SPEECH BY MR PETER CHEN SENIOR MINISTER OF STATE FOR EDUCATION
AT THE NANYANG POLYTECHNIC CREATIVITY AWARD 2000
PRIZE PRESENTATION CEREMONY
ON THURSDAY 11 MAY 2000 AT 2.30 PM AT THE
THEATRE FOR THE ARTS, NANYANG POLYTECHNIC

Staff and students,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen

       It is very stimulating to see so much enthusiasm and effort put in by all of you in conceiving and trying out new and innovative ideas. You have demonstrated a desire and a willingness to experiment. It is this spirit of active learning and innovation shown by the participants that we want to inculcate in all our students. These are essential qualities for Singapore in our transition to become a knowledge-based economy. There are some interesting and practical projects on your list, such as the aroma-burner, toe-operated mouse, egg-cracker and car-boot safety device. They may seem mundane, but great inventions have often come from very humble and simple beginnings originally devised to solve our everyday problems or just to improve our quality of life. It is my hope that by your example of enterprise and resourcefulness you will encourage others to take up new challenges. Indeed, I am informed that this year, there were more than 100 projects submitted for consideration. With 82 projects from the Engineering category and 26 projects from the IT, Design and Entertainment category, the spirit of innovation among you is indeed thriving.

Importance of Knowledge Creation

       The clear recognition that knowledge will be the key factor determining economic competitiveness is a relatively recent phenomenon. But the idea that it is human ingenuity and innovation that drive progress is not a new one. What we call innovative ideas are never completely new or novel. They are often a marriage of the new and old. It is the application of knowledge to existing conditions, be it the use of simple stone tools or the invention of the super computer, that gives people more choice and improves the quality of their lives. Even sophisticated innovations like the car, telephone or the computer grew out of the need to move or carry loads, to communicate beyond the range of the human voice, or to count beyond our own ten fingers. Many of what now seem to us to be the most mundane of contraptions (like the pulley, umbrella, and matches) had humble origins but a profound effect on human progress.

       Innovation is so critical to the success of countries and indeed to the future of humanity. It is the raw material for the creation of wealth; everything else is just reshuffling and redistribution of what we already have. For a country like Singapore with little material resource to reshuffle, innovation is even more important. In a knowledge intensive and global market, we need creative knowledge workers who can extract, process and synthesise knowledge to come up with new and innovative ideas and products. That is the only basis in which we have a chance to compete.

Preparing the Young

       In a knowledge based economy, our intellectual capital becomes our economic resource. And intellectual capital is developed and nurtured through education. To prepare our young to become creative knowledge workers, we have to nurture the creative energies of our students and inculcate sound values in them so that they can direct their energies towards constructive areas. We want to help students develop a broad range of skills, an entrepreneurial spirit and a passion for lifelong learning. With the short shelf-life of knowledge, students must be able to harness information and distill useful information.

Creativity Across Disciplines

       As you worked on your projects, many of you will have realized that while the acquisition of knowledge is often compartmentalized, in the sense that you learn subjects like mathematics, science and art separately, the application of knowledge tends to be broad-based and inter-disciplinary. For instance, when you had to combine knowledge from two or more different fields in order to come up with the best solution to a problem, or when you had to spend time envisioning a new arrangement or order to see whether the idea would be feasible. You now have had a taste of what it is like to be part of the creative process. I hope you will transfer the skills and experience that you have gained to other areas of your lives.

Conclusion

       In conclusion, I would like to congratulate all the participants of the Creativity Award Competition for your efforts and perseverance in bringing your innovative ideas into fruition. Each one of you is a winner in his own way, be it through having made new friends, learning new important lessons or gaining valuable experience.

       Having crossed into the 21st century, we can expect many new exciting changes. New ideas will come and go with incredible speed. Each one of you has the potential to contribute ideas and change the world for the better. I urge you to make the most of it. Thank you.