SINGAPORE - Deputy Prime Minister and National Research Foundation chairman Teo Chee Hean opened the fourth Global Young Scientist Summit (GYSS) on Sunday (Jan 17) night, welcoming both top international scientists and young researchers at the annual event.
Some 270 young scientists and researchers across 81 universities from all over the world will get the chance to pick the brains of and dialogue with 21 eminent scientists and technology leaders at the five-day event, which runs until Friday, Jan 22 at the Singapore University of Technology and Design.
These top scientists include Nobel laureates and winners of other prestigious awards, such as the Fields Medal for mathematics, Millennium Technology Prize for groundbreaking innovations, and the Turing Award, considered the Nobel equivalent for computing.
They will meet the public and engage them on science and technology. These meetings will be held at various venues in Singapore such as the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Management University, National Library and the Science Centre Singapore.
In his opening speech, Mr Teo said he hopes that the summit participants will network and share ideas that will lead to more scientific innovation and research.
"We hope that your experiences at the GYSS will inspire you to bloom as scientists, and build new networks and partnerships with the friends that you make in Singapore," said Mr Teo. "Together, you can help to create value, change lives, and strengthen international collaborations across borders and scientific disciplines."
One feature of this year's GYSS is the Singapore Challenge, which is a platform for participants to present their research ideas and solutions to address challenges faced by global cities.
This year's theme is on "Sustainable and Liveable Cities", and eight projects have been shortlisted for final presentation on the last day out of a total of a total of 48 proposals.
On the sidelines of the summit, Mr Teo also received a courtesy call from Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand, who was in Singapore for the opening ceremony of the GYSS.
