Keynote Address by Mr Gan Kim Yong, Minister of State for Education and Manpower, at the Lee Shiu Seminar Programme Welcome Ceremony on 29 July 2006 at 10.00 am at the Auditorium, University Hall, National University of Singapore

KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY MR GAN KIM YONG, MINISTER OF STATE FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER, AT THE LEE SHIU SUMMER PROGRAMME WELCOME CEREMONY ON 29 JULY 2006 AT 10.00 AM AT THE AUDITORIUM, UNIVERSITY HALL, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE

SINGAPORE AS A GLOBAL CITY OF THE 21ST CENTURY

Introduction

1. Good morning, I am delighted to have this opportunity to speak with you at the Lee Shiu Summer Programme.

2. This is a unique opportunity for young talents from China, Hong Kong, Singapore and the United States to discuss issues relating to the development of China and the region. It also provides a platform for fruitful intellectual and social exchanges among the participants.

What is a Global City?

3. I understand that the Lee Shiu Summer Programme takes you to Hong Kong, Singapore and Beijing. Despite the fact that the three cities are very different, they share one thing in common: We are all global cities. But what is a global city and what role does a global city have in the 21st century? A global city is characterized by 3 key features.

4. First, a global city must have its own distinctive identity. This may be the strong sense of history that can be found in London, or the energy and dynamism of New York City and Hong Kong. The distinctive identity of these cities can also be reflected in instantly recognizable icons: for example, Big Ben is a symbol of London, just as the Forbidden City is instantly identified with Beijing.

5. Second, a global city is one that has great economic strength, often supported by a critical mass of people that can fuel enterprise and support a thriving economy. These cities attract investors, stimulate entrepreneurship and develop people who can compete on a global scale. It’s not surprising then that global cities also produce some of the world’s most prominent entrepreneurs, who in turn put the city on the world map. Li Ka-Shing from Hong Kong, for example, is Asia's richest and most influential businessman.

6. The third element that marks a global city is vibrancy. Global cities are exciting places to live in. It is filled with energy and exhilaration. This buzz and excitement, draw people from all over the world to come to cities like Shanghai and New York, to experience the enthusiasm and vibrancy of its inhabitants.

7. Singapore is striving towards becoming such a global city: a city with a distinct identity, economically strong, vibrant, dynamic, and a great place to live and work. In our case, the key to achieving this is our people.

Our people

8. Many of you are from overseas, and you may not be familiar with our history. Let me illustrate what I meant with a piece of our history. Singapore was part of Malaysia until 1965 when we gained our independence and became a nation. But we were not truly independent because we still needed to purchase water from Malaysia as our life-line. We worked hard over the last 40 years not only to create a first world economy, but we also developed new water to become self-reliant on water. That achievement has allowed us to become truly independent.

9. We could have given in easily and continue to be dependent on others since it is easier and cheaper. But the determination, drive and vision of our people and our leaders have motivated us to strive for self-reliance. This desire for self-reliance will continue to drive our nation and our people to attain greater achievements.

10. I am sure Hong Kong, Shanghai and many other successful cities each has a story to tell. Each of you will see different factors contributing to your success. But you will agree with me that behind every successful city or nation, there are great leaders and great people. Many of you here will become leaders in different fields, politics, business community, etc. You will play a key role in your city’s future.

Singapore’s Next Phase – Our Strategies
Riding on our success in education

11. How do we ensure that our young will continue to have resourcefulness, determination and integrity? How do we carve our future? The answer is in our education system. In Singapore, we provide high quality education, differentiated according to the individual’s interests, capabilities and expectations. We also provide our students with different routes, offering them alternative paths so that a wide range of talents have every opportunity to rise to the top.

12. We have done well by international standards. In the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study 2003, our 4th and 8th graders were ranked first in Science and Mathematics among 49 countries. In the Global Competitiveness Report 2005/2006[1], Singapore’s education system, as well as our science and mathematics education, was ranked first in terms of the ability to meet the needs of a competitive economy. Our universities too rank high among the top universities in the world, with NUS coming in 22nd in the Times Higher Education Supplement World University Rankings in 2005.

13. Going forward, we want to develop greater peaks of excellence among our students, by further diversifying the education landscape to increase the education choices for students with different talents. We are opening up our education system to private institutions. We are enhancing our technical education.

14. Through education, we want to develop our youths and enable them to pursue their passion – wherever it may lie, be it academic pursuits, sports, arts or others – to the fullest. We want to prepare them for the next phase of Singapore’s development into a knowledge-based and innovation-driven economy.

New engines of growth

15. We want to leverage on our excellence in science, mathematics and technology to give ourselves a competitive advantage. The Singapore Government will be making significant investments in R&D efforts in the next 5 years, earmarking $13.55 billion for different agencies to promote R&D. As a country with limited resources, for Singapore to be internationally competitive, we need to identify and develop R&D in selected areas of economic importance. Three areas have been identified – (i) biomedical sciences, (ii) environmental and water technologies, and (iii) interactive and digital media.

16. However, we know the critical success factor for Singapore is not monetary investment, but talented people. As such, we aim to be a global hub for talent, by nurturing our own talent as well as drawing creative and talented people from all over the world to come to live and work here.

17. More postgraduates and post-doctorates will need to be trained to support our growth. To this end, I urge those among you that are keen in R&D career to join us in this exciting new journey. Be part of our universities as a postgraduate student or a faculty. Join our Research Institutes as Principal Investigators. Opportunities are plentiful as Singapore positions itself as the R&D gateway to Asia.

Developing new mindsets

18. Amidst the rapid changes in today’s world, we will also need to develop new mindsets in order to meet the challenges ahead. We need people who think globally, open to new ideas, respect different cultures, and have a strong sense of responsibility to the society and the people.

19. In Singapore, we are striving to nurture global mindsets in our people. Just last night, the Asian Young Leaders Summit had its closing ceremony. This 12-day event organized by Hwa Chong Institution, a high school here, hosted a delegation of 80 youths from the top high schools in Singapore, China, India, Japan, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.

20. Our universities too welcome students from all over the world to study here. We seek to create a vibrant learning environment, where students from a myriad of backgrounds come together to share diverse perspectives and engage with one another in rigorous, active dialogue. If you are keen on being part of such an environment, consider Singapore.

21. While we welcome foreigners to come here, our universities are also sending our students abroad, through exchange programmes with other universities, summer programmes, work attachments and international community service projects. NUS itself already has five overseas colleges in Silicon Valley, Philadelphia, Shanghai, Bangalore and Stockholm – some of the most vibrant entrepreneurial hubs in the world. Earlier this month, NUS also announced that it will set up an office in Beijing. Within five years, NUS aims to send 1,000 students annually to China for a range of student programs, including student exchange, internships, summer programs and field trips.

22. We believe that these overseas experiences will enrich the university experience of our students, and prepare them well for their future in this globalised world. Through programmes such as the one you are participating in, the Lee Shiu Summer Programme, the interactions with participants from other cities and from different cultural experience will expose you to different ways of thinking and perspectives. You are the top talent who would eventually become future leaders. Such exposure to new environments will help you develop cultural sensitivity and flexibility, and you will learn important lessons in respecting perspectives and lifestyles that are different from your own.

Conclusion

23. My hope is that all the delegates here today – whether you are from Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Xian, Hangzhou, Princeton, or other parts of the world – will first of all enjoy your visit to Singapore. But more than that, I hope that you will bring home the valuable lessons you learn from this rich tri-city study programme. Most importantly, make friends with one another, get to know one another. I hope you will dream big dreams, and work hard to make your dreams come true. The future – our future, the world’s future – is in your hands.

24. Finally, I would like to pay tribute to the patrons of this summer programme – Dr and Mrs Lee Shiu – for making possible this forum to bring this group of young people together to create a better future for all of us.

Thank you.

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[1] The Global Competitiveness Report is published by the Swiss-Based World Economic Forum which compares indicators across 117 countries.