On April 24, 2024, Chinese Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng visited the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Singapore and attended the launch ceremony of the CREATE research project CNSB (Carbon Negative Synthetic Biology for Biomaterial Production from CO2) by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Singapore Graduate School. Representatives from NRF, National University of Singapore, Chinese Ambassador to Singapore Cao Xiaoming and embassy members, and members of the Ministry of Education delegation also participated. The ceremony was hosted by Ding Kuiling, President of Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Professor Peng Yinghong, Dean of the Singapore Graduate School, introduced the 30-year educational journey of Shanghai Jiao Tong University in Singapore, the achievements of the CREATE projects in collaboration with the National University of Singapore in talent training, cooperative research, technology transfer, and industry incubation, and the significant goals and importance of the new project.

Ding Kuiling affirmed the achievements of the Singapore Graduate School. He noted that over the past 30 years, the school has trained more than 800 overseas talents and has explored a new model of talent cultivation and scientific research cooperation between Chinese universities and overseas universities through extensive collaboration with the National University of Singapore. He expressed hope that future cooperation would also yield fruitful results.

Huai Jinpeng congratulated Shanghai Jiao Tong University Singapore Graduate School on its achievements and the launch of the new CREATE project. He emphasized that the CREATE project has become a flagship project for sustainable development research between China and Singapore. Education, as a crucial link between talent cultivation and technological innovation, plays a significant role in promoting sustainable development for individuals, society, and the world. The efforts and long-term commitment of Shanghai Jiao Tong University in Singapore have laid a solid foundation for further deepening cooperation between universities in both countries. The governments of both countries will continue to provide strong support and promotion.

Ambassador Cao Xiaoming, Associate Vice President of the National University of Singapore Luo Jibin, Party Secretary of Xiamen University Zhang Rong, Party Secretary of South China University of Technology Zhang Xichun, and Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges of the Ministry of Education Yang Dan also spoke, expressing their support for further promoting international cooperation in education.

Also present at the launch ceremony were project team members Lin Zhiqun, Tong Yen Wah, He Yawen, Miao Xiaoling, Jin Xin, and representatives from the United Front Work Department, Development Liaison Office, International Cooperation and Exchange Office, and Antai College of Economics and Management of Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

On February 22, 2012, Shanghai Jiao Tong University signed a cooperation agreement with the Singapore government and the National University of Singapore for the "E2S2 (Energy and Environmental Sustainability Solutions for Megacities)" project, which was led by then-President of Singapore and Chairman of the National Research Foundation Tony Tan. This project is an important part of the CREATE (Campus for Research Excellence And Technological Enterprise) initiative, which aims to introduce international expertise and solve global scientific and technological problems through multidisciplinary collaborative research. In November 2012, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong unveiled CREATE. Participating world-class universities include the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Technical University of Munich, ETH Zurich, Hebrew University, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Cambridge, University of California, Berkeley, and the French National Center for Scientific Research. Shanghai Jiao Tong University is the only Chinese university that has continuously participated in this initiative to date.