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Singapore is increasingly held up to the West, not least by the UK Labour Party, as a paradigm of a "Stakeholder Society"; and it certainly sees itself as a "Learning Island". The following is a personal view of the Island in the context of telematics.
The number of countries outside Europe and North America that do world-class IT Research and Development in Learning Technology is not large; but it now looks as though Singapore has joined them. Two examples caught my eye.
The "Intelligent Chinese Handwriting Tutor" has been created by the Apple-ISS Research Centre, a joint venture of Apple Computer and the Institute of Systems Science. It uses a handwriting-recognition module as the core of a multi-media learning environment for teaching Chinese handwriting. Personalised feedback on mistakes and tips for improvement appear in a prompt and conversational manner. This project won the Singapore "National Technology Award 1996" prize for most innovative application.
Another interesting up-to-date project is the LiveCD System Development Kit. This allows the integration of Internet resources into an interactive CD - for example developers can use familiar PC multimedia tools such as MacroMind Director to create their applications and then enhance them with just-in-time information from WWW, but displayed within the CD-ROM visual paradigm.
One of the most startling features of Singapore is how "up with the flow" the culture is. In a not very large book shop in one of the main shopping malls, a magazine rack ahead of me had a better display of Internet-technology magazines and journals than I am used to seeing in downtown Cambridge (Massachusetts) or Palo Alto. Not surprisingly, this was true only for technological and business works - copies of the great European novels were conspicuous by their absence.
As a further vignette, the local edition of Computerworld had an excellent article on "the yin and yang of knowledge management" with a detailed discussion comparing and contrasting the roles of Chief Knowledge Officers and Chief Learning Officers in the post-modern (that is, re-engineered) corporation. It is rumoured that certain Western speakers were seen rushing round the conference trying to get their hands on the article so as to appear as up to date as the locals!
While we were in Singapore, the Government announced their equivalent of the EU's Fourth Framework programme. This Second Five Year Plan will pump 1.2 billion ecu into the R&D sector in the next five years from now, double the amount of their first Five Year Plan. A key thrust of the Plan is manpower development - "another 10000 engineers and 5000 researchers will be needed" says the National Science and Technology Board. The Plan was announced at the start of National TechMonth, an annual event which showcases Singapore's technology. In related ceremonies, the teaching profession was honoured for its contribution to the economy. "Good teachers make the difference" says the Minister of Education. "They are a special class of people." I could think of some Western countries which could benefit from a similar approach.
Singapore universities are engaged in many advanced courses and research institutes. For example, the Institute of Microelectronics in conjunction with the Centre for Signal Processing at Nanyang Technological University is offering a 3-month advanced course in Digital Signal Processing. The National University of Singapore has an Internet Research and Development Unit (with an impressive brochure) boasting expertise groups in communications, Java, multimedia (including 3D), security, ATM and applications for the disabled. Three new Institutes are to be started at NUS including for Data Storage and Medical Informatics.
The "Singapore ONE" network was announced in June. This is designed to be an island-wide broadband network offering videoconferencing, teleshopping, entertainment on demand and electronic libraries. However, there appears to be rather less of an education thrust on this network than is conventional on such networks. Perhaps the Singaporeans are just being more realistic.
An early development in the Singapore ONE system is the implementation of an Internet hub linking all the Internet providers. The completion date of the whole broadband network is rather vague, and seems to depend on what particular sub-network is being talked about. A pilot network is planned to be completed by 1998, and it is assumed that all island homes will be on a broadband network by early in the next millennium. Engineers seem relaxed about which technology will be used, at least in the interim, with both cable modem and ADSL trials being talked about as well as fibre to the kerb.
There is an immense outflow of investment and know-how from Singapore, which is rapidly upskilling the other countries surrounding this "Intelligent Island". For example, hard disc manufacturing is increasingly found not on the island but on Singapore-owned factories in Malaysia, Indonesia and even now China.
Malaysia is now making great strides forward, through its own efforts as well as through inwards investment. It hopes that its concept of the "Multimedia Supercorridor" round an area near the capital city will provide a kick-start to its fledgling broadband industry. Bill Gates is said to be interested.
Malaysian Telecom is implementing video-conferencing services and is active in the university sector, and in its own training college.
Some European high-tech companies, including DeTeBerkom, are already active in this region. The local manager is an extremely engaging character.
Singapore shows the way that a small state can gain leverage well beyond its population size by heavy investment in human capital. There are many lessons for the West to learn. However, whether one has to import the whole "Singapore" model or can pick and choose the parts one likes remains a challenge which I shall leave to politicians.
Further information about Online Educa is on http://www.online-educa.com - see in particular details about their conference in Berlin on 13-15 November 1996.
By Paul Bacsich, Sheffield Hallam University, 01.11.1996