Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen officiated at the Innovation Symposium 2019 (IS19) at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) this morning. A total of 68 awards were presented to individuals, groups and units from the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) in recognition of their innovations and work improvement efforts, which led to savings of over S$190 million in the last financial year.

Speaking at the awards presentation ceremony, Dr Ng announced the renewed emphasis on MINDEF's innovation drive. He said, "Over the years, PRIDE has resulted in many improvements to the thousands of daily tasks all of you perform in the workplace. Some which led to significant savings in time, manpower, and cost… PRIDE has succeeded in building a culture where more servicemen and women take ownership to improve the work processes they are involved with every day… The change is… to strengthen that culture, and continue to enable individuals or groups to achieve the same aims." The new tools include the Innovation Playbook^[1], the Live Digital Testbed^[2] at RSS Singapura – Changi Naval Base, and the Accelerator Programme^[3].

Recognising that people and culture make up the core of meaningful change, Dr Ng said, "Leadership is critical to foster the right kind of environment for the innovation spirit to thrive. The inaugural Leaders' Summit will be held this year, so that leaders and commanders can discuss how to foster and sustain this kind of environment in MINDEF/SAF." About 1,000 senior officers from MINDEF/SAF will be attending the inaugural Leaders' Summit tomorrow.

IS19 aims to recognise the achievements and contributions of units and personnel in innovation as well as to provide a platform for learning and meaningful discussions across MINDEF/SAF and partners to generate new ideas. The theme, "Solving Problems; Innovating Together" underscores MINDEF/SAF's aspiration and commitment to building a stronger SAF and better workplace by co-creating as one. For the first time, IS19 features the efforts of industry players alongside MINDEF/SAF to expand the learning and application of the visitors.

Also present at the awards presentation ceremony were Senior Minister of State for Defence Mr Heng Chee How, Permanent Secretary for Defence Mr Chan Yeng Kit, Permanent Secretary for Defence Development Mr Joseph Leong, Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General Melvyn Ong, as well as senior officials from MINDEF/SAF.

The public is invited to visit the Innovation Symposium 2019 Exhibition at the SUTD atrium on 29 and 30 October 2019. The exhibition showcases a range of innovative projects and Smart Defence initiatives as well as projects from industry partners. The exhibition is open from 9pm to 5pm on 29 October 2019, and from 9am to 4:30pm on 30 October 2019.