Good morning
SUTD Chancellor, Dr Tony Tan
Minister of State for Education and Manpower, Ms Gan Siow Huang,
Board of Trustees,
Distinguished Guests,
Faculty and Staff,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
And last but not least, the Class of 2022.
Congratulations to all of you.
You have made it!
Class of 2022
The last two years must have been tough on your education journey, but you have fared well and made the best of the situation. I am so happy that we can all be together today, with your loved ones, to celebrate the fruits of your labour – your graduation.
This is a significant milestone in your life, one which I doubt you will ever forget, and it is the culmination of many years of effort and hard work. So, Class of 2022, you can be proud to have reached this milestone. Give yourself a round of applause.
The advancement of technology has enabled you to learn, participate in overseas internships and exchange programmes digitally, despite the limitations to overseas travel and face-to-face meetings. I am proud of you for adapting well and overcoming these challenges. I hope this experience has made you stronger, more resilient, and more flexible in the way you approach life.
It was still pre-Covid days when we welcomed you into the SUTD family in May 2019. Looking back, we had organised a physical Orientation for you then. It was SUTD’s 10th Anniversary that year and you made your mark by creating a top view image of ‘SUTD 10’. We also had a Freshmen Inauguration Dinner afterwards. I was very pleased to meet and dine with you. And I believe those few days together helped you to make new friends and find peers to start your learning adventure in SUTD.
Despite the restrictions caused by the pandemic, I am also heartened to know that you could still participate in various Fifth Row and sporting activities.
Most recently there was the capstone exhibition, our first physical one since 2019. From the photos, all of you were having a good time sharing about your capstone projects with visitors. I hope you will remember with fondness these times you have spent with us and your peers during your university journey.
Exemplifying SUTDent Qualities
Having been an SUTD student for the past 3 1/2 years, you must have realised that there are many qualities that we try to instil in you to set you apart from the others. For example: to be interdisciplinary, to apply design thinking into problem solving, to think out of the box, to learn how to learn, to be risk takers, leaders and innovators, who will serve societal needs and more.
I would like to highlight some of the graduands who exemplify these qualities.
One example is Seaforms, an entrepreneurship capstone project. Their idea is a floating self-sustaining farm that aims to address rising sea levels and food security issues. Two students from this Capstone, Julius Ang (from ASD), our valedictorian today, and Chia Hou-an (from EPD), will be continuing with the Seaforms start-up. They were one of only three Singapore start-ups selected for the Hyundai ZER01NE Accelerator Programme, which opened internationally for the first time this year. Each project is funded up to S$44,000 and the team will be travelling to Seoul, end of this month, to participate in the 2022 ZER01NE DAY. Congratulations to Seaforms for taking a bold step in realising their dream. I wish them every success.
Next, Arissa Rashid, a CSD student who personifies ‘learning how to learn’. Although we do not offer graphic design courses, Arissa picked up motion graphics and graphic design skills on her own. She even created and designed a Telegram sticker pack that has garnered more than 55,000 users. Last year, she also self-sourced an internship with The Walt Disney Company as a creative marketing designer. Arissa will be joining Warner Bros. CNN team as a web designer. So really, if you have a passion like Arissa, I believe you can do anything, because you are equipped to learn how to learn.
There is also Samuel Sim from ESD. His efforts in volunteerism shows his heart for others. In 2020, Samuel participated in an Overseas Community Outreach Project in Laos. He and a group of our students helped the school build a stone fence around its perimeter and conducted lessons for the village children. As a volunteer, Samuel also helped to clean the homes of elderlies and interacted with them. After graduating, Samuel will be joining DBS as a data scientist. We need youths with a heart, like Samuel, to not forget about giving back to our society.
From these examples, you can see how they have clearly demonstrated the values that SUTD has instilled in you: the courage to realise your dreams, the creativity to re-invent yourself, and the heart to improve lives and society.
With the unstable world that you will be entering after your graduation, I would like to share my thoughts on two important aspects, as you start your new chapter in life: (1) be open and connected and (2) be a lifelong learner and innovator.
Open and Connected
In 2005, Thomas Friedman in his book, “The World is Flat”, argued that a whole new age of globalisation was unfolding in the 21st century where countries, companies and communities could compete and collaborate on a level playing field.
However, triggered by the shift in global order and the impact of the global pandemic, countries have started becoming more selective in the way they trade goods, services and even information. So, I would say that the world is no longer as flat as what Friedman predicted it to be.
Despite the volatile global situation, I believe that Singapore has done well. Singapore has remained open and connected with our neighbours and international communities. The fundamental value to achieve this is to understand the importance of harmony despite our diversity. There is a Chinese saying, 求同存异. This means to seek common ground while preserving our differences. Singapore is a good example of this – through our values ‘regardless of race, language or religion’ – we have maintained harmony in our multicultural society by cultivating a spirit of trust and respect. By observing these values, Singapore has been able “to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation”, as recited in our National Pledge.
At SUTD, we strive to embody this spirit from day one of the Freshmore year. We require our freshmen to study, eat and live together on campus, so that strong bonds may be forged and trust for one another can be developed. Students with different upbringing can learn to be respectful of each other and peer-to-peer support is built up. This leads to a harmonious community where our diversity of views, strengths and backgrounds do not separate us, but instead, strengthen us. By working together, despite our differences, we can create holistic solutions to complex world problems.
So I hope you stay open and connected, and continue to embrace diversity even as you enter the workforce.
Lifelong Learner and Innovator
SUTD’s mission is to nurture technically-grounded leaders and innovators to serve societal needs. To achieve this mission in this complex and volatile world, SUTD’s education is not just about the accumulation of knowledge. We also develop your ability to learn new things multiple times in your career, to keep pace with fast-evolving industry trends.
SUTD is committed to supporting your journey to become lifelong learners, leaders and innovators. We have created – and will continue to create – the opportunities for you to do so.
As a student, you learned, led and innovated across your undergraduate experiences. These included SUTD’s interdisciplinary courses, Fifth Row activities, internship and capstone, where you built a strong academic foundation, gained exposure to industry and real-world challenges.
As you graduate, I urge every one of you to continue to learn, lead and innovate, both at work and in society, and SUTD will support you. Our Continuous Education Training (CET) courses and programmes, our faculty and research centres, and even our facilities like the Fab Lab and Library are there for you to tap on. Currently, we already have CET courses to offer modular credentials in Cybersecurity, Design Innovation and Digital Marketing. Think of SUTD as both your asset and resource to help you do well at work and do good in society.
One day, as you progress in your career, you will become a manager, business owner, or entrepreneur. You will have to inspire others to learn, lead, and innovate too. When that time comes, SUTD will support you, and your department, start-up or business. We are committed to work with you to build and nurture your teams for excellence.
Today, SUTD is making a lifelong commitment to all of you. We will partner past and present graduates to chart your way forward through a new lifelong learning and innovation programme.
Under this programme, SUTD has also set aside funding to invest in SUTD-affiliated start-ups to help them take the next step. In fact, the SUTD Venture Investment Committee is evaluating around five start-ups now. This would allow the university to provide a longer runway towards commercial success for these fledging companies. I hope that this, together with a suite of mentorship and venture support from SUTD, will provide you with every resource you will need to build successful companies. We will share more details of this programme in the months to come.
Hence, wherever you go after you graduate, we hope you will come back and explore all of these with us.
Together, as the SUTD family, we can be strategic leaders and innovators who can compete and succeed in these uncertain times.
My heartiest of congratulations and best wishes to you, Class of 2022! Thank you.
Good morning
SUTD Chairman, Mr Lee Tzu Yang
Ms Farizan (Founder of GreenA Consultants)
Board of Trustees,
Distinguished Guests,
Faculty and Staff,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
And last but not least, the Class of 2022.
Congratulations to all of you.
You have made it!
Class of 2022
The last two years must have been tough on your education journey, but you have fared well and made the best of the situation. I am so happy that we can all be together today, with your loved ones, to celebrate the fruits of your labour – your graduation.
This is a significant milestone in your life, one which I doubt you will ever forget, and it is the culmination of many years of effort and hard work. So, Class of 2022, you can be proud to have reached this milestone. Give yourself a round of applause.
The advancement of technology has enabled you to learn, participate in overseas internships and exchange programmes digitally, despite the limitations to overseas travel and face-to-face meetings. I am proud of you for adapting well and overcoming these challenges. I hope this experience has made you stronger, more resilient, and more flexible in the way you approach life.
It was still pre-Covid days when we welcomed you into the SUTD family in May 2019. Looking back, we had organised a physical Orientation for you then. It was SUTD’s 10th Anniversary that year and you made your mark by creating a top view image of ‘SUTD 10’. We also had a Freshman inauguration dinner afterwards. I was very pleased to meet and dine with you. And I believe those few days together helped you to make new friends and find peers to start your learning adventure in SUTD.
Despite the restrictions caused by the pandemic, I am also heartened to know that you could still participate in various Fifth Row and sporting activities.
Most recently there was the capstone exhibition, our first physical one since 2019. From the photos, all of you were having a good time sharing about your capstone projects with visitors. I hope you will remember with fondness these times you have spent with us and your peers during your university journey.
Exemplifying SUTDent Qualities
Having been an SUTD student for the past 3 1/2 years, you must have realised that there are many qualities that we try to instil in you to set you apart from the others. For example: to be interdisciplinary, to apply design thinking into problem solving, to think out of the box, to learn how to learn, to be risk takers, leaders and innovators, who will serve societal needs and more.
I would like to highlight some of the graduands who exemplify these qualities.
One example is Seaforms, an entrepreneurship capstone project. Their idea is a floating self-sustaining farm that aims to address rising sea levels and food security issues. Two students from this Capstone, Julius Ang (from ASD), and Chia Hou-an (from EPD), will be continuing with the Seaforms start-up. They were one of only three Singapore start-ups selected for the Hyundai ZER01NE Accelerator Programme, which opened internationally for the first time this year. Each project is funded up to S$44,000 and the team will be travelling to Seoul, end of this month, to participate in the 2022 ZER01NE DAY. Congratulations to Seaforms for taking a bold step in realising their dream. I wish them every success.
Next, Arissa Rashid, a CSD student who personifies ‘learning how to learn’. Although we do not offer graphic design courses, Arissa picked up motion graphics and graphic design skills on her own. She even created and designed a Telegram sticker pack that has garnered more than 55,000 users. Last year, she also self-sourced an internship with The Walt Disney Company as a creative marketing designer. Arissa will be joining Warner Bros. CNN team as a web designer. So really, if you have a passion like Arissa, I believe you can do anything, because you are equipped to learn how to learn.
There is also Samuel Sim from ESD and our valedictorian today. His efforts in volunteerism shows his heart for others. In 2020, Samuel participated in an Overseas Community Outreach Project in Laos. He and a group of our students helped the school build a stone fence around its perimeter and conducted lessons for the village children. As a volunteer, Samuel also helped to clean the homes of elderlies and interacted with them. After graduating, Samuel will be joining DBS as a data scientist. We need youths with a heart, like Samuel, to not forget about giving back to our society.
From these examples, you can see how they have clearly demonstrated the values that SUTD has instilled in you: the courage to realise your dreams, the creativity to re-invent yourself, and the heart to improve lives and society.
With the unstable world that you will be entering after your graduation, I would like to share my thoughts on two important aspects, as you start your new chapter in life: (1) be open and connected and (2) be a lifelong learner and innovator.
Open and Connected
In 2005, Thomas Friedman in his book, “The World is Flat”, argued that a whole new age of globalisation was unfolding in the 21st century where countries, companies and communities could compete and collaborate on a level playing field.
However, triggered by the shift in global order and the impact of the global pandemic, countries have started becoming more selective in the way they trade goods, services and even information. So, I would say that the world is no longer as flat as what Friedman predicted it to be.
Despite the volatile global situation, I believe that Singapore has done well. Singapore has remained open and connected with our neighbours and international communities. The fundamental value to achieve this is to understand the importance of harmony despite our diversity. There is a Chinese saying, 求同存异. This means to seek common ground while preserving our differences. Singapore is a good example of this – through our values ‘regardless of race, language or religion’ – we have maintained harmony in our multicultural society by cultivating a spirit of trust and respect. By observing these values, Singapore has been able “to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation”, as recited in our National Pledge.
At SUTD, we strive to embody this spirit from day one of the Freshmore year. We require our freshmen to study, eat and live together on campus, so that strong bonds may be forged and trust for one another can be developed. Students with different upbringing can learn to be respectful of each other and peer-to-peer support is built up. This leads to a harmonious community where our diversity of views, strengths and backgrounds do not separate us, but instead, strengthen us. By working together, despite our differences, we can create holistic solutions to complex world problems.
So I hope you stay open and connected, and continue to embrace diversity even as you enter the workforce.
Lifelong Learner and Innovator
SUTD’s mission is to nurture technically-grounded leaders and innovators to serve societal needs. To achieve this mission in this complex and volatile world, SUTD’s education is not just about the accumulation of knowledge. We also develop your ability to learn new things multiple times in your career, to keep pace with fast-evolving industry trends.
SUTD is committed to supporting your journey to become lifelong learners, leaders and innovators. We have created – and will continue to create – the opportunities for you to do so.
As a student, you learned, led and innovated across your undergraduate experiences. These included SUTD’s interdisciplinary courses, Fifth Row activities, internship and capstone, where you built a strong academic foundation, gained exposure to industry and real-world challenges.
As you graduate, I urge every one of you to continue to learn, lead and innovate, both at work and in society, and SUTD will support you. Our Continuous Education Training (CET) courses and programmes, our faculty and research centres, and even our facilities like the Fab Lab and Library are there for you to tap on. Currently, we already have CET courses to offer modular credentials in Cybersecurity, Design Innovation and Digital Marketing. Think of SUTD as both your asset and resource to help you do well at work and do good in society.
One day, as you progress in your career, you will become a manager, business owner, or entrepreneur. You will have to inspire others to learn, lead, and innovate too. When that time comes, SUTD will support you, and your department, start-up or business. We are committed to work with you to build and nurture your teams for excellence.
Today, SUTD is making a lifelong commitment to all of you. We will partner past and present graduates to chart your way forward through a new lifelong learning and innovation programme.
Under this programme, SUTD has also set aside funding to invest in SUTD-affiliated start-ups to help them take the next step. In fact, the SUTD Venture Investment Committee is evaluating around five start-ups now. This would allow the university to provide a longer runway towards commercial success for these fledging companies. I hope that this, together with a suite of mentorship and venture support from SUTD, will provide you with every resource you will need to build successful companies. We will share more details of this programme in the months to come.
Hence, wherever you go after you graduate, we hope you will come back and explore all of these with us.
Together, as the SUTD family, we can be strategic leaders and innovators who can compete and succeed in these uncertain times.
My heartiest of congratulations and best wishes to you, Class of 2022! Thank you.