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"In the next phase of our development, Singaporeans have to be more entrepreneurial."

--Goh Chok Tong

Inaugurating a home page especially dedicated to Singapore's scientific community

"We want to train a new generation, we want to provide some deep technological infrastructure, and to be an attractor for excellent talent from all over the world to come and feel at home."

The maxim "sage on the stage to guide on the side" aptly summarizes this ongoing process of the teacher's transformation from an authoritative role to a facilitative one.

The government believes that international talents bring in fresh ideas, new expertise, global connections, and long-term benefits for the country.

As most researchers are not legally trained and may not be well versed with IPRs, it is wise to constantly educate the researchers on such issues.

For those of you aiming to go into the consultancy business like me, I can say that nothing you learn will be wasted.

While there are good reasons for some to stay on to pursue R&D in academia, industry offers equally or even more exciting careers.

"I have come to the realization that in order to be able to enjoy science, you need to know the art of it."

In a cost-controlled health-care environment, only those technologies capable of providing a major enhancement to the quality of life and a reduction in cost will be driven forward.

As science is a global endeavour, I believe I will continue to interact with researchers in different regions of the world when I return to Singapore.

Technological innovations are accelerating at a pace that far exceeds our expectations. As a result, we find ourselves playing catch-up with innovations we couldn't even predict...

"Our education and research systems must be flexible yet robust, and innovative yet traditionalist, to deal with this exciting--but at the same time unsettling--environment."

As long-held regards for biological development are repeatedly challenged and implications of research become more complex and controversial, scientists today have to deal with many more ethical issues than their predecessors.

Water-related R&D is of prime interest because Singapore needs to produce cheap but high-quality water for public and industrial use.