Speech by Minister Desmond Lee at NUS High School 19th Speech Day on 6 April 2023
Apr 6, 2023
Professor Tan Eng Chye, Chairman of NUS High School Board of Directors
Mr Seah Moon Ming, Chairman of the Board of Governors
Governors
Ms Magdalen Soh, Principal of NUS High School
Teachers, Parents, Students
Introduction
Good morning. Thank you for inviting me to this special occasion.
1. Today marks one of NUS High School’s most important events in its annual calendar – Speech Day – where you celebrate students’ achievements in both academic and non-academic areas.
2. I’m also glad to be able to launch your refreshed Humanitarian Education Program or HEP2.0 today.
3. As a multi-disciplinary approach across your 6-year journey, it seeks to help you better understand the challenges that we face here in Singapore.
4. And to empower you to apply what you have learnt, to address the needs of fellow Singaporeans.
5. NUS High School is Singapore’s only high school specialising in Mathematics and Science.
6. Many of you here today may be aspiring scientists, engineers and inventors, gearing up for a future career in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
7. Faced with rapidly changing technologies, many of you might wonder how you can prepare yourselves for what’s next.
8. Allow me first to share some exciting developments and opportunities in STEM and the built environment sector. At the end, I will cover a little bit of my Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) hat that links very closely with your Humanitarian Education Program.
Emerging Developments in STEM
9. We have seen how innovation in technologies have changed the way we live, study, work, and play.
10. For instance, ChatGPT, is powered by large amounts of data and utilise artificial intelligence to interact with us in a conversational way.
11. As with any technology, ChatGPT presents both opportunities and challenges for teaching and learning. When used wisely, it can complement your learning.
12. But these tools cannot substitute skills acquired through leadership roles, interdisciplinary project work, and experiential learning.
13. This is also an example of how the nature of work is evolving, and your ability to learn, unlearn, relearn, and frame new problems, will become increasingly important.
14. The Built Environment sector has benefitted from these technological developments and seen exciting transformation in the recent years.
15. For instance, at the planning and design stage, building plans and architectural drawings used to be done by hand in the past.
16. Now, we can generate interactive, digital 3D models through Building Information Modelling (BIM).
17. Architects can virtually walk through the building that they have designed with engineers and builders to design and construct more accurately and efficiently by identifying issues upfront.
18. We use integrated modelling tools to optimise building layouts and orientation to promote natural ventilation within the town.
19. At the construction stage, more buildings are adopting Design for Manufacturing and Assembly techniques, such as Prefabricated, Prefinished Volumetric Construction – a “Lego” building method.
20. In this method, building modules are constructed off-site in an automated factory environment, and transported to site for assembly.
21. Beyond “Lego”, we are also exploring how new technologies, like 3D printing, can be applied in construction.
22. HDB is piloting the use of 3D concrete printing for streetscape furniture and landscape features for the new towns in Tengah and Bidadari.
23. At the operation stage, we employ a range of strategies to reduce energy usage of our buildings, such as using sensors, AI and solar panels.
24. We are making good progress.
i. We have greened more than half of our buildings in Singapore.
ii. And in the past 1 year, around 1 in every 5 of our new buildings have managed to achieve Super Low Energy standards.
iii. We even have a positive energy building to boast of.
iv. For example, the building façade and rooftop of Keppel Infrastructure @ Changi is fitted with solar panels that can generate enough energy to offset more than twice of its energy consumption!
v. It is the first building in Singapore to be certified as a Positive Energy building, advancing closer to our target of net zero emissions by 2050.
Meaningful & Exciting Jobs in the Built Environment Sector
25. There are many exciting career opportunities in the Built Environment sector.
26. With your strong foundation in Math and Science, you could take on a role as a BIM specialist, sustainability manager, or even be involved in researching and developing new technologies like 3D concrete printing.
27. We are taking steps to grow a strong ecosystem of researchers and industry partners to transform the Built Environment.
28. Under the Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2025 plan, we have set aside close to $270M over the next 5 years, to address new challenges in the Built Environment domain.
29. We will need young talented Singaporeans like yourselves, to contribute your ideas, and rise to be the next generation leaders for our BE sector.
30. Singapore has come so far because our people were willing to dream, to innovate, and to seize technological opportunities to build the thriving metropolis we see today.
31. You can look forward to plans like the Greater Southern Waterfront, and the future relocation of Paya Lebar Airbase under the Long-Term Plan Review.
32. This review charts our plans for the next 50 years and beyond, providing the Built Environment sector with exciting opportunities to showcase your skills and expertise.
33. There is space to dream, and opportunities to influence the way we design and build to keep our city green, liveable and resilient.
34. We need you to be a part of our efforts to building Singapore’s future.
[Call to Action - Future-readiness with continuous learning
35. If you are keen to learn more, I would like to encourage you to join the iBuildSG Club.
36. This student interest group will provide you with useful knowledge and skills through workshops, digital learning journeys and competitions.
37. You can also participate in the Pinnacle Competition, a virtual escape room challenge to learn more about the BE sector, that is currently running till 31 May 2023.
38. You can also find out more about the MOE Singapore-Industry Scholarship (SgIS)[1] for the BE sector to kickstart your career with one of the sponsoring organisations.
Looking beyond ourselves
39. Beyond academic achievements, we should also demonstrate care and contribution to the school and community.
40. I’d like to commend NUS High School for refreshing the Humanitarian Education program at a time when we are examining the relationship between individuals, between Singaporeans, between the government and the people.
41. Between the generation today and the generation of tomorrow - what is that social contract? What binds us together? If you look around cities around the world, successful cities, including Singapore, you see sparkling cities, but you can also see from an urban point of view in some cities, urban decay, you see segregation.
42. It's about social policy, and what you want to achieve as a society and what you must tackle as a society in order to stay together. That’s the important glue.
43. Our social compact is evolving, our circumstances are changing, For a city to remain united, and resilient and sparkling, you need to make sure that everyone gets pulled along on that journey of progress and that no one gets left behind.
44. In many mature societies and cities that have gone ahead of us on the curve, historically, economically, some of them more mature than Singapore – some of the oldest societies, one issue that always surfaces is social stratification, and the formation of a permanent underclass.
45. People who may or may not have opportunities, cannot seize them, cannot rise to the challenge. That is why the way in which we support the vulnerable here in Singapore has been changing the last few years.
46. It has been evolving in a Singaporean way and we have not found any solution in any other city in the world that tackles the challenge of stubborn inequality.
47. Our approach is exemplified by our flagship program known as Community Link (ComLink). I'd like to invite NUS High School to get plugged into the changes that we are making.
48. There is a difference in the way in which we are approaching this. What is different in this approach compared to what we've done all along in the past? Number one, it is data driven. We make good use of information in order to tackle stubborn inequality.
49. Don't let information be siloed in different places, make sure you get consent, assemble it, understand the interrelationship between different issues so that you have a better sense of how to tackle the challenges that some of our most vulnerable families face data driven.
50. Second, it is proactive, unlike the past, where people have to approach different organisations for help. Our system seeks to be more proactive, using data reaching out upstream, reaching out to families before they even come to us.
51. And with ComLink using data that we have for rental families, we reach out to them first before they come to us.
52. Third, it is more coordinated. We reach out to the families and we work through with them to understand their strengths and their needs.
53. And then we work out a progress plan that the family identifies. We work with them to identify their needs, and then develop a plan for each and every one of the 14,000 families, under our Community Link program.
54. That allows us to coordinate support from government departments from organisations like schools, charities and corporations. And that is the way in which using data, proactive approach, coordination and listening to the families.
55. We seek to tackle some of the family's very intricate challenges and I can see that many of you here in NUS High School are already embracing this proactive approach. And I'm particularly impressed by your year six students. I'll just name two of them in the interest of time.
56. I am impressed by your Year 6 students - Jamie & Dhasil.
57. Jamie created an all-in-one Diabuddy app as part of her work in a Computer Science module.
58. This app makes diabetes management user-friendly for patients, through a ‘chat-bot’ feature to answer FAQs and receive glucose levels reminders.
59. It also helps healthcare professionals to monitor their patients’ progress and provide better advice during consultations.
60. This is an excellent example of students using STEM to impact society in a meaningful way.
61. I am also heartened by Dhasil’s efforts in mentoring younger students in coding skills and inspiring them during Camps organised with the Pasir Panjang Hill Community Services Centre, and the Youth Corp Singapore.
62. As a passionate basketball player, Dhasil also shared his enthusiasm by organising a two-day basketball camp for children from Lakeside Family Services.
63. I encourage you to find your ways of contributing, as you think about your future.
Conclusion
64. To the parents, you have played an important role in your child’s learning journey. To the students, make full use of the opportunities presented to you.
65. Stay curious, keep learning and keep growing. I hope that you will continue to keep an open and innovative mindset and be inspired to build a better world.
66. I wish you all the best as you continue to pursue your studies and interest. Thank you.