Prof Leo Tan Wee Hin President Singapore National Academy of Science

1. Achieving without investing in physical infrastructure: Experiences from the Singapore National Academy of Science Prof Leo Tan Wee Hin President Singapore National Academy of Science

2. Scientists as building blocks for national science academies • Scientists in a country work in various fields and agencies – civil service, universities, research institutes, polytechnics, and private sector • Their distribution in various agencies come in the way of tapping their skills for collective gains even though they are doing a good job on their own • When they are affiliated to a national science academy, pooling of talent opens up more opportunities for science promotion and science education as well as collaboration with their parent agencies

3. Singapore National Academy of Science (SNAS) • Established in 1967 • Operating without a building – has been having a virtual office even before the advent of the Internet • Mailing address: c/o Singapore Science Centre • No full time employees – all volunteers • Only source of regular income is the S$500 paid by each of its nine constituent societies for their annual subscription fees

4. Principal mission objectives of SNAS • Promotion of science and technology to students and the public • Even though the entire government machinery supports a culture of S & T, SNAS still plays a role by supporting capacity building through its various initiatives • Big science is generally not the aim of SNAS • Emphasis is more on initiatives and programmes which popularize S & T as well as those which meet certain needs of scientists since these can reach out to a wide audience and be done with minimal funding

5. Constituent Societies of SNAS • Singapore Association for the Advancement of Science • Singapore National Institute of Chemistry • Institute of Physics Singapore • Singapore Institute of Biology • Singapore Mathematical Society • Singapore Society for Biochemistry & Molecular Biology • Singapore Society for Microbiology & Biotechnology • Singapore Institute of Statistics • Science Teachers’ Association of Singapore

6. Council of SNAS • Composition: (a) President (b) 2 Vice Presidents (c) Honorary Secretary (d) Honorary Treasurer (e) Presidents and Honorary Secretaries of its 9 constituent societies (18 members) • Having a lean Council found to be very important in getting things done and moving forward with mission objectives • Structure involving nine constituent societies reporting to SNAS provides multiplier effect for realizing mission objectives; the nine constituent societies are like chapters but in different disciplines

7. Programs for Science Education • In collaboration with the Singapore Science Centre, the Singapore Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Science Teachers’ Association of Singapore, SNAS administers the Young Scientist Badge Scheme for primary students and the Questa Club scheme for secondary students. These initiatives promote inquiry learning. • Other educational programmes run by each of our nine constituent societies

8. Young Scientist Badge Scheme • Allows students to engage in project-based investigations in 15 disciplines: Geology , Zoology, Mathematics Physics, Ornithology, Botany Astronomy , Chemistry, Entomology Ecology, Meteorology, Environment Information Technology, Food Technology and Water • Students need to complete tasks in an Activity Card and then get these certified by the class teacher • Successful completion of Activity Card gets student a highly coveted ‘I am a Young Scientist’ Badge in the appropriate discipline • Over 60,000 badges awarded annually

9. Young Scientist Activity Card in Physics

10. Questa Club Scheme • Not structured like that of Young Scientist badge scheme but more open-ended • Secondary students can engage in a science project of their liking • Successful completion of project gets them a coveted Gold or Silver Questa badge, depending on the quality of the project • About 10,000 Badges awarded annually

11. Programmes for Science Research - SNAS Young Scientist Awards • Two categories: (a) Physical, Information & Engineering Sciences (b) Biological & Biomedical Sciences • Each Award carries a cash prize of S$10,000, a certificate and a trophy • Criteria: Below 35 years of age and resident in Singapore for two years • Have been instrumental in nurturing and encouraging young researchers in the sciences

12. Programmes for Science Research – COSMOS • Formerly known as the Journal of the Singapore National Academy of Science • Revamped Editorial Board comprises eminent scientists, including Nobel Laureates and Fellows of the Royal Society • Published by World Scientific • Currently subscribed by over 370 institutional libraries in the world

13. Programmes for Science Research – International Conferences • Each year, SNAS co-organizes an international conference with at least one of its constituent societies • Variety of themes have been addressed over the years • Attracts international delegates to Singapore • Recent programmes - Forum on Creativity in the Arts, Sciences and Technology, and 37th International Physics Olympiad held in Singapore

14. Programs to give students national recognition • By virtue of its position as a national organization, SNAS awards certificates and $S100 book vouchers to students from the National University of Singapore and the Nanyang Technological University who excel in their final year examinations in the various science subjects: Physics, Chemistry, Biological Sciences, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Mathematics and Statistics

15. Defacto commentator in international scholarly literature on issues related to S & T in Singapore • New role which SNAS embraced recently – not in our original charter • Several articles relating to Singapore: for example, world’s first nationwide broadband network, first use of electronic road pricing to control traffic congestion, how SNAS is carving a niche for itself despite not having its own premises and full time staff, E-government, etc have been addressed in journals such as Nature, Science, New Scientist, etc as well as in book chapters of international publishers. (No funding needed for writing these articles) • Serves to raise profile of academy – all articles bear the SNAS byline • Scientists generally not keen to include other affiliations in their journal papers

16. Funding • Always a constraint for any academy and SNAS is no exception • Circumvented by: (a) riding on the commitment and enthusiasm of the SNAS Council (b) leveraging on SNAS Council members’ parent institutions for use of premises in organizing programs – contributes to more effective utilization of a country’s built-up infrastructure (c) seeking opportunities for collaboration – for example, SNAS Young Scientist Awards done in collaboration with A*STAR, the national funding agency for R & D. (c) building a track record first and then seeking funds from other agencies – SNAS experience has been very positive (d) riding on the Internet – saving on postal expenses, etc.

17. Summarizing Comments • Spirit of volunteerism very much alive among scientists, and needs to be harnessed for national good • A national science academy can open up a parallel track for the promotion of S & T, and thus complement government efforts in this direction • Science academies have a role to play in nation building efforts but they need to do more to realize their true potential • In developing countries, science academies can make a difference by sensitizing government to the role of S & T in socio-economic development as well as reaching out to the public through their outreach programmes