The Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES) Launches IES-SG50 Campaign to Commemorate Singapore’s 50th Birthday and Celebrate Engineers’ Nation-Building Contributions

Reading Time: 3 minutes

The Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES) announced the launch of IES-SG50, an IES initiative to commemorate Singapore’s 50th birthday in 2015 and IES’ 50th anniversary in 2016, celebrate contributions by engineers to Singapore’s economic, infrastructural and societal development and 50 years of engineering achievements in Singapore.

Mr Lim Swee Say, NTUC Secretary-General and IES Honorary Fellow and Er. Chong Kee Sen, IES President, unveiled the IES-SG50 Golden Jubilee Logo, which will adorn all IES-SG50 collaterals and mementos, at the U Associate Convention 2015 today. Keynote speaker and IES Lifetime Engineering Achievement Award 2014 winner, Professor Lui Pao Chuen, kicked off the launch event delivering the first of a series of 50 engineering talks with an address providing insights into the future of engineering in Singapore.

 

To be held from January 2015 to July 2016, IES-SG50 comprises an entire line-up of exciting activities for the engineering community, students and the public. Its aim is to raise awareness of the work, prospects and contributions of engineers and to inspire more students to join the profession.

As part of the IES-SG50 campaign, IES will be producing the exclusively-minted IES-SG50 Golden Jubilee Medallion, which carries the IES logo on one side and the IES-SG50 Golden Jubilee logo on the other, to recognise the individual efforts of engineers towards society. The funds raised from the medallion will go towards the IES-SG50 Golden Jubilee Scholarship Fund, to support needy students with a passion for the engineering field.

IES will also organise an unprecedented series of 50 engineering talks, offering a rare opportunity for the public to go behind the scenes to gain a better picture of the work of engineers. The series will cover interesting topics such as the evolution of engineering in Singapore, the role of engineers in the nation’s growth and engineering education today.

Another key highlight of the campaign is a book entitled ‘50 Years of Engineering’, jointly produced by IES and World Scientific Publishing Company, that will feature the most significant engineering contributions to Singapore’s nation-building. The project is headed by Professor Cham Tao Soon, IES Honorary Fellow and IES Past President, as the Editor-in-Chief.

A U-Associate Partner of the Labour Movement, IES will be sponsoring three-year complimentary NTUC U Associate Memberships from April 2015 to March 2017 for IES members. IES members who qualify for the complimentary U-Associate Memberships will be eligible for subsidised professional development seminars, networking events and privileges with affiliated merchants. Members will also receive training vouchers worth $50 for courses conducted by the IES Academy.

Other IES-SG50 initiatives include the Engineering Feats @ SG50 competition to identify 50 engineering projects, via votes from Singaporeans, that have made economic and social impact to Singapore; and the contribution of Vantage Views II, a collection of the thoughts and perspectives on a wide range of contemporary issues by Er. Lim Soon Hock by donors to the IES Redevelopment Project to school libraries. IES-SG50 will culminate with the IES-SG50 Golden Jubilee Gala Dinner in July 2016.

“As Singapore reaches a significant milestone this year, it is opportune to honour engineers who have moulded our nation into the vibrant, thriving city it is today,” said Er. Chong. “IES-SG50 will not only celebrate the achievements of our pioneer engineers in the past five decades, it will also enable us to reach out to the next generation as we look towards Singapore’s next fifty years. As the national society of engineers, IES will continue our effort to create more platforms for them to unleash their full potential and work towards building Singapore’s future.”

At the launch seminar, Er. Chong joined Mr Chak Kong Soon, President of Singapore Computer Society; Mr Erman Tan, President of Singapore Human Resource Institute; Mr Gilbert Tan, CEO of Employment & Employability Institute (e2i) and Mr Kimmis Pun, President of Financial Planning Association of Singapore for a panel discussion on building winning professional associations of the future.