welcome message

FROM MR THARMAN SHANMUGARATNAM,
MINISTER FOR EDUCATION & SECOND MINISTER FOR FINANCE

I would like to extend a warm welcome to all participants in the inaugural Singapore International Science Challenge (SISC) 2007.

The 21st century belongs to cities and nations which bring people together to create new ideas, and which spur enterprise to create new value around these ideas. Science is driving the next big wave of ideas and innovation. Emerging fields such as nanotechnology, quantum information science and the biomedical and environmental sciences are making possible new products and treatments that hold promise for humanity.

The future of science lies in the hands of the young individuals who will eventually become scientists, academics and entrepreneurs. There is much that each of you can learn from one another. By bringing the best science talents from around the world together, the SISC 2007 hopes to inspire you, the next generation of scientists, to compete and collaborate at an international level.

I hope you will take the opportunity also to make new friends and share with one another your diverse cultures. I invite our foreign friends especially to take time to enjoy the multi-cultural milieu that is Singapore.

I wish one and all a stimulating and enjoyable experience at the SISC 2007.

Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Minister for Education &
Second Minister for Finance