RP/ POF DIALOGUE SYNOPSIS

Written by Kok Ee Heng (21SH05), Goh Zhiyu (22SH14), Han Yijia (22SH06)

Dialogue with Resource Person Mr Mark Wee 

Mr Mark Wee explained why the design sector is an important sector in Singapore. Good designs address people's needs. Designs that can empathise with people’s needs make for a successful innovative creation. He highlighted various initiatives currently in place aimed at encouraging more people to acquire design skills and to be innovative and creative. 

Dialogue with Person of Focus Mr Hong Khai Seng  

Mr Hong Khai Seng spoke about the changing nature of world problems, describing the change as becoming more “wicked”. He explained that these problems are often broad based for it affects individuals and the society at large at different levels and on various scales. Given the dynamism and evolvement of these problems, the ability to think ahead is valued. This means design solutions could evolve into one of intangible design for the unforeseeable future. 

As the founder and director of Studio Dojo, Mr Hong shared how he has helped to equip individuals and organisations with the necessary skills to design solutions to problems. Mr Hong also had participants explore the idea that one's perception of the future would affect one’s action in the present. Mr Hong highlighted the importance of considering different viewpoints in designing an effective solution to the problem at hand. 

Written by Chew Sheng Ee Ethan (21SH02), Nurin Haziqah Binte Helmy (22SH02), Han Yijia (22SH06)

Dialogue with Resource Person Dr Gog Soon Joo 

In the combined session with Innovation 3, Dr Gog explained how as society moves forward, skills such as possessing a global perspective on issues, adaptability and communication are necessary. With more people taking up gig jobs, Dr Gog examined the vulnerability of these individuals working in gig jobs, and how  Skillsfuture can be improved to achieve desired outcomes. Dr Gog also shared the significance of STEM and the Humanities in the 21st Century. 

Dialogue with Person of Focus Ms Olive Tai

Participants gained insight into the struggles, pains and the perseverance required in creating a workplace encouraging innovation. Ms Tai shared about her entrepreneurial journey which started when she was 40 years old while raising a young child at the same time. She also spoke about the importance of having courage and level-headedness to take calculated risks in the face of uncertainty, the need to have the creativity to come up with solutions and the importance of having the humility to learn. 

Ms Tai also shared the significance of "selling your dream" to the team you're working with, and allowing team members to buy into the dream which in turn allows them to find a sense of purpose in their work, and spur further innovative ideas. 

Written by Christabel Lee (21SH16), Ooi Xin Yien (22SH19), Han Yijia (22SH06)

Dialogue with Resource Person Dr Gog Soon Joo 

In the combined session with Innovation 2, Dr Gog explained how as society moves forward, skills such as possessing a global perspective on issues, adaptability and communication are necessary. With more people taking up gig jobs, Dr Gog examined the vulnerability of these individuals working in gig jobs, and how Skillsfuture can be improved to achieve the desired outcomes. Dr Gog also shared the significance of STEM and the Humanities in the 21st Century. 

Dialogue with Person of Focus  Mr Veerappan Swaminathan

We learnt how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected businesses and how the Sustainable Living Lab (SL2) has  supported companies to adapt and evolve when faced with the changing business landscape. Mr Veerappan also shared that when it comes to businesses, it is not enough to spread awareness: consumers need to be persuaded, and persuaded enough to spend money on the product. The growing role of technology in businesses was also examined. 

Written by Yeoh Kai Yue (21SH17), Chia En Qi, Christi (22SH05), Han Yijia (22SH06)

Dialogue with Resource Person Mr Adrian Chua Tsen Leong 

In the combined session with Innovation 5 Mr Adrian Chua, Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, shared his experience, the scope of his job responsibilities and his thoughts on the innovation narrative. Participants learnt how innovation drives Singapore’s transformation towards a digital economy and how technology can give Singapore the edge in terms of competitiveness in the global market. 

Mr Chua offered participants the opportunity to role-play as the Minister of Trade and Industry where as a group we were tasked to propose two policies to spur innovation in Singapore and at the same time address the problems identified and defined in the earlier part of the dialogue. 

The dialogue with Mr Chua provided participants insight, broadened perspectives as we have a better understanding the potential ASEAN holds in driving innovation in the region.

Dialogue with Person of Focus Professor Tan Sze Wee 

Through our dialogue session with Professor Tan, Assistant Chief Executive of the Enterprise Division of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), we learnt how A*STAR leverages on technology in their projects such as the setting up a health kiosk to divert and reduce long queues at polyclinics, to make processes more efficient. We learnt the importance of considering the users competency in using technology when designing solutions. 

Written by Pua May Shan Clara (21SH17), Chee Ee Ning Chloe (22SH14), Han Yijia (22SH06)

Dialogue with Resource Person Mr Adrian Chua Tsen Leong 

In the combined session with Innovation 4 Mr Adrian Chua, Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, shared about his experience and job scope as well as on the narrative of innovation. Through his presentation, we better understood the concept of innovation and how it drives Singapore’s status as a trading hub and how it provides us competitiveness in the global market. We learnt that innovation transcends science and technology and how innovation brings about novel policies that work towards tackling a certain societal, national or global issue.

We had the chance to role-play as the Minister of Trade and Industry. We came together as a group to prepare and propose two policy ideas to spur innovation in Singapore as well as provide solutions to problems we earlier identified and defined. The dialogue session ended off with a fruitful Q&A session. Mr Chua commented on the feasibility of our proposed solutions, as well as the perspective our government would take in such cases. The dialogue provided us insight, broadened our perspectives as we got a better understanding of the potential ASEAN holds with regard to driving innovation in the region, and how Singapore can preserve its status as a trading hub driven by innovation in all fields and aspects of the economy.

Dialogue with Person of Focus Ms Lim Seow Hui 

During our dialogue, Ms Lim of Enterprise SG provided us insight into the innovation and startup community in Singapore. She explained how Enterprise SH focuses on a myriad of methods to support businesses at varying stages of their innovation journey. This ranged from connecting innovators with investors or accelerators based globally to events that encourage innovators from all over Singapore to showcase their passion and potential for creation. 

We learnt more about the different enterprises and challenges they face when growing their startups in industries such as deeptech, food, technology, etc. With new knowledge and perspective on how Singapore transformed to become the most innovative country in the Asia Pacific, we appreciated how our expanding startup ecosystem continues to spur innovation in our country. Overall, we have gained a greater appreciation for the startup scene in Singapore and the efforts of ESG to support innovators in their journey. 

Written by Matthew Biju George (21SH17), Han Yijia (22SH06)      

Dialogue with Resource Person Mr Tan Chee Hau 

Mr Tan Chee Hau, Director for Planning & Prioritisation with the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office, started the dialogue session by sharing his thoughts and opinions on the topic of environmental sustainability and how a small country like Singapore could become a leader in the different aspects of sustainability through the use of innovative technologies. Mr Tan also shared  the trade-offs between economic development and preserving the natural environment. Mr Tan also broached on the topic of energy security and Carbon Neutrality where participants shared their views on whether a carbon-neutral society could be achieved in our lifetime. Lastly, the conversation ended off with a discussion on the possible concerns and downsides of technology on the elderly, given Singapore's rapid ageing population. 

Throughout the session, Mr Tan emphasised the importance of optimism, shared tips how to be optimistic and to think on the positive side, encouraging us to dream big and inspire ourselves to innovate or achieve greater goals. After all, we miss 100 percent of the shots we do not take.

Dialogue with Person of Focus Mr Kwok Jia Chuan 

Mr Kwok examined the different challenges faced when implementing government policies, and how we can move towards tackling these problems. Another topic discussed was what it takes to become successful innovators and how we can better achieve our goals through innovation. Mr Kwok highlighted the significance of failure and the importance of collaboration in the context of innovation. Mr Kwok also explored how climate change can be addressed using innovation and Singapore's contribution towards the fight against climate change.  

Written by Sun Xinyang (21SH15), Choong Dzeroun (22SH20), Yang Yifan (21SH01)

Dialogue with Resource Person Mr Mark Wee 

Mr Wee shared that the design sector is growing in importance in Singapore. He explained how design is the stepping stone towards any innovative activities. Singapore’s Design Council sits under trade and industry and we are one of few countries in the world to have such a unique arrangement. This points to how Singapore views the aesthetic value of designs as it emphasises its position as an economic booster at the same time. 

Various efforts have been made to raise awareness on the usefulness of design when coming up with solutions and to introduce training to enable individuals to acquire design skillsets. Mr Wee shared what good designs mean: good designs are empathetic to the needs of the target group.

Dialogue with Person of Focus Mr Zigg Rafit 

Although design has been quite an important part of Singapore’s economy, it is still not fully expanded and not viewed as a viable industry, in spite of the greater emphasis placed by the Singapore government in recent years. 

Mr Zigg Rafit explained why design might not have 'fully expanded and has not been viewed as a viable industry'. Although there are many factors, it is mainly due to Singaporeans' perception of what constitutes success; Singaporeans are kiasu, risk-averse and therefore inclined towards tried-and-tested methods that guarantee success instead of experimenting methods that could lead to what is viewed as failure. Design is aesthetic and recent, and thus a not viewed as a tried and tested method to success. 

In recent years various measures have been undertaken to cultivate such talents, including initiatives and programmes at the school level. Mr Rafit shared that while developing creativity is important, it is also important to increase designers awareness of design ethics. 

Written by Yong Lok Qing (21SH18), Ng Zi Shuen (22SH15), Yang Yifan (21SH01)

Dialogue with Resource Person Mr Kelvin Ang 

As Director of URA, Mr Kelvin Ang shared his thoughts and views on a wide range of questions posed by the student participants including the conservation of heritage buildings in Singapore. One major idea brought forth by Mr Ang is the view of many people that conservation or preservation of built heritage is about keeping the building or not destroying it rather than giving it a new life or purpose. Mr Ang encouraged us to instead view these building through new lens when considering the concept of heritage. This prompted discussion how we can leverage on technology and innovation to transform heritage buildings into something new, to serve a new purpose. At the same time, we should also understand the values behind preserving heritage, as well as the historical significance these buildings embody. 

Participants pondered over these few questions posed by Mr Ang: Can we afford to keep growing and developing based on demolishing and rebuilding? Or is refurbishing better? Can we afford the carbon emissions generated from tearing the building down if our nation is moving towards the goal of zero carbon? These questions also tie in to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals which Singapore has taken part in. Lastly, he brought up one of the limitations of keeping cultural sites in Singapore relevant to young people -- while specialty shops in some of the heritage sites in Singapore are retained, the day to day shops are gone, gearing the heritage site towards tourism. 

Dialogue with Person of Focus Ms Stella Wee 

We gained insights from Ms Stella sharing about the initiatives of youths to preserve culture and encourage more active participation in cultural activities. One such example she shared was the Hari Raya bazaar that had modern elements integrated into the traditional food and beverage, so as to attract more young people to participate. Even with an increase in number of youth participants, the older generation involved in the festival as food stall owners were not fully supportive of the idea of creating "hipster" fusion traditional food, reflecting the limitations of the initiative to attract the attention of the youth by making traditional cuisine "more relatable" to the youths. This case study served as an inspiration for the student participants to create their story for the deliverables.

Written by Ellery Khoo (21SH14),  Jovita Lee Jia En (22SH13), Yang Yifan (21SH01)

Dialogue with Resource Person Ms Chan Chi Ling 

Our dialogue session started with Ms Chan sharing more about herself, her work, her travel experiences and how they have shaped her work. Ms Chan made a distinction between healthspan and lifespan, highlighting how and why we should and can achieve a better healthspan. 

Ms Chan's Q&A session was informative and engaging. We took the opportunity to ask Ms Chan questions relating to our strategic area “Role modelling creativity and inventiveness, as well as an entrepreneurial mindset”. Ms Chan shared that a goal we should have is not to learn better but to ask better questions. We also learnt that the best way to cultivate creativity and an entrepreneurial mindset is to try out new experiences and learn from the obstacles we face. Additionally, we also learnt about how GovTech nurtures creativity and inventiveness and an entrepreneurial mindset in their employees.

Dialogue with Person of Focus Ms Penny Leng  

Ms Penny Leng started her sharing by exploring what the concept of innovation is. We explored the many definitions of innovation, with each definition brought forward by the respective student participants. Thereafter Ms Leng shared her own idea of what innovation is, explaining that she views innovation as having curiosity, creativity and to be imaginative and that it is best cultivated if we are passionate about what we do. 

We had an exciting Q&A segment. Ms Leng welcomed questions from the participants. We learnt more about the ways AirBnB demonstrated innovation during the COVID-19 pandemic when faced with declining business. Following that, Ms Leng examined the importance of doing Values-in-action (VIA) activities. She explained how VIA would help us to broaden our perspectives and cultivate gratitude by getting to know the community around us.  

Written by Yang Yifan ( 21SH01), Anandita Bora (22SH19)

Dialogue with Resource Person Ms Chan Chi Ling 

Ms Chan started her sharing with a brief introduction of her education pathways, how she entered the public service under GovTech, and that her first exposure to the ideas of innovation was through her job scope where there was a constant challenge to status quo. She shared how her department stepped up, designing new ways to develop technology in the fight against COVID-19. She shared her view on how innovation is ubiquitous, and is all around us. 

On personal innovation and national innovation, Ms Chan suggested the need for a fine balance between the two, as ultimately the Singapore government has to fulfil its role of driving progress in industries. Ultimately there will be sunrise industries the government wants future generations of Singaporeans to gear towards, and hence requires innovation that drives development. Yet, the government is still aiming to get Singaporeans to develop innovative ideas they are interested in, such as through Hackathon projects organised by GovTech, where the officials select 2-3 projects annually and test it out, in a bid to get Singaporeans to constantly innovate. 

Dialogue with Person of Focus Ms Penny Chan 

In contrast to Ms Chan's role in the public sector, Ms Leng's presented a corporate perspective point of view with both dialogues still centered on the same stem of "survival". According to Ms Leng, innovation in the basis of survival for firms and that firms need to innovate to stay relevant. Innovation is about creativity and it is the ability to imagine and create that differentiates human beings from robots. 

Ms Leng shared her belief that the best avenue for youths to delve into innovation is through doing VIA projects where imagination is needed to create solutions for the identified problem at hand.  Ms Leng hopes that the VIA journey will inspire more young people to be more adventurous, striving to learn more. She highlights the importance of possessing a good attitude as instrumental to successful innovation. 

Written by Yu Lin Li (21SH05), Lin Kejun (22SH20),  Yang Yifan (21SH01)

Dialogue with Resource Person Dr Adrian Kuah

Dr Adrian Kuah addressed questions relating to three different aspects during our dialogue -- geopolitical, socio economic and education. He examined the barriers of innovation which included money, time, space and mindset. Dr Kuah's questions on the measures and policies currently in place aimed at encouraging innovation probed us to think deeper about the effectiveness of the measures. Throughout the dialogue session, we gained new insights about innovation and are thankful for this opportunity to converse with Dr Kuah. 

 Dialogue with Person of Focus Ms Penny Leng 

As Ms Penny Leng shared her knowledge on the events of today’s world, she incorporated the idea of innovation as a solution to current problems. Ms Leng shared how to breakdown the barriers of limitation such as the lack of space to innovate and the fear of failure. Some valuable actions include taking time off to introspect and reflect, and stepping out from our comfort zones to understand the problems of the world. Following that, Ms Leng discussed some things to keep in mind when coming up with new ideas. Through examples showcased in Airbnb’s COVID-19 journey, we learnt that businesses need to stay relevant and meet the needs of customers in order to survive in these uncertain times. We learnt that the act of innovating need not remain a dream but rather we can leverage on innovation to address problems in our society, as we come up with creative solutions, and most importantly, implement the solution. Ms Leng encouraged to keep up our good attitude,  to have conviction and passion for what we do, to stay resilient even in the face of challenges. 

Written by Benjamin Foo Wei Hong (21SH12), Chong Xin Yu (22SH18), Yang Yifan (21SH01)

Dialogue with Resource Person Dr Adrian Kuah

In securing our future using innovation, we can no longer use the type of innovation that was used in the past; the nature of innovation has to change. In the past, innovation was done in a ‘top-down’ manner where it was concentrated in a few hands (policy makers, scientists etc.) and a few sectors – namely STEM. Now, unanticipated events and challenges involve a complex and messy interplay of factors that require an interdisciplinary approach. In modern societies, including Singapore, space needs to be given for different minds to come together, step out of their comfort zone and spring new ideas (collectively, as an interdisciplinary team) to address future challenges. These ideas must be infused with creativity and ingenuity, as technical solutions alone are no longer enough to solve tomorrow’s problems. A paradigm shift in the way we teach our future generations is required as the current educational model seems to produce graduates that are only destined to fit into pre-determined and conventional moulds (doctors, lawyers, engineers); our future needs people who are comfortable with venturing into the unknown, and able to think boldly, creatively and have aspirations. Innovation will involve technology, and when advancing technology, we cannot neglect some of the ethical issues it can bring about, such as enhanced inequality and poverty. More broadly, normative issues must be considered alongside innovation. A change in perception in terms of how we view innovation is also required. Innovation is not only about attracting Big Tech to Singapore. Areas like agriculture, politics, culture and the Arts scene provide untapped potential for vast innovation. 

Dialogue with Person of Focus Ms Penny Leng 

Innovation is not just a dream. Innovation is taking that creative idea and implementing it to make change to communities, with an intention to make a difference in an area. As we progress in society today, we want and value innovation that is people-centred. In that sense, that sets innovation apart from something that is impossible. Innovation often requires one to adapt, and especially so in unforeseen circumstances. Innovation often springs out like an unexpected spout of water. Drawing from Airbnb's experience, in response to the massive losses tour guides suffered from the Covid-19 pandemic, an innovative idea of bringing tourists on ‘online experiences’ sprung up. Hence, innovation is often not completely baseless. It is about real-world problem solving, where we adapt and react to the always-changing circumstances in our world today. While innovation is valued, the fast paced advancement of technology in innovation is not often perceived as positive. People worry about parts of society falling behind, the infringement of privacy, and how technology advancements may perpetuate the lack of inclusivity. 

With all these challenges at hand, technology is outpacing laws and policies. Data is the biggest currency today, and data collecting technologies are becoming more skilled in making data collection less obvious, causing policies to be unable to accurately pinpoint where data is channeled to and how it will be used. Hence, innovation needs to be used accurately and ethically, such that it would benefit society as a whole.