25 February 2002

SPEECH BY DR NG ENG HEN, MINISTER OF STATE (EDUCATION AND MANPOWER) AT THE LAUNCH OF PIONEER JUNIOR COLLEGE'S GROUND RECEIVING STATION ON MONDAY, 25 FEBRUARY 02 AT 3.00 PM AT PIONEER JUNIOR COLLEGE

I am happy to be here this afternoon to launch the college's ground receiving station. The station is a joint effort by Pioneer Junior College, the College's Advisory Committee, the Centre for Remote Imaging, Sensing and Processing (CRISP) and the Lee Foundation. They are to be congratulated for their efforts in enhancing the quality of learning.

Our world is rapidly changing through globalisation, technological innovation and technopreneurship, and Singapore is also experiencing this impact. Some industries have to fundamentally change their way of doing business to stay relevant and competitive. Our schools, too, have to respond to these rapid developments. We can leverage on IT and technology to allow our teachers and students to learn beyond the traditional boundaries of a school by bringing them closer to the real world.

The ground receiving station provides such an excellent example. It represents a multi-disciplinary approach to the study of Science and Geography. Drawing resources from various disciplines, students are given the opportunity to explore the environment and obtain data about the weather. In the process of observing meteorological satellite images, students learn to formulate hypothesis, experiment and draw meaningful conclusions. This independent hands-on, computer oriented and analytical study of satellite images is the essence of scientific learning.

The collaborative efforts of Pioneer Junior College and CRISP in setting up the ground station thus provides a new and exciting climate for the teachers to actively learn and construct knowledge with their students. Opportunities are provided for the teachers and students to gain first hand research knowledge from experts in the field of remote sensing. This will inspire students to pursue a future career in this area.

The establishment of Pioneer JC's ground receiving station, a first in Singapore schools, is an example of how community and research institutes can engage students and harness their creativity and ideas to learn and work through projects. This new way of learning is made possible with the commitment of such meaningful partnerships. Many innovative approaches to learning in schools are made possible because of their collaborations with the community, institutes of higher learning and industry partners. I hope that stakeholders will continue to work with schools to provide greater learning opportunities for students and teachers.