Speech by Minister Chee Hong Tat at the NPark-Peter Lim Scholarship Study Awards Ceremony

Mr Kiat Lim, Representative of the Lim Family Foundation,
Mr Loh Khum Yean, Chairman, National Parks Board
Mr Goh Kong Aik, Treasurer, Garden City Fund Management Committee
Partners, educators, parents, students, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen

Introduction

A very good afternoon. I am delighted to join you today at the NParks-Peter Lim Scholarship Awards Ceremony.

Let me begin by congratulating the 219 students from our Institutes of Higher Learning who are receiving scholarships and study awards today.

This is a significant milestone in your academic journey, and we are very happy to celebrate this achievement together with you and your family.

Growing our City in Nature

Over more than six decades of independence, Singapore's greening journey has evolved alongside our nation's growth. As Singapore developed rapidly in the 1960s, we planted trees and flowering shrubs to beautify our cityscape and improve the quality of living, transforming Singapore into a Garden City.

Having achieved that, we raised our ambitions further by transforming Singapore from a Garden City into a City in a Garden, and this is done by conserving our natural heritage, while integrating greenery in a more innovative way within our urban environment.

By doing so, it has helped to distinguish Singapore from many other cities. In fact, some of the cities have looked at what Singapore has done and used us as a reference point. And in turn, over time, we also learn from the good things that they have done. This is a mutual learning process, and the end outcome is we help one another to become better and better.

By investing in this area, it has made us a more liveable, more endearing city, and also helped us to be more more attractive to talent and investors. And this is important because we want to continue to grow our economy, to be able to create more good jobs and have better wages for Singaporeans.

And today, we are taking the next step in this journey by transforming Singapore into a City in Nature, bringing nature and its benefits even closer to Singaporeans.

At the heart of this transformation, most importantly, are our people - our community, our volunteers, our industry professionals, our public officers, our educators. They work closely together to grow our City in Nature safely, sustainably, and inclusively.

Today, our greenery and animal science sectors are undergoing significant transformation, presenting both new challenges and opportunities.

Digitalisation and automation are reshaping the greenery and landscape sectors, enabling new ways of working that can better support sustainable landscapes, biodiversity, ecological health and climate resilience. For example, the use of technologies such as autonomous robotic lawn mowers, can help to improve productivity while reducing manpower needs. Now, it doesn't mean that we no longer need workers - we still need workers. But we are transforming the jobs they do - from having to mown the lawn themselves, to now operating a fleet of these autonomous lawnmowers, to looking at what are some of the new technologies that they can bring in that can improve the work that we do, so that our human workers can focus on those parts of the work that the machine cannot do and will require human innovation, the human touch. In this way, we bring that personal involvement that machines can't do. The machines can help the human worker to be more productive- save time, save effort, provide more options - but in the end, human beings still need to exercise that judgement and make that judgement call, which option to pick, which option will be better, which option will be more sustainable, which option would fit well with what people need; machines and AI still can't do that. So this is why we want to invest in the use of technology - not to replace people - but to complement and augment our workers, to help our workers to do their jobs even better.

We are also seeing growing demand for skilled animal science and vets to care for our pets and local wildlife as we transform Singapore into a City in Nature. Recently, my colleague, MOS Alvin Tan, announced that we want to introduce a bill in Parliament to look at the Vets Council, and this is part of the effort to see how we can continue to support professional development amongst our vets.

Recognising these evolving needs, NParks has been encouraging greater environmental stewardship among our youths. This includes equipping them with the education, resources and opportunities they need to step forward as the next generation of greenery and animal science professionals.

NParks-Peter Lim Scholarship

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to once again thank the Lim Family Foundation for being very generous with their support. They are contributing $10 million to the Garden City Fund to establish the NParks-Peter Lim Scholarship programme in 2020.

Since its establishment, more than $3 million in study awards have been awarded to over 1,200 students across diverse disciplines - from landscape architecture and horticulture, to veterinary science and ecology. These study awards have opened doors to meaningful careers for our students, while ensuring that Singapore continues to build a strong and capable workforce to advance our City in Nature vision.

Study Awards

Today, we are recognising and celebrating 192 recipients of the study award.

Let me share with you one inspiring story of one of the recipients: Muhammad Adib Putra bin Muhammad Hanis, a second-year student pursuing a course in Landscape Management and Design at ITE.

Adib has a keen interest in greenery and is an active member of ITE's Horticulture Club. He has represented his school in several horticulture projects, and has worked with industry partners. For example, he contributed to an SG60 plant display for Changi Airport Group and he will be participating in the Landscape Design Challenge at the Singapore Garden Festival this July.

Receiving this study award has allowed Adib to focus on his studies and deepen his passion without having to worry about the financial situation.

I am happy to learn that he plans to pursue a Work-Study Diploma in Arboriculture and Horticulture at ITE after completing his Higher Nitec course. Congratulations and all the best, Adib!

Merit-Based Scholarships

This year, we are also introducing a new merit-based scholarship under the NParks-Peter Lim Scholarship programme. This scholarship recognises students who have demonstrated excellence in their studies and have the potential to become future leaders in the industry.

I would like to congratulate the 27 pioneer recipients of this scholarship!

This is the pioneer batch, and amongst them is Chang Yu Xuan, who is a third-year undergraduate pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Studies at the National University of Singapore.

Yu Xuan has a keen interest in sustainability and climate science. She has served as the Programmes Lead in her school's sustainability interest group, where she led initiatives to encourage the school community to embrace more sustainable practices.

She also broadened her academic experience through an exchange at the University of Oslo in Norway, where she deepened her understanding of marine biology, animal behaviour and biogeochemistry.

In recognition of her dedication and achievements, Yu Xuan joins the first batch of merit-based scholarship recipients this year. Well done, Yu Xuan!

Ladies and gentlemen, Adib and Yu Xuan's stories are good reminders for us that study awards and scholarships are more than just providing financial support. They empower our youths to pursue their passions, to realise their potential, and later on contribute meaningfully to Singapore's future.

Partnership and Collaboration

Developing the next generation of greenery and animal science professionals would not be possible without partners who share our vision. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our industry partners for your strong support and your shared commitment to building a sustainable talent pipeline for the sector.

This is very important. We recognise that our young people these days have a lot of options, many career paths. It is a good thing, but what this means is we then need to do more to reach out to our youths and show them the meaningful career paths in the sector, the meaningful learning opportunities and developmental opportunities available that can allow them to grow and to develop further. When you first start, regardless of which industry you are in, it is a learning process. We need to build the foundations, we need to know people, we need to understand how the industry functions. But after you get through this foundational phase, there will be opportunities for you to then see how you can shape the future, how you can contribute to building this future that you dream of. So through this collaborative effort, support from the Lim Family Foundation, and also support from our industry partners, we hope to empower and enable you - our youths - to be able to realise your potential and achieve your dreams.

And as our students prepare to enter the workforce, I would like to encourage our employers and our industry partners to continue to work closely together and provide opportunities for our students through internships, through work attachments, through mentorship programmes. When students see that employers are investing in their development, it will also strengthen their confidence and their commitment to choose skills to remain in these sectors.

I would also like to thank the educators and our parents. You have done a very good job in maturing our youth, in walking alongside them, passing on your knowledge, your experience with them, and your encouragement and your guidance have been instrumental in helping them reach this milestone.

Conclusion

In closing, I am confident in the future of our greenery and animal science sectors because we have young people like you, who are willing to enter this sector.

You will bring fresh approaches to sustainable design, digital innovation and science-based methodologies, injecting new energy and growth into the industry. And I hope that you will also continue to look for ways to innovate, push the boundaries, discover new pathways for yourself. And in the process of doing so, some of you, maybe you will start your own company, become entrepreneurs, and the pathways that you create will not just benefit you, but will also benefit many others who can join you and join your company. And in future, when you become very successful, like Mr Peter Lim, please do what he is doing. Give back to society and help others through job opportunities, through donations and sponsorships and providing opportunities for the next generation.

Once again, congratulations to all our scholarship and study award recipients. I wish you every success in your journey ahead.

Thank you.