Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen officiated at the opening of the inaugural Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Learning Symposium 2012 held at the SAFTI Military Institute this morning.

Speaking at the ceremony, Dr Ng highlighted the SAF's Learning Transformation and its commitment to being a leading learning organisation. Referring to the complex and evolving security landscape, Dr Ng said that "Our people must be well equipped with the necessary skill sets to rapidly sense-make, learn and adapt to the complexities of this operating environment". He noted that there is a need to leverage on advanced training pedagogies to make training more efficient and effective for our servicemen. In line with the theme "Learning SAF, Thinking Warriors", Dr Ng also highlighted the need to embrace technological and pedagogical advancement to best suit the learning capacity of the new generation of soldiers.

Held from 28 to 29 June 2012, the SAF Learning Symposium features a series of presentations, plenaries and exhibitions on the future of training and learning relevant to the SAF. Dr Ng also launched LEARNet, an operational learning platform that supports self-directed and team-based active learning for enhanced training effectiveness and improved training efficiency.

Present at the opening were Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General Neo Kian Hong, senior SAF officers, and local and overseas lecturers who will be speaking at the Symposium.