Education and Early Career
Tan was educated at Anglo Chinese School, St Patrick's School and St Joseph's Institution. As a recipient of a government scholarship, he graduated with first class honours in physics from the University of Singapore (now the National University of Singapore), topping his class. As an Asia Foundation scholar, he attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he completed a Master of Science in operations research. He later earned a Doctor of Philosophy in applied mathematics at the University of Adelaide, and went on to lecture mathematics in the University of Singapore.
In 1969, Tan left the University of Singapore to begin a career in banking with Overseas-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), where he rose to become General Manager, before leaving the bank to pursue a career in politics in 1979. From 1980 to 1981, Tan was the first Vice Chancellor of the National University of Singapore (NUS).
In 2005, Tan was presented the NUS Eminent Alumni Award in recognition of his role as a visionary architect of Singapore’s university sector. In 2010, he was presented the inaugural Distinguished Australian Alumnus Award by the Australian Alumni Singapore (AAS) at its 55th anniversary dinner in recognition of his distinguished career, and his significant contribution to society and to the Australian alumni community.
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