Celebrating our young innovators and inventors

I understand that in this hall, there are 60 students from different primary schools and we also have more than 200 adults – mostly teachers, guardians, as well as parents. I am very happy to come back to Science Centre Singapore, because I spent five years in MOE between 2015 to 2020 and I had a lot of fun working with more than 30,000 educators in Singapore, with a strong sense of mission and purpose.

I can tell, from the 60 eager faces seated there, that we are really excited to know who the winners are. But boys and girls, each and every one of you – whether or not you come up to the stage to receive a trophy and an award, you are truly a winner today.

SCSA was started in 1998. This is SCSA’s 28^th year and till now, we have received more than 93,000 entries. This year alone we received more than 3,800 entries from 90 schools. I did a quick arithmetic – this means that this year’s entries totally punched above the weight. Well done!

This year’s awards are extra special because of SG60, Singapore’s 60th birthday. To mark this milestone, SCSA has introduced the Heritage Innovation Award to recognise toy designs that blend Singapore’s rich cultural heritage with innovative science.

I think you would agree that our heritage truly forms the bedrock of our Singaporean identity. It also reinforces our sense of self, connects us to our history and inspires us to build upon our legacy. Our Singapore heritage also reminds us of the courage of our forefathers, who overcame many challenges to build our nation into the thriving global city that we know today.

This year’s Heritage Innovation Award has inspired many of our students to draw from Singapore's rich history and culture, reflecting on our unique heritage that celebrate what makes us distinctly Singaporean.

Just like our nation, which started as a small island with big dreams, each and every one of you begun with a simple idea and turned it into something extraordinary. I am really proud of you. To me, it is not just presenting a scientific innovation project, but you also grow and blossom into an articulate public speaker and you are only in primary school. This same pioneering spirit is seen in every one of you.

These are the very qualities that SCSA celebrates and nurtures, and I am very delighted to see our young inventors embracing all these values with such joy and enthusiasm. You did not do it because your teachers arrowed you to do it, you did it because you are genuinely interested in translating your ideas into life. By coming together to develop an idea and translating it into life, other than lighting up your scientific curiosity and strengthening your innovation qualities, you have also learnt to become a team player on top of being very articulate and eloquent.

This reminds us that the real success of SCSA lies not only in the toys we see here today but also in the tenacity and determination of our primary school kids, our young inventors, who strive to bring about a better future. We are very proud of you.

Behind every young inventor here is also a very supportive network of dedicated parents, guardians and teachers. I believe the first elevator pitch was done at home, with the kids practising in front of the parents. The parents being the audience, being the first judges of the prototypes.

I can imagine many weekends were spent together prototyping the wonderful toys. I am sure the kids together with their parents had passionate discussions over numerous meals and dinners. To me, these are the real success of SCSA where moments of shared discovery and learning form the building blocks of innovation and progress.

If we could look back at the alumni of SCSA, maybe you are able to identify inventors, scientist, engineers – maybe even if they did not take that path, they are now C-suite executives or maybe just doing something that they like as entrepreneurs.

If you can find the SCSA alumni, I think we can also draw on their strengths and potentially invite them to come 2 years later during the 30th anniversary of SCSA – I understand that the new Science Centre may be formally open in 2 to 3 years’ time. We can then consider in conjunction with the 30th year anniversary to bring them back to have fireside chats and have them serve as mentors.

Boys and girls, today you are a team vying for this award, do stay in touch with your friends even if you go to different secondary schools. Maybe in time to come, in ten or twenty years, you will come together, maybe create your own entrepreneurial team and start your corporate venture here to develop a product or service. I think anything is possible. You have showed us that enthusiasm, determination, and curiosity.

I want to use this occasion to thank the teachers, as you are doing this on top of your curriculum and your admin work. The teachers played a vital role. The teachers provided critical guidance throughout the competition and encouraged our boys’ and girls’ creativity.

This partnership between home and school, parents and teachers create the ideal environment for innovation to flourish and thrive. When parents encourage curiosity at home and teachers foster experimentation in the classroom, we truly and collectively lay a healthy foundation for our children to become confident problem solvers and creative thinkers.

I am very touched by the efforts of the parents and teachers, because it is much easier to leave our kids to do what they want to do. A lot of them unfortunately, may resort to screen time. But through this, we are drawing the kids out to take the path that is more challenging, roll up their sleeves, use their hands and use their eyes and minds, in terms of solving the problem statements. Teachers and parents have to weigh in. I think this really is what we mean by coming together as a smart nation and developing scientific minds.

Looking ahead, the skills our students are developing through SCSA are what Singapore needs for our future. In our rapidly evolving world, we truly need innovators who can think creatively, solve complex problems, and bring ideas to life. Solutions will only come about if we are all able to come together in terms of bringing together our multi-disciplinary approach and develop innovative solutions.

Boys and girls, the toys that you create today really could spark groundbreaking solutions tomorrow. Do not judge the success of the invention based on whether you are a winner or not. You will never know, maybe in time to come, the stars are more aligned and you can then come up with version 2 of the prototype. Continue to muster the courage to teach innovation. There could be some form of funding that could translate that into other prototyping and put it out to the world. You have already shown us that you have the courage to make that elevator pitch, just take it a bit further.

Later on, we are going to honour our winners, they are not just toy creators, but potential changemakers. We want to celebrate all our 60 students, all of you. We celebrate your creativity, your willingness to experiment, and your innovative spirit. And trust me, it is not just for SCSA, take that spirit to how you will make each of your subjects come alive. I think it will allow you to succeed not just in grades but will allow you to succeed in life. Through this process together as a team, you learn that failures can be stepping stones to success, and that is an important lesson. You are discovering that the best solutions often come, not just because of your own work but often from collaboration and diverse perspectives.

I want to use this platform to commend Science Centre Singapore, Mun See and her wonderful team. I want to thank Fujita-san and everybody from the Sony Singapore. I also want to thank the educators and the team at MOE as well as Dr Fannon and the organising committee for their unwavering commitment to organising this award. The Sony Creative Science Award nurtures in all our young people an innovative spirit that is crucial for Singapore’s future. Your dedication has truly provided our children with invaluable opportunities to become tomorrow's problem solvers and innovators.

To all schools, teachers and parents, we want to thank you for your tremendous support in helping this competition grow. I was telling Mun See and team that as Mayor of the South West District, I will bring my team back to see how we can galvanise the whole of South West schools, parents and community to support this endeavour. Let's continue to encourage our children to ask questions, to experiment, to create, and to dream big.

Again, I want to represent everyone seated in the first few rows to extend our congratulations to all the boys and girls who are here, and to all the award winners and participants. You have already won by daring to innovate. We look forward to how you will continue to shape our future world with creativity and passion for a better tomorrow!

Thank you.