WES 2021: Celebrating launch of new standards & outstanding engineering achievement

Singapore, 11 November 2021 – The Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES) held the World Engineers Summit 2021 Conference Dinner this evening at Resorts World Sentosa. The dinner marks the conclusion of two days of intensive exchange of ideas, knowledge and insights among leaders in the international engineering community focusing on the creation and development of innovative engineering solutions to support the world’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Minister for Transport and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations, S Iswaran graced the event as the guest-of-honour. Apart from delivering a speech, Minister Iswaran also witnessed the unveiling of new enablers for the transport sector and presented awards to recognise engineering achievements.

Speech by Minister S Iswaran; image by IES

New Enablers for the Transport Sector

At the event, IES hosted the launch of the Transportation Standards Committee (TPSC), which was established under the Singapore Standards Council (SSC) and Enterprise Singapore (ESG). With the support of IES, government agencies and industry players, the TPSC seeks to address emerging challenges in the rapidly evolving transport sector by providing strategic leadership to existing Technical Committees (TCs) on Automotive and Railway Systems and an upcoming TC on Intelligent Transport Systems. The aim is to enhance synergy, interconnectivity, inclusiveness and intelligence in the sector through the development of common national and international standards.

The event also introduced three new Technical References (TR) on Railway Systems: TR 89 on safety performance and benchmarking in rapid transit system, TR 90 on maintenance of vehicle gauges and TR 94 on assisted service kiosks in stations. The new TRs will provide rail technicians, engineers and stakeholders with industry best practices to enhance reliability, safety and productivity of railway solutions. These three new TRs follow the inaugural TRs (also three) launched in March. Developed by the SSC and ESG, with support from industry partners and facilitated by IES, these new TRs are part of an effort to build a more intelligent, sustainable and well-connected transport network through the cornerstones of safety and reliability.

In addition, IES unveiled the ‘Transportation Resource Manual’, a commemorative book put together by industry experts to serve as a rich repository for development of future standards. Apart from providing an overview of Singapore’s automotive industry, the manual captures terminology and vehicle safety guidelines in Singapore’s context, including the development of intelligent transport systems and automotive technology such as electric and autonomous vehicles.

“Since the launch of the inaugural railway standards in March 2021, we have pressed on with our efforts to develop standards in asset management, maintenance, safety and security, and service, leading to the introduction of another three new TRs today. The setting up of the Transportation Standards Committee (TPSC) is a crucial component in our efforts to promote sustainable transportation in Singapore and move it towards greater interoperability, product quality and service consistency,” said Dr Richard Kwok, IES President and Chairman of the TPSC.

Presentation of IES Honorary Fellows Award to Edwin Khew (first from right). Left to right: Prof Yeoh Lean Weng, Minister S Iswaran, Edwin Khew; image by IES

Recognising Outstanding Engineers

Nine outstanding engineering teams received the IES Prestigious Engineering Achievement Award, the nation’s top honours for remarkable accomplishments in engineering, from Minister Iswaran.

The 2021 winning teams are:

Applied Research and Development Category:

• Rapid Classification of Soil using Artificial Intelligence by Housing & Development Board (HDB) and National University of Singapore (NUS)
• Next Generation of Breakthrough Stent-Graft for Treatment of Aortic Arch Pathologies by National University of Singapore
• Replication & Repair of Hot Air Thermal Defects on Composite Aero-Structures by Republic Polytechnic

Engineering Project Category:

• Thomson-East Coast Line – TE2 Woodlands Station by Arup
• Unmanned Mine Counter-Measure Capability by Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA)
• JTC Logistics Hub (JLH) Inland Container Depot (ICD) Building – Innovative SEN Structural system by JTC Corporation
• Development of the Responders’ Performance Vehicle (RPV) by Singapore Civil Defence Force

Technology Innovation Category

• Deep Learning AI system for Medical Imaging Diagnosis by BioMind (Hanalytics Pte Ltd)
• InfinityGloveT– Smart Sensorized Glove for Gaming and Healthcare by National University of Singapore

IES Emeritus Presidents Chong Kee Sen and Edwin Khew were also conferred the IES Honorary Fellows titles at the event, for their exceptional contributions to IES and the engineering community. They joined Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, Founding President of Nanyang Technological University Professor Cham Tao Soon and other prominent engineers by training on this esteemed list.

“I am honoured to be conferred the IES Honorary Fellow title. It has been a rewarding journey and it was with the collaboration and support of many that I have been able to contribute to the engineering profession. I view each recognition as a milestone and check point to reflect on what more I can do to contribute. Moving forward, my focus will be on mentoring the next generation of engineers,” said Chong Kee Sen, IES Emeritus President.

“It is my honour to receive the IES Honorary Fellow Award. Throughout my engineering career, I have been active in technopreneurship, innovation, manufacturing and the development of Standards in Singapore; I have been able to contribute in these areas through the platforms provided to me including serving as a Nominated Member of Parliament. One major initiative I was happy to contribute to, with the support of the IES Council, was to establish the IES deep tech incubator and accelerator (IES-INCA) to promote technopreneurship. Even now in my retirement, I still continue to mentor and invest in the next generation of technopreneurs and technologies (mainly in the sustainability sectors), using my experience to help these start-ups succeed in this very competitive market,” said Edwin Khew, PBM and IES Emeritus President.

Nurturing Next Generation of Engineers

To support brilliant engineering students in their pursuit of engineering studies, IES presented the IES-Yayasan MENDAKI scholarship awards to Omer Bin Basil Ali Omer Uqba, a third-year mechanical engineering student from Singapore Polytechnic and Mohammed Abdullah Afrar bin Jainul Akbar, a second-year electrical and electronic engineering student from Nanyang Technological University.

– Construction+ Online