Ambassador Werner held a speech during the convocation ceremony at #Nanyang Technological University (#NTU). Are you curious what he told the graduated engineering students? Scroll down for the complete speech! Dear Vice-President, graduates, parents, ladies and gentlemen. When professor Teoh asked me to speak to you on the occasion of your graduation, I was honoured but also a little apprehensive. Convocation speeches are meant to inspire graduates and to share wisdom of the speaker. But most wise words have already been said, and said better than I ever could. For instance by Steve Jobs, who told the graduates of Stanford in 2005: “Your time is limited, so dont waste it living someone elses life.” That is good advice. Or by John F. Kennedy who talked about world peace in 1963. He could have been talking about today’s challenges, when he said: Our problems are man-made — therefore, they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. Mans reason and spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable — and we believe they can do it again. But the best advice in my opinion was given by environmental activist Paul Hawken in 2009 to the graduates of the University of Portland: “You are Brilliant, and the Earth is Hiring.” This is just as true for you. You are entering the next phase of your life in times of change. This is exciting but also uncertain. Uncertain, because we can no longer go on living the way we have lived over the past decades. We can no longer: count on an ever growing economy, use the earth’s resources freely, and keep our heads down and our voices low. Change by its very nature is never stable and secure. But change is exciting. You have the opportunity: to change the way we do business, to change the way we use our resources and to change the way we live and work together in Singapore and the world. During my last winter in the Netherlands, before I came to Singapore, the weather could not make up its mind. First, the street in front of my house was covered in snow. Then the snow melted to water, flooding the street. And then the water froze, turning the street into a danger zone for all traffic. I saw people shuffling carefully down the street, cars skidding and I thought: we should all stay home today. But my neighbour’s teenage son had a different idea. He did not try to walk or cycle or ask his parents for a ride to school. He put his shoes in his backpack and instead put on his ice skates. And then he skated all the way to school. It was brilliant, he said. He wished the roads would freeze over more often. In times of change, sometimes you have to adapt - you have to pack up your shoes and put on your skates instead. Change comes with challenges and opportunities. You are the agents of this change. We are looking to you, your knowledge and creativity to guide us. These are your times. It is your chance to break the next speed skating record. But we are engineers, you say. Not politicians, not business leaders. We have only just graduated! I understand. And that is why I want to tell you two stories of how engineering turned a problem into a triumph - to show you how important engineers are and how you will make the difference between talk and reality. The Netherlands and Singapore are water-logged countries faced with challenges to manage water in the most efficient way. Singapore built NEWater as its third tap. NEWater is incredibly energy efficient and in fact uses Dutch technology. But in the Netherlands, water treatment plants have gone even further: they are net suppliers of electricity. In Amsterdam, the municipal water treatment plant uses the sludge left after purification to produce biogas and fertilizer. The fertilizer is sold to farmers, and the gas is pumped to the municipal energy plant. The energy plant uses the biogas to supply the water treatment plant with heat and electricity needed for its primary processes. There is even enough heat left over to supply households in the city. This way, every element of the water purification process is turned into a valuable commodity. So, politicians can talk about a biobased economy, but it is engineers who turn talk into reality. Engineers also do not shy away from asking questions. There were food scientists in the Netherlands who asked: “Is the sun the optimal source of light to grow a plant?” The answer is “no”, as researchers at the Dutch Plant Lab discovered. Plants mainly need a variety of blue and red light for photosynthesis. The sun provides this – among many other colours. But the sun is not an optimal source of light – for one thing, it goes away for 12 out of every 24 hours. And for another, it is in a fixed place in the sky, only lighting one layer of earth at the time. So the researchers turned to LED lighting. Now LED lighting is a sustainable form of lighting. It can be tweaked to provide precisely the colour needed. And the lights can be hung above beds that are layered one above the other. This way, plants can be grown faster, more efficient and in much higher densities. You could even have an underground farm. So, business people can talk about efficiency and economies of scale, but it is engineers who turn talk into reality. Maybe you have heard some of these stories before, because NTU works closely with Dutch universities and researchers. As of this year there is even a shared major in food science and technology with Wageningen University. We are proud of such collaborations, which make both our universities and both our countries stronger. Sharing knowledge leads to great things, and working across cultures ensures maximum creativity. Only together can we build a future for Singapore and for the world. Here at NTU you have been given the tools and the knowledge. Now it is time to take your scientific minds and look at Singapore and the world and ask yourself: what are our challenges? What problems do we need to solve? And then use your knowledge, skills and creativity and find the opportunities to turn your ideas into reality. Because that is what engineers do. They make things happen. Do not be afraid of the slippery roads. Go out, put on your skates and ride. Because you are brilliant and the world is hiring.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 05:15:00 +0000
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