The Greek philosopher Heraclitus once said, "Nothing endures but change." This is another way of saying, "Change is the only constant". Throughout history, the goals of education have changed in tandem with changes in society itself. The world today is one of rapid technological advances and intense competition in the global marketplace. Individuals, firms and even nations, depend on innovation as an instrument for survival. The generation of new ideas and new ways of doing things are the life buoys that will keep our heads above water, especially in the light of the economic crisis flooding our region.  

Innovation has to come from all levels of an organisation. It is no longer the sole prerogative of employers to make decisions concerning the firm. Every worker must participate in problem solving and decision-making. You may ask, "Why should an employee at the bottom of the organisational chain have a say in the running of the firm?" The fact is the very people at the frontline have the greatest contact with the customer base and are therefore best positioned to meet and anticipate their needs. In this age of rapid changes, if one waited for the customer feedback to filter through the chain of command to the man at the top, and then to slowly filter back down as commands from the man at the top to the employee in the field, a golden business opportunity might well have been lost.  

How do we begin to change the mindset of people so that they will be prepared and equipped to innovate in whatever area they work in, at whatever level? Education is one such place where we must begin the change.  

In his opening speech at the 7^th International Conference on Thinking last year, our Prime Minister elucidated the concept of ‘Thinking Schools, Learning Nation’. This is a vision for a total learning environment, where schools are crucibles for questioning and searching, and where the people share a passion for life-long learning that will enable our country to keep constantly abreast of new knowledge and skills, and hence, constantly ahead of our competitors.

  To realise this vision of ‘Thinking Schools, Learning Nation’, the Ministry of Education has launched several new initiatives. These include the reinforcement of National Education, a masterplan for Information Technology in Education and a major review of the school curriculum to allow for the greater emphasis on thinking skills and creativity. To facilitate these initiatives, we have started to reduce content learning in each subject taught. Focus will also be given to the development of skills for higher order thinking, effective communication and teamwork.

  The cultivation of skills vital for a world class workforce of the future necessitates changes beyond the simple rewriting of the school curriculum. Mindsets have to change as well. Traditional attitudes and perceptions will have to go and roles redefined. Passive listening will have to make way for active learning. There will have to be a shift from teacher-centred delivery to pupil participation in the learning process. Solitary efforts will be replaced by team effort. Compartmentalising of knowledge into distinct subject areas will no longer do; instead, the approach needs to be cross disciplinary and multi-disciplinary, so that the system will be viewed as a whole. 

The new emphasis on critical and creative thinking embodies the new approach to learning and application of knowledge to problem solving. The Thinking Programme in schools aims to help students acquire the core thinking skills, and help them apply these skills both in the learning of content subjects and in real-life decision-making and problem-solving situations. Students are taught how to gather information, organise, analyse and evaluate information. They are encouraged to be flexible and original in their thinking and to generate as many ideas as possible. They are shown how unrelated stimuli could trigger new ideas and open new lines of thinking. They are also encouraged to question established ideas and practices, in order to explore new possibilities and alternatives.

Education does not end with graduation from school. In fact, education is a continuum, continuing throughout one’s life. A ‘Learning Nation’ means learning and innovation at all levels of society. Every individual, every worker has a responsibility to continuously upgrade his knowledge and skills throughout his working life. Every organisation has a part to play in recognising that every individual, regardless of status, has a contribution to make to improve the organisation, through training, retraining and innovation. Furthermore, the ‘Learning Nation’ concept also means rallying organisations to be more involved in the education of our young as part of this total learning environment philosophy we are advocating. In the United States of America, for example, there are many ‘educational outreach’ programmes that organisations have to offer students opportunities for hands-on experience. Beyond providing students with first-hand experience, such industry outreach programmes can well reap the benefits of students’ creativity and ideas.

I see the Society of Interior Designers as playing a useful role in our vision of ‘Thinking Schools, Learning Nation’. I have noted the community project in which your Society collaborated with the Ministry of Environment. This was the one where design students and members of the Society came up with interesting designs for the upgrading of public toilets at the Serangoon Garden market. I applaud such collaborative efforts and would encourage more of them. Your Society newsletter is a good way of keeping your members updated on the latest innovations in your field of expertise and related industries. Design competitions open to both practising members and budding students would be both challenging and enriching for all involved. I have also noted your Society’s re-training programmes, public seminars, and the granting of loans for the purpose of further research in your field of interior design. Your close working relationship with the LA SALLE-SIA College of the Arts, the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and Temasek Polytechnic is commendable and I would encourage more organisations to follow your lead.

The Creative Learning Centre Competition is timely. With all the changes going on around us, it is commendable that your Society has embarked on this competition to see how the physical learning environment can be designed so as to become an optimal environment for the learning and creative process. Some people told me this would mean a learning environment that has a wide array of modular learning islands with computer simulation capabilities and other tools. I do not know if there is or ever will be a perfect solution. But the possibilities abound, if left to our imagination. Thus, I look forward to viewing the results of the competition.

I began this speech with a 2500-year-old quote from a Greek philosopher. I shall end with a more recent one, from American philosopher and educator John Dewey. Dewey said, "Education is not preparation for life, education is life itself." In a world of continual and unexpected changes, how true this statement has become.