DPM Heng Swee Keat at the Launch of STEAMunity 2024

Professor Phoon Kok Kwang, President of SUTD 

Dr Lim Tit Meng, Chief Executive of Science Centre Board

Principals, teachers, students

Ladies and Gentlemen.

A very good morning!

I am delighted to join you today to launch STEAMunity.  

Technological inventions have enabled humans to explore and thrive.  

Just think of the plough, water wells and irrigation systems that enabled our ancestors to grow more food. 

Or the use of magnets to make compasses to guide navigation.  

Or how the invention of the steam engine started the industrial revolution, and the invention of ocean vessels and airplanes enabled us to explore the world. 

Today, the rate of progress is even more spectacular. 

We have progressed from simple microscopes, to telescopes which let us peer into the Milky Way, to electron microscopes that allow us to learn more about the structure of atoms and sub-atomic particles. 

We are using the James Webb Space Telescope and other sophisticated instruments  to peer into black holes and the edges of the universe. We are also running experiments to better understand space on the international space station. 

When I was the Minister of Education, I noticed that some teachers had started programmes to encourage students to solve problems with the scientific concepts that they have learnt in class. 

Inspired by what I saw, I started an Applied Learning Programme or ALP, 
where a small fund was given to any secondary school which wished to start it.

I was delighted when almost every secondary school took this up within a very short time. And today, many primary schools have also been included at their request! 

I was most delighted by the enthusiasm of our school leaders and teachers – and that is why I said in Singapore, ‘every school is a good school’ – because we have so many caring educators! 

Now, as Chairman of our National Research Foundation, I have been looking at the global development in science, technology and innovation. 

I have also been studying how we could transform our economy. In fact, we have been working on it for the last eight years now, with fairly convincing results.

I am convinced that science, technology and innovation will reshape our lives, and reshape economies across the world, in very profound ways. 

It is critical for all of us, and especially our students, to develop a love for science and technology. 

And I would add that, at the minimum, on top of basic literacy and numeracy, there must be basic scientific literacy.  

Over the years, the Singapore Science Centre, especially under Tit Meng, has done an excellent job to inspire students to explore the wonders of our universe. 

And at the Singapore University of Technology and Design – or SUTD – Prof KK Phoon and his team are pioneering new ways of learning, by infusing arts and design into science and technology. Importantly, SUTD emphasises that technology must be designed to be human-centric: To serve humans, not to replace humans. 

A few months back, I had a productive discussion with Tit Meng, Prof KK Phoon, and their teams right here at SUTD.

We were brainstorming to start a programme for students to explore scientific concepts in a fun setting, starting with students living near SUTD.

After several discussions, KK and Tit Meng came up with STEAMunity – to create a Science, Technology, Arts and Maths Community, and to use scientific concepts to solve real world problems.  

I supported it immediately, as it met all the objectives I had in mind. Let me briefly outline these.

First, to nurture in our young a deep sense of curiosity – to observe the world around us, and ask, WHY? 

This curiosity to ask WHY is the start of any discovery.  

All over the world, parents care about their children’s education. 

In some societies and families, parents ask their children: “What did you learn in school today?” That is good.

But in others, they ask an even better question: “What questions did you ask today?” Here, the children grow up to be more curious and innovative, because they ask “why”. 

Richard Feynman, a Nobel laureate, wrote many interesting books, including one where he related his walks with his father as a young boy. 

While many parents asked their kids to name the plants and animals they saw, Richard’s father would ask him, “what did you see?” and prompted him to ask questions. So he was getting the young Richard to observe the world as it is and to then ask questions.

Feyman later wrote that being able to name objects did not mean that you knew it or understood it.

It was actually more important to seek to understand, and this understanding came from asking questions constantly.

The second objective I had in mind was to inspire our students to be more creative.  

Specifically, to apply the concepts and principles that they have learnt, to solve practical and real-world problems.  

In this way, our students can improve the world, and make the world a better place for all.  

As Prof KK Phoon said earlier, during our chat, I suggested that while TED talks had a very nice tagline of “Ideas Worth Sharing”, our programme should have a better tag line of “Problems Worth Solving” or “Challenges Worth Tackling”

This recognises that there are many issues in the world today, and only a finite amount of time and resources. 

So let us use this time and resources well to tackle the most important issues – issues that have an impact on the world, and that are within our control to make a difference.

Of course, each of us may have different preferences and priorities, and that is completely fine! Most importantly, we must inspire our students to be more creative and to apply their creativity to solve real-world problems and problems involving the community.

Now the third objective I have in mind is to encourage learning and collaboration amongst all of us. We are encouraging students to pursue independent thinking – but independent thinking and collaboration are not opposites! On the contrary, to be able to think independently and to be able to collaborate is a great strength. 

The reason why this is important is that almost all major scientific enterprises, like launching a spaceship or developing a new drug, involves thousands of the brightest minds working together. 

So when developing the habits and skills of collaboration among our students, you will help them succeed later in life. 

I was delighted when KK and Tit Meng proposed for our young to tackle various real world challenges - including public health, ageing, and climate change.  

Over the last 10 weeks, over 200 students from 11 secondary schools, 4 junior colleges and 2 polytechnics worked on these.

And I am very encouraged by the attention and thought that has been put into HOW to implement this STEAMunity well. 

First, to decide on the challenges worth solving, you have been engaging with partners including Social Service Agencies and businesses.

Some partners are here with us today, including Gallop Stables, 好人好事，Anywheel, and the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY). 

Together, you have identified 14 problem statements ranging from sustainability, to safety and accessibility, to caring for our seniors. 

Now I see many of these community problems in East Coast as well, including the burning of joss paper during the Hungry Ghost Festival which just ended. 

Second, you are taking a learning-by-doing approach – by encouraging students to build and test prototypes. 

A few months back, I met with Sir James Dyson, and we discussed his experiences of invention. 

Now, he made many prototypes before arriving at the final design of the Dyson vacuum cleaner – which is radically different from everything else on the market. 

There is a fascinating story behind his 5,127 failed attempts, and I encourage you to learn more about it! 

I also hope you will be inspired to visit the Dyson-SUTD Innovation Studios, and to keep improving on the prototypes that you are working on now.

The third aspect of the implementation of STEAMunity which I would commend all of you on, is the strong partnership at all levels. 

First, between SUTD, Temasek Polytechnic, and the Singapore Science Centre. Together, you have provided makerspace facilities and staff members to support the students and mentors of all 27 STEAMunity teams. 

At the student level, students from different ages, and with different skillsets, are working together in teams of up to 8, including those from secondary schools, JCs, and polytechnics. 

And each team is guided by a pair of student mentors from SUTD and Temasek Poly. So, thank you to all our mentors, you have volunteered for this on top of their own schoolwork. As KK mentioned earlier, for the mentors, it is also a learning journey for each of you. 

So in closing, I wish all the teams well for the rest of their STEAMunity journey, and I look forward to you showcasing some of these projects in the community. 

I hope you will inspire interest in STEAM, and also spark interest for students to pursue their education at SUTD. 

The next run of STEAMunity is in November this year, and we will gradually expand STEAMunity to all IHLs and to all schools. 

So, let us all work together, to stay curious, to explore, to ask questions, to learn, to create, to invent, to be persistent, to be unafraid of failure, and to try over, over, and over again! 

And with that boundless creativity our young people can bring solving real world problems, we can build a better world, for all of us in Singapore, for peoples around the world, and for our little planet. 

Thank you very much. 

Explore related topics

• Science and technology

• Education