PM Lee Hsien Loong at the NTI (NTU) Class of 1985 30th Anniversary Reunion Dinner

Mr Inderjit Singh and Er Lee Bee Wah,

Co-chairmen of the alumni group and this evening’s function;

Distinguished Guests;

Friends, Ladies and Gentlemen,

In 1981, we started Nanyang Technological Institute (NTI), Nanyang Technology University’s (NTU) predecessor, and it began with training practice-oriented engineers. That three schools were Civil and Structural Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and Mechanical and Production Engineering. In the first batch in 1985, 557 students graduated. Quite a number of them are here this evening. Congratulations to all of you as you celebrate your 30th anniversary at this reunion dinner.

I would like to thank the Class of 1985 for your contributions. You have played a role in building Singapore, and in fact you have three Members of Parliament so far, still young and promising – Er Lee Bee Wah, Mr Inderjit Singh, and Mr Sinnakaruppan. Outside politics, many of you have done well in your chosen field of engineering with many achievements and innovations to your name. There is, for example, Dr Chua Chee Kai, Director of NTU Additive Manufacturing Centre, which is developing the next generation of 3D printers. Or Mr Sonny Bensily, founder and managing director of Prime Structures Engineering which has built local icons like Changi Airport Terminal 3 and Marina Bay Sands. Some of you have distinguished yourselves in public service, like Mdm Zuraidah Abdullah, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police, Commander of Airport Police Division, and our most senior female police officer. I am very glad that while you have built successful careers, you have also contributed to your alma mater and the engineering fraternity. You launched the Class of 85 Pioneer Fund in 2005 to raise funds for bursaries, scholarships and prizes for deserving NTU students. You launched the book One Degree, Many Choices in 2012 to showcase the diverse career paths of engineering graduates.

You have done well and it is because of you and your successors that in 30 short years, NTU has become one of the world’s top engineering colleges. With six schools offering a wide variety of courses, including 11 single-degree Bachelor of Engineering programmes. With more than 2,000 faculty members and staff and 14,000 students. With strong alumni like yourselves. As you have heard from the Provost, Freddy, NTU is doing very well in latest QS (Quacquerelli Symonds) World University Rankings. As he said, “surprised but we worked very hard for it”. Sounds like what should happen in General Elections.

We want to maintain our universities’ standing. Standing compared to other universities. Standing compared to institutions in other countries. It is very gratifying that we are ranked so high, and our hard work has been recognised. But at the same time, we should keep a level head and realise that our universities’ KPI should not be how high or low the rankings are. Rather, the KPI should be how well the universities serve Singapore. Whether they are academically and intellectually rigorous and vibrant, and at the same time develop an authentic Singaporean character. Whether they give Singaporeans a good education, not just academically but holistically. Building skill sets relevant to the economy so that people can get good jobs and fulfil their aspirations, and at the same imbuing in students and alumni the sense of loyalty and belonging to Singapore, sense of purpose in their lives, so that people are rooted here, with networks, friends and family, and want to give back to Singapore, have something to show for their time in NTU, and for their careers and their lives in Singapore.

As we look ahead, we see many challenges. We see globalisation and technology changing the way we work and live. We see the next phase of nation-building and our new objectives requiring engineering expertise. Whether it is upgrading infrastructure, building T4, T5 at Changi or water desalination plants or new cities. Or overcoming constraints such as lack of space and lack of natural resources. Or turning our vision of a Smart Nation into reality. The universities provide a good foundation for training our people to do this. NTU will continue to play an important role in educating Singaporeans and giving them a good start to launch their careers.

So I would like to congratulate the Pioneer Engineering Class of 85 on your 30th anniversary. I see you popularised the word “Pioneer” before we used it. So you count as pioneers even though I do not think you are quite Pioneer Generation yet. Later, we will be launching a book Thirty Years Hundred Stories Engineering Accomplishments in Singapore which you have published, which tells part of the Singapore story – how we turned vulnerabilities into strengths with human ingenuity and good engineering. I hope it will inspire a new generation of engineers. Actually I hope it will inspire a new generation to become engineers because we need more people like you, and then as engineers, feel inspired to carry on the good work of those who have gone before them. In doing so, do well for themselves and for Singapore for many years to come.

Thank you very much indeed.

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