East Coast Plan unveiled

[jw5]

HSK visited St John's Island.

Heng Swee Keat is at Singapore's Southern Islands - Kusu/St John's/ Lazarus.​

1 h ·
Spent the morning at St John’s Island, home to the St. John's Island Marine Laboratory.
Today, to commemorate its 20th anniversary, I joined the Marine Science Open House.
Singapore is an island in the tropics, and the waters around us are full of marine life. But climate change is having a profound impact on this delicate underwater kingdom.
We must better understand and discover the marine environment and biodiversity in our regional waters, and the intricate interactions between the different life forms.
Our National Marine Lab is an important national research infrastructure that provides us with a window of understanding into marine life, and a platform for discovery.
Marine science will continue to be an important area of research for Singapore and the region, with new breakthroughs allowing us to sustainably use our marine resources while creating a bluer planet.
I am very happy to meet so many passionate marine scientists and students today. They work closely together as a community, undertaking research in climate change studies, eco-engineering, marine conservation, environment sensing and more.
I am also happy to see many young parents and their children at today’s Open House. I hope our young stay curious and eventually explore a career in the sciences.
Our pioneers built a clean and green Singapore. We can go further. In our next phase of growth, let us work together towards a Clean, Green and Blue Singapore!

 

[jw5]

Heng Swee Keat​

3 h ·

Thank you all for hosting me at the St. John's Island Marine Laboratory open house! Had an insightful visit learning about the varied and meaningful projects that our scientists and researchers are working on!

(MCI Photo by Betty Chua)
— at Singapore's Southern Islands - Kusu/St John's/ Lazarus

 

[jw5]

Heng Swee Keat​

4 h ·

Looking at a jellyfish specimen through the microscope. Unexpected blooms of jellyfishes have been observed near coastal communities worldwide. Dr Nicholas Yap, Research Fellow SJINML, National University of Singapore, is researching the effects of ocean warming and food availability on jellyfishes by using ecological and genetic approaches.

(MCI Photo by Betty Chua)
— at Singapore's Southern Islands - Kusu/St John's/ Lazarus

 

[jw5]

Heng Swee Keat​

4 h ·

Dr Tan Koh Siang (in black) shared about the Singapore-Indonesia deep-sea biodiversity expedition. For over 14 days in the waters of Sunda Strait and Southwest Java, a combined team from Singapore and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences collected more than 12,000 specimens from 8,000 species across 63 stations at depths of over 2,000 meters. You can spot some of their findings in the jars!

(MCI Photo by Betty Chua)
— at Singapore's Southern Islands - Kusu/St John's/ Lazarus

 

[jw5]

Heng Swee Keat​

5 h ·

This is a deep-sea sponge from Indonesian waters. They are a dominant fauna in the seabed. Those delicate filaments that you see at the end of the sponges are glass skeletons!

(MCI Photo by Betty Chua)
— at Singapore's Southern Islands - Kusu/St John's/ Lazarus

 

[jw5]

Heng Swee Keat​

1 d ·

By sequestering and storing excess carbon from the air and the sea into deep layers of sediments, termed as ‘blue carbon’, seagrass meadows help slow down the progress of climate change.

Dr Yanxiang, Senior Research Fellow, Tropical Marine Science Institute, National University of Singapore (left), shared how she is currently investigating how plant health and blue carbon capacity may be affected by changing environmental conditions and climate change.

(MCI Photo by Betty Chua)
— at Singapore's Southern Islands - Kusu/St John's/ Lazarus

 

[jw5]

Heng Swee Keat​

1 d ·

Similar to vertical farming, researchers are now also looking into maximising the use of space for coral culture, by arranging these corals vertically on lego blocks for their research!

(MCI Photo by Betty Chua)
— at Singapore's Southern Islands - Kusu/St John's/ Lazarus

 

[jw5]

Heng Swee Keat​

1 d ·

Dr Malika Meghjani, Assistant Professor, SUTD Singapore University of Technology & Design (on my left) and her students from the marine robotics research demonstrated the use of their underwater vehicle. This can potentially be used for coral reef monitoring and underwater structure inspection, and even surface trash collection and other search capabilities.

(MCI Photo by Betty Chua)
— at Singapore's Southern Islands - Kusu/St John's/ Lazarus

 

[jw5]

Heng Swee Keat​

1 d ·

Wonderful seeing many families with young ones at the open house today. I hope the visit will spark their interest in our marine and coastal environment, and the importance of our role in protecting these precious habitats!

(MCI Photo by Betty Chua)
— at Singapore's Southern Islands - Kusu/St John's/ Lazarus

 

[jw5]

Heng Swee Keat​

1 d ·

Thank you for this set of t-shirts featuring new species of hermit crab, tanaid, and bryozoan that were discovered by the marine science researchers!

Dr Serena Teo has been working in this area for two decades, while Prof Koh Lian Pin, is a distinguished Singaporean scientist who’s back in Singapore after years abroad. Prof Staffan Kjelleberg, from Norway, has been here for over a decade. Together, they are overseeing the research at the Lab and are guiding passionate young …
See more
— at Singapore's Southern Islands - Kusu/St John's/ Lazarus

 

[jw5]

HSK hopes his Hindu friends will have bigger celebrations.

Heng Swee Keat​

3 h ·
As we mark the triumph of light over dark, good over evil during this festive season of Deepavali, let us also reflect on our COVID-19 journey over the last two and a half years.
Our fight against the pandemic has been a dark and difficult period. But thanks to the collective efforts of all Singaporeans, we have finally emerged into the light. The pandemic has not fully blown over, but we are learning to live with the virus.
I hope our Hindu friends will be able to have bigger celebrations this year and spend more quality time with their loved ones.
இனிய தீபாவளி வாழ்த்துக்கள்!
(MCI Photo by Betty Chua)

 

[jw5]

HSK celebrates the Purple Parade.

Heng Swee Keat​

1 d ·
The Purple Parade is 10 this year!
This joyous annual celebration to #SupportInclusion and #CelebrateAbilities of Persons with Disabilities has come a long way since it first started in 2013.
This year’s edition is back to its full physical version, and will take place next Saturday 29 October at Suntec City. I'm really looking forward to seeing Singaporeans from all walks of life paint the town purple again!

All of us can play a part to build a more inclusive Singapore. Do join in the fun activities or show your support by dressing in purple this month! Find out more here: https://www.purpleparade.sg/
#ThePurpleParade10
(Purple Parade 2019./ MCI Photo by Chwee)

 

[jw5]

HSK glad to be back at SWITCH Singapore.

Heng Swee Keat​

22 h ·
Glad to be back at SWITCH Singapore — the annual Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology!
SWITCH 2022 is an 18,000 strong community, coming from more than 90 countries. I am glad that we can all gather in-person today after a two-year hiatus.
I spoke about three key challenges that we need to tackle – talent is not enough for many innovating companies, tech is moving too fast for many SMEs, and the green movement is moving too slowly.
In my speech, I also covered how Singapore is contributing to address these challenges, including additional resources for AI manpower.
Also had the chance to interact with participants at the various exhibition booths earlier, and to meet Indonesian Health Minister Pak Budi who flew in specially for SWITCH.
Together, we can strengthen the global innovation movement and create a better future for everyone.

 

[jw5]

Heng Swee Keat​

23 h ·

Learned more about Stellar Lifestyle, the business arm of SMRT Corporation Limited. It recently launched “Hive by Stellar Lifestyle”, a new innovation space conveniently located at Esplanade MRT Station, with SMEs forming the majority of retailers.

These are strawberries from one of its retailers, Singrow — a local urban farming specialist with innovative agri-technology solutions for producing premium-quality fruits and vegetables.

(MCI Photo by Fyrol)

 

[jw5]

Heng Swee Keat​

1 d ·

This device that I’m holding which looks like a lightsaber is actually a handheld skin bioprinter. Burn injuries affect millions of people every year. Skin bioprinters are a viable treatment option but are often complex to use. To counter this, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) researchers developed this simple device to help in the treatment of burn patients.

(MCI Photo by Fyrol)

 

[jw5]

Heng Swee Keat​

2 d ·

Dr Zhou Lihan, co-founder & CEO of MiRXES, shared with me their idea of setting up an “early Pod”, a series of pop-ups aimed at making preventive care accessible.

I met him earlier this year too, and I’m glad the company is doing well. They are launching their translator program which serves as an aggregator for global companies to converge and drive preventive health and early intervention.

(MCI Photo by Fyrol)

 

[jw5]

Heng Swee Keat​

2 d ·

Glad to see our education institutes involved! Companies looking to streamline their processes can have greater access to customised robotics solutions by Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s Robotics Research & Innovation Centre.

I’m looking at HIRO (Healthcare Assistive Robot for Frontline Infection Control), currently used in SingHealth Polyclinics for disinfection and safe management measures.

(MCI Photo by Fyrol)

 

[jw5]

Heng Swee Keat​

3 d ·

Wonderful to have met with Indonesia Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin at SWITCH Singapore! We spoke about some of the companies that are currently based in Singapore and Indonesia, and how we can collaborate better.

(MCI Photo by Fyrol)

 

[jw5]

Heng Swee Keat​

3 d ·

Exciting line-up of exhibitors including our research institutes and start-ups at this year’s SWITCH Singapore! I wish all participants a successful event!

(MCI Photo by Fyrol)

 

[jw5]

HSK was very happy to launch UOB's Better U Festival.

Heng Swee Keat​

2 d ·
How can companies better support their employees to learn and grow, while taking care of their well-being holistically? This is a key question for many companies globally, especially after the pandemic has shone a spotlight on many of these issues, including mental health.
An important aspect is to build a supportive and progressive workplace culture. So I was very happy to launch UOB's Better U Festival this morning. As its name suggests, this annual conference brings together UOB employees from all around the world, to discuss how to advance workforce transformation, promote workplace flexibilities, and enhance well-being.
I hope all companies, whether in the financial or other sectors, can continue to put their people at the forefront of their strategies and support every worker to become a “Better You”. This way, we will be able to ensure that each and every worker can continue to contribute and flourish.