Response Speech from Mr Lim Chuan Poh, Chairman of A*STAR, at the Conferment of Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science on 29 June 2017, at Cranfield University

Chancellor, Baroness Young of Old Scone
Vice-Chancellor, Sir Peter Gregson
Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Tom Stephenson
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen,
A very good afternoon to all of you.

Let me first thank the Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor and Cranfield University for this award.

When I was a young army officer and still working on my career, I asked to attend the Weapon Staff Course at Shrivenham.

To my disappointment, I was told that it was not necessary for my career development. I wanted very much to get a proper foundation in military technology and to learn from Cranfield’s military technology experts.

So, I did the next best thing - I borrowed notes from someone who attended the course.

I suppose I have not done too badly in my military career after that.

It is therefore very meaningful for me to be receiving this honorary degree from Cranfield today.

At the same time, I am mindful that this award is also a positive recognition of how Singapore and A*STAR have advanced in terms of research, innovation and enterprise. I am privileged to play a part in this journey alongside many other distinguished colleagues and partners, both local and international.

Over the years, Singapore has benefitted greatly from its deep and longstanding research and innovation ties with the United Kingdom (UK), forged through collaborations with universities and industry, and the exchange of talent.

Just a fortnight ago, we were honoured to co-host the second Commonwealth Science Conference with the UK’s Royal Society in Singapore.

There are around 8,000 Singaporean students enrolled in excellent UK universities including Cranfield.¹

A*STAR alone has sent over 400 promising young students on scholarships to the UK to pursue undergraduate and PhD studies since 2001.²

Apart from sending our young talent to study here, A*STAR has also given a variety of scholarships at the undergraduate and PhD level to nearly 200 students from the UK since 2008.³

This is part of our open talent strategy.

More specifically, many Singaporeans have benefited from Cranfield’s graduate programmes that train talent to be industry-ready.

Cranfield’s focus on talent development and industry collaboration is similar to A*STAR’s position to bridge the gap between academia and industry.

Aviation is an important part of Singapore’s economy and we are an aviation hub. We are connected to the rest of the world through our airport with about 7,000 flights landing or departing each week.

It is also one of the world’s busiest airports for international air cargo, handling close to 2 million tonnes annually.⁴

To help develop our reputation as an aviation hub, Singapore has linked up with Cranfield through your internationally renowned aviation postgraduate programmes.

Cranfield, of course, has a distinguished history in aviation research and capabilities grown out of the College of Aeronautics established some 70 years ago.

In 2014, Cranfield and the Singapore Aviation Academy (SAA) jointly launched the Master of Science (MSc) in Air Transport Management.

This was the first-ever programme offered in Asia by Cranfield University.

In addition, Cranfield is renowned for flight safety and air accident investigation.

Our officers in the Transport Safety Investigation Bureau, regularly enroll in your courses.

These partnerships have been a boost to human capital development for the aviation industry in Singapore.

Cranfield has also been a valuable partner in nurturing younger specialists in the aerospace industry.

One collaboration with a local university trains the next generation of aerospace professionals through the Bachelors of Engineering Aerospace Systems programme.

Your colleagues have also generously given us their time and share their experiences through seminars and workshops, and some of your alumni are now part of the A*STAR family.

In fact, Prof Sir John O'Reilly, former Vice-Chancellor of Cranfield University, now serves as Chairman of A*STAR’s Science and Engineering Research Council.

We hope that this connection will continue to grow and that there will be more opportunities for mutually beneficial collaboration and exchange of ideas.

On this note, I would like to congratulate the graduating class from Cranfield’s School for Transport Systems and Manufacturing.

All of you have just received the best possible education and preparation for the journey ahead.

I have no doubt that you will make your mentors here at Cranfield University proud, and I wish you all the best.

Once again, I thank Cranfield University for this award, and I look forward to deepening our partnership and friendship.