Institute of Policy Studies

DIALOGUE: Singapore, Asia and the World: In conversation with Ambassador Chan Heng Chee

00.00 mins - Speaker: Professor Chan Heng Chee, Ambassador-at-Large, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Chairman, Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities, Singapore University of Technology and Design

0:21:00 mins - Q&A chaired by Ms Zuraidah Ibrahim, Senior Editor, South China Morning Post

Date: 7 October 2017

Time: 11.30 am - 2.30 pm

Venue: Orchard Hotel Singapore, Ballroom 2

Can Singapore Fall? As a young nation, we have focused our energies on building a strong, independent, and sovereign Singapore. However, after decades of unprecedented growth and prosperity, we now have to guard against the danger of complacency, ossification, and decline. It is timely to contemplate the possibility of Singapore’s failure.

“The Accidental Nation”, Mr Lim’s first lecture, will explore the circumstances of Singapore’s unexpected independence, and the logic of geography as a key factor for Singapore’s viability. It will also consider the shared values that we would need to bring together the people and society, so as to build an honourable, united, and flourishing home and country.

00.00 mins - Opening Remarks: Mr Janadas Devan, Director IPS

04.59 mins - Speaker: Mr Lim Siong Guan, 4th IPS Nathan Fellow

0:57:11 mins - Q&A chaired by Professor Tan Tai Yong, President & Professor of Humanities (History), Yale-NUS College

Date: 12 September 2017

Time 6.00 pm to 7.30 pm

Venue: Auditorium, Shaw Foundation Alumni House, The National University of Singapore

Panel IV: The Future Education Landscape

Speakers:

03:00 mins - Dr Lim Lai Cheng

Executive Director, SMU Academy

17:02 mins - Dr Tay Hui Yong

Lecturer, Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, National Institute of Education

30:01 mins - Mr Khairul Rusydi

Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Reactor

43:35 mins - Q&A chaired by Mr Leonard Lim

Research Associate, Institute of Policy Studies

Date: 31 August 2017

Time: 4.00 am - 5.30 pm

Venue: Ballroom 3, Orchard Hotel Singapore

Panel III: Stress in Schools - Who's to Blame?

Speakers:

07:15 mins - Professor Paulin Straughan

Dean of Students & Professor of Sociology (Practice), School of Social Sciences, Singapore Management University

31:46 mins - Dr Cheung Hoi Shan

Assistant Professor, Division of Social Sciences, Yale-NUS College

and

Research Committee Member, Singapore Children’s Society

41:43 mins - Dr Dennis Kom

Lead Specialist & Assistant Director (Supporting Students), Student Development Curriculum Division, Guidance Branch, Ministry of Education

55:50 mins - Q&A chaired by Mdm Rahayu Buang

Chief Executive Officer, Yayasan MENDAKI

Date: 31 August 2017

Time: 2.00 pm - 3.30 pm

Venue: Ballroom 3, Orchard Hotel Singapore

Panel II: Curriculum Emphases and Tuition - What needs to Change?

Speakers:

10:54 mins - Mrs Carmee Lim

Founder & President, Aoede Music Enterprise

and

Mentor Principal, MindChamps Holdings

25:50 mins - Dr Suzanne Choo

Assistant Professor, English Language & Literature, National Institute of Education

39:00 mins - Mr Tong Yee

Director & Teacher, School of Thought Learning Centre Pte Ltd

51:54 mins - Q&A chaired by Dr Dennis Kwek

Assistant Dean, Research Communications, Office of Education Research, National Institute of Education

Date: 31 August 2017

Time: 11.30 am - 1.00 pm

Venue: Ballroom 3, Orchard Hotel Singapore

00:00 mins - Opening Remarks & Presentation by Dr Mathew Mathews

Panel 1: Every School a Good School - Myth or Reality?

Speakers:

27:38 mins - Ms Genevieve Chye

Divisional Director, Engagement and Research Division, Communications and Engagement Group,Ministry of Education

43:00 mins - Associate Professor Jason Tan

Policy and Leadership Studies, National Institute of Education

59:49 mins - Mr John Yap

Chairman, School Advisory Committee, Temasek Primary School

1:21:08 mins - Ms Aidaroyani Adam

Director, Education and Research Policy, Yayasan MENDAKI

and

Member, School Advisory Committee, Henry Park Primary School

1:35:37 mins - Q&A chaired by Associate Professor Tan Ern Ser

Department of Sociology, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore

Society and Identity

Society and Identity in Singapore is as amorphous as it is ambiguous in our context, yet has possibly the biggest impact on our future. How do we maintain the Singapore Dream as a purposeful aspiration for all Singaporeans amidst the plurality of, at times, competing ambitions? Three issues will be discussed – firstly, the strengthening of a cohesive diversity which underpins the Singaporean Identity; secondly, improving social mobility and a culture of egalitarianism; thirdly, embracing a more collaborative style of governance as we transition into the next fifty years of our independence.

0:10 mins - Speaker: Mr Ho Kwon Ping, 2014/15 IPS Nathan Fellow

51:26 mins - Q&A chaired by Mr Janadas Devan, Director, Institute of Policy Studies

Date: 9 April 2015

Time: 6.00 pm - 7.45pm

Venue: Theatre, University Cultural Centre

Demography and Family

Security is discussed through the four dimensions of external, internal, civil and societal security, and policies are examined in terms of their sustainability for the next 50 years of Singapore’s development. Questions asked include: what demographic constraints underpin the challenge of the Singapore Armed Forces, and what implications does this spell for its future? In light of the threat of domestic terrorism and the need for greater internal vigilance, what measures can we take to balance the protection of individual rights versus the needs of state security? To what extent is judicial corporal punishment justified by simply its deterrent effect as we aspire to become an increasingly humane and civilised society? And in the interests of societal cohesion, what possible policy initiatives might be considered?

00:10 mins - Speaker: Mr Ho Kwon Ping, 2014/15 IPS Nathan Fellow

50:19 mins - Q&A chaired by Ms Dawn Yip, Founder and Principal Consultant, Soulbreath Consulting

Date: 4 March 2015

Time: 6.00 pm - 7.45pm

Venue: Auditorium, Shaw Foundation Alumni House

Security and Sustainability

Security is discussed through the four dimensions of external, internal, civil and societal security, and policies are examined in terms of their sustainability for the next 50 years of Singapore’s development. Questions asked include: what demographic constraints underpin the challenge of the Singapore Armed Forces, and what implications does this spell for its future? In light of the threat of domestic terrorism and the need for greater internal vigilance, what measures can we take to balance the protection of individual rights versus the needs of state security? To what extent is judicial corporal punishment justified by simply its deterrent effect as we aspire to become an increasingly humane and civilised society? And in the interests of societal cohesion, what possible policy initiatives might be considered?

00:10 mins - Speaker: Mr Ho Kwon Ping, 2014/15 IPS Nathan Fellow

45:28 mins - Q&A chaired by Amb Ong Keng Yong, Executive Deputy Chairman, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies

Date: 5 February 2015

Time: 6.00 pm - 7.45pm

Venue: Auditorium, Shaw Foundation Alumni House

Economy and Business

No economic forecasting can cover both the known unknowns and unknown unknowns for the next 50 years. We return to fundamentals and question whether the basic strategy for Singapore’s success in the past – leveraging off the Three L’s of Location, Land, and Labour – are still valid, especially the role of manufacturing when other city-states have moved entirely into services provision. Then, a few sacred cows or below-the-radar issues which will impact on the very long term future of business and the economy are examined in more detail. These include the need for a more integrated immigration and foreign worker policy, changes to the education, land and housing policies, the need for new indices of economic well-being, and the creation of an innovation-attracting social environment.

00:10 mins - Speaker: Mr Ho Kwon Ping, 2014/15 IPS Nathan Fellow

1:05:42 mins - Q&A chaired by Mr Lee Tzu Yang, Member, Academic Panel, Institute of Policy Studies

Date: 12 November 2014

Time: 6.00 pm - 7.45pm

Venue: Auditorium, Shaw Foundation Alumni House