SINGAPORE - A new 17-storey facility for medical students and researchers was unveiled at the National University of Singapore (NUS) on Monday.

The Tahir Foundation Building, which was officially opened by Education Minister Heng Swee Keat, is named after prominent Indonesian businessman and philanthropist Dato' Sri Dr Tahir. He donated $30 million to the NUS in 2012 for biomedical research, projects to improve medical education, student bursaries and scholarships.

The Kent Ridge campus building will house research labs and rooms for students in the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine.

It is shared with the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, the pharmacy and chemistry students.

Two key projects that Dr Tahir's gift has funded are a virtual 3D human cadaver for teaching anatomy dissection and a virtual environment platform that will allow students to learn through life-like scenarios such as a hospital emergency room.

The funds are also going towards improving the medical curriculum and training medical students to work with nurses and allied professionals.