Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen officiated at the Innovation Symposium 2021 (IS21) held at the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) this morning. Due to the COVID-19 situation, eleven award recipients received their awards from Dr Ng in a small-scale awards presentation ceremony, with the other awards presented in a decentralised manner. A total of 65 awards will be presented to individuals, groups and units from the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) in recognition of their innovations and work improvement efforts, which led to savings of over S$165 million in the last financial year.

Speaking at the awards presentation ceremony, Dr Ng congratulated the award recipients for their achievements amidst the COVID-19 situation. He said, "It reflects a good resilience among our own people – a resilience that has been cultivated within MINDEF and SAF, an ethos that places national defence as a priority whatever the circumstances, that there's this drive for innovation and excellence, and to find better ways of doing things to improve outcomes."

Dr Ng also recognised innovations that were borne to provide solutions during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the ArmyDeclare application^[1], and how they demonstrated MINDEF/SAF's innovative culture and drive. "These examples tell us that year in year out that we have conducted the Enhanced Innovation Programme, previously called PRIDE, Productivity and Innovation in Daily Efforts, has had a permeating effect beyond the participating teams each year," he said. "I am glad that amidst these difficulties, MINDEF and SAF staff have kept their morale high, their commitment steadfast and continued to innovate to address challenges and problems."

IS21 aims to recognise the achievements and contributions of units and personnel in innovation as well as to provide a platform for learning and meaningful discussions across MINDEF/SAF and partners to generate new ideas. The theme, "Emerging Stronger, Transformation in Motion" underscores MINDEF/SAF's aspiration and commitment to building a stronger SAF through continual transformation.

Also present at the awards presentation ceremony were Permanent Secretary for Defence Mr Chan Heng Kee, Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General Melvyn Ong, as well as senior officials from MINDEF and the SAF.

^[1] The ArmyDeclare application was developed to digitalise the travel declaration and entry records of visitors into Army camps within the first month of COVID-19, prior to the development of SafeEntry. The ArmyDeclare team is a recipient of the MINDEF Dare to Do Award.