Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Finance
Mr. Ian Wong, Managing Director and Head of Group International Management, UOB
Mr. Lennon Tan, President, Singapore Manufacturing Federation and Group Chairman, ADERA Global Pte Ltd
Distinguished guests, colleagues, friends
Good morning and welcome to the SUSS-UOB-SMF Global Leadership Symposium 2024, with has the theme, "Cultivating Success: Thriving in the Era of Industry 5.0".
1. You are going to hear a lot about Industry 5.0 today. But if you allow me, let me return to the European Commission definition’s and I will select a particular passage to read out:
"…a vison of industry that aims beyond efficiency and productivity as the sole goals, and reinforces the role and the contribution of industry to society.
It places the wellbeing of the worker at the centre of the production process and uses new technologies to provide prosperity beyond jobs and growth while respecting the production limits of the planet."
2. I’m not going to talk at any length about industry 5.0 because we have several renowned experts on the topic right here. I would just like to observe at this point that the ethos of Industry 5.0 is very much the DNA of SUSS’ as well.
3. As a university which focuses particularly on social good, SUSS brings to bear its various disciplines to undertake applied research, education and training for the benefit of society. This includes not only its signature programmes in the social sector like social work, counselling, clinical psychology, early childhood and gerontology, but also our emphases in digital marketing, analytics, fintech, logistics and supply chain, building and facilities management, public safety and security, and others.
4. Our disciplinary breadth as well as our focus on social good has allowed us to meaningfully partner with agencies such as NTUC, MHA, the SAF, AIA, SIA, and of course today with UOB and SMF, precisely to explore ways in which industries can contribute meaningfully to society, and to ensure the wellbeing and fulfilment of workers. Our collaborations have assumed various forms, whether it be applied research working with the data and on the business questions of our partner agencies, or customising for those agencies, training and continuing education, or creating pathways for the management and workers of these agencies to stack up credentials towards undergraduate and graduate degrees.
5. I am thus delighted with today’s event, which allows us to partner with UOB and SMF in addressing a timely and complex issue. Leadership for success in Industry 5.0, whatever else we may say about it, will require innovation: away from older models of profitability and market growth, and towards models that can somehow integrate business success with social good, and productivity with employee wellness. While doing all this, our model of success also has to ensure that we have a new respect for our natural world, and can work in sustainable and even nurturing ways.
6. To lead us in this exploration of cultivating success in Industry 5.0, we have an exciting lineup of speakers and sessions today.
7. We have Ms. Katie King, author and international keynote speaker on AI in Business, Mr. Glen Francis, Google Cloud’s Head of Strategic Advisors, Asia Pacific and Dr. Shailesh Kumar from India. He is the Chief Data Scientist at the Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Reliance Jio.
8. Later on, our external speakers will join SUSS faculty in panel discussions focusing on “Harnessing Industry 5.0 for Business Growth.”
9. There will also be three masterclasses in the afternoon, again featuring external experts and SUSS faculty, on the 3 topics of:
- AI Leadership for Sustainable Business
- Building Organisational Resilience
- Demystifying AI: Evolution in AI Thinking
10. So all in all a very exciting lineup indeed, one which I am sure will benefit all our participants.
11. By way of closing, let me just return to a very humble reminder that many of our blocks to innovation to change and changing ways of doing things actually comes from our mindset.
12. Before we tackle the huge technology issues on machine learning and artificial intelligence, we should also pay attention to questions of closemindedness, comfort zones, inability to accept change.
13. I hope that today’s sessions will allow us to really think through these kind of issues, and think about ways that we can successfully manage the change that is required in this age.
14. We are quick to celebrate major successful innovations and big innovators, like Steve Jobs and Elon Musk. We often forget that we have to bring every single worker along with us if we want to change an organisation and innovate ways in which we do business.
15. We can do this in a way that can harness new technologies that will give us ways to bring new benefits to companies, societies, and our workforce.
16. I hope that you will all have very exciting and stimulating journey ahead of you.
17. Thank you for joining us today.