Prof Shih Choon Fong, President, National University of Singapore

Excellencies

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

It gives me great pleasure to join you this morning at the opening ceremony of the combined International Conference on Materials for Advanced Technologies (ICMAT 2003) and International Union of Materials Research Societies – International Conference in Asia (IUMRS-ICA 2003). I would like especially to extend a warm welcome to the many international participants who are here with us.

Many of you would know that the ICMAT conferences are biennial events held in Singapore every other July. Although this year’s conference had to be postponed due to the SARS outbreak, I am happy that the international materials science community has responded well. More than 1,200 delegates will be attending the conference this week and delivering over 2,500 papers. (There is also an exhibition by some 50 materials science vendors.) Thank you for your hearty response and support.

Developments in materials science and engineering are crucial for Singapore’s sustained role as a hub for high-value manufacturing, and for our economic growth and security. Today, this goes well beyond traditional considerations of cements, alloys and plastics. It includes new, promising areas of growth, such as in nanomaterials and nanodevices, with a potential impact on all areas of life, ranging from biotechnology and communications to infrastructure and IT.

In some ways this future is already with us. ‘Intelligent’ materials today enable diverse technologies to respond dynamically to changes in the environment. New materials will be synthesised atom by atom. The number of possible combinations of atomic assemblies to achieve new structures and properties is seemingly endless, with profound and incalculable influence on economies and societies.

Singapore is engaging robustly in the materials science research, as we position ourselves for the global, knowledge-driven economy, and for our next phase of development as a society. The research institutes established by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) have rapidly established themselves as greenhouses for cutting-edge research. Our universities offer a range of materials science and engineering courses, providing a solid foundation at both undergraduate and advanced levels. And groups such as the Materials Research Society of Singapore (MRSS) fill a critical role by serving as a forum for scientists to interact, and raising the profile of materials research generally.

Our strategy for creating a research and technology-driven economy is fundamentally an open one. If there’s one thing obvious about the research enterprise, it’s that you cannot go it alone. The frontiers of knowledge, in almost all fields of scientific endeavour, are being pushed through webs of linkages between research institutions and universities, and between clusters of researchers spanning the globe. Singapore’s research enterprise is therefore consciously plugged into the best global networks in each field. It is also completely open to global talent.

We are also consciously plugging the links between publicly-funded research and private industry, taking advantage of the large and growing concentration of high-end, global manufacturing operations that are based in Singapore. It is not a strategy of focusing on downstream research as such. What we want to do is to encourage the seeding of new ideas within our publicly funded research establishments that are informed by the future needs of global industry. We also want to get maximum synergy between R&D efforts in private industry and the publicly-funded sector.

As a small country, this allows us to develop deep pools of research expertise. By tapping into global networks and leveraging on private industry, we develop a depth and critical mass of expertise that is necessary to succeed.

Education is ultimately where our future is shaped. We have to prepare our young for a world very different from what their parents have known. A world where Singapore will make its mark not just by being competent and efficient, but by developing new ideas and innovative practices.

We have done well in the last three decades in producing a skilled and disciplined workforce. That’s still a key asset, with value for many years yet for Singapore. But others are catching up, most especially in China and India. They will do what we do, and in some areas have already surpassed us. Singapore has to move up the curve, and discover new curves for itself, to remain a leading Asian city, a hub for knowledge and enterprise.

Science and technology will be one of our key competitive strengths. Fortunately, standards of scholastic achievement in mathematics and science remain high in Singapore schools - by most international assessments among the highest in the world. Our students have a passion for science, a real advantage as we move forward as a country. But to develop the sustained capabilities in research and innovation that we need for the future, we are making significant shifts in education.

In this next phase of development in education, we are seeking to enthuse our young in experimentation, and encourage independent thought and discovery. We want to provide more space for students with a passion for something, to take it seriously and pursue it outside the regular curriculum. We are opening up new, more diversified pathways in education, to spur on those with special talents in the sciences, in the arts and sports.

But more important than what our students learn is how they learn. We must encourage our students to question things from young, and approach knowledge sceptically. They must be unafraid of making mistakes as they search for answers and solutions. They have to understand what every researcher knows - that almost all new discoveries and every major innovation comes after numerous false starts and dead ends.

We are also placing greater emphasis in our schools and universities on multi-disciplinary approaches to learning. Just about every serious scientist I meet tells me how important it is that we get this right from young, and not have our students narrow their interests too early. We have to develop amongst our young a breadth of knowledge, and more importantly an intellectual agility - the ability to think hard not just about their chosen areas of specialisation but about the intersections between disciplines, to draw insights from seemingly different fields, and to collaborate with people with different areas of expertise.

Indeed, the Public Lectures by the two Nobel Laureates at this event - Professor Sir Harry Kroto’s lecture on what he hypothetically calls the Nanospace Odyssey, and Professor Klaus von Klitzing on the Quantum Hall Effect, themselves illustrate the exciting new bursts of knowledge coming out of the connections between scientific disciplines, and with applications that also extend far and wide. I am glad that the ICMAT Conferences have continued the practice of organising lectures by outstanding scientists, not only for conference delegates but also for students in our junior colleges. There will be many young minds inspired.

Finally, let me wish all participants a fruitful week ahead. Besides the deliberations during the conference sessions, I am sure that many informal discussions will take place that may lead to new collaborations, and new friendships. To our international guests, I hope that you will find interesting the future directions being taken by our research institutions and industries, and above all, that you enjoy your stay here. I wish you all a meaningful and inspiring week.

It is now my pleasure to declare the International Conference on Materials for Advanced Technologies 2003 and International Union of Materials Research Societies – International Conference in Asia (IUMRS-ICA 2003) open.

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