7 April 2009 - Speech By RADM(NS) Lui Tuck Yew, Acting Minister, Ministry Of Information, Communications and The Arts, As Guest Of Honour at The National Infocomm Competition 2009 Launch and National Infocomm Competition 2008 Awards Ceremony, The Marina Barrage
Speech By RADM(NS) Lui Tuck Yew, Acting Minister, Ministry Of Information, Communications and The Arts, As Guest Of Honour at The National Infocomm Competition 2009 Launch and National Infocomm Competition 2008 Awards Ceremony On Tuesday, 7 April 2009, 4.35pm, The Marina Barrage
Good afternoon, partners from the industry and educational institutions, students and teachers, ladies and gentlemen
1. Let me first extend my heartiest congratulations to all winners of the infocomm challenges under the National Infocomm Competition (NIC) 2008 circuit. I understand that more than 100 winners emerged from the 12 challenges conducted throughout 2008. I want to commend all of you who have participated in the challenges and contributed to the excitement and success of NIC 2008.
2. Every year, close to 3,000 students from Secondary Schools, Junior Colleges, ITEs and Polytechnics compete against one another at the NIC. You learn to plan, strategise and apply infocomm skills competitively and, at the same time, also learn to work as a team and exercise your creative and value judgment. While these are done in the name of competition, I would like to encourage you to also see this as a valuable opportunity to network and collaborate with each other, to come up with infocomm solutions that may well apply in the real world.
NIC Challenges Reflect Advancements In Technology
3. I am pleased to note that the NIC challenges have advanced along with changes in technology. The NIC was started in 2006 to offer a competitive national platform for young minds to showcase their talent in infocomm through a series of challenges. The challenges then revolved around areas such as business IT, mobile technology and programming. As the NIC gained traction, the challenges were expanded to cover more areas, such as interactive digital media, infocomm security, networking and Web 2.0 applications.
4. Indeed, last year’s NIC threw up interesting and relevant solutions. For instance, the Java Jive Regional Challenge winners developed an innovative, real-time web application for health enthusiasts and patients to share new healthy recipes with each other, complete with pictures and cooking instructions. Another interesting solution was developed by the winners of the National StrITwise® Challenge. With creative software programming and animation, the participants designed a live-size graphical “virtual” robot capable of navigating a complex maze to perform rescue and combat operations in the shortest time possible. I would like to commend your fine efforts, and I look forward to the new innovative ideas that our young minds will unleash this year as the NIC continues to provide exciting opportunities for competing schools in the 13 challenges in 2009.
Launch of Revamped IDA Talent Portal
5. Apart from the NIC, there is now another avenue for you to come up with novel infocomm solutions and ideas for tomorrow. As you can see on screen now, the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) has launched a new portal where you can interact with one another, fuel one another’s imagination and demonstrate your infocomm skills. You can exercise your minds much like what you did in NIC, but this time you can do it online and 24 by 7. The current talent portal which you are familiar with has been revamped into ‘the fascinating world of infocomm’. The portal, which contains a 3D world, invites you to explore and experience infocomm by contributing challenges and ideas on how infocomm can be used to create a better tomorrow. More people, including your peers as well as infocomm professionals, can now interact, share experiences, nurture and inspire each other about the potential of infocomm. Do visit www.infocommtalent.sg and share your thoughts and contribute new ideas in this ‘Fascinating World of Infocomm’ portal.
Conclusion
6. Before I conclude, let me once again congratulate all winners and participants from the various schools and institutions. I would like to also acknowledge the strong support and contributions of all the partners and supporters who have made NIC possible. They include our polytechnics - Nanyang, Ngee Ann, Republic, Singapore and Temasek; our universities - NUS, SMU, NTU and SIM; institutions and organisations such as ITE, Information Technology Standards Committee, Singapore Computer Society and Science Centre Singapore; and last but not least, our industry partners - Adobe, Barclays Capital, Sun Microsystems and M1 - who sponsored the NIC 2008 prizes.
7. I encourage all of you to continue to participate in the many exciting infocomm activities, and be a part of the fascinating world of infocomm. Thank you.
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