Speech by SMS Tan Kiat How at NUS School of Computing 50th Anniversary Gala Dinner

Professor Tan Eng Chye, President of NUS

Professor Liu Bin, NUS Deputy President (Research and Technology)

Professor Tulika Mitra, Dean, NUS School of Computing

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

1. It is a pleasure to celebrate the NUS School of Computing’s (SoC) 50th anniversary with you tonight.

2. Confucius once said, “At fifteen my heart was set on learning, at thirty I stood firm, at forty I had no more doubts, at fifty I knew the will of heaven.”

   • 子曰：吾十有五而志于学，三十而立，四十而不惑，五十而知天命。

3. Congratulations to SoC on five decades of excellence and knowing your destiny! 4. Over the last 50 years, SoC has grown in lockstep with Singapore.

4. Over the last 50 years, SoC has grown in lockstep with Singapore.

   1. In the 1970s and 80s, as Singapore’s economy rapidly industrialised, the then-Department of Computer Science was responsible for training our first generation of IT professionals.

   2. In the 1990s, amid our national computerisation effort to become an intelligent island, the Department of Computer Science grew into a standalone School of Computing.

   3. In the 2000s, the School deepened partnerships with industry in domains crucial to Singapore’s digital economy, such as cybersecurity, data science and interactive media.

5. SoC has come far since its modest beginnings in 1975. Today, SoC is internationally recognised.

   1. Ranked 1st in Asia and 4th globally for computer science and information systems in 2025.

   2. Your alumni are making waves in Singapore and around the world.

6. Consider your alumnus, like Ms. Chong Chuan Neo, who is the first woman to lead Accenture Greater China. Today, she serves on the boards of OCBC, Raffles Medical Group, and SIA Engineering.

   1. Mr. Tok Wee Hyong, Partner Director of Products & AI at Microsoft.

   2. Ms. Jess Ng, Country Manager of Fortinet for Singapore and Brunei.

   3. Mr. Laurence Putra Franslay, Engineering Leader for eSRE (Enterprise Site Reliability Engineering) at TikTok, US.

7. Importantly, SoC has not forgotten its mission, which is to nurture generations of tech leaders and talent to drive Singapore’s Smart Nation ambitions.

   1. We have seen this in the school’s growing cohorts over the years, with enrolment for both undergraduate and graduate programmes having more than tripled in the past decade, and women making up more than a quarter of your AY2024/25 cohort.

8. Apart from talent and research excellence, SoC plays an important role in our tech ecosystem by bridging the gap with industry and translating research into real-world solutions.

   1. This includes partnerships with leading firms like Microsoft, IBM, Sea, Grab. And tonight, we celebrate a new collaboration with Google to establish a joint research and innovation centre with NUS, focusing on Applied AI and Computing.

   2. By enabling faculty and students to work alongside industry, research can address real market needs and students can learn industry development practices.

   3. These partnerships provide industry access to talent while offering students invaluable experiences.

9. Today, we stand at another pivotal point in technological development.

   1. AI is reshaping industries and redefining work, from AI-driven coding tools to automated content generation.

   2. I know that this transformation will feel unsettling for some – whether you are a fresh graduate entering the workforce or someone who has been in this industry for some years.

10. Anecdotally, we understand that demand for tech professionals has softened. Firms are still hiring but perhaps at a slower pace compared to a few years ago due to various reasons, including the cloud of uncertainty hanging over the global economy.

11. At the same time, we envisage that demand for tech roles in Singapore will remain robust. These roles are good jobs with good career prospects.

    1. Tech employment has grown by 24% over the last 5 years.

       1. From near 172,000 (or 4.5% of total employment) in 2019 to almost 214,000 (or 5.3% of total employment) in 2024.

       2. AI & Data, Cyber Security and Product Development were among the faster-growing tech domains in 2023.

    2. Tech graduates also earn competitive starting salaries, with a median monthly wage of $5,600, or 25% higher than the average fresh graduate.

    3. In fact, NUS SoC graduates with a Bachelor of Computing in 2024 earned median monthly wages starting from around $6,000, and most are employed within six months of completing their final exam. These are good employment outcomes and competitive salaries.

12. Opportunities extend beyond tech companies to non-tech sectors.

    1. According to the WEF Future of Jobs Report, 77% of surveyed employers plan to reskill and upskill the existing workforce to work more effectively alongside AI by 2030.

    2. Sectors such as logistics, finance, and healthcare are actively seeking tech professionals to drive AI innovation. For instance, logistics firms are looking for AI professionals who can understand machine learning algorithms and apply it to domain-specific needs such as supply chain optimisation.

    3. In Singapore, tech roles in non-tech sectors account for close to 6 in 10 of our tech work force. As more sectors apply AI in their domains, there will be greater demand for tech roles across different sectors, particularly in non-tech sectors.

13. However, we can and should expect that tech roles of the future will evolve with AI.

14. With the speed of technological change, students coming into NUS can expect to enter a different world by graduation. Over the last few months, I have been speaking to key employers of tech professionals to understand what they value about our graduates in this rapidly changing tech landscape.

15. Based on my engagements with them, let me make three suggestions for SoC in its next phase of work.

16. First, strengthen the relationship between deep technical fundamentals and essential soft skills.

    1. With AI-coding tools becoming more accessible to programmers, there will be a greater emphasis on skills beyond an ability to code. To be clear, coding and fundamental skills sets remain important. In fact, a good user should be able to specify what code they want generated when using these tools.

    2. But more importantly, there will be emphasis on other skills, such as critical thinking and problem solving to ensure that any code they develop contributes to solving a problem statement effectively, or whether they are even solving the right problem in the first place.

       1. Employers will value tech professionals who know how to possess and apply these skills.

    3. Equally important are soft skills such as business acumen, communication and leadership to navigate market needs and lead technical teams.

    4. The market increasingly values those with deep technical expertise in one area and broad competency across multiple domains.

    5. What this means is that computing graduates who can bridge their technical expertise with domain knowledge will be well-positioned to seize opportunities in the future.

17. Second, embrace human-centric computing. This is a mindset that puts people at the heart of the systems and solutions we develop and reflects empathy and ethics.

    1. Fundamentally, it is about whether society trusts the AI and digital systems. Without trust, adoption of AI and tech will be almost impossible.

    2. But trust is not built just by technical robustness, but through thoughtful design that understands how people live, work and interact.

       1. For example, when we build AI models to support decision-making in areas like healthcare or employment, we should ensure that these models are transparent, fair, robust and explainable.

       2. If a citizen feels that he/she is unfairly treated by a digital system making a recommendation, confidence is lost in the very technologies that are meant to help us.

    3. That is why empathy, ethics and the ability to harness technological innovation to create tangible benefits for society will be valuable attributes for the next generation of computing professionals.

18. Third, to achieve the first two points, we need to build stronger bridges between academia and industry.

    1. But beyond formal partnerships, alumni participation is critical.

    2. I want to encourage SoC’s 23,000 strong alumni network to actively mentor students, offer internships and share your knowledge in bridging theory and application.

19. Tonight, we celebrate NUS SoC's achievements and the opportunities ahead.

20. And even amid the challenges in this rapidly changing technology landscape, I hope we remember that technology can be a force for good.

    1. We must find every opportunity to make it a reality.

    2. I trust that NUS SoC will continue to do so, as you nurture leaders who are confident, empathetic, and principled in seizing opportunities to make meaningful impact in all domain and in all sectors.

21. I look forward to many more years ahead, and I wish SoC a happy 50th anniversary.