To Ian,
When I first received news of your demise, I had to read the text a few times to really make sense of it. We were still in a whatsapp conversation mid last year and talked about meeting up. Your departure is still surreal to me. Thank you for this last lesson about life, Ian, that we should not procrastinate to make time for friends and family.
During the undergraduate years at NBS, you taught us for 2 consecutive years and it was the first time we experienced grading for class participation (your effort to make us speak up in class) and open book exam ("open book" was a total smoke screen). The world outside NTU and Singapore looked so exciting through International Business Marketing and Global Marketing Strategy which you taught. Your teaching pedagogy, humour, candidness and care for students definitely made you one of our favourite professors at the school.
I am sure that you are in a better place now. Wherever you are, may you be well and happy.
Yours student always,
Gillian

Prof Ian - definitely one of the most remarkable professors I learnt from. Your classes were the most thoughts-intriguing, and you definitely challenged me to think beyond confined limits of theories, textbooks and my known limits. RIP, Prof Ian, you will be remembered.

Prof Ian was a great tutor for our class and me! He always encouraged us to think out of the box and challenged us with very tough industry questions.
Very applicable to our real-life work life.
He is very witty and humorous as well.
We will all miss him dearly.
Rest in Peach my dear Sir.
God Bless!

NBS - Class of 2008

I met Ian through his wife Veronica who is my good friend when they moved to Spore to reside. He visited Kota Kinabslu often as it is the hometown of Veronica. During these visits I was blessed to be able to join in dinners with this loving couple n visited each other. From years before, I could see Veronica had found a very good man as he was a very loving and concerned husband, and many aspects of his personal character outside his life as a professor in the university. He was simple n humble without a tint of arrogance in him, witty, observant, smart, kind and helpful. Some years back I stayed with the couple while in Spore...
my son and I were given his master room to stay in while they said will sleep in Dom's room. To my amazement , found him curled up sleeping on the floor of his study later....that's how kind and generous Ian was! Still more to this....he cooked breakfast, baked bread and even cooked a sumptuous dinner for us. Ian not only loved cooking he also loved food but was picky.
He claimed intolerance to 'belacan' shrimp paste but he unknowingly loved vegetables fried with it. He loved his wife's hakka yong tau foo and he would chop the pork filling for her just so that she would cook that for him. Ian had a penchant for cooking and baking himself too. He joined a cooking class on Italian food while touring Italy with Veronica a few years back. He made his own bread and in recent year he began making his own sourdough starter n sourdough bread. Makes me sad to think of our last meeting which was last year when he brought some sourdough starter to me in my house in Kota Kinabalu all the way from Spore and taught me to make it. I noticed he had slimmed down a lot but he told me that was because he was on a low carb diet and taken up running to keep fit. If only I had known..... never had the chance to say goodbye sadly as you left so fast. May you rest in peace Ian....will always remember you. Feel blessed to have known u and to have been your friend.

I joined NTU at the same time as Ian in 1992, and we have been friends since then. His knowledge and expertise in regional markets was unsurpassed, and you can see from the comments of his students that he was a dedicated and inspirational teacher. The students held Ian in such respect and affection that for years following their graduation they would invite him to reunion dinners.
To understand Ian you need to see him as a dedicated a lifelong supporter of Manchester City. He told me that when much younger he would go to all of the away games that City played in a season, and at times, when he could not get back home he would sleep in a public telephone box until he morning. Only this who know what cold and bleak place northern England can be in the middle of winter can truly gauge the depth of dedication to his team. 
The world has been a better place for your being here Ian. We will miss you

Prof Ian was a teacher who encourages his students to always think and challenge what the text books say. And that was more than 20 years ago in an age where students are hardly encouraged to do so. Truly a trailblazer. RIP Prof Ian. You will be missed.

Prof Ian is a witty and inspiring teacher. His lessons are very interesting. He left such a deep impression on me that I immediately remembered him just by the name alone, even though I am very very bad with names and faces and even after I left the university for very long.
Prof Ian, thanks for being one of my professors. You will be missed.

Dr. Ian McGovern was an inspiring educator and never was hesitated to share valuable insights and knowledges with us in his class “Markets of Southeast Asia: An Overview” . It was an amazing learning journey guided by him. Sad for me as I no longer have the chance to recommend his class to new students but he lives in our hearts forever.

I had never met Ian personally. The only time we ever interacted was through the phone which was twice a year before the semester begins . He was coordinating the time table for AB1501 Marketing tutorials. Ian was always helpful, kind & empathetic.

Thank you for being in our lives - you've imparted knowledge, shaped our minds and forever touched our hearts.

Ian was an inspiring teacher, extremely caring to his students and a man of amazing insight into the dynamics of South East Asia. In addition, he was witty and engaging and a great friend. A true gentleman and scholar.

Ian was my good friend Dom's father. While we had met the many times that I stayed over throughout the years, I can't say that I knew the man very well. I couldn't tell you his hobbies, what his favourite food was, or even what music he liked.

What I do know is that he had a terrific sense of humour and dry wit. It's also something that made me realise where Dom had got this from. Why we not only became friends in the first place, but also why we stayed friends all this time.

I'm not one to be overly emotional when it comes to death. In fact, I'm generally quite nonchalant about it. I didn't cry at either of my grandmothers' funeral even though they were both some of my favourite people in the world. But having a mother that is the same age, Ian's passing leaves an especially tight knot in my heart.

It's a real knock on the head when someone you know personally dies. The end may be inevitable for us all, but it's always a shock when it comes this soon. While typing this out, all sorts of memories come flooding back and I find myself wishing I could have known Ian better. In the end, I'm left being thankful that I at least got to know his son, who his spirit and wit lives on through.

Ian McGovern will be missed.