A new fund in memory of the late founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew is being set up at his alma mater, Fitzwilliam College at Cambridge University, where he studied from 1947 to 1949.

Mrs Nicola Padfield, the master of Fitzwilliam College, is in Sing- apore this week to meet poten- tial donors.

She also met Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday.

The Lee Kuan Yew Fitzwilliam Fund seeks to build on historic connections between Singapore and the university, while commemorating one of its most famous alumni.

The college hosted a memorial service for Mr Lee a week after he died on March 23 last year.

It also held a conference on The Legacy of Lee Kuan Yew and the Future of Singapore, in recognition of the enduring links between the college and Singapore, last October.

After the conference, college leaders decided to find a more permanent way to commemorate the late Mr Lee.

"We discussed with different generations of alumni and came up with this idea to honour him," said Mrs Padfield, who is also a law academic.

The college has a long history of attracting Singaporean students, with 35 Singaporeans studying there at the moment.

Mrs Padfield told The Straits Times the college plans to use the fund for teaching and research fellowships, PhD and master's studentships, and to promote intellectual exchange between Singapore and Cambridge.

And it hopes to fund outstanding graduate and postgraduate students and junior academics who focus on one of three areas of study: law; innovation, technology and enterprise; and society and the individual.

Said Mrs Padfield: "Lee Kuan Yew was a fantastically successful law student himself, and always encouraged young talent, which is what we seek to do."

Dr Lee Suan Yew, 82, the late Mr Lee's youngest brother, who also studied at Fitzwilliam College, welcomed the fund.

He said: "It is a great honour, one of the best ways to honour him at the college."

He added: "As members of the alumni, we are here to help the college receive as much as they can."