MINISTER’S SPEECH AT THE 43RD INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS SINGAPORE (IES) ANNUAL DINNER & DANCE ON FRIDAY 11 SEPTEMBER 2009, 8:15PM, AT THE ISLAND BALLROOM, SHANGRI-LA HOTEL

Engineer Lee Bee Wah, President, The Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES),

IES Members,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good evening. It gives me great pleasure to join you this evening to celebrate the 43rd anniversary of the IES.

Engineering is important to the Singapore Economy

Engineering has been a crucial enabler for the growth and development of Singapore’s economy. From low-end commerce, we have rapidly industrialized by pursuing technology-intensive sectors such as chemicals, electronics, engineering design, and precision engineering to bring us to where we are today. All this has been possible because of capable engineering talent in Singapore.

In this regard, IES has played an important role over the past 43 years. You have promoted the professionalism of engineering, advanced the continuous development of engineers, and raised the profile of the profession in Singapore. You have also strived to meet the needs of engineers here via various initiatives, and have been an active voice for engineers.

In light of the economic downtown, IES has responded very quickly. Your training arm, the IESAcademy, was the first training provider to provide industry-recognized courses with SPUR (Skills Programme for Upgrading for Resilience) Funding of up to 90% of the course fees. You also formed the “IES Angels Roundtable”, a unique initiative that serves as a platform where inventors and investors can meet and network, thereby creating investment opportunities in promising start-ups.

Engineering will continue to play an important and vital role in our economic growth. Even as the services sector is expected to increase its share of GDP, the manufacturing sector, which continues to be technology-intensive, will remain a key pillar of the economy. Looking ahead, we will also be focusing on innovation, knowledge and R&D in new and emerging sectors such as urban solutions, and clean energy. The dominance of technology in our economy will require our future workforce to have a firm grounding in science & technology (S&T) and engineering in order to drive innovation and sustain strong economic growth.

Declining Interest in Engineering needs to be addressed

We must acknowledge, however, that S&T courses, in particular, engineering have become less popular in recent years. Student preferences have shifted and the institutions of higher learning (IHLs) are finding it increasingly difficult to attract students to these courses. Singapore is not alone in this global trend. Globally, there is a shortage of S&T talent especially in developed countries such as the US, Germany and Japan. However, given our small size, we are able to recognize this early and implement measures to mitigate this decline more quickly and in a more holistic fashion.

Some of these measures are already ongoing. For example, we are putting in place additional infrastructure. The fourth publicly funded university is set to open in 2011 and will offer programmes in Engineering and Applied Science; Business and Information Technology; and Architecture and Design. At the pre-tertiary level, the Ministry of Education (MOE) will open the School of Science and Technology in 2010 to provide capable students with a strong foundation in both academic and applied learning. This school will complement the NUS High School of Mathematics and Science.

We are also re-designing current engineering courses. NUS and NTU have embarked on a review of the engineering curriculum to facilitate more versatile and interesting programmes. Some of these include having more double-major programmes to cater to diverse interests as well as exchange programmes, and overseas internships to develop a more global orientation for our engineers.

Professional associations such as the IES play an important role in fostering close collaboration between yourselves and the IHLs to ensure that engineering courses continue to stay relevant to our changing industry sectors. Additionally, to better profile engineering careers to our students, industry players related to IES could also consider engaging students through attachments, internships or working stints in your organizations or engineering-related R&D projects, such that they acquire a real world experience of an engineering career. This will allow them to connect what they learn conceptually with practical application, which will help to pique their interests in engineering careers.

Beyond providing infrastructure, and redesigning engineering courses, we also need to correct misperceptions about engineering, and expose students to the real possibilities that engineering has to offer. In this regard, I would like to note the efforts of a group of engineers from the private sector that have come together to engage our youth. Calling themselves ‘Creators of Tomorrow’, they have started a movement to dispel the myth that engineering is boring and expose youths to the creative possibilities in the field. Recently, they organized a visit for 80 students from 17 secondary schools to Google Singapore. Students got a first hand experience of the engineering work behind Google. More visits are being planned and also career forums featuring distinguished speakers.

I note also that, this year, IES will be hosting some 700 local and overseas delegates for the 27th Conference of the ASEAN Federation of Engineering Organizations, with the theme “Engineering for Sustainable Development”. This is yet another opportunity to profile the state and progress of engineering in Singapore to a wider audience.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I commend the work that IES has done thus far in developing and building a strong engineering base here in Singapore. I am confident that IES will continue to proactively evolve with the times and give us that strong technology edge, for the next stage of our growth.

I congratulate you on your 43rd anniversary and wish all of you here a very pleasant evening.

Thank you.