Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen officiated at the IGNITE Innovation Symposium 2022 (IIS22) held at the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) this morning. As the Guest-of-Honour, Dr Ng delivered the opening address and presented awards to eight award recipients. A total of 88 awards will be presented to individuals, teams and units from across MINDEF and the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) in recognition of their innovations and work improvement efforts, which led to savings of over S$159 million in financial year 2021.

Speaking at the awards presentation ceremony, Dr Ng recognised the innovative spirit of personnel in MINDEF/SAF and commended their contributions to Whole-of-Government (WoG) efforts during COVID-19. He said, "All our personnel, during the pandemic, had to assess a rapidly evolving situation, meet time critical outcomes and deadlines, and evolve novel solutions including customised hardware and software that did not exist to meet the challenge. If these processes sound familiar to you, it should. It is otherwise known as the "fog of war" – the same challenges exist in battle and call for exactly the type of responses our people showed in dealing with this pandemic."

Dr Ng also highlighted the significance of cultivating an innovative spirit for the SAF and congratulated the award winners. He said, "The spirit to innovate is critical for MINDEF and the SAF to deal with known and unknown security challenges. As winners, you exemplify and promote that innovative ethos that is essential for mission success."

IIS22 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 with partners to co-create new ideas. The theme, "Igniting Our Spirit, Transformation in Action" underscores the commitment of MINDEF/SAF to inspire a collective innovative spirit and highlight the transformation progress for a better workplace.

Also present at the awards presentation ceremony were Permanent Secretary for Defence Mr Chan Heng Kee and senior officials from MINDEF and the SAF.