From left: Ms Janet Ang, NUS-ISS Chairman; NUS President Prof Tan Eng Chye; Mr Tan Kiat How, Minister of State, Ministry of Communications and Information and Ministry of National Development; Guest-of-Honour Mr Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Education; and Mr Khoong Chan Meng, NUS-ISS CEO, at the official opening of the new NUS-ISS building.

The new building of the Institute of Systems Science at the National University of Singapore (NUS-ISS) was officially opened today by Mr Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Education. The launch ceremony was also graced by Mr Tan Kiat How, Minister of State, Ministry of Communications and Information and Ministry of National Development; Professor Tan Eng Chye, President of NUS; Ms Janet Ang, Chairman of NUS-ISS; and Mr Khoong Chan Meng, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NUS-ISS.

Held at the Inspire Theatre, the event was attended by industry partners, stakeholders and distinguished guests, comprising former NUS-ISS chairmen Mr Philip Yeo, Mr Lim Swee Say and Mr Tan Chin Nam, as well as current board members including Mr Bahren Shaari, Mr Ng Kuo Pin, Mr Lew Chuen Hong and Mr Quek Siu Rui.

Said NUS-ISS CEO, Mr Khoong Chan Meng, “This expansion and transformation is our signature investment for the next generation of digital talent. We wanted our new building to be a beacon on campus, drawing in and captivating industry professionals to experience the joy of learning in NUS-ISS. We look forward to welcoming more learners and organisations at our new space and journeying with them to help them reach their digital excellence goals.”

Signature investment for the next generation of digital talent

Completed over a two-year period, the revitalised NUS-ISS building offers an inspirational, flexible and innovative environment specially designed for learning, practice, collaboration and social networking. It features a bold and dynamic building façade amid lush greenery, with additional common spaces such as an oasis-like courtyard and a rooftop garden terrace for staff, students and visitors to interact and relax.

With an expanded floorspace of up to 75 per cent, the capacity of classrooms and staff offices has been doubled. All learning spaces in the building are furnished with modular, reconfigurable furniture to enable a variety of interaction and collaboration styles. The facilities are also equipped with state-of-the-art technology to help learners and educators adopt hybrid and blended learning journeys.

Fresh initiatives to enable industry partners grow their organic digital capabilities

Since its inception in 1981, NUS-ISS has trained over 157,000 professionals, managers and executives from over 8,000 organisations in the public and private sectors. As the Institute turns 40 this year, it renews its commitment to enabling industry partners on their digital transformation journey. NUS-ISS will do so through a series of fresh initiatives that build upon its expertise in developing key competencies for the digital age.

Forging ahead, NUS-ISS will focus on driving comprehensive partnerships with enterprises, trade associations, and professional bodies to build digital capacities in the various industries in a more robust and sustainable manner. Apart from training and upskilling, NUS-ISS is assisting these partners in a myriad of ways including internships, projects collaboration, talent acquisition and retention, career development activities, consulting and research.

NUS-ISS will also co-invest and collaborate with industry partners to set up and run their own digital academies, replicating the NUS-ISS operating model, to help them to grow their organic digital capabilities. The Digital Academy by Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech Singapore) was launched in June 2021 to accelerate digital transformation of the public sector, with NUS-ISS as the Operations Partner and a Knowledge Partner.

As the working world undergoes a paradigm shift, industry professionals need to develop dynamic digital skills in a more synergistic manner, through holistic, just-in-time learning. NUS-ISS leverages a unique model of multiple learning pathways and blended learning to ensure that upskilling is a continual journey that can happen anytime, anywhere. To make its programmes more widely accessible and scalable, the Institute is working with new channel partners and facilitating new modes of delivery to reach more learners in Singapore and internationally. From stackable to certifiable pathways, online to face-to-face experiences, and formal to social learning, NUS-ISS provides an open platform for collaboration to help our learning organisations climb the next curve of digital excellence.

Said NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye, “NUS-ISS has advanced significantly through the years, adapting to the changing needs of the workforce and industry, and developing digital talent for Singapore. We are excited about the many new opportunities the upcoming collaborations with our corporate partners will bring for industry professionals who are taking up programmes with the Institute. We are also grateful to these partners for working alongside us to build a resilient, long-term talent pipeline for Singapore and beyond.”

In a Partners Recognition Ceremony following the launch of its refurbished building, NUS-ISS acknowledged its key partners GovTech and NCS, in addition to welcoming nine new collaborative partners. The incoming partners are:

Technology Sector

• Certis Group
• NTT DATA Singapore
• ST Engineering Digital Systems
• Visa

Healthcare Sector

• Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital

Finance Sector

• AMTD Digital
• Bank of Singapore
• Institute of Banking & Finance

Logistics and Transport Sector

• The Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport

Selected corporate partners also took part in an industry roundtable chaired by Mr Tan Kiat How, addressing key topics on how companies can play a more active role helping their workforce pick up new skills and enable mid-career switchers, as well as how NUS-ISS helps to address the skills gap in the ICT industry and supports the national agenda through its upcoming schemes designed to enhance digital talent development.