Speeches
Speech by Ms Grace Fu, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of National Development and Ministry of Education, at the NUS High School 2nd Research Congress, Thursday 16 October 2008, 2.30pm, at the NUS High School
Mr Wee Heng Tin, Chairman, Board of Governors, NUS High School
Dr Hang Kim Hoo, Principal, NUS High School
Dr Teo Kien Boon, keynote speaker
Distinguished Guests
Good afternoon.
It gives me great pleasure to join you at NUS High School’s 2nd Research Congress.
The Congress offers a glimpse into the learning and research opportunities provided by the NUS High School Research Programme. It aims to capture the essence of the Research Programme and showcase achievements of the students. In the process, it hopes to gain the support of the stakeholders - the students, the schools and the research community - so that the Programme will continue to grow and flourish over time
Research: the Mainstay of High School Education
NUS High School has adopted a comprehensive approach to learning through research starting from the most junior students. It has integrated research work in the curriculum across all six academic years.
The belief that research should be the mainstay of secondary school education is shared by many universities who offer summer research programmes to high school students. Take, for instance, the High School Honors Program in Science, Mathematics or Engineering hosted by the Michigan State University. It provides capable students the opportunity to engage in intensive research work over a seven-week period and to interact with peers who may come from diverse backgrounds but share a common love for science and mathematics.
Similarly, the Cancer Biology High School Summer Research Program offered by The Stanford University School of Medicine aims to get high school students interested in the biological sciences research, and to equip them with an experience that will help them become leaders in the scientific community.
Research: Nurturing Self-Directed, Lifelong Learners
Indeed, like many schools that are developing their own unique identities, NUS High School has distinguished itself as a leader in Math and Science education in Singapore. It has strived to achieve this through establishing a rigorous math and science curriculum, and adopting an inquiry-based approach to learning.
NUS High School believes that learning starts with the students describing objects and events, asking questions, constructing explanations, testing those explanations in many different ways, and communicating their ideas and hypotheses to others. Through this process, students are encouraged to ask questions without fear and to actively seek answers to their questions. They would be more likely to develop a sense of responsibility for their own learning and to take it upon themselves to search for the knowledge. We hope that students will develop a life-long passion for learning discover their talents and eventually realize their full potential.
Today, the Research Congress will showcase the results of the students’ endeavours at self-directed learning and research. It will add vibrancy to the local research scene as young and talented minds are applied to areas of their passion.
Research: Making a Difference
Indeed our students can definitely make contributions to society through their research work. NUS High students Wang Chengxu, Koh Shao Yang and Rajarshi Roy recently represented Singapore in the Stockholm Junior Water Prize Competition, where they presented a low-cost portable water purification unit which distils contaminated water or seawater. This example demonstrates how young students can advance technology through innovative products that better the world around us. It is a testamony to the learning approach adopted by NUS High in nurturing future scientists and researchers.
Research: A Joint Effort
For a programme to be successful, the support from many stakeholders is essential. I am glad to see that NUS High School actively engages partners from a myriad of organizations -from scientific organizations such as DSO and A*STAR and educational institutions like NUS and NTU, to commercial entities such as INGBank. Evidently, all parties have given much attention and effort to the development of the NUS High School Research Programme.
This year we will see, for the first time, the participation of other secondary schools. The broader participation will give the Congress even greater opportunity to learn and expand our horizons. Many researchers find new inspiration from the dynamic flow of great ideas from like-minded researchers. It is this spirit of sharing and learning that we celebrate here today. I therefore strongly encourage the students to interact and communicate proactively with your peers, to find out more about the research work that they are undertaking and to learn from one another in the process. You will find that your peers may be able to give you interesting leads and provide you with alternate perspectives that give you new ideas about own project.
Conclusion
I wish all of you a most fruitful session at this Congress. And I hope that your passion for research work will lift you to greater heights.
Thank you.