Your Excellency, Mr. Scott Wightman, British High Commissioner to Singapore,

Sir James Dyson, Founder and Chief Engineer at Dyson Ltd,

Mr. Jim Rowan, Chief Operating Officer at Dyson Ltd,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good afternoon.

INTRODUCTION

1.                   I am delighted to join you today to celebrate the opening of Dyson’s new Singapore Technology Centre.  Let me first congratulate Sir James, Jim, and the Dyson team on this significant milestone.

2.                   This new Centre will work with Dyson’s headquarters in Malmesbury, England, to achieve a 24-hour research & development (R&D) cycle and accelerate the company’s R&D efforts.  It will house several important Dyson facilities:

•        The Global Technology Centre of Excellence (CoE), which will lead downstream R&D for new product categories and Internet-of-Things (IoT) technologies to support the company’s move into the Smart Homes market; as well as
  
•        The Advanced Supply Chain Control Tower, which will use analytics to intelligently manage Dyson’s global supply chain.

A SUCCESSFUL PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN DYSON AND SINGAPORE

3.                   Dyson and Singapore have enjoyed a strong partnership since 2007, when Dyson established its Global Headquarters for Manufacturing & Operations Control here.  Today, Dyson employs over 1,000 employees in Singapore, with competencies in Research, Design and Development, Supply Chain Management, and Advanced Manufacturing.  During my tour of this new Centre earlier today, I met a number of young engineers who are behind Dyson’s innovations.  I was pleased to learn that the Singapore team was closely involved in the development of Dyson’s game-changing technologies and products, including the Digital Motor, bladeless fan, and the recently launched SuperSonic hairdryer.  

4.                   The success of this partnership is testament to the strong alignment between Dyson’s ambition to be a global technology leader, and Singapore’s vision of developing an innovation-led economy.

POSITIONING SINGAPORE TO BE AN INNOVATION-LED ECONOMY

5.                   The government is committed to ensure that our economy remains well-positioned to seize future opportunities amidst significant shifts in the global economy and disruptive technological developments.  To this end, we convened the Committee on the Future Economy (CFE) in 2016, to envision and implement new pathways for Singapore’s economic development.  The CFE report was recently launched after extensive consultations with industry leaders and various other stakeholders.  I would like to take this opportunity to express our deep appreciation for Dyson’s active and valuable contributions to the CFE process, in particular Jim who participated in the CFE Sub Committee on Future Growth Markets and Industries.

6.                   In line with the CFE recommendations, we will continue to work with our partners to build deep capabilities in our people and our enterprise eco-system to support innovation and internationalisation.  These efforts will better position our enterprises to seize opportunities in growth sectors such as Advanced Manufacturing and the Digital Economy, as well as create good job opportunities for our people.

7.                   Close collaboration between the public and private sectors, and within the private sector, is key to this effort.  Indeed, our partnership with Dyson is a good example of how we are working closely with industry partners.  In addition to this new Centre, Dyson will also be establishing its Advanced Manufacturing Team in Singapore to implement Industrial IoT technologies, both within Dyson’s manufacturing facilities in Singapore as well as the region.  Collectively, Dyson’s new Centre, with the Global Technology Centre of Excellence and Advanced Supply Chain Control Tower, as well as the Advanced Manufacturing Team, will create an additional 190 jobs.  These include 160 positions for research scientists and engineers (RSEs), over the next 5 years.   

BUILDING AN INDUSTRY-READY STEM TALENT POOL

8.                   As part of our efforts to position Singapore as an innovation-led economy and build deep capabilities, we also need to equip our people with deep knowledge and expertise in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), and ensure that they are industry-ready.

9.                  We start from a position of strength. Singapore has consistently been a top performer in various international rankings that measure students’ competencies in Mathematics and Science.  In 2016, our local universities produced over 6,700 Bachelors’ graduates in the fields of Computing, Engineering and Science.

10.                We must build on these strengths, and we can better prepare our young engineers to meet the needs of the industry.  This means providing them with opportunities to work on real-life engineering problems and gain practical experience.  

11.                I am therefore pleased that Dyson has been investing in our young talent through its on-the-job training programmes.  One example is Mr. Teo Boon Sheng.  He graduated from the Nanyang Technological University in 2012 and is an Advanced Design Engineer with Dyson.  Boon Sheng is part of Dyson’s Global Pioneers Programme, which aims to groom future leaders for the company.  This programme provided Boon Sheng with the opportunity to take on new roles outside his core responsibilities.  He is currently working on a project which involves utilizing market insights and feedback to develop strategies for marketing campaigns.  Boon Sheng was also given the opportunity to spend some time at Dyson’s Malmesbury campus in England, where he was involved in various R&D projects.  Such opportunities provide invaluable exposure and experience for our young engineers. 

CONCLUSION

12.                In closing, let me again congratulate the Dyson team on the opening of this new Centre.  We value the role you play as an innovation-led enterprise, and look forward to deepening our partnership as Singapore charts its next phase of growth.  We wish you the very best.  Thank you.