The writer outlines the most effective ways Singapore can attract international talent to help develop its science and technology. He believes that with more conducive environment, Singapore can take the lead among the Asian nations.
Attracting talent, especially talent in science and technology and entrepreneural talent, is Singapore's most urgent task at hand. The Singapore government recently set up two high-level committees to handle this task. One is the Technopreneur 21 Ministerial Committee （T21MC） chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Dr Tony Tan. The other is the Singapore Talent and Recruitment （Star） committee chaired by Information and the Arts Minister Brigadier-General George Yeo. It is obvious that the Singapore government regards attracting talent in science and technology as one of its most important policies.
As mentioned in my article published in the Commentary Section of the Lianhe Zaobao on December 3, Singapore is a small country, and it is insufficient to rely solely on local talent to increase production output and to push the economy forward. Therefore, there is a need to import foreign talent, especially technopreneurial talent, to help develop the economy and the industrial and commercial sectors.
However, attracting foreign talent involves heavy responsibilities and is a complex and multifaceted issue. This is so especially since Singapore is a small and young nation, unlike China and India which have hordes of overseas students who have been working in North America and Europe for a long time. Singapore thus faces an uphill task in attracting foreign talent. In the last 10 years, under the leadership of the government, we invested much effort and money in high technology and research and development （R & D）。
These investments are starting to bear fruit, especially in the area where the government has placed emphasis-the area of applied science and technology, such as bio-technology, computers and micro-electronics. This proves that the government was right in investing in these areas. These efforts were led mainly by the National Science and Technology Board.
I would like to express some of my personal views on this matter of attracting talent in science and technology.
First of all, we must create a conducive environment for scientific research. As mentioned in my previous article, Singapore should learn from Switzerland, Denmark and Sweden, where they devote much attention to applied technology as well as the tradition of scientific research. What must be emphasised here is that Switzerland, Denmark and Sweden are able to attain world-class scientific and technological achievements despite being small countries. To a certain extent, it is because they are a part of Europe. After the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution, the developments of culture and the arts, and science and technology in Europe meshed into one. Besides having sound national policies of their own, Switzerland, Denmark and Sweden also absorbed talent from other European countries. For instance, German-born Albert Einstein was educated in Switzerland. His subsequent research into physics was nothing short of earth-shattering. Danish Nobel Prize Laureate Bohr's“Copenhagen School” also attracted the best brains in nuclear physics from all over Europe.
Singapore is an important hub in Asia and a multiracial country. How it can attract Asian talent in science and technology to do research and to live in Singapore is a very important question indeed.
We can foresee that in the 21st century, Asian scientists will play a pivotal role in the development of science and technology. Chinese and Indians form the bulk of the Asian scientists. How Singapore can attract a batch of Chinese and Indian talent in science and technology to live and work in Singapore is, to a certain extent, dependent on whether Singapore can develop into a society where different eastern cultures co-exist together. There will be more exchanges between Asian cultures in the 21st century, just like Europe in the beginning of the 20th century.
The human element is a multifarious issue. Human beings are different from a product in an assembly line. It is also not as simple as “marketing a product”。 In attracting talent, we have to consider both the material as well as the intellectual aspects. To the talented, an intellectual environment steeped in eastern cultures is a prerequisite. Intellectual life is a long-term thing. Whether or not foreign talent are willing to reside permanently in a country is usually dependent on the intellectual life and cultural milieu of that country, not merely material gain and money. This is because science and technology talent are usually people of higher education, they need to have a living environment that is rich in culture.
Singapore has a good education system and excellent students. However, due to the influence of traditional eastern education methods, the cultivation of the young is not comprehensive enough. As a result, young Singaporeans often clamour after immediate successes and short-term gains. An excellent report card alone does not mean a foundation in science education. Steeped in a rich culture and a tradition of scientific and technological excellence, Denmark and Switzerland place much importance on basic science and culture in their educational systems. They also emphasise the cultivation of independent thinking.
In this respect, Israel provides a good example. It emphasises the research of the basic sciences in its secondary schools, universities as well as its research institutes. Even in the throes of a wartime environment, the country still puts a lot of effort into developing the basic sciences, cultivating talent and creating a conducive research environment to push ahead the development of the applied sciences.
Singapore is definitely able to become the Switzerland of Asia, but it has to learn from countries like Switzerland, Denmark and Israel. It must implement a far-sighted policy in science and technology where the emphasis for short-term commercial gains is juxtaposed with a long-term commitment towards basic sciences and culture.
Besides the above-mentioned points, we must also emphasise other issues. First of all, Singapore must continue to selectively develop certain technologies. If we can focus our investments on computers, bio-technology and micro-electronics, and make Singapore a world-class research centre, it will help in attracting talent in these fields. Undoubtedly, investments in R & D are made mainly in applied technology and other economics-related fields, and this should constitute 85 per cent of all R & D work. The other 15 per cent should be allotted to research into the basic sciences.
Secondly, Singapore should continue being a cosmopolitan city with excellent infrastructure, public order and modern facilities. These are also important elements to attract foreign talent. Although Singapore is a predominantly Asian society, it should look to the whole world and seek out talent of all ethnicities to work in Singapore.
In this, Singapore enjoys a great advantage in having English as its first language. Lastly, we cannot run away from the fact that in order to attract science and technology talent, we must offer generous returns and good service so as to be able to compete with neighbours like Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Although we are currently facing the Asian economic crisis, we firmly believe that in the 21st century, Asia will be the region that leads the world in the development of science and technology. And Singapore can be like Switzerland, taking the lead among the Asian nations.
（The writer is a visiting professor at the NUS Physics Department and a member of the Singapore Chinese Newspaper Resource Panel）
新加坡應如何吸引科技人才
作者分析我國現(xiàn)有的科研環(huán)境,以及吸引國際科技人才的辦法,并認為我國可發(fā)揮帶頭作用,領導本區(qū)域推進科技發(fā)展。
吸引優(yōu)秀人才,尤其是吸收科技和現(xiàn)代化企業(yè)人才,是新加坡當前的急務。最近,新加坡政府成立了兩個高層次的委員會來負責這項重任。一個是陳慶炎副總理領導的21世紀科技企業(yè)委員會,另一個是由新聞及藝術部長楊榮文準將領導的吸引人才委員會。由此可見,新加坡政府把吸取科技人才當成了最重要的政策之一。
正如我于12月3日登載于《聯(lián)合早報。言論》版的一篇文章中所提到的,新加坡國家小,單依靠本地培養(yǎng)的人才來提高工業(yè)生產(chǎn)、推動經(jīng)濟發(fā)展是遠遠不夠的,因而要引進外地人才。尤其是科技企業(yè)人才,來協(xié)助經(jīng)濟發(fā)展,推動工商業(yè)。然而,人才的吸引是一件任重而道遠、復雜而多層面的問題。特別是新加坡是一個年輕的小國,不像中國大陸、印度等,有著龐大的留學生隊伍長期在北美和歐洲工作。
所以說,新加坡要吸引外地的優(yōu)秀人才,是十分具挑戰(zhàn)性的工作。在過去10年里,在政府的領導指引下,我們在高科技和研究與發(fā)展方面做了許多工作,也投入了很多資金,這些政策已經(jīng)逐漸收到成效,其成果尤其反映在政府所著重發(fā)展的應用科技如：生物技術、電腦、微電子幾方面。這證明政府在這些領域的投資是正確的。這些工作主要由國家科技局領導。
下面我希望談談對吸引科技人才的一些個人看法。
首先,我們必須創(chuàng)造一個良好的科研環(huán)境。新加坡應該學習瑞士、丹麥和瑞典,在重視應用技術的同時也重視基礎科學研究的傳統(tǒng)。
在此,必須強調(diào)的是：瑞士、丹麥和瑞典雖然是小國卻能取得的科技成果,從一定意義上說,這是因為他們是歐洲的一部分。
歐洲在文藝復興以及工業(yè)革命之后,在文化藝術以及科技的發(fā)展上融匯成一體。瑞士、丹麥和瑞典除了擁有本國健全的政策外,也吸納了其他歐洲國家的優(yōu)秀人才,例如：出生在德國的愛因斯坦,在瑞士受教育并做出驚天動地的物理研究；丹麥籍諾貝爾獲獎人波爾所成立的“哥本哈根學派”,也吸納了歐洲各國在核物理領域秀的人才等等。
因此,新加坡作為亞洲的一個重要中心、作為一個多元種族的新興國家,如何吸引優(yōu)秀的亞裔科技人才來新加坡進行科研工作和定居,是一個非常重要的問題。
我們可以預見到在21世紀,亞裔科學家將在世界的科技發(fā)展中扮演著更舉足輕重的角色。亞裔科學家以華族和印族為主。如何能吸引一批優(yōu)秀的華裔、印裔科技人才來新加坡工作及定居,在很大的程度上取決于新加坡能否發(fā)展成為擁有不同東方文化傳統(tǒng)的社會,這個條件才是吸引人才的重要因素,21世紀的亞洲文化是會更相互交流,趨向于20世紀初的歐洲。
人的因素是一個多樣性的問題,因為人不同于生產(chǎn)過程中的某個產(chǎn)品,也不像“如何推銷產(chǎn)品”那么簡單。人才既有物質(zhì)條件的一面,也有精神生活的一面。對吸引人才來說,具有東方傳統(tǒng)的良好的精神生活環(huán)境,是一個必須的條件,精神生活是永久性的,外來的人才能否長期的定居下來,很多時候是取決于精神生活和文化環(huán)境,而不是單單依靠物質(zhì)或者金錢的因素。因為科技人才多數(shù)是受高等教育的一群,他們需要有一個具有文化氣息的生活環(huán)境。
新加坡有良好的教育制度,和優(yōu)秀的學生,不過往往限于受東方傳統(tǒng)教育方法的影響,因而在培養(yǎng)年輕人的素質(zhì)不夠全面。使得年輕人往往好功近利,追求眼前利益。單是優(yōu)良的考試成績并不代表建立了科學教育的基石,有良好的文化、科技傳統(tǒng)的丹麥和瑞士,其教育制度就非常重視基礎科學和文化修養(yǎng),以及注意培養(yǎng)獨立的思考的能力。
這方面以色列也是一個好例子,它能重視中學和大學和研究院基礎科學的研究。即使在戰(zhàn)亂的環(huán)境中,仍然大力發(fā)展基礎科學和人才的培養(yǎng),創(chuàng)造優(yōu)良的科研究環(huán)境,從而推動了應用科學的發(fā)展。
新加坡肯定可以成為亞洲的瑞士,不過一定要好好地學習瑞士、丹麥、以色列等國,制定高瞻遠矚的科技政策,既重視眼前的工商業(yè)利益,又有長遠的對基礎科學文化有關的投入。
除了上述的幾點之外,我們也必須強調(diào)其他幾方面的問題：首先,新加坡必須繼續(xù)有選擇地發(fā)展一些科技項目,如果我們能重點投資如電腦、生物技術及微電子等行業(yè),使之成為世界的科研中心,必將有助吸引到這方面的一流人才。
毫無疑問,研究與發(fā)展的投資主要在于應用技術以及與經(jīng)濟相關的領域,這方面也許應占研究與發(fā)展全部投入的85%,另外的15%則應靈活運用到與基礎科學有關的研究。
其次,新加坡應繼續(xù)發(fā)展成為國際性的都市,擁有良好的設施、治安、及現(xiàn)代化的各種條件。這些也是吸引人才的重要因素。雖然新加坡是以亞裔為主的社會,但在吸引人才方面應放眼世界,廣邀所有種族的優(yōu)秀人才來新加坡工作。以英文為第一語言是新加坡成為國際性城市的另一大優(yōu)勢。
最后,不可否認吸引科技人才也離不開豐厚的待遇及優(yōu)良的服務條件,方能與鄰國,尤其是香港、臺灣等地區(qū)競爭。
雖然目前正值亞洲經(jīng)濟危機之際,但我堅信,21世紀的亞洲將是領導整個世界科技發(fā)展的區(qū)域,而新加坡則可以像瑞士那樣,在亞洲起帶頭作用。
（作者為新加坡國立大學物理系客卿教授、華文報咨詢團成員）
Attracting talent, especially talent in science and technology and entrepreneural talent, is Singapore's most urgent task at hand. The Singapore government recently set up two high-level committees to handle this task. One is the Technopreneur 21 Ministerial Committee （T21MC） chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Dr Tony Tan. The other is the Singapore Talent and Recruitment （Star） committee chaired by Information and the Arts Minister Brigadier-General George Yeo. It is obvious that the Singapore government regards attracting talent in science and technology as one of its most important policies.
As mentioned in my article published in the Commentary Section of the Lianhe Zaobao on December 3, Singapore is a small country, and it is insufficient to rely solely on local talent to increase production output and to push the economy forward. Therefore, there is a need to import foreign talent, especially technopreneurial talent, to help develop the economy and the industrial and commercial sectors.
However, attracting foreign talent involves heavy responsibilities and is a complex and multifaceted issue. This is so especially since Singapore is a small and young nation, unlike China and India which have hordes of overseas students who have been working in North America and Europe for a long time. Singapore thus faces an uphill task in attracting foreign talent. In the last 10 years, under the leadership of the government, we invested much effort and money in high technology and research and development （R & D）。
These investments are starting to bear fruit, especially in the area where the government has placed emphasis-the area of applied science and technology, such as bio-technology, computers and micro-electronics. This proves that the government was right in investing in these areas. These efforts were led mainly by the National Science and Technology Board.
I would like to express some of my personal views on this matter of attracting talent in science and technology.
First of all, we must create a conducive environment for scientific research. As mentioned in my previous article, Singapore should learn from Switzerland, Denmark and Sweden, where they devote much attention to applied technology as well as the tradition of scientific research. What must be emphasised here is that Switzerland, Denmark and Sweden are able to attain world-class scientific and technological achievements despite being small countries. To a certain extent, it is because they are a part of Europe. After the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution, the developments of culture and the arts, and science and technology in Europe meshed into one. Besides having sound national policies of their own, Switzerland, Denmark and Sweden also absorbed talent from other European countries. For instance, German-born Albert Einstein was educated in Switzerland. His subsequent research into physics was nothing short of earth-shattering. Danish Nobel Prize Laureate Bohr's“Copenhagen School” also attracted the best brains in nuclear physics from all over Europe.
Singapore is an important hub in Asia and a multiracial country. How it can attract Asian talent in science and technology to do research and to live in Singapore is a very important question indeed.
We can foresee that in the 21st century, Asian scientists will play a pivotal role in the development of science and technology. Chinese and Indians form the bulk of the Asian scientists. How Singapore can attract a batch of Chinese and Indian talent in science and technology to live and work in Singapore is, to a certain extent, dependent on whether Singapore can develop into a society where different eastern cultures co-exist together. There will be more exchanges between Asian cultures in the 21st century, just like Europe in the beginning of the 20th century.
The human element is a multifarious issue. Human beings are different from a product in an assembly line. It is also not as simple as “marketing a product”。 In attracting talent, we have to consider both the material as well as the intellectual aspects. To the talented, an intellectual environment steeped in eastern cultures is a prerequisite. Intellectual life is a long-term thing. Whether or not foreign talent are willing to reside permanently in a country is usually dependent on the intellectual life and cultural milieu of that country, not merely material gain and money. This is because science and technology talent are usually people of higher education, they need to have a living environment that is rich in culture.
Singapore has a good education system and excellent students. However, due to the influence of traditional eastern education methods, the cultivation of the young is not comprehensive enough. As a result, young Singaporeans often clamour after immediate successes and short-term gains. An excellent report card alone does not mean a foundation in science education. Steeped in a rich culture and a tradition of scientific and technological excellence, Denmark and Switzerland place much importance on basic science and culture in their educational systems. They also emphasise the cultivation of independent thinking.
In this respect, Israel provides a good example. It emphasises the research of the basic sciences in its secondary schools, universities as well as its research institutes. Even in the throes of a wartime environment, the country still puts a lot of effort into developing the basic sciences, cultivating talent and creating a conducive research environment to push ahead the development of the applied sciences.
Singapore is definitely able to become the Switzerland of Asia, but it has to learn from countries like Switzerland, Denmark and Israel. It must implement a far-sighted policy in science and technology where the emphasis for short-term commercial gains is juxtaposed with a long-term commitment towards basic sciences and culture.
Besides the above-mentioned points, we must also emphasise other issues. First of all, Singapore must continue to selectively develop certain technologies. If we can focus our investments on computers, bio-technology and micro-electronics, and make Singapore a world-class research centre, it will help in attracting talent in these fields. Undoubtedly, investments in R & D are made mainly in applied technology and other economics-related fields, and this should constitute 85 per cent of all R & D work. The other 15 per cent should be allotted to research into the basic sciences.
Secondly, Singapore should continue being a cosmopolitan city with excellent infrastructure, public order and modern facilities. These are also important elements to attract foreign talent. Although Singapore is a predominantly Asian society, it should look to the whole world and seek out talent of all ethnicities to work in Singapore.
In this, Singapore enjoys a great advantage in having English as its first language. Lastly, we cannot run away from the fact that in order to attract science and technology talent, we must offer generous returns and good service so as to be able to compete with neighbours like Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Although we are currently facing the Asian economic crisis, we firmly believe that in the 21st century, Asia will be the region that leads the world in the development of science and technology. And Singapore can be like Switzerland, taking the lead among the Asian nations.
（The writer is a visiting professor at the NUS Physics Department and a member of the Singapore Chinese Newspaper Resource Panel）
新加坡應如何吸引科技人才
作者分析我國現(xiàn)有的科研環(huán)境,以及吸引國際科技人才的辦法,并認為我國可發(fā)揮帶頭作用,領導本區(qū)域推進科技發(fā)展。
吸引優(yōu)秀人才,尤其是吸收科技和現(xiàn)代化企業(yè)人才,是新加坡當前的急務。最近,新加坡政府成立了兩個高層次的委員會來負責這項重任。一個是陳慶炎副總理領導的21世紀科技企業(yè)委員會,另一個是由新聞及藝術部長楊榮文準將領導的吸引人才委員會。由此可見,新加坡政府把吸取科技人才當成了最重要的政策之一。
正如我于12月3日登載于《聯(lián)合早報。言論》版的一篇文章中所提到的,新加坡國家小,單依靠本地培養(yǎng)的人才來提高工業(yè)生產(chǎn)、推動經(jīng)濟發(fā)展是遠遠不夠的,因而要引進外地人才。尤其是科技企業(yè)人才,來協(xié)助經(jīng)濟發(fā)展,推動工商業(yè)。然而,人才的吸引是一件任重而道遠、復雜而多層面的問題。特別是新加坡是一個年輕的小國,不像中國大陸、印度等,有著龐大的留學生隊伍長期在北美和歐洲工作。
所以說,新加坡要吸引外地的優(yōu)秀人才,是十分具挑戰(zhàn)性的工作。在過去10年里,在政府的領導指引下,我們在高科技和研究與發(fā)展方面做了許多工作,也投入了很多資金,這些政策已經(jīng)逐漸收到成效,其成果尤其反映在政府所著重發(fā)展的應用科技如：生物技術、電腦、微電子幾方面。這證明政府在這些領域的投資是正確的。這些工作主要由國家科技局領導。
下面我希望談談對吸引科技人才的一些個人看法。
首先,我們必須創(chuàng)造一個良好的科研環(huán)境。新加坡應該學習瑞士、丹麥和瑞典,在重視應用技術的同時也重視基礎科學研究的傳統(tǒng)。
在此,必須強調(diào)的是：瑞士、丹麥和瑞典雖然是小國卻能取得的科技成果,從一定意義上說,這是因為他們是歐洲的一部分。
歐洲在文藝復興以及工業(yè)革命之后,在文化藝術以及科技的發(fā)展上融匯成一體。瑞士、丹麥和瑞典除了擁有本國健全的政策外,也吸納了其他歐洲國家的優(yōu)秀人才,例如：出生在德國的愛因斯坦,在瑞士受教育并做出驚天動地的物理研究；丹麥籍諾貝爾獲獎人波爾所成立的“哥本哈根學派”,也吸納了歐洲各國在核物理領域秀的人才等等。
因此,新加坡作為亞洲的一個重要中心、作為一個多元種族的新興國家,如何吸引優(yōu)秀的亞裔科技人才來新加坡進行科研工作和定居,是一個非常重要的問題。
我們可以預見到在21世紀,亞裔科學家將在世界的科技發(fā)展中扮演著更舉足輕重的角色。亞裔科學家以華族和印族為主。如何能吸引一批優(yōu)秀的華裔、印裔科技人才來新加坡工作及定居,在很大的程度上取決于新加坡能否發(fā)展成為擁有不同東方文化傳統(tǒng)的社會,這個條件才是吸引人才的重要因素,21世紀的亞洲文化是會更相互交流,趨向于20世紀初的歐洲。
人的因素是一個多樣性的問題,因為人不同于生產(chǎn)過程中的某個產(chǎn)品,也不像“如何推銷產(chǎn)品”那么簡單。人才既有物質(zhì)條件的一面,也有精神生活的一面。對吸引人才來說,具有東方傳統(tǒng)的良好的精神生活環(huán)境,是一個必須的條件,精神生活是永久性的,外來的人才能否長期的定居下來,很多時候是取決于精神生活和文化環(huán)境,而不是單單依靠物質(zhì)或者金錢的因素。因為科技人才多數(shù)是受高等教育的一群,他們需要有一個具有文化氣息的生活環(huán)境。
新加坡有良好的教育制度,和優(yōu)秀的學生,不過往往限于受東方傳統(tǒng)教育方法的影響,因而在培養(yǎng)年輕人的素質(zhì)不夠全面。使得年輕人往往好功近利,追求眼前利益。單是優(yōu)良的考試成績并不代表建立了科學教育的基石,有良好的文化、科技傳統(tǒng)的丹麥和瑞士,其教育制度就非常重視基礎科學和文化修養(yǎng),以及注意培養(yǎng)獨立的思考的能力。
這方面以色列也是一個好例子,它能重視中學和大學和研究院基礎科學的研究。即使在戰(zhàn)亂的環(huán)境中,仍然大力發(fā)展基礎科學和人才的培養(yǎng),創(chuàng)造優(yōu)良的科研究環(huán)境,從而推動了應用科學的發(fā)展。
新加坡肯定可以成為亞洲的瑞士,不過一定要好好地學習瑞士、丹麥、以色列等國,制定高瞻遠矚的科技政策,既重視眼前的工商業(yè)利益,又有長遠的對基礎科學文化有關的投入。
除了上述的幾點之外,我們也必須強調(diào)其他幾方面的問題：首先,新加坡必須繼續(xù)有選擇地發(fā)展一些科技項目,如果我們能重點投資如電腦、生物技術及微電子等行業(yè),使之成為世界的科研中心,必將有助吸引到這方面的一流人才。
毫無疑問,研究與發(fā)展的投資主要在于應用技術以及與經(jīng)濟相關的領域,這方面也許應占研究與發(fā)展全部投入的85%,另外的15%則應靈活運用到與基礎科學有關的研究。
其次,新加坡應繼續(xù)發(fā)展成為國際性的都市,擁有良好的設施、治安、及現(xiàn)代化的各種條件。這些也是吸引人才的重要因素。雖然新加坡是以亞裔為主的社會,但在吸引人才方面應放眼世界,廣邀所有種族的優(yōu)秀人才來新加坡工作。以英文為第一語言是新加坡成為國際性城市的另一大優(yōu)勢。
最后,不可否認吸引科技人才也離不開豐厚的待遇及優(yōu)良的服務條件,方能與鄰國,尤其是香港、臺灣等地區(qū)競爭。
雖然目前正值亞洲經(jīng)濟危機之際,但我堅信,21世紀的亞洲將是領導整個世界科技發(fā)展的區(qū)域,而新加坡則可以像瑞士那樣,在亞洲起帶頭作用。
（作者為新加坡國立大學物理系客卿教授、華文報咨詢團成員）