Speech by Guest of Honor Mr Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Education, at Singapore Polytechnic's Graduation Ceremony

Distinguished guests and graduands

1.Good afternoon. It is my pleasure to join you on this joyous occasion. Congratulations to the graduands from the Diploma in Applied AI & Analytics and Diploma in InfoComm Security Management. Congratulations to the nine institutional medallists too!

2.To those who have supported the graduands through this journey: Family members, lecturers, mentors and friends. I invite all graduands to join me in a round of applause to show our appreciation to them. I always do this because we must always remember that we are only here because of our family, our community, and our country.

3.The AI and tech industry is now an exciting space. Most of you are probably aware of the buzz around ChatGPT, or what we call the large language model (LLM). The ability of ChatGPT and other LLMs to generate coherent text, and even code, has been a significant advancement in this field, and this triggered discussions on its challenges and opportunities.

4.At MOE and in Singapore, we have also been discussing and exploring how to leverage the new generation of technologies to enhance our teaching and learning.

5.To make the most of the opportunities that these tools bring, we must learn to adapt to them, learn to master them, and learn to use them with wisdom. For example, educators explored new ways to design different modes of assessments to gauge students' proficiency and detect uncharacteristic responses that could be generated by AI.

6.We can also use the technology to enhance our teaching methods, improve our curriculum to help our students not just to acquire baseline digital competencies, but also to master these technologies in time to come. Now, you might think that this is something that is quite common. The mood around the world is quite different from Singapore. Some fear these new technologies and even talk about whether they should ban them. But in Singapore, we believe that it is not possible for us to ban such technologies nor avoid using them. Our choice is to make sure that we master them and use them appropriately.

7.To help all of you navigate this new and exciting space, today I would like to share three reflections with you as you graduate from SP:

8.First, keep learning - graduation is not the end. In fact, graduation is but the beginning of your next phase of lifelong education and development.

9.Second, network widely, learn from others and compete as a team - Never believe that you know everything, and never believe that we can achieve everything by ourselves. Have the humility to know that we can always learn something from others.

10.Third, I hope that you will always remember that you are special, that you can always make a difference regardless of your station in life.

11.These reflections sound quite simple. My speech could have also been written by ChatGPT. But the real challenge is how we will put these into practice - something ChatGPT cannot do for us.

First, Keep Learning

12.First, keep learning. To do this, start by keeping an eye on the horizon, and if possible, beyond the horizon. The world of work is rapidly changing, and the skills that we need to succeed will also evolve. In such volatile times, it is important for us to keep scanning the horizon to see what may come up next. This will help us stay updated with our knowledge.

13.I am heartened to see the first cohort of SP's Diploma in Applied AI & Analytics, also known as DAAA, graduate today. It's quite interesting, this module would not have been possible just a few years ago. Wai Wah spoke of SP graduates numbering over 200,000. If you look at the catalogue of SP courses even 10 years ago, they would look quite different. And I'm quite sure that in 5 to 10 years' time, you will find a different set of modules by SP.

14.That is what we aspire for SP to do - to keep reinventing itself, to keep coming up with new and more relevant modules to help you, and for alumnus of SP to keep learning. This is why the DAAA was launched back in 2020, and the first batch of students graduate today, with insights into the AI sector that is ripe with opportunities.

15.It is not just good enough for SP to develop modules to meet existing demands. It is important for SP and the rest of our education system to come up with modules ahead of the demand to prepare you for the jobs of tomorrow.

16.Some of you would have met some adult learners during your time at SP. They are good role models of continuous learning for all of us. Among them, some made the leap of faith to learn new skills, some to pivot to new industries. In time to come, hopefully you will also be a lifelong learner with the courage to learn new things and even pivot to new industries if needed.

17.One example is Fahmi, a participant of SP's Data Centre Professionals course. During his six years in aviation, Fahmi always wanted to make a switch to ICT industry. However, he lacked the skills and knowledge to make the leap of faith. The Data Centre Professionals course provided Fahmi with the opportunity he needed, and he successfully made his career switch to a data centre engineer.

18.Like Fahmi and other adult learners, we should continue to keep an eye out for opportunities to keep learning. So first reflection, keep learning. Never believe that whatever you have learnt from SP will be sufficient for the rest of your life. If there's only one skill you take away from SP, it will not be content knowledge, but instead an ability to learn, learn fast, learn by yourself, unlearn and relearn throughout your life.

Second, Network Widely

19.Second, network widely. A strong professional network provides a platform for you to learn and collaborate with others. Network widely with fellow Singaporeans beyond SP, network widely with other people from other countries to keep learning. This is especially so when the world is uncertain, and where the pace of technological evolution keeps increasing.

20.Many innovative solutions and products were not developed by a single person, but a cohesive team of like-minded individuals within a strong network.

21.Joining a network is the first step, and the easiest step to take. In the course of your educational journey and career, you will have many opportunities to join various networks. This could be as near as SP's alumni network, or you can step into the world of work or other institutions to further your studies and tap on the opportunities in ASEAN and beyond.

22.But the next and more challenging, step, would be to sustain your network and contribute to the community. The strength of a network is dependent on its people. To sustain a strong network, we need people like you who are willing to contribute and share their experiences and expertise with the community.

23.I am glad to see that some of you have already started contributing to the development of the local tech community. For example, one of your cohort mates, Jay Kai has worked to inspire the next generation of youths. Inspired after attending a student-led cybersecurity bootcamp, Jay Kai worked to advance digital inclusivity and sustainability among fellow youths.

24.He provided youths with a platform to explore their interests with his team at the youth-in-tech charity, Cyber Youth Singapore. Such efforts will have long-lasting effects on Singapore's talent pool and digital future. And always remember, Singapore looks to you to network widely with people beyond Singapore.

25.The strength of the Singapore system is not just how many good people we produce every cohort. It is how many people we produce every cohort able to network with the rest of the world so that we can bridge any divide in a fractious and fragmenting world. The more dangerous, fragmented, and fractious the world is, the greater the opportunity to bring the world together and be the integrator.

26.And you can be the integrator as part of Team Singapore. Today, many people are looking to invest in Singapore to create new jobs for fellow Singaporeans. Why do they come here? Not just because we have a stable political environment, not just because we provide a safe and secure environment, but because they know that we have the quality of people that will allow them to mobilise capital, aggregate talent and protect intellectual property.

27.Your job as part of Team Singapore is to network with as many people from all around the world as possible, so that the strength of the Singapore system is not dependent just on the 5 million people that we have. I always say that we may only be 5 million Singaporeans, but we can have 40 million friends and 400 million fans, and that is the strength of the Singapore network.

Third, Make Meaningful Impact

28.Now, my third and final message today: I hope that you will remember that each and every one of you can make a special contribution in your own place. You don't have to compare with other people, but you must realise your own strengths and weaknesses. You can make a difference, even if you start small.

29.Focus on what you can control and influence with a clear understanding of your strengths and weaknesses. Look around you, see what are the challenges that we are facing, and ask yourself where you can make a contribution.

30.Some of you have already started. Your time in SP has given you many opportunities to translate the skills you have learnt into projects with tangible and immediate value to industry.

31.For example, your cohort mates Tingxiao, Choon Wei, Dylan, Levl and Jia Jun used AI to automate the processing of paper invoices, reducing the time required from 15 minutes to just 30 seconds.

32.Activants, an enterprise solution company, saw value in this project. Soon, we will see it on the market as a digital solution to boost productivity. This example illustrates the potential of technology to transform the way we live and work. To leverage information technology to transform.

33.Beyond industry, your knowledge and skills in tech could also be used to make a positive impact on our community. Take Rachel, one of your batchmates, for instance. A witness to the harmful consequences of online hate speech, Rachel acted to combat this issue.

34.Through her time in the DAAA, Rachel was able to hone her AI skills and developed 'Empathly' with her team. A natural language processing model, Empathly alerts the user when hate speech is detected before sending a comment. Empathly has since evolved into a start-up for greater reach to the community, as the team works towards their vision to create a safer online environment for all.

35.With the skills and network in your arsenal, I hope all of you will take the initiative to explore ways to make meaningful impact to fellow Singaporeans and to Singapore.

Conclusion

36.To conclude, I would like to encourage you to be the leaders when we reach SG100, 42 years from now. By then you will be over 60 years old. By then you will be the leaders of this country. I hope that you will keep learning, keep building those networks, keep making a difference so that when we reach SG100, we can all look back proudly on what you have achieved for us all and inspire us even more in the next step of our nation building. Thank you very much, well done, and congratulations.

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