Speeches
Speech by Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence, at the Opening Ceremony of the International Conference on Materials for Advanced Technologies 2009 and the International Union of Materials Research Societies - International Conference in Asia (IUMRS-ICA 2009) on Monday 29 June 2009, at 9.00am, at the Suntec International Convention & Exhibition Centre
His Excellency, the Ambassador of France, Mr. Pierre Buhler
Prof. Tan Eng Chye, Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost, National University of Singapore
Prof. Howard Katz, President, International Union of Materials Research Societies (IUMRS)
Prof. B.V.R. Chowdari, Organising Chair and the President, Materials Research Society of Singapore (MRS-S)
Conference delegates
Distinguished Invitees
Ladies and Gentlemen
Good Morning.
It gives me great pleasure to join you here today at the opening ceremony of the International Conference on Materials for Advanced Technologies (ICMAT) 2009. Previous conferences were attended by as many as 2,000 members of the international scientific and materials research community, representing more than forty different countries. This year, I am heartened to see that once again there is a strong response from participants, and that delegates from all over the world have come to join us today. I bid all participants a warm welcome to Singapore.
Developments in Materials Science
This year’s conference is meeting in unusual circumstances. Some would go further, and say that indeed the World at large is at a turning point. The global financial crisis and the massive wealth destruction has caused all nations to examine firstly, for the near-term, the state of their economic well being, and secondly, their economic strategies for the medium and long term. The mirage of wealth, built upon unsustainable leveraging and propped-up valuations, has been shattered. A re-evaluation of basic assumptions is underway. Leaders are asking where real value is to be gained and what commensurate skills of their workforce are needed to provide such gains. In my travels in the past few months following the near meltdown of the banking and financial sector last September, I have had conversations with leaders of industry, academia and Governments. I sense a consensus that an important part of that answer must be based on the advances of science and technology.
Many in the UK I met pointed to the fact that it had become an economic power on the back of the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. So despite the record budget deficit, the Labour Government under Prime Minister Gordon Brown committed £3.7 billion to R&D for 2009 to 2010. Even then, there were calls for more. The US administration under President Obama held out the same message, and in the last budget, proposed US$147.6 billion for Federal investment in R&D. Some of course could argue that the current global financial crisis has cost us too much to learn the basic lesson that wealth creation must be based on real productivity gains. I can almost hear the recriminations from real engineers against financial engineers.
The Role of S&T in Singapore’s Economic Development
Singapore has always recognised the central role of technology for modern small city states like ours. Historically, science and technology is deeply inter-twined in our economic development over the last four decades.
Without a hinterland for resources and markets, our economic strategy was to leverage on S&T to connect with the rest of the World, to overcome earth-bound limitations, to leap-frog geographic regions and technological obsolescence. This strategy in today’s context is almost a no-brainer, but remember that Singapore employed this in 1965, way before connectivity was made possible through ICT breakthroughs and when the concept of globalisation was still nascent.
MOE’s Role in Building Human Capital
To support this overarching strategy of being connected and relevant to the World, one central tenet was the need to develop S&T capabilities in our education system.
General Education
This explains why S&T is emphasised throughout the 10 to 12 years of a child’s general education in Singapore, to build a broad base of understanding and interest. When our children enter kindergarten at age three, they are already introduced to the most basic concepts of numeracy, and Mathematics is formally taught to our children starting in Primary One when they are seven years old. Science is introduced soon after, in Primary Three. In secondary school, students can take up a deeper study of the sciences - Physics, Biology and Chemistry. The goal is to encourage students to learn by investigation through fun activities such as field trips, games and even role-play. Students gain a better understanding and appreciation for science by learning to critically question, collect evidence, draw coherent conclusions, and finally to communicate their findings.
Such innovative teaching methods contribute to a high level of interest in Mathematics and Science amongst our students. Candidature in Mathematics and Science subjects at both the O and A Levels is high. For example, in the 2008 GCE O-Levels, 65% of our students took the non-compulsory Advanced Math subject, while 97% studied Chemistry.
The strengths of Singapore’s Math and Science teaching have also been acknowledged internationally. In the latest Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study or TIMSS 2007, Singapore emerged first in Science at both Primary Four and Secondary Two levels. In Math, our Primary Four and Secondary Two students emerged second and third respectively.
What I have described applies to the mainstream curriculum, but we also want to further cultivate and maximise the potential of exceptional students with an interest in S&T. For this specific purpose, the NUS High School of Mathematics and Science was established in collaboration with the National University of Singapore in 2005, offering an innovative, advanced 6-year curriculum based in mathematics and science. Students are allowed to read university modules from NUS, and are able to use various university facilities such as its libraries for their research and study.
My Ministry will do more to nurture our S&T talents. Recently, we established another specialised secondary school, the School of Science and Technology in partnership with the Nanyang Technological University and Ngee Ann Polytechnic, which is scheduled to open in 2010. In addition to the O-level curriculum, the School will offer students a range of options in applied areas related to technology, media and design, all taught in small classes to provide students with individualised attention.
We have also provided opportunities to our bright Junior College students, aged 17 to 18, to spark an early interest in research. For example, the Nanyang Research Programme (NRP) run by the Nanyang Technological University enables Junior College students to work on research projects mentored by faculty. Many of the students participating in the programme also go on to pursue national and international research competitions.
Post-Secondary Education
This focus on S&T permeates our educational system across all levels, including our tertiary institutions. In ITE, Polytechnics and Universities, we provide more places and higher funding to shape a proportionately larger intake for S&T-related courses. For example, in NUS and NTU, the proportions of all students enrolled in S&T-related courses are 56% and 65% respectively. In our Polytechnics this year, about two out of every three students (67%) admitted into a polytechnic were enrolled in S&T-related courses.
Research in our AUs
As research-intensive universities, our universities also play a key role in our drive to develop S&T in Singapore. With funding from the Ministry of Education, they pursue basic research that has the potential to spark further innovations and discoveries.
Our universities’ research capabilities have grown significantly, and they have become attractive partners for top research-intensive Universities overseas. For example, NUS hosts 21 university-level research institutes, and has formed numerous research partnerships with prestigious universities around the world, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University.
To further develop peaks of research excellence in our universities, MOE, together with the National Research Foundation (NRF) has established Research Centres of Excellence (or RCEs) in close affiliation with our universities. Led by internationally renowned researchers, the RCEs conduct world-class research with a global impact, focusing on areas aligned with the long-term strategic interests of Singapore. Currently, four RCEs have been established, namely the Centre for Quantum Technologies, the Cancer Science Institute Singapore, and the Mechanobiology RCE at NUS, as well as the Earth Observatory of Singapore at NTU.
The New University
Going forward, we will further build up the S&T capabilities in our university sector. As you may be aware, we will be establishing a new publicly-funded university in that will offer S&T-based programmes to our brightest students. It will be established in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (or MIT), a world-class S&T-based university that is renowned for its strong research tradition, and a top ranking Chinese University. MIT will help the New University create a design-centric curriculum, and faculty from both sides will collaborate on research.
I mentioned at the outset that our national strategies have been guided by our need to remain connected and relevant to the World. This continues to be the operating paradigm, but as the World evolves, so has Singapore over the years. Practically, this has meant more funding for R&D, as we move toward an economy based on innovation and enterprise - on production of value-added ideas, rather than basic manufacturing.
From 1991 to 2000, the Government committed a total of $6B to support industry R&D. The number of research scientists and engineers (RSEs) in Singapore also tripled over the same period. We began moving into new sectors where advanced technology could be exploited, such as biotechnology and aerospace. As a result, Singapore’s high-tech exports as a percentage of total exports grew from 22% in the 1980s to 49% in the 1990s, contributing to an average GDP growth of 8.6% p.a. from 1986 to 1997.
Since 2000, we have redoubled efforts in strengthening our S&T capabilities to enable Singapore to compete at the global technological frontier. In our third five-year plan spanning 2001 to 2005, we set aside another $6 billion, that is, double the amount compared to preceding periods.
These initiatives have helped our Agency for Science, Technology and Research (or ASTAR) nurture young talent, and have attracted renowned foreign scientists and eminent researchers to lead and participate in its research institutes (or RIs) such as the Genome Institute of Singapore, and Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology. ASTAR and the Economic Development Board (EDB) also worked together to attract new technology-intensive investments to Singapore, such as flagship R&D centres by global firms such as Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline which were established in 2003 and 2004 respectively.
We have also developed cutting-edge infrastructure to support our R&D goals. The Biopolis facility opened in 2003, offering purpose-built, state-of-the-art facilities for biomedical research, co-locating A*STAR’s biomedical RIs and private R&D companies to foster intellectual and industrial exchange. Our latest R&D facility, dubbed “Fusionopolis”, was opened in 2008 to support research in the fields of Info-communications Technology, Media, Sciences and Engineering. It aims to create a vibrant eco-system where scientists, researchers and entrepreneurs can exchange ideas, collaborate and create economic value.
Singapore’s Investments in S&T for the future
Going forward, a sharp focus on S&T capabilities will continue to be a national priority. It is currently guided through our Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council (RIEC) chaired by the Prime Minister, and comprises Cabinet Ministers, prominent captains of industry, and internationally renowned individuals from the scientific and academic community.
The Government has also made significant investments in S&T, earmarking $13.55 billion to develop our R&D capabilities, as part of our latest Science & Technology Plan 2010. We will focus our R&D funding in areas of economic importance where Singapore can be internationally competitive, such as Interactive and Digital Media, Environmental and Water Technologies, as well as Biomedical Sciences.
Informal Science Education
Outside the formal education system, the Ministry of Education also seeks to spark interest in S&T in the general public. The Science Centre Singapore spearheads this effort. With over 850 exhibits spread over eight exhibition galleries, it sees over a million visitors a year and has been acclaimed as one of the top science centres in the world. It is currently working on expansion plans to provide new offerings and better accommodate its growing number of visitors, in order to further its mission of promoting informal science education.
Conclusion
This is a nation that has used science and technology pervasively - to overcome limitations, move forward and solve seemingly insurmountable problems. Events like ICMAT are therefore much welcomed to deepen our S&T capabilities, and to seek out new collaborations and partnerships across the world.
In closing, let me wish all you all a fruitful and enriching week ahead. I hope that through this conference you will not only gain new knowledge, but also new partnerships and friendships. I hope also that you will take the time to explore our city and to enjoy Singapore and all it has to offer.
It is now my pleasure to declare the International Conference on Materials for Advanced Technologies 2009, and the IUMRS-ICA (IUMRS-ICA 2009) open.