Professor Kishore Mahbubani
Doctor of Humanities, honoris causa
Professor Mahbubani is a leading voice internationally in the field ofpublic policy. He served in the Singapore Foreign Service for over three decades and was the first Singaporean Ambassador to the UN Security Council, where he twice held the presidency. From 1993 to 1998, he was Permanent Secretary at the Foreign Ministry and was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Gold) in 1998.
Despite grown up in an economically disadvantaged neighbourhood in Singapore, he received the prestigious President’s Scholarship, and graduated with first-class honours in philosophy from the University of Singapore. He later earned a master’s degree in philosophy from Dalhousie University, Canada and was a fellow at the Center for International Affairs at Harvard University. In 2004, Professor Mahbubani was appointed the Founding Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore and was Professor in the Practice of Public Policy. He has authored ten published books and articles in globally renowned journals and newspapers, shaping global discourse on governance and diplomacy.
Professor Michael E. Mann
Doctor of Humanities, honoris causa
Professor Mann is a prominent climate scientist and Presidential Distinguished Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also Vice Provost for Climate Science, Policy and Action, and Director of the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media.
Professor Mann’s research focuses on the Earth‘s climate system and the science, impact and policy implications of human-caused climate change. He was a Lead Author for the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and contributed to IPCC’s Nobel Peace Prize. He earned his PhD in Geology and Geophysics from Yale University in 1998.
Throughout his career, Professor Mann has received numerous accolades, including Humanist of the Year by the American Humanist Association in 2023, and being elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society, UK, in 2024. As an influential voice in climate science, Dr Mann has authored over 300 peer-reviewed and edited publications, numerous op-eds and commentaries, as well as seven influential books.
The Venerable Kuan Yun, BBS, MH
Honorary Fellow
The Venerable Kuan Yun is President of the Hong Kong Buddhist Association and Abbot of the Western Monastery. In 1986, he was ordained under the guidance of the late Venerable Wing Sing, becoming the 46th lineage holder of the Tiantai school of Chinese Buddhism.
In 2016, he was elected President of the Hong Kong Bodhi Siksa Society. He has founded several institutions, and study and research centres for Buddhist Studies, as well as restoring the Youshun Temple in Chaoyang, Liaoning. Additionally, he has launched the ‘Bodhi Online’ platform to provide spiritual counselling and support.
The Venerable Kuan Yun also served as a member of National Committees of the Chinese People‘s Political Consultative Conference, and has been a member of the China Committee on Religion and Peace and advisor to the Chinese Foundation for Prevention of STDs and AIDS. He is a prolific and influential writer, and has received several awards for his charity and humanitarian efforts. In July 2025, he was awarded the Bronze Bauhinia.
