Speech by Minister for Foreign Affairs and Law, Mr K Shanmugam, at the Singapore Land Authority Spatial Challenge 2011 Award Ceremony at The Plaza, National Library Building

27 JUL 2011

27 Jul 2011 Posted in Speeches

Students, teachers, principals,
Industry partners,
Colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,

  1. Good afternoon. I am very pleased to join you today for the Singapore Land Authority’s (SLA) Spatial Challenge 2011.

A Growing Geospatial Industry

  1. The geospatial industry is experiencing high growth. Global sales of geospatial products are projected to grow by eight per cent this year to US$5 billion. In Singapore, we expect a similar growth trend.

Geospatial Capacity Building

  1. To take advantage of this growth, the Government has launched two initiatives:-
    1. First, OneMap allows individuals and businesses to combine public spatial information with their own data, as well as build applications and services.
    2. Second, dat a.gov.sg brings together over 5,000 datasets from 50 government ministries and agencies.
  1. Both are publicly accessible portals. The data can be tapped by companies and public agencies for business applications and the delivery of public services.
  1. We hope these initiatives will help to kickstart the development of location-based business and social applications.
  1. With the growth of the industry, there will be increased demand for people with the right skills and competencies. Some firms are realising the need for geospatial professionals to analyse the spatial profile of their customers, using maps.
  1. The local tertiary institutions now offer modules in geospatial information science and technology. However, we may need to do more, so that there is a more sustained supply of skilled workers for the geospatial industry.
  1. SLA will work with the Ministry of Education, the industry and educational and training institutions. For a start, basic Geographic Information System (GIS) courses have been arranged for public sector officers. A regular geospatial information and technology forum has also been organised to facilitate the sharing of ideas and networking among industry professionals.

Closing

  1. This event - the Spatial Challenge - now in its fourth year, provides the opportunity for students to have a taste of geospatial information science and technology. Students can bring classroom ideas into the field. They can also use geospatial information and technology to devise solutions to practical issues.
  1. Today, 37 teams of young men and women from 18 educational institutions are gathered here with their innovative geospatial projects. These projects span a wide range of topics, from helping to protect the environment to addressing the needs of the elderly.
  1. I congratulate all the student participants . I hope this has been a fun and enriching process that has opened your eyes to the possibilities of the world of geospatial analysis, and the applications you can develop for the community.
  1. In closing, I would like to thank the main sponsor ESRI Singapore as well as our partners – the Ministry of Education, school principals and teachers, who have all made this year’s Spatial Challenge a resounding success for the fourth year running.
  1. Thank you.

Last updated on 25 Nov 2012