Dashes of humour peppered during the opening of the Singapore Brand Conference 2014 on 28 August kept the mood light-hearted but there was nothing light-weight about the issues covered by Professor Tan Thiam Soon, President, SIT, when he spoke about ‘Transforming Singapore Businesses – The Innovation Revolution’.
Singapore Brand Conference 2014
In his keynote address, Prof Tan highlighted the dangers of “an age of disruptive technologies”, an epoch when mid-level skilled workers would be at great risk of becoming obsolete.
He explained that the promise of technological advancement on the economy has brought about certain perils. “On one hand, we can see how sophisticated industry has become and we need these specialists. Yet if they become over specialised, they won’t have the ability to adapt when the industry changes,” explained Prof Tan. “Therefore, how do you train these specialists to be adaptable and innovative? Will they be in trouble?” he posed the questions to the delegates.
The professor cited an example: “Autonomous vehicles, if and when they become reality – taxi, truck and bus drivers – the result is that entire logistic supply chains will change. Many jobs are going to disappear,” he explained.
A panel of academic and industry experts fielded questions from the delegates at the Singapore Brand Conference 2014.
The situation may be remedied by providing an education that places an emphasis on innovation, proposed Prof Tan. “If we can make every single one in a system very effective, for instance, if one person can take control of 20 autonomous vehicles; we are referring to an ‘engineering driver’ type who is in charge at the control room [instead of on the road]. That is the kind of challenge that we at SIT are driving in our educational approach,” he said. In this respect, SIT is creating an educational curriculum which can “help train the kind of graduate the industry needs,” said Prof Tan.
Prof Tan elaborated on SIT’s education model, which is hinged on the university’s DNA values, comprising ‘Thinking Tinkerers’, ‘Ability to Learn, Unlearn and Relearn’, ‘Catalyst for Transformation’ and ‘Grounded in Community’. Of the four DNA strands, Prof Tan explained that it was imperative for the student cum future worker to “learn, unlearn and relearn” and “that ability to think about the future and readapt is critical” in the age of disruptive technologies. “Often the hindrance is people’s unwillingness to accept change,” he cautioned.
In closing, the professor said with a note of optimism: “We are creating a new educational pathway. With students trained the right way, we can easily turn what looks like handicaps – for example, Singapore’s labour shortage – into opportunities.”
The Singapore Brand Conference, which was founded by Dr Wilson Chew, Chief Executive Officer, StrategiCom, is a forum on brand strategy formulation for businesses in Asia, bringing together academic and industry leaders as well as entrepreneurs and investors to network and share their insights and concerns on key brand issues. This year’s event, which is in its seventh edition, focuses on the key ingredients needed for building brand strategy – innovation, intellectual property and investment.
