Four NIE staff speak at MENDAKI Symposium 2022

Yayasan MENDAKI (Council for the Development of Singapore Malay/Muslim Community) invited four NIE staff to speak at the MENDAKI Symposium 2022 on 30 June 2022. The symposium was held at the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre and more than 200 participants attended the event. Themed “Rethinking Education”, the speakers delved into discussions surrounding education trends and the impact on the Malay/Muslim community in Singapore. The event was officiated by Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam. 

Three of the NIE staff are researchers from the Office of Education Research (OER), namely Dr Johannis Auri Abdul Aziz, Research Fellow, Dr Michael Tan, Education Research Scientist at OER’s Research & Integrity Unit, and Dr Teng Siao See, Asst Dean (Strategic Engagement). They were joined by Assoc Prof Jason Tan Eng Thye from the Policy, Curriculum and Leadership Academic Group (PCL).  

Dr Johannis and Dr Michael Tan were in first plenary session titled “Rediscovering Meaning and Purpose in Education”, which looked at how the education system can provide meaningful education with the rise of technological disruptions in a post-COVID world. The session kicked off with Dr Johannis giving a presentation on his project titled “Purpose and Meaning for Singaporean Society: The Impact of the Future of Work on Individual Purpose and the Role of Education”. Following the presentation was the panel discussion, which included Senior Minister of State for Ministry of Defence and Manpower, and Deputy Chairman of Yayasan MENDAKI, Mr Zaqy Mohamad. You may watch the full session here. 

The third breakout session titled “Pursuing Excellence & Equity”, talked about finding a balance in providing equitable and quality education while producing excellent students for Singapore’s economy. The list of panelists included Dr Teng Siao See and Assoc Prof Jason Tan.