Professor Chua Kee Chaing, President of the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT),
Associate Professor Tsoi, thank you very much for the address this morning,
Distinguished Speakers,
Guests from overseas,
Residents of Punggol,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
1. Good morning. It is my pleasure to join you today at this year's Applied Learning Conference, where we can explore how applied learning can better shape a skills-ready workforce.
2. Some seven years ago, I had the privilege of speaking at the inaugural edition of the ALC. I shared then about the transformative impact of applied learning, and in particular the perspective from the state and perspective from society of the extent of this transformation. I want to applaud SIT, as Singapore's pioneer university of applied learning, for bringing those visions from 2018 to life. I want to congratulate SIT also on marking your 10th anniversary as an Autonomous University last year, and welcome to the Punggol Digital District (PDD). Your efforts in championing applied learning at the university level have culminated in this wonderful campus today. Not just the physical campus, which is Instagram-worthy, but the activities on this campus, the experience that your staff, faculty and most especially your learners go through. We look forward to SIT's renewed contributions to both higher education and the development of the PDD.
3. Today, I would like to take stock of where we are, and suggest new ways forward as an applied learning ecosystem, in the following areas of Educators and Educational Institutions, secondly Industry, and thirdly our Community and Society.
4. On Educators and Educational Institutions. I had previously invited the ALC 2018 participants to think about the potential for applied learning to condense curriculum cycles, allowing these curriculum cycles to become almost "live" and on-demand.
5. Since then, I am very happy to note the progress that SIT has made in transforming its curriculum. What SIT is doing is strengthening its applied learning model through Competency-Based Education, CBE. CBE focuses on learners demonstrating mastery of competencies, and this approach is one which SIT intentionally and responsively defines according to industry needs.
6. SIT has also launched new programmes designed according to CBE principles, under the Competency-based Stackable Micro-credential (CSM) pathway.
7. Traditionally, universities have focused on imparting foundational theory first, with application coming later. In contrast, each competency-based micro-credential is designed with the end in mind, and it aims for learners to acquire directly applicable skills and competencies, combining both theory and application in the process of learning.
8. How does SIT identify this "end", or these competencies? How does SIT know which combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes is required to demonstrate these competencies? SIT does this through direct engagement with its industry partners, repeatedly redesigning its educational and pedagogical models and ensuring real-world relevance. It has committed to realising this live feedback loop between industry and academia, a central feature of applied learning done right.
9. From launching its Applied Computing degree via the CSM pathway in November 2022, SIT now has three such degrees with this modality – including Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Infrastructure and Systems Engineering. More such degrees will follow.
10. I encourage all conference participants here today to capitalise on this opportunity to explore how we can further tighten the nexus of industry and academia. I am sure that in addition to SIT's CSM pathway, you will each have various ideas on the next bound of CBE and what it should look like. Beyond the pressing questions of how we can continue to impart work-ready competencies, we must also consider how we can customise and differentiate CBE for a range of learners at different life and career stages, which is just as important as improving the nexus between industry and academia.
11. Second point is on Industry. I had previously noted that we need to move towards a paradigm where companies contribute more to driving training and work-readiness. How can we provide companies with more opportunities to collaborate meaningfully and to interact with academia?
12. SIT has been establishing its niche in applied and translational research, which provides platforms and opportunities for industry partners to directly tap on the expertise of SIT faculty. Today, these opportunities need not be constrained to physical collaboration.
13. To this end, SIT will launch the Living Lab Network (LLN) later this year – a digital infrastructure connecting SIT's university-wide systems to enhance applied learning and research.
14. The LLN supports real-world learning by providing dynamic, data-rich smart infrastructure where students and industry partners can collaborate to develop practical skills and innovative solutions.
15. Students can access real operational data from live campus systems, using this data for applied projects through the interface between the LLN and live campus systems.
16. What are these campus systems? We have an Integrated Building Management System (IBMS) for real-time facilities monitoring and energy efficiency. Secondly you have the Multi-Energy Micro-Grid (MEMG) developed with SP Group for renewable energy integration and supply-demand optimisation, and the District Cooling System (DCS) by ENGIE for sustainable campus-wide cooling.
17. These are large, live operational systems being used across the campus, providing real operational data in a way that students and faculty can collaborate with industry through this Living Lab Network. The live data from these campus-wide systems allows students to develop data modelling capabilities, develop visualisation and performance analysis. They also enable the development of digital twins that facilitate experimentation and innovation.
18. What is the benefit for industry collaborators? Industry collaborators will also have access to a safe, plug-and-play environment, prototyping and testing emerging digital solutions alongside the SIT faculty, researchers and students. There is a value add for faculty and students, and also the industry collaborators in how they develop their solutions.
19. The LLN will continue to support pilots and collaborations in fields such as robotics, smart building management, energy systems and cyber-physical security, expanding on past student-industry projects like 3D digital twin development.
20. Congratulations to SIT on the launch of your LLN initiative! I am sure that this is just one of the many initiatives that demonstrate the possibilities and value of connecting learners with industry, and which we will see over the course of this conference.
21. The third and last point is on Community and Society. Applied learning has the potential to influence learners' behaviour. It can enable them to be more resilient to industry changes and economic disruption, given the transferability of their knowledge, skills and attitudes between contexts.
22. I invite us to consider how applied learning, if done well, also has the potential to change society's views on the front-loading of education, that we see in the traditional format. So not just the attitudes, behaviours, knowledge and skills of the learner, which we know applied learning does very well in changing, but how we can use this, consistently done well over time, to change society's views on what good education looks like.
23. Singapore's skills development journey has been crystallised fairly recently, with the national SkillsFuture movement launched in 2015.
24. To convince working adults to take time off work to attend training, they need to be assured of its value.
25. Platforms such as the ALC bring together participants to explore developing a distinctive applied learning pedagogy. I think this is very important, and I am very heartened to see increasing developments around the development of a distinctive applied learning pedagogy.
26. SIT has curated a panel of local and international speakers, and I am confident that you will offer varied, interesting and useful perspectives and best practices from other regions. If our current learners benefit from the value of applied learning and a practice-oriented approach, they will be more prepared to engage in continuous education and training.
27. I think that the direction that we want to move in nationally, from the Ministry of Education (MOE), around adult and continuous learning, is linked tightly to the development and the success of applied learning within the formal education system. The two are complementary to each other and we have to increase this complementarity.
28. At MOE, we are increasingly embracing differentiated instruction and customising the approach to learning. Can we customise applied learning to each learner's needs and aspirations – to offer learners bespoke combinations of skills and competencies as building blocks for individuals to harness at each given life stage? How can educational institutions remain nimble, and continue to cater to each learner's vast diversity of life experiences? We need to enable them to gain new skills and competencies throughout their journey in life.
29. The answers to all these questions could well lie within the areas of exploration for this conference: a skills-first approach, competency-based education, the use of educational technology, and the embracing of workplace learning, to name just a few possibilities.
30. I would like to thank SIT and all conference participants again for your work in strengthening the ties between industry and academia. I wish you all two days of fruitful learning, discussion and networking, as we navigate the future of applied learning.
31. If done right, applied learning will only continue to increase in importance and public stature. Together, we will ensure that our learners and workforce are well-equipped to lead and thrive in this new era. Thank you.