core subjects of economics (Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Econometrics, and Quantitative Methods), culminating in the submission of a thesis which documents the results of original research.

The program has a small student-to-faculty ratio, which fosters research collaboration between students and faculty members. Students also receive training in research and teaching methods. Our faculty’s research interests span across all major areas of economics, with significant strengths in Behavioral and Experimental Economics, Environmental Economics, Microeconomic Theory, Macroeconomics, Applied Microeconomics, Economic Growth and Development, and Econometrics.

Our recent publications appear in top economics journals, including Journal of Political Economy, Economic Journal, Journal of Economic Theory, Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Economic Growth, Review of Economics and Statistics, RAND Journal of Economics, International Economic Review, Games and Economic Behavior, Journal of Econometrics, Journal of Public Economics, Management Science, and Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, among others.

The Ph.D. program in Economics is available in full-time and part-time program. M.A. is not offered.

Which department am I in?

Full time (4 years).

Expected August 2024

College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

48 Nanyang Avenue,

HSS-05-62, HSS Building,

639818, Singapore

Entry requirements

For international students.

A good first degree in Economics or related field from a highly ranked university, with at least second upper honors.

An adequate background in Mathematics/Quantitative Methods.

An excellent GRE score, especially in the quantitative section (minimum requirement: Verbal & Quantitative Reasoning 319 out of 340 and Analytical Writing 3.5 out of 6.0). GRE is not required from NTU, NUS or SMU graduates.

A good language proficiency score: IELTS score at least 7.0 (on all subtests); TOEFL score at least 105 (IELTS is preferred).

TOEFL (Paper-Based Test - PBT): 580 out of 677

*There may be different IELTS requirements depending on your chosen course.

Academic Profile : Faculty

• Selected Publications & Research

Research Interests

Current grants.

• Estimation and Robust Inference of Panel Data Models with Common Factors with Applications to Macroeconomic Data
• How ICT Infrastructure Affects Productivity and Employment?
• Nonstationary and Dynamic Panel Data Models with Multiple Structural Changes with Applications to Climate Change

PhD Qualify Test

Ph.D. students need to pass their qualifying tests on the following main subjects:  (1) Pass the qualifying tests on Microeconomic Theory I, Microeconomic Theory II, and Macroeconomic Theory I at the end of the first year.  (2) Finish the required courses Econometric Theory I and Econometric Theory II with scores of A- or above before the end of the second year. (3) Finish at least one course in the  Macroeconomics and Monetary Field  with a score of A- or above before the end of the second year. (4) Finish the field thesis defense before the end of the fourth year. Field thesis and your degree thesis are different; field thesis is the thesis before your degree thesis; it’s kind of a warm-up one to help you prepare your final thesis well. (5) Other requirements: Doing the TA job on the Ph.D. required courses for 2 semesters. (6) Others. After you’ve finished the above items, please contact the department office to help you check for all the other  requirements . Apply for the Qualifying test: I. Scheduled Time: The qualifying test will be held twice every academic year. Qualifying tests are held during summer vacation. The first one will be in late June to early July, and the second one will be in late July to early August. If a Ph.D. student doesn’t pass the first qualifying test, she/he must attend the second qualifying test.

II. Register for qualify test in March Ph.D. students who would like to attend the qualifying test in July should register for the test from the department office in March. If a Ph.D. student chooses not to attend the first qualifying test, she/he should apply to take semester(s) off  from the NTU academic affairs office before the beginning of the final exam in the spring semester.

Contact person： Lichen Yang (Ms.) 楊禮禎 Email: [email protected] TEL: +886-2-3366-8447  

Fine for female ex-NTU researcher who stalked PhD student by visiting his workplace, sending 116 emails

Advertisement.

SINGAPORE — A woman working as a researcher at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) developed feelings for a PhD student working with her, but the man rebuffed her overtures.

A view of the exteriors of the Singapore State Courts.

This audio is AI-generated.

• A former Nanyang Technological University researcher was fined S$8,000 for stalking a student and violating a protection order
• Han Xiaobing had developed feelings for the victim but he rejected her interest
• However, she continued sending him messages and visiting his workplace
• He later obtained a protection order against her in October 2023
• Han sent 116 emails and visited the victim’s workplace multiple times, leading the victim to report her to the police in December 2023

The woman, Han Xiaobing, sent long messages expressing her feelings for him, but the man cut off all electronic communication with her. Han persisted with the messages and attempts to meet.

Some two years later, the victim obtained a protection order against her, but she still kept sending messages to him.

In all, she sent 116 emails to express her feelings for him and visited his workplace repeatedly.

On Wednesday (Aug 21), the 34-year-old woman from China was fined S$8,000 with a default of eight weeks' jail after pleading guilty to two charges under the Protection from Harassment Act for stalking the 29-year-old victim and contravening a protection order. 

Another similar charge for violating a protection order was also taken into consideration for sentencing. 

WHAT HAPPENED 

Han was a researcher at NTU who met the victim while he was assisting her on a research project. 

After he rejected her, Han continued to send him long messages, repeatedly expressing her feelings for him. 

In February 2021, he eventually decided to block all electronic communications with her after he grew uncomfortable with her messages. 

The court heard that even then, Han persisted in trying to communicate with him and to look for him in person. This eventually led the victim to apply for a protection order against her.

The victim obtained the order against Han on Oct 25 last year. However, Han still sent him 116 emails between Oct 25 and Dec 12 last year.

The contents of the emails involved repeated demands to see him and to talk to him in person.

On Dec 7 last year, Han visited the man's workplace. She approached a staff member at a counter in the building lobby and asked to see the man. 

However, he was not there at his workplace.

On Dec 12, she again visited his workplace in an attempt to see him.

The man made a police report that day, stating that Han refused to abide by the terms of the protection order. The court heard that Han's actions made him “extremely stressed”. 

Six days later, Han was questioned by the police. She admitted to stalking the victim and promised to adhere to the conditions of the protection order and to stop all communications with him.

On Jan 3 this year, at about 3pm, Han visited the victim at NTU. On that day, she entered his workplace and sought to visit his office to speak to him. 

While approaching his office, she saw him through the window. He saw her and left the office to inform her that he would be calling the police. 

Han then left the university without saying a word to the victim.

Appearing in court dressed in a white T-shirt and jeans, Han asked for a lenient sentence, saying through an interpreter that she had been jobless for a year and eight months since the incidents. She also said that she was a victim of a scam, had lost money and was facing financial difficulties. 

“I only have S$4,000 with me today. If the fine is more than S$4,000, I hope you will allow me to pay the remaining fine in instalments,” she added.

District Judge Diana Haven agreed to her request, stating that Han could pay the fine in instalments. She would pay the S$4,000 upfront and the remaining amount in S$500 monthly instalments. 

For violating a protection order, Han could have been jailed for up to six months or fined up to S$5,000, or both. 

Anyone who unlawfully stalks another person can face a jail term of up to 12 months or a fine of up to S$5,000, or both. 

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• Staff Profiles
• Bernard Dom

Dr Bernard Dom

Accounting and finance.

• Email: [email protected]
• Phone: +44 (0)115 848 4010

Career overview

Research areas, external activity, sponsors and collaborators, publications.

Bernard is a Lecturer in the Accounting and Finance Department, and a member of the Accountability and Governance Research Group in the Centre for Economics, Policy and Public Management at Nottingham Business School. Bernard was awarded a Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarship in 2018, and has recently completed his PhD in Public Sector Accountability and Financial Management. His PhD was entitled “Financial Resilience in the face of Austerity: An Empirical Study of Local Authorities in England” .

Bernard has a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Cape Coast in Ghana. He was recruited in the University as a Graduate Teaching Assistant for his mandatory National Service (placement). He has Masters Degree Finance and Accounting from Nottingham Trent University. As part of his MSc, Bernard gained accounting experience as a Graduate Finance Assistant at the Finance Department at NTU. After completing his MSc in 2018, Bernard worked as a Research Assistant in the Department for Structured Products at Stanbic Bank in Ghana before commencing his PhD in 2018.

While pursuing his PhD, Bernard engaged in ad-hoc research activities that complemented his research on financial resilience. Bernard worked as a Research Officer at the University of Essex, where he collaborated with external colleagues on the development of a Financial Resilience Toolkit, a tool that has been developed to help local authorities assess their levels of perceived vulnerability and financial resilience.

Although Bernard’s research is primarily Local Government Financial Resilience and Public Service Management, he also conducts research in the following research areas:

• Private Sector, and Public Service Accounting and Accountability,
• Governmental Financial Resilience and Perceived (Financial) Vulnerability,
• Artificial Intelligence and Digitalisation,
• Sector & Organisational Resilience.

Bernard uses the following academic software: RefWorks, Mendeley, SPSS, STATA, Qualtrics, and NVivo.

Bernard is currently part of an on-going international project to develop a Financial Resilience Toolkit for public sector agencies (particularly, Local Governments), which is sponsored and led by the Essex Business School. It includes a group of scholars from across Europe (Austria, Germany, France, and Italy) focussing on European perspectives of Local Government Financial Resilience.

He is an active member of the Research Network on Public Authorities and Financial Distress (RPAFD), a special interest research group that emerged from a public sector project at the International Insolvency Institute. The network already counts more than 60 academics and practitioners, lawyers and non-lawyers based all over the world. The objective of RPAFD is to develop comparative research based on concrete case studies to suggest principled policy outcomes for the treatment of local authorities in financial distress.

Bernard is also a member of an NBS team working with colleagues from Japan led by the President of CIPFA (Japan) Professor Dr. Toshihiko Ishihara on “Local Authority performance and the former Audit Commission”.

Bernard’s academic collaborators within NTU include Dr. Martin Jones, Professor Alan Collins, Professor Peter Murphy, Dr. Peter Eckersley, and Katarzyna Lakoma.

His external collaborators include Professor Ileana Steccolini (Essex and Bologna), Professor Iris Saliterer (Freiburg), Professor Sanja Korac (Speyer), Professor Toshihiko Ishihara (Japan), Professor Yseult Marique (Essex), Professor Laura Coordes (Arizona State University, USA), Dr. Celine du Boys (Aix-Marseille), Dr. Carmela Barbera (Bergamo), Dr. Deborah Agostino (Politecnico di Milano), Dr. Andre Lino (Brazil and Essex, UK), Dr. Eugenio Vaccari (London), Dr. Paola Riva (Politecnico di Milano), Rebecca McCaffry (CIMA), and Jeffery Matsu (CIPFA).

Bernard has collaborated with the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) and the Chartered Institute for Management Accountants (CIMA) both as a research officer and as a member of roundtable discussions on an ESRC-funded project to co-produce an interactive online toolkit that enables local authorities to assess their financial resilience.

Bernard's iREP name is DOM, B. K. https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/view/creators/Dom=3ABK=3A=3A.html

Journal article

BARBERA, C., DOM, B.K., DU BOYS, C., KORAC, S., SALITERER, I. and STECCOLINI, I., 2024.  Insights from local government managers: navigating crises through organizational capacities and perceptions. Public Administration Review . ISSN 0033-3352

MURPHY, P., LAKOMA, K., ECKERSLEY, P., DOM, B.K. and JONES, M., 2023.  Public goods, public value and public audit: the Redmond Review and English local government. Public Money and Management , 43 (3), pp. 242-250. ISSN 0954-0962

Chapter in book

BARBERA, C., DOM, B.K., DU BOYS, C., KORAC, S., SALITERER, I. and STECCOLINI, I., 2023.  Government financial resilience – a European perspective. In: C.L. JOHNSON, T.T. MOLDOGAZIEV and J.M. ROSS, eds.,  Research handbook on city and municipal finance. Elgar handbooks in public administration and management . Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, pp. 408-432. ISBN 9781800372955

Conference contribution

DOM, B.K., COLLINS, A., JONES, M. and MURPHY, P., 2024.  Delivering local authority cultural services in the era of austerity. In: International Research Society for Public Management (IRSPM), Tampere, Finland, 15-18 April 2024.

DOM, B.K., MURPHY, P., JONES, M. and COLLINS, A., 2024.  Local government, austerity localism, financial resilience, and perceived vulnerability in England. In: International Research Society for Public Management (IRSPM), Tampere, Finland, 15-18 April 2024.

DOM, B.K., MURPHY, P., JONES, M. and COLLINS, A., 2023.  Wicked problems and tempting solutions: navigating local government finance amid austerity and perceived vulnerability. In: International Centre of Public Accountability (ICOPA) Workshop, Durham University, 11-12 December 2023.

DOM, B.K., COLLINS, A., JONES, M. and MURPHY, P., 2023.  Financial resilience in English local authorities: delivering cultural and related services (CRS) during the era of austerity. In: 22nd Association for Cultural Economics International (ACEI) Conference, Bloomington, Indiana, United States, 27-30 June 2023.

DOM, B.K., LINO, A. and STECCOLINI, I., 2023.  Co-producing an evidence-based toolkit for financial resilience: translating ideas across practitioner and academic communities. In: International Research Society for Public Management, Budapest, Hungary, 03-05 April 2023.

STECCOLINI, I., SALITERER, I., BARBERA, C., DOM, B.K., KORAC, S. and LINO, A., 2023.  Resilience between risks and uncertainty. In: IRSPM Public Service Accounting and Accountability (PSAA) Group Annual Workshop, Bologna, Italy, 30 November - 1 December 2023.

DOM, B.K. and LINO, A., 2022.  East of England local authorities’ financial resilience in order to be partners for sustainable, inclusive growth. In: East of England APPG (All Party Parliamentary Group) Meeting, Online, 3 November 2022.

DOM, B.K., JONES, M., COLLINS, A. and MURPHY, P., 2022.  Managing the twin pressures in Welsh Local Authorities during the austerity era. In: The 12th Annual EIASM Public Sector Conference: Public Service Accounting, Accountability and Management, Comilla Universidad Pontificia, Madrid, Spain, 30-31 August 2022.

SALITERER, I., BARBERA, C., DU BOYS, C., DOM, B.K., KORAC, S. and STECCOLINI, I., 2022.  Local government resilience in times of the pandemic: a European perspective. In: 25th Annual Conference of the International Research Society for Public Management (IRSPM). Facing the Future: Evolving Social-Political-Administrative Relations and the Future of Administrative Systems., [virtual], 18-22 April 2022.

MURPHY, P., ECKERSLEY, P., LAKOMA, K., DOM, B.K. and JONES, M., 2022.  The enduring publicness of public audit: the Redmond Review and English local government. In: 25th Annual Conference of the International Research Society for Public Management (IRSPM). Facing the Future: Evolving Social-Political-Administrative Relations and the Future of Administrative Systems, [virtual], 19-22 April 2022.

STECCOLINI, I., LINO, A., DOM, B.K. and MCCAFFRY, R., 2022.  Governmental financial resilience. In: Research Workshop, University of Essex, 9 February 2022.

STECCOLINI, I., LINO, A., DOM, B.K. and MATSU, J., 2021.  Governmental financial resilience. In: CIPFA Round Table Discussion on the Financial Resilience Toolkit [virtual], University of Essex, 9 December 2021.

DOM, B.K., MURPHY, P. and JONES, M., 2021.  Financial failure and corporate intervention at Northamptonshire County Council: a sorry saga not a surprise. In: The JUC PAC Annual Conference 2021: How Place Matters? Leadership, Governance and Public Administration, De Montfort University, Leicester, 7-8 September 2021.

KORAC, S., SALITERER, I., BARBERA, C., DOM, B.K., DU BOYS, C. and STECCOLINI, I., 2021.  Governmental financial resilience – a European perspective. In: European Group for Public Administration, Brussels, Belgium [virtual], 7-10 September 2021.

DOM, B.K., 2021.  Impacts of austerity on Welsh Local Government funding: cuts to the bone? In: JUC PAC Pre-Conference Doctoral Workshop, De Montfort University, Leicester, 6 September 2021.

MURPHY, P., ECKERSLEY, P., LAKOMA, K., DOM, B.K. and JONES, M., 2021.  Local authority financial reporting and external audit in England: The Redmond Review and the future of Local Audit. In: The JUC PAC Annual Conference 2021: How Place Matters? Leadership, Governance and Public Administration, De Montfort University, Leicester, 7-8 September 2021.

KORAC, S., SALITERER, I., BARBERA, C., DOM, B.K., DU BOYS, C., JONES, M. and STECCOLINI, I., 2021.  Governmental financial resilience – a European perspective. In: PICPA Not-for-Profit and Government Accounting Conference Webcast, Pennsylvania, USA, 12-13 July 2021.

MURPHY, P., ECKERSLEY, P., LAKOMA, K., DOM, B.K. and JONES, M., 2021.  Local authority financial reporting and external audit in England: the Redmond Review and the future of local audit. In: The 24th Annual IRSPM Conference, Virtual, 20-23 April 2021.

DOM, B.K., COLLINS, A. and JONES, M., 2021.  The impact of austerity on Welsh local authorities: where the axe falls. In: The 24th Annual International Research Society for Public Management (IRSPM 2021), Virtual, 20-23 April 2021.

DOM, B.K., JONES, M. and MURPHY, P., 2019.  Perceiving financial vulnerability: investigating Northamptonshire County Council through the lens of financial resilience. In: British Academy of Management (BAM2019) Conference, Aston University, Birmingham, 3-5 September 2019.

JONES, M., DOM, B.K. and MURPHY, P., 2019.  Perceiving financial vulnerability: investigating Northamptonshire County Council through the lens of financial resilience. In: European Group for Public Administration Conference, Queen’s University, Belfast, 11-13 September 2019.

DOM, B.K., JONES, M. and COLLINS, A., 2019.  UK Local Authorities financial resilience during the era of austerity. In: European Group of Public Administration PhD and Early Career Symposium (EPGA 2019), Queen's University, Belfast, Belfast, 9-10 September 2019.

DOM, B.K., JONES, M. and COLLINS, A., 2019.  UK local authorities’ financial resilience during the era of austerity. In: Public Administration Committee (PAC 2019) Doctoral Symposium, Northumbria Business School, Northumbria University, Newcastle, 16-18 September 2019.

DOM, B.K., JONES, M. and COLLINS, A., 2019.  Where the axe falls: austerity and cutback management in social services and education. In: British Academy of Management (BAM2019) conference, Aston Business School, Aston University, Birmingham, 03-05 September 2019.

Confidential report for external body

STECCOLINI, I., LINO, A., DOM, B.K., LAKOMA, K., MURPHY, P. and JONES, M., 2022.  Governmental financial resilience: South Gloucestershire Council. South Gloucestershire Council.

STECCOLINI, I., LINO, A., DOM, B.K., LAKOMA, K., MURPHY, P. and JONES, M., 2022.  Governmental financial resilience: St. Albans City and District Council. St. Albans City and District Council.

STECCOLINI, I., LINO, A., DOM, B.K. and LAKOMA, K., 2022.  Project report: Co-producing a Toolkit for assessing and enhancing Local Governments Financial Resilience – follow up. Colchester: University of Essex.

STECCOLINI, I., LINO, A., DOM, B.K., LAKOMA, K., MURPHY, P. and JONES, M., 2022.  Summary report on Governmental financial resilience: Wigan Council. Colchester: University of Essex.

Digital or visual media

VACCARI, E., COORDES, L., MARIQUE, Y., MURPHY, P. and DOM, B.K., 2023.  UK/US municipal bankruptcies. [Digital or Visual Media]

Research report for external body

STECCOLINI, I., LINO, A. and DOM, B.K., 2024.  Better understanding financial resilience through an innovative toolkit. Colchester: University of Essex.

STECCOLINI, I., LINO, A. and DOM, B.K., 2023.  Financial reporting and audit in local authorities. London: Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee, House of Commons.

MURPHY, P. and DOM, B.K., 2023.  Written evidence to the Welsh Affairs Select Committee inquiry on the impact of population change in Wales. Nottingham Trent University.

DOM, B.K. and LINO, A., 2022.  East of England local authorities’ financial resilience in order to be partners for sustainable, inclusive growth. Colchester: University of Essex.

MURPHY, P., ECKERSLEY, P., LAKOMA, K. and DOM, B.K., 2021.  Local authority financial sustainability and the Section 114 regime. London: Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, House of Commons.

Working paper

DOM, B.K., 2022.  Developing the data sets for English and Welsh local authorities to understand their financial resilience in the face of austerity. UNSPECIFIED.

Economics (Applied Economics) - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Hagey Hall Hub located on Waterloo's main campus

Get a strong foundation in economic theory and econometrics and conduct original research alongside world-renowned scho lars with the Ph D in A pplied Economics program .

You’ll receive training in the areas of public policy, labour economics, macro-economics, monetary economics, econometrics, natural resources, environmental and health economics.  

Through this rigorous academic program and applied research experience , you’ll develop your communication and analytical skills, preparing you for a career in academia or the private sector as an economist, data analyst, policy advisor, economic consultant and many others .    

Research areas and degree options

• Public Economic Policy

Program overview

Department/School : Economics Faculty : Faculty of Arts Admit term(s) : Fall (September - December) Delivery mode : On-campus Program type : Doctoral, Research Length of program : 48 months Registration option(s) : Full-time Study option(s) : Thesis

Application deadlines

• February 1 (for admission in September)

Key contacts

[email protected]   (for program inquiries)

Amanda Campbell  (for all other inquiries) 

519-888-4567, ext. 45099

Admission limitations

Due to funding restrictions, the Faculty of Arts is currently limiting the number of international students we can admit. Please contact the department's Associate Chair, Graduate Studies prior to applying to discuss your interest in this program.

Supervisors

• Review the finding a supervisor resources
• No supervisor is required to apply to this program

Admission requirements

• Master's degree in Economics.
• Minimum 80%, first class average in Master of Arts (MA) Economics degree.
• A one-page statement of Academic Interest.
• A GRE score is not required but is recommended for all international students applying to the program.

Degree requirements

• Review the degree requirements in the Graduate Studies Academic Calendar, including the courses that you can anticipate taking as part of completing the degree
• Check out Waterloo's institutional thesis repository - UWspace to see recent submissions from the department of Economics graduate students

Application materials

• The SIF contains questions specific to your program, typically about why you want to enrol and your experience in that field. Review the  application documents web page for more information about this requirement
• If a statement or letter is required by your program, review the  writing your personal statement resources  for helpful tips and tricks on completion

Writing Sample

Transcript(s)

• Three academic  references are required
• TOEFL 90 (writing 25, speaking 25), IELTS 7.0 (writing 6.5, speaking 6.5)
• The Department of Economics does not consider international applicants whose English language proficiency scores fall below the minimum requirements

Tuition and fees

• Visit the  graduate program tuition page  on the Finance website to determine the tuition and incidental fees per term for your program
• Review living costs and housing
• Review the funding graduate school resources for graduate students

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Trending Topics

Follow our news, recent searches, former ntu researcher fined for stalking phd student she developed feelings for, sent him 116 emails, advertisement.

The victim obtained a protection order against the 34-year-old woman, but she kept sending him emails and even visited his workplace.

File photo of a student entering the Nanyang Technological University. (Photo: Calvin Oh/CNA)

This audio is generated by an AI tool.

SINGAPORE: A researcher at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) developed feelings for a PhD student who was helping with her project.

She began sending him long messages, persisting in sending him 116 emails and stalking him despite the man obtaining a protection order against her.

The woman also visited the man's workplace in Fusionopolis and asked to see him.

Han Xiaobing, a 34-year-old Chinese national who is no longer a researcher at NTU, was fined S$8,000 (US$6,124) by a court on Wednesday (Aug 21) for her actions.

She pleaded guilty to two charges under the Protection from Harassment Act of unlawful stalking and contravening a protection order, with a third charge taken into consideration.

The court heard that the victim, a 29-year-old Chinese national, got to know Han while he was obtaining a PhD degree at NTU. A software developer and analyst, he assisted Han on a research project.

Han began having personal feelings for the victim, which he rebuffed.

In February 2021, after the victim grew uncomfortable with Han sending him long messages and repeatedly expressing her feelings for him, the victim blocked all electronic communications from Han.

However, Han still tried to contact him, and the victim eventually obtained a protection order under the Protection from Harassment Act against Han on Oct 25, 2023.

The order prohibited Han from stalking the victim through any means, making any communication to him or attempting to do so. It also barred Han from entering or loitering in any place near the victim's workplace or any other place he frequents.

Between Oct 25, 2023 and Dec 12, 2023, Han sent 116 emails to the victim's NTU email account. In them, she demanded to see him and speak to him in person.

On Dec 7, 2023, she went to the victim's workplace and asked the counter staff at the lobby if she could see him. However, he was not there.

Han returned five days later and asked to see the victim again.

The victim made a police report later that day, saying Han was not abiding by the terms of the protection order and that her actions were making him "extremely stressed".

The police questioned Han about a week after this, and she admitted to stalking the victim. She promised to adhere to the protection order conditions and cease all communications with him.

However, she visited the victim again on Jan 3 this year, when the victim was working in a school laboratory at NTU as part of his research.

Han approached his office and saw him through the window. The victim registered her presence and left his office to tell Han that he would be calling the police.

Han then left the university without saying a word to the victim.

SENTENCING SUBMISSIONS

The prosecution sought a fine of S$7,500 for Han, saying her actions affected the victim emotionally. The frequency of her stalking was also high, he said.

Han was not represented. She told the court through an interpreter that she had been jobless for a year and eight months because of this incident and asked for leniency.

The judge said the victim had gone to the extent of obtaining a protection order, but Han failed to stop her conduct.

In response to queries from CNA, a spokesperson for NTU said Han's employment at NTU ended in December 2022, adding that all employees are "expected to uphold the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct".

For unlawful stalking, she could have been jailed for up to 12 months, fined up to S$5,000, or both.

For contravening a protection order, she could have been jailed for up to six months, fined up to S$5,000, or both.

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Math for ai: can mathematics provide a solid foundation for ai by assoc prof xia kelin, ias discovery science seminar jointly organised with the graduate students' clubs.

This Discovery Science Seminar, organised by IAS NTU in collaboration with the Graduate Students’ Clubs of SPMS and CCDS, featured an insightful talk by Assoc Prof Xia Kelin from NTU, titled "Math for AI: Can Mathematics Provide a Solid Foundation for AI?" The talk explored the role of advanced mathematics in artificial intelligence (AI), with a particular focus on its applications in molecular sciences.

Prof Xia’s research focuses on Mathematical AI in molecular sciences. He obtained his PhD from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and later served as a visiting scholar at the Department of Mathematics at Michigan State University from 2009 to 2012, where he subsequently worked as a visiting assistant professor. He joined NTU in 2016 and was promoted to associate professor in 2023. Prof Xia has published over 80 papers in prestigious journals, including  SIAM Review, Science Advances, npj Computational Materials , and  ACS Nano .

Prof Xia’s seminar provided a broad and comprehensive overview of advanced mathematics-based data representations and featurisation for molecular sciences. He began by highlighting the rapid advancements in experimental data and computational power over the past century, which have significantly propelled the development of AI. However, he pointed out a major challenge in developing AI-based learning models: efficient data representation and featurisation. This challenge is particularly relevant in chemical and biological sciences, where the relationship between a molecule's structure and its chemical and physical properties is well-established.

Insightful presentation by Prof Xia on Mathematical AI in molecular sciences.

Prof Xia introduced the audience to persistent homology, a widely recognised method in topological data analysis (TDA). Persistent homology represents data as a series of simplicial complexes, known as a filtration, and computes topological features, such as Betti numbers, on this filtration. These topological features allow for the incorporation of higher-order and multiscale information in the data. To demonstrate this concept, Prof Xia used simple molecular structures, such as fullerene, and showed how these multiscale topological descriptors could be combined with machine learning models, like random forests, to predict the chemical, physical, and biological properties of molecules.

The seminar then transitioned to more advanced topics, where Prof Xia discussed topological and geometric deep learning models based on message-passing graph neural networks. These end-to-end models can automatically learn the appropriate representation of a molecule and predict its properties, making them particularly powerful for analysing large molecular datasets. Prof Xia also demonstrated the utility of algebraic descriptors such as persistent Tor algebra for protein-protein interaction analysis. Finally, he introduced QCFormer, a transformer model based on quotient complexes that encodes periodic information for material property prediction.

Attendees actively participating in the Q&A session.

Prof Xia’s talk resonated with a diverse audience, attracting questions from students and researchers across multiple disciplines. Mathematics students posed inquiries about the intricate details of using algebraic topology for data representation, seeking to understand the deeper mathematical foundations behind these techniques. Meanwhile, computer science students showed great interest in the application of mathematical frameworks in designing and optimising deep learning models. The engaging discussion that followed underscored the broad relevance of Prof Xia’s work across different fields of study.

Prof Xia's seminar successfully illuminated the vital role that advanced mathematics plays in the development of AI models, particularly in the molecular sciences. By showcasing the power of topological, geometric, and algebraic approaches, he provided the audience with valuable insights into how mathematical frameworks can revolutionise data representation and learning. The seminar not only deepened the participants' understanding of these concepts but also sparked curiosity about the future intersections of mathematics and AI.

Written by: Yasharth Yadav | NTU School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences Graduate Students' Club

"The relation between math and feature engineering is insightful and thought provoking." - Tang Jingxiang (PhD Student, SPMS)

"Different insight of data representations!" - Yan Mingxue- (PhD Student, IGP-NEWRI)

"It is a very in-depth and wide field of knowledge."- Yeo Feng Ren (Undergraduate, SCSE)

              Watch the  video recording .

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