Mr Kevin McGuigan, Vice President and Managing Director of 3M's Southeast Asia region and Country Leader,
Students, Judges and 3Mers,
1. Good morning. I am delighted to be with you this morning for 3M's inaugural Inspire Challenge Country Semi-Finals.
2. Let me first congratulate all of our students from Singapore who have participated in this competition, and especially our top three teams from NUS, NTU and SMU, for stepping up to the challenge and presenting your innovative ideas to improve the lives of the community and the environment.
3. I also applaud 3M for successfully launching this initiative across the Southeast Asia region, to inspire youths to think of ways to solve the challenges of today, spur innovation, and help create a greater interest in STEM and sustainable technology. In fact, I was heartened to learn that the submissions from Singapore made up close to half of all the 122 submissions received for this regional competition!
4. The 3M Inspire Challenge has provided our tertiary students a regional platform to showcase their talent and collaborate with a leading global innovation company like 3M, as they receive mentorship to develop their ideas through the programme.
5. I also understand that 3M is offering internship opportunities for our students to further build industry-relevant skills and gain exposure to sectors and real-work experiences. I hope that other industry partners will also come on board to provide our students with similar opportunities that will allow them to interact with peers in the region and gain valuable insights through the process.
6. Once again, I thank 3M for organising this Challenge and supporting our students through this inspiring initiative and learning journey.
7. To the student teams, I wish you the very best for the competition today and hope that each one of you will continue to actively pursue your aspirations. Continue to keep your sense of curiosity – this thirst for knowledge and passion in STEM to create positive changes for the world is what will help us as a society to ride the global trends of digitalisation and sustainability.
8. Thank you.