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World Scientific Series on Singapore's 50 Years of Nation-Building

The singapore research story.

• Edited by: 
• Chang Chieh Hang ( Institute for Engineering Leadership, NUS, Singapore ) , 
• Teck Seng Low ( National Research Foundation, Singapore ) , and 
• Raj Thampuran ( A*STAR, Singapore )
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• Description
• Supplementary

Ever since Singapore became independent in 1965, its leaders have invested tremendous efforts and resources to develop its economy in order to create jobs for its people and to support national development. This book describes the challenging journey of Singapore in developing a knowledge-based economy driven by research and innovation and the roles played by research institutes, universities, research manpower and appropriate collaboration between research institutes and industry.

The book traces the foundations of Singapore's research story from the time of its independence in 1965 to the present day. Through interviews with the key players and research into the records, the establishment of the key institutes and the roles of a global cast of researchers, scientists and engineers in setting up the R&D infrastructure are outlined. The impact of the concerted efforts to build up a credible and world-class research capability in Singapore over the last 25 years is discussed, as are the tremendous challenges faced by the key players in the drive to develop a knowledge-based economy and the ultimate goal of an innovation-driven economy.

Sample Chapter(s) Foreword (55 KB) Introduction (74 KB) Chapter 1: Setting the Stage (195 KB)

• Foreword by PM Lee Hsien Loong
• Acknowledgements
• Cover Photo Credits
• About the Contributors
• Introduction
• Setting the Stage (Hang Chang Chieh and Yeoh Keat Chuan)
• Shifting Gear into Research (Hang Chang Chieh, Low Teck Seng and Yeoh Keat Chuan)
• The Multi-Agency Approach (Hang Chang Chieh, Low Teck Seng and Raj Thampuran)
• Research in Physical Sciences and Engineering (Hang Chang Chieh and Raj Thampuran)
• The Biomedical Sciences: Research for Better Health (Raj Thampuran and Kong Hwai Loong)
• Developing Research-Intensive Universities (Barry Halliwell and Bertil Andersson)
• Partnering Multinational Corporations in R&D (Low Teck Seng, Raj Thampuran and Yeoh Keat Chuan)
• Developing R&D in Local Enterprises (Hang Chang Chieh, Raj Thampuran and Png Cheong Boon)
• Towards Innovation & Entrepreneurship (Low Teck Seng, Raj Thampuran, Tan Kai Hoe and Philip Ong)
• Singapore's Science & Technology, R&D Timeline
• Chairmen, Executive Directors and Directors
• Honouring Scientific Talent
• Oral History Interviews
• Select Bibliography

FRONT MATTER

• Hang Chang Chieh ,
• Low Teck Seng , and 
• Raj Thampuran
• Pages: i–xxi

https://doi.org/10.1142/9789814641272_fmatter

Chapter 1: Setting the Stage

• Hang Chang Chieh  and 
• Yeoh Keat Chuan
• Pages: 1–24

https://doi.org/10.1142/9789814641272_0001

Fifty years ago, the stage for the development of today's R&D landscape was fledgling. In 1965 when Singapore became independent after a little less than three years in the Federation of Malaysia, the state of science and technology in all sectors was at very low levels. Science and engineering education was basic and limited. Statistics for 1960 show that the total enrolment in educational institutions was 352,952, of which only 8,171 were in universities and colleges, and just 1,257 in technical and commercial institutions. The tertiary institutions were English-medium University of Malaya in Singapore, Chinese-medium Nanyang University, Teachers' Training College for training teachers and Singapore Polytechnic, the latter two set up only in 1954 when Britain began taking steps to divest itself of its Southeast Asian colonies. The University of Malaya in Singapore (later the University of Singapore) had started its Engineering Faculty in 1955 — but in Kuala Lumpur on the premise that the newly set-up campus should have at least one professional degree course given that the medical and law faculties were both in Singapore. The pre-university science classes numbered just eight and prepared students for education in medicine, science and engineering, with the majority going into medicine or science, engineering being lower down the list of desired professions. The medical school had in fact been the first institution of higher learning, starting in 1905, in part because healthcare in the Colony of Singapore was already an important concern. As an open port, Singapore saw (and still does) a constant stream of ships, sailors, migrant workers and travellers who brought diseases that spread easily in the unsanitary and poor housing conditions of those times. Public healthcare had been the spur for the setting up of a unit in the Municipal Government that identified diseases, poisons, drugs and other public health issues circa 1885, evolving subsequently into the Department of Scientific Services. This department eventually evolved into the Forensic Science Division, Singapore's oldest scientific facility.

Chapter 2: Shifting Gear into Research

• Pages: 25–54

https://doi.org/10.1142/9789814641272_0002

• Increases in capital-intensity, as measured by the rate of growth of investments in machinery and equipment per worker;
• Increases in the proportion of professional and technically-skilled workers engaged in knowledge-intensive occupations; and
• ‘Technical progress’, i.e. qualitative improvements in the overall efficiency of our businesses”

Chapter 3: The Multi-Agency Approach

• Pages: 55–78

https://doi.org/10.1142/9789814641272_0003

Behind the iconic Fusionopolis and Biopolis is a whole complex network of invisible links, local and international, that forms Singapore's R&D ecosystem. It is a multi-layered system that leverages on its links, and whose strength lies in the ties, partnerships and collaborations that span the globe as well as internally within Singapore. These ties have been in the making since Singapore became self-governing in 1959, and economic development, progress and restructuring was adopted as the underlying national philosophy, the benefits of which can be seen today. The principles behind these ties are inherited from the earliest days when Singapore began industrialising to develop the economy and create jobs. In Heart Work: Stories of How EDB Steered the Singapore Economy from 1961 into the 21st Century , lead author Chan Chin Bock said in the opening lines of his preface: “Singapore's economic pioneers — former Cabinet Ministers Goh Keng Swee and Hon Sui Sen — have left a very valuable legacy to the Singapore Economic Development Board. It is the legacy of first learning from others, and then adapting new knowledge to apply to the Singapore we want.” This is one of the underlying principles that shifted Singapore towards a knowledge-based economy and the development of a vibrant R&D ecosystem. Singapore learns from the more knowledgeable around the world but it also learns from its own history.

Chapter 4: Research in Physical Sciences and Engineering

• Pages: 79–100

https://doi.org/10.1142/9789814641272_0004

In 2001, there was a change of leadership in NSTB, with Philip Yeo, chairman of EDB, taking over from Teo Ming Kian who then became chairman of EDB. Yeo called for a reorganisation of NSTB for a more targeted focus on R&D: he wanted to develop Biomedical Research but he also wanted to attract more industry players to the Science and Engineering R&D landscape. Until 2001, NSTB was basically a planning and funding agency. All the mission-oriented research institutes (RIs) and centres that had been set up with NSTB funding were being managed by the universities. Consequently, there were overlapping research objectives in some of the research centres. Yeo decided that it was time for NSTB to take over active management of the RIs as well as further strengthen their links with industry. Thus, Prof CC Hang was persuaded to become full-time Executive Deputy Chairman of the renamed NSTB, now A*STAR, with the task of rationalising the engineering RIs, grouping them, through the coordination by a Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC). The concept of R&D management through councils was similar to the structure of the UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Council. Like each of the RIs, the Council would have a panel of international advisors from universities, research institutes and industry leaders. In parallel, Yeo himself was driving the start of the Biomedical Sciences (BMS) Initiative and the formation of the Biomedical Research Council (BMRC) to coordinate the setting up of new research institutes to supplement the role of the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB).

Chapter 5: The Biomedical Sciences: Research for Better Health

• Raj Thampuran  and 
• Kong Hwai Loong
• Pages: 101–133

https://doi.org/10.1142/9789814641272_0005

Singapore's interest in biotechnology goes way back to the late 1970s at the time that the EDB had succeeded in getting Glaxo (today GlaxoSmithKline) to invest in Singapore and build a plant to produce Zantac. Glaxo was the second pharmaceutical company in Singapore. The first pharmaceutical company to set up in Singapore had been Beechams, a company founded by British chemist Thomas Beecham who, in 1854, started the first-ever factory solely to produce medicines. Beechams had come to Singapore in 1972 to produce the antibiotic Amoxicillin. Beechams' presence in Singapore was an encouragement to Glaxo when it was looking into a place to set up manufacturing of Ranitidine Hydrochloride, the active compound for Zantac, that had been discovered in the 1970s. In 1979, Glaxo inked a deal with EDB to set up a plant in Singapore to manufacture Ranitidine Hydrochloride. The Glaxo plant which went into production in 1982 was the first pharmaceutical plant here to go through a US Food and Drug Administration inspection for which it got a clean bill of health. Zantac would become one of Glaxo's most profitable drugs and would make Glaxo one of the leading pharmaceutical companies by sales revenue. After 1979, local media began carrying stories about biotechnology programmes. The Zantac project would also sow the seeds for Singapore's biotechnology programme. In 1982, Dr Christopher YH Tan, a Singapore-born researcher who was a tenured professor at the University of Calgary noted internationally for his research on Interferon was asked to meet Dr Goh Keng Swee who was at that time First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Education, and the chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Chapter 6: Developing Research-Intensive Universities

• Barry Halliwell  and 
• Bertil Andersson
• Pages: 135–164

https://doi.org/10.1142/9789814641272_0006

Whatever critics may think of global rankings, it is of some significance that Singapore's two major universities, National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) both feature in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World Rankings in the top 40 universities in the world. Such rankings are based on research publication in benchmark peer-reviewed scientific journals, reputation among global academics, etc. It is a significant achievement for a small country that only started on the journey to research excellence with the establishment of the National Science and Technology Board (NSTB) in 1991, the same year as NTU's establishment. Although other measures of excellence must also be taken into account, what they do indicate is the effectiveness of the national investment in education and research as part of the Singapore Government's overall commitment to create a vibrant knowledge-based economy. Without such a commitment, building up research-intensive universities would not have been possible. In tandem with the mission-oriented RIs under NSTB/A*STAR, the universities play important roles in the R&D ecosystem. They came in for more attention as A*STAR and the National Research Foundation (NRF) started to spearhead thematic research programmes and fund the universities on emerging science and engineering topics and in areas with potential to become upstream resources for the RIs further downstream. Already an important part of the R&D landscape since the earliest days of any kind of interest in science and technology, the universities are today an even more important component of the R&D hub plan with the creation of the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council (RIEC) and the NRF. When NRF started to look at emerging areas and embarking on this new strategy of funding new and strategic basic research, the universities came into focus. Unlike A*STAR, NRF is essentially a funding agency and does not manage any research institutes. NRF funds R&D projects that are expected to have longer-term national impact. Thus in 2006 one of the first NRF programmes was $500 million for water research, a sustainable and secure water supply being a continuing national issue, notwithstanding the success of NEWater, a PUB-initiated project in the late 1990s to look into recycling water. Another project in which NRF has invested funding is research into how dengue fever spreads. The National Environment Agency manages the project and turns to the universities and research institutes to learn more about ways to prevent and mitigate the spread of dengue, the diagnosis and treatment options, identification of virus types and distinguishing symptoms. The universities are in the thick of such research projects.

Chapter 7: Partnering Multinational Corporations in R&D

• Low Teck Seng ,
• Raj Thampuran , and 
• Pages: 165–187

https://doi.org/10.1142/9789814641272_0007

Multinational corporations or MNCs have been the engine of manufacturing growth ever since the EDB began wooing them to set up operations here. In the late 1980s came the economic restructuring that banked on developing R&D capability to create an additional value proposition for extant MNCs to remain in Singapore while attracting new ones here. It was no longer competition on the basis of lower costs but rather on how much smarter the Singapore economy could be. Making the paradigm shift to a knowledge-based economy would give Singapore competitive advantages because a knowledge-based economy capitalises on people, education and experience rather than on mere price. From Singapore's earliest engagements with the MNCs, it benefitted from close collaboration with them as they were responsive to emerging trends that did not as yet have names. In the late 1960s, the relocation of MNCs to Asia — and the globalisation of the world economy — had been prompted in part by US companies wanting to take advantage of comparative gains from lower costs to be found in global manufacturing. Such lower costs came in part from outsourcing the more peripheral aspects of manufacturing as well as from cheaper labour costs. Singapore's choice of manufacturing for export in place of import substitution manufacturing had tapped into this emerging trend. Looking to lower operational costs, MNCs were breaking up traditionally integrated manufacturing, relocating and using local SMEs to make some of these components. The vertical disintegration of large companies benefitted the emerging industrialising countries such as Singapore. As US and Japanese companies moved manufacturing overseas the production of components came to be outsourced increasingly. MNCs partnered local SMEs and set up supply chains that became increasingly complex and global in nature. Such local SMEs moved up the technology ladder as a consequence, as did the workforce which had to keep up with the new technology. By the end of the 1980s, the process of vertical disintegration, technology transfer and divesting of certain services through the setting up of global supply chains outside the company had come to be termed “ outsourcing”. This was a trend, now an established practice, identified by management and business school gurus at the end of the 20th century. Except for the most basic, many products today are made up of parts and intellectual property that come from everywhere, sometimes from rivals. Globalised economies emerged, and “ globalisation” joined the list of newly-minted economic terms and realities.

Chapter 8: Developing R&D in Local Enterprises

• Png Cheong Boon
• Pages: 189–216

https://doi.org/10.1142/9789814641272_0008

Local enterprises may be categorised according to economic clusters. There are three main clusters: first, Manufacturing and Engineering comprising Precision Engineering, Electronics, Printing, Packaging, Chemicals, Transport Engineering, Cleantech and Engineering Services; second, Lifestyle comprising Food Manufacturing, F&B Services, Retail, Textile and Fashion, and Furniture; and third, Services and Biomedicals comprising Logistics, Professional Services, Education Services, Healthcare Services, and Biomedicals. Local enterprises may also be divided by size into two groups: larger local enterprises and SMEs. The first group of larger local enterprises comprise companies that may be listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange as well as Singapore-based multinational companies (MNCs). (This chapter deals only with local enterprises. For MNCs see Chapter 7.) Some of the larger local enterprises are technology-intensive companies that may have originated as government-linked companies. Examples in this group would be Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd, Keppel Off shore and Marine Ltd, and Sembcorp Industries Ltd. Also in this group of larger local companies are those that grew into established companies through effective entrepreneurial leadership. Hyflux Ltd is a well-known example. This group also includes enterprises in the food industry which was one of Singapore's earliest industrialised sectors. Examples are Khong Guan Biscuit Factory (S) Pte Ltd (founded 1947), Yeo Hiap Seng Ltd (now YHS, originated as a soya sauce producer in Fujian Province, China, in 1900) and Amoy Canning Corporation (S) Ltd (incorporated in 1951 in Singapore but started up as a soya sauce producer in Xiamen, China, in 1907). The food industry here was among the earliest sectors to invest in R&D to raise safety and manufacturing processes to international standards, largely through the efforts of the Singapore Institute of Standards and Industrial Research (whose quality and standards components are now under SPRING Singapore). The second group of local enterprises comprise Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) numbering 183,400 or 99% of the total of local enterprises (2014 figures). Out of this total of SMEs, 79% consist of micro enterprises with annual sales turnover of up to $1 million, 16% of small enterprises with turnover of $10 million and 5% of medium enterprises with turnover of $100 million.

Chapter 9: Towards Innovation & Entrepreneurship

• Raj Thampuran ,
• Tan Kai Hoe , and 
• Pages: 217–242

https://doi.org/10.1142/9789814641272_0009

In its efforts to leverage on research to promote and drive Innovation & Entrepreneurship in both public and private sectors, and in both MNCs and local enterprises, in order to achieve growth, Singapore is beginning to see some successes. Compared to its significant investments in research capability and capacity since the 1990s, the focus on commercialisation and new businesses has only been in the last 10 to 15 years. This can be seen, for example, from the establishment of the Action Community for Entrepreneurship, a public-private partnership to foster entrepreneurship, in 2003; and the renaming of the national “Science & Technology” Masterplan to the “Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE)” plan to lend greater focus on innovation and enterprise. For local enterprises, this is a new game. It goes beyond R&D, into design-driven innovation, Open Innovation, Business Model Innovation, etc. The commercial successes of a few large local enterprises and the timely upgrading of high-growth SMEs through the GET-Up Programme of A*STAR and SPRING Singapore (as elaborated in Chapter 8) give hope that with further persistence and entrepreneurial skills, more Singapore SMEs will grow by launching more innovations in the near future. University and polytechnic education will need to be enhanced to provide training and hands-on experiences for engineering students to learn design-thinking, create viable business models, and develop awareness of technology commercialisation, techno-entrepreneurship, open innovation strategies, etc. Entrepreneurs like Sim Wong Hoo and Henn Tan are examples of these possibilities. There is evidence that with pro-active and substantial nurturing of talent and ideas more such entrepreneurs and companies can develop. Many more university and RI spin-off companies, fuelled by recently introduced POC/POV grants, nurtured through Incubation Centres or Accelerators, funded and assisted by a more sophisticated venture ecosystem, will generate a new momentum for innovation and entrepreneurship. New public policies to facilitate and accelerate this are being conceived and will be seen in the latest RIE2020 Plan announced in early 2016.

BACK MATTER

• Pages: 243–302

https://doi.org/10.1142/9789814641272_bmatter

• Singapore's Science & Technology, R&D Timeline

"This is a unique account of Singapore's remarkable development of a world-class research ecology. Written by insiders who were intimately involved as researchers and managers of the Nation's technology programmes, the book is a must-read for anyone wanting a complete view of the subject. The text details the national sustained, enormous commitment to the enterprise of creating Singapore as a research hub. This effort continues to engage truly significant sums of money, off-scale in terms of size of the population. It emphasizes Singapore's innovative strategic policy of accelerating its technological development by recruiting clusters of the best industrial and academic researchers in the world to be local partners. Congratulations to the authors for their contributions — both as writers and long-standing contributors to the process!"

"In summary, this book shows that Singapore's R&D accomplishment over 50 years can be called miraculous but not mysterious. This book will be an excellent reference for governments, institutions and scholars alike."

"'The Singapore Research Story' is both practical and visionary: it belongs on the shelves of college, governmental, and public libraries, wherever students want to know: what can happen to a country, when science is respected."

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Book that chronicles history of research in Singapore launched

SINGAPORE - From a time where there was a lack of engineers and technical workers to a world-class research and development (R&D) hub today, Singapore has come a long way, said Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean on Friday (April 15).

These days, the Republic is known for its water research with more than 180 water companies and 26 research centres. It is also a leader in gastric cancer research, pioneering new surgery techniques, for instance.

And the country will press on to strengthen its R&D capabilities by grooming researchers, scientists and engineers who can develop innovative solutions to the world's problems.

Mr Teo said the Government is investing in R&D as a way to secure the country's future, by raising productivity and catalysing new areas of growth.

This would in turn improve healthcare for the population and transform the urban landscape into one that is more liveable and sustainable, he said.

It will involve many collaborations with overseas institutions both in Singapore and abroad, he noted.

"The nature of scientific endeavour today is that it is collaborative and increasingly global. We have benefited from international collaborations and will continue to strengthen them," said Mr Teo, who is also chairman of the National Research Foundation.

He was speaking at the launch of a book on Singapore's research journey over the last 50 years. The book, titled The Singapore Research Story, is part of a series produced by World Scientific Publishing since last year to commemorate the country's 50 years of nation-building.

It was written and edited over one and a half years by a team comprising researchers and leaders of Singapore's research, innovation and development.

Professor Hang Chang Chieh of the National University of Singapore, one of the editors of the book, said the next chapter of the nation's R&D journey would be to innovate and promote entrepreneurship.

It will take a longer time, he noted.

"But as in the first lap of developing research from scratch, Singapore has the confidence to build the requisite skills and capacity for this new phase of knowledge-based economic development," he said.

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Home     Things To Do     11 books about Singapore history to read so you won’t be stumped the next time you’re asked a question about your country

11 books about Singapore history to read so you won’t be stumped the next time you’re asked a question about your country

There’s never not a good time to read up and stay informed about Singapore’s origins and the transformation it has been through over the past centuries, even if you are a citizen(or not).

With Singapore’s 55th birthday approaching soon, we’ve chosen 10 books that shine a light on its multilayered history coming from various viewpoints. Memoirs, novels, illustrations—you name it, we have it!

1. From Third World to First: The Singapore Story: 1965-2000

Founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew was no doubt one of the most influential leaders in Asia and played an important role in the nation-building of Singapore.

This book carries his insightful account of Singapore’s survival. Lee uses a variety of materials, including previously unpublished official government reports and papers how he and his team led a tiny country into a prosperous city.

Besides his candid sharing of his unorthodox views on human rights, democracy, and inherited intelligence, Lee also wrote warmly about his family life, offering readers a glimpse not just into his brilliant mind but also into his heart.

Author : Lee Kuan Yew Where to buy : Book Depository Price : S$48.50, free delivery worldwide

2. Son of Singapore

Son of Singapore is an autobiography of the Singaporean author, Tan Kok Seng. He relays an authentic account of his youth as a Teochew farm boy who took up odd jobs since the age of fifteen, and the way people lived in Singapore during its early years, pre-independence.

His work became a publishing sensation in the 1970s and has since been reprinted several times. It was originally written in Chinese, and without straying away from its original tone or narrative, it was later translated in English to cater to a range of readers. It is also notable for its transliteration of Teochew adages.

Author : Tan Kok Seng Where to buy : localbooks.sg Price : S$17.90

3. Singapore: A Biography

Singapore: A Biography is a byproduct of the National Museum of Singapore curator, Mark Frost, and writer, Yu-Mei Balasingamchow. This is a comprehensive study of Singapore’s history written clearly and vividly that one can’t help but be transported back in history while reading.

It uncovers Singapore’s rich and diverse history from the early 1300s to 1965, which has indefinitely shaped Singapore into the modern city that it is today. This is effortlessly presented through a collection of eyewitness accounts, correspondences, and descriptions from workers, adventurers, rulers, and revolutionaries across the centuries.

Authors : Mark Frost and Yu-Mei Balasingamchow Where to buy : Book Depository Price : S$41.57, free delivery worldwide

4. S. Rajaratnam on Singapore

The late S. Rajaratnam (1915 – 2006) was a former journalist and one of the pioneer political leaders who helped shaped Singapore into what it is today. Interesting fact: Did you know that he drafted the final version of the national pledge following Singapore’s separation from Malaysia?

This publication is written to honour him and his significant contributions towards the making of existing modern Singapore.

The informative volume is divided into four thematic sections: foreign policy, ASEAN regionalism, multiculturalism, and Singapore’s history. As the first foreign affairs minister, he established good relations with the nations of the world while conceptualising and implementing foreign policies. He also represented Singapore in the 1967 Bangkok declaration, where ASEAN had its beginning.

To get a deeper insight into the man himself, materials such as his key speeches, articles, and original research essays that are written by senior staff of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, are included too.

Author : Kwa Chong Guan Where to buy : Book Depository Price : S$77.27, free delivery worldwide

5. Singapore Is Not an Island

The author of this book is Bilahari Kausikan, a veteran diplomat in Singapore who retired in 2013 and was an ambassador-at-large in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He is renowned nationally and internationally for his refreshing analyses of foreign policy trends and has a following in international foreign policy circles.

Singapore Is Not an Island is a distillation of Bilahari’s views on the realities of international relations, challenges that Singapore has faced, and analyses of Singapore’s foreign policy over the course of 25 years — all of which were determining factors that help protect and promote a country’s interests in a rapidly evolving world.

Author : Bilahari Kausikan Where to buy : Book Depository Price : S$20.77, free delivery worldwide

6. A History of Modern Singapore, 1819 – 2005

Author Mary Turnbull is one of the most famous historians who specialised in Singapore’s history.

In A History of Modern Singapore 1819 – 2005 , she provides a solid foundation and framework for the research on Singapore’s development across the centuries, giving credit to its origins, early development, and highlighting social and cultural issues in respective periods of Singapore’s history.

This is a revised edition that was rewritten up to 2005. Additional chapters are on Goh Chok Tong’s premiership from 1990 to 2004, and Singapore’s transition to a government headed by a younger generation of leaders.

Author : C.M. Turnbull Where to buy : Book Depository Price : S$72.05, free delivery worldwide

7. Floating on A Malayan Breeze: Travels In Malaysia And Singapore

Floating on A Malayan Breeze is a light-read travelogue that analyses the sociological-political-economical aspects of Singapore and Malaysia as both sets on respective paths, post-separation in 1965.

The author, Sudhir, and his companion went on a cycling trip across Malaysia and Singapore in 2004 in search of answers. This is tactfully done through interviews with locals from all walks of life, taking away honest views of each other while uncovering hard truths and false conceptions about both countries.

Author : Sudhir Thomas Vadaketh Where to buy : Books Depository Price : S$45.48, free delivery worldwide

8. Kampung Tempe

Kampung Tempe is co-authored by Dr. Yahaya Sanusi and Hidayah Amin, and is a recollection of the former’s memories in the Malay village, Kampung Tempe. The book gives an insight into the village’s rich history from the early settlement days.

Author : Hidayah Amin, Yahaya Sanusi Where to buy :  localbooks.sg Price : S$32

9. Pulau Ubin: The Last Frontier

Located off the northeast coast of Singapore, Pulau Ubin is home to Singapore’s remaining village and Chek Jawa Wetlands.

A virtual tour in the form of a book,  Pulau Ubin: The Last Frontier is packed with more than 50 original and detailed illustrations drawn on location by artist Francis Theo. These illustrations give justice to the island as she effortlessly captured the inhabitants’ unique way of life and the island’s charms.

Author : Francis Theo Where to buy :  localbooks.sg Price : S$28

10. Singapore: A Modern History

Author Michael D. Barr is an Associate Professor of International Relations at Flinders University and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities.

In his book, Michael D. Barr goes into detail about Singapore’s development from the pre-colonial period through modern-day by going over Singapore’s ideas, politics, and geography across five centuries. It is backed by in-depth archival works and oral histories.

He also gives greater context on Singapore’s history — marking its origin beyond the arrival of Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819, which is often regarded as the starting point of Singapore’s existence.

Author : Michael D. Barr Where to buy : Book Depository Price: S$48.50, free delivery worldwide

11. Eat Her Curries and Kway: A Cultural History of Food in Singapore

Singaporeans will go to great lengths for good food – we already know it.

In her book, Nicole Tarulevicz argues that as a society that has gone through significant change since British settlement in 1819, food serves us as a poignant connection to the past.

The author analyses cookbooks, architectural and city plans to offer a thematic history of Singapore, telling the story of the city-state through the production and consumption of food. Connecting Singapore’s food culture to its history, the book discusses several aspects of the Singaporean society from a refreshing point of view.

Author: Nicole Tarulevicz Where to buy: Book Depository Price: S$72.05, free delivery worldwide

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What to read to understand Singapore

Our former asia columnist on whether it’s a miraculously stable spot, or a dystopia.

S ingapore tends to attract extreme views. To its fans it is a miraculous island of stability and prosperity in a troubled sea of regional turbulence. To its critics it is, in the famous phrase of William Gibson, an American-Canadian novelist, “Disneyland with the death penalty”: a dystopia run on the principle “be happy, or I’ll kill you”. The argument has an importance beyond the fate of the 6m people who live there. Singapore’s success in achieving the forms of democracy while remaining under one-party rule is an inspiration to leaders elsewhere, notably in China, and hence a challenge to Western notions of the superiority of political liberalism. These books are all fun to read, and provide insights into Singapore’s history and the arguments on both sides of the debate.

The Singapore Story. By Lee Kuan Yew. Simon & Schuster; 680 pages and From Third World to First. By Lee Kuan Yew. HarperCollins; 752 pages; $38. Harper Business; £12.99

There was, The Economist noted on his death in 2015, no vainglory in the title of Lee Kuan Yew’s memoirs, “The Singapore Story”, published in 1998. Few leaders have so embodied and dominated their countries: Fidel Castro, perhaps, and Kim Il Sung, in their day. But both of those signally failed to match Mr Lee’s achievement in propelling Singapore “From Third World to First” (as the second volume, published in 2000, is called). Moreover, he managed it against far worse odds: no space, beyond a crowded little island; no natural resources; and, as an island of polyglot immigrants, not much shared history. His memoirs are, of course, history as written by one of its winners. But with his other talents, Lee was also a good writer and tells Singapore’s story in an engaging way. His intelligence, drive and ambition shine through the account of his early life and his evolution in later years into a kind of geopolitical guru at whose feet other statesmen loved to sit. So do his ruthlessness and capacity to hold a grudge. That, however, is not why he remembers, decades later, the name of the student who beat him into second place in two national exams. (Reader, he married her.)

The Singapore Grip. By J.G. Farrell. NYRB Classics; 583 pages; $19.95. Weidenfeld & Nicholson; £10.99

Lee Kuan Yew was just 18 when Singapore fell to the Japanese in 1942, exposing as shambolic Britain’s preparations to defend its colony, which at the time also comprised the Malay peninsula, Penang and Sabah and Sarawak on Borneo. This novel, the third in Farrell’s “empire” trilogy (the others being “Troubles” on Ireland and “The Siege of Krishnapur” on the Indian mutiny), is a devastating and at times hilarious commentary on the smug pretensions, thoughtless racism and irredeemable incompetence of colonial rule. Published in 1978, it is also a moving account of cultural misunderstandings and the horrors of war. The story centres on a fictional trading house, supposedly a pillar of the colonial economy, and the planned match between children of two of its founders. One, Matthew Webb, is the closest the book comes to having a hero, but he is a fairly hopeless one. A recent Oxford graduate he is full of idealism (about, of all things, the League of Nations) and naively ignorant of the world—giving the book its title and a running joke as he tries to find out what “the Singapore grip” actually is.

The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye. By Sonny Liew. Pantheon; 320 pages; $30

As a counterpoint to Lee Kuan Yew’s official Singapore story, this brilliantly inventive graphic novel offers an alternative take on its emergence as an independent nation. Sonny Liew explores Singapore’s history through the career of Charlie, a fictional cartoonist. The book, from 2015, is a series of interviews with Charlie, beginning in 2010, when he is 72 years old. Charlie’s work is political almost from the start. Lee Kuan Yew makes an early appearance in his work in “Invasion”, depicting humanity under the rule of an alien race, the Hegemons. Mr Lee is a lawyer who speaks fluent Hegemonese. Charlie also uses allegory to tell the story of Singapore’s failed merger with the Federation of Malaya in the early 1960s, with Mr Lee as Sang Kancil, a mouse-deer figure from Malaysian folk tales who lives by his wits. Charlie’s versions of Mr Lee grow steadily more Machiavellian. The book does not shy away from controversial periods in the nation’s history. It remains available in Singapore. But just before its official launch, the National Arts Council revoked a grant awarded to it because, as an nac director explained, the book “potentially undermines the authority or legitimacy of the Singapore government”.

The Ocean in a Drop. Singapore: the next 50 years. By Ho Kwon Ping. World Scientific Publishing; 165 pages; S$27

Ho Kwon Ping is an interesting figure. A former journalist, he was detained in Singapore in 1977 under the Internal Security Act for writing allegedly leftist articles for the Far Eastern Economic Review , a now defunct (conservative) regional news magazine with its headquarters in Hong Kong. He went on, with his wife, to found Banyan Tree Holdings which operates over 50 luxury resorts across Asia and the Middle East, and to become founding chairman of Singapore Management University. Indeed, so much part of the establishment has he become that he is spoken of as a future president, and in 2015 he was asked to give a series of five lectures to mark Singapore’s 50 years as an independent country. This book is a compilation of those lectures, which were thoughtful and provocative. They offer a fair-minded assessment of Singapore’s politics and governance and its economic and business prospects, and included what were, for Singapore, some radical and even heretical suggestions and warnings about looming problems, notably on rising inequality , and on how it would cope with the retirement needs of a rapidly ageing society.

Air-conditioned Nation Revisited. By Cherian George. Ethos books; 320 pages; S$25

Not every government critic in Singapore ends up in the establishment. Having failed to secure a tenured position in Singapore, Cherian George now finds it more congenial to pursue an academic career in Hong Kong, where he is a professor at Baptist University, writing on media and politics. A former journalist at the Straits Times , in 2000 he published “Singapore: The Air-conditioned Nation”, a collection of essays that remains the best introduction to Singapore’s idiosyncratic political system, and was substantially updated 20 years later. The title stems from the first essay, on one of Lee Kuan Yew’s quirkier obsessions. When a number of 20th-century luminaries were asked by the Wall Street Journal in 1999 to pick the most influential invention of the millennium, he was alone in shunning the printing press, electricity, the internal combustion engine and the internet. He chose the air-conditioner, explaining that, before air-con, people living in the tropics were at a disadvantage because heat and humidity damaged the quality of their work. Mr George spots in this technology the perfect metaphor for Singapore’s governance: the combination of comfort, on the one hand, and central control on the other. ■

Our former Asia columnist wrote a special report on Singapore in 2015, marking the 50th anniversary of its founding. ____________________________

More from The Economist reads: Our former South-East Asia correspondent picks seven books about Myanmar Our obituaries editor chooses the five best biographies ever written We pick four books on the burning of the American West Our food columnist selects the seven essential cookbooks

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Vogue Singapore

Vogue Singapore is the undisputed fashion authority that empowers and inspires through elevated imagery and intelligent stories to drive change for good

The best books written by local authors in 2023

By Jesslyn Lye

25 October 2023

From a neo-noir thriller to an anthology of essays on disability and inclusion, Vogue Singapore rounds up the local books to add to your reading list this year

It’s been an eventful year for Singaporean literature. As we enter the final months of 2023—and with this year’s Singapore Writers Festival right around the corner to wrap up the literary calendar—there’s no better time to look back on the incredible titles published by local authors this year. Through a uniquely Singaporean lens, these books offer diverse perspectives that come together to form a vibrant tapestry of our society. They are a reflection of the stories we want to tell, the voices we wish to uplift and the causes that we hold closest to our hearts. 

Balli Kaur Jaswal’s Now You See Us , for instance, follows three domestic helpers from the Philippines as they band together to solve a murder—delving into the layers of power that define our society. Meanwhile, the deceptively simple premise of a group of Indian women learning to swim gives way to a rich exploration of cultural adaptation and female community in Vrushali Junnarkar’s The Campbell Gardens Ladies’ Swimming Class . 

As for non-fiction reads, The Singapore I Recognise and Not Without Us both stand as landmark titles . In the former, Kirsten Han paints a nuanced picture of the hidden aspects of Singapore she has come to know in her work as an activist and journalist. In the latter, a collection of essays on disability and inclusion in Singapore provides invaluable knowledge and perspectives on a conversation that has, until now, been focused mostly on the West. Below, find our full list of the best local books released this year.

'The Singapore I Recognise: Essays on Home, Community and Hope' by Kirsten Han

In this landmark title, activist and journalist Kirsten Han paints a poignant picture of our homeland and its people. Through researched interviews, nuanced examinations of civil society and personal reflections, she showcases the hidden aspects of Singapore that don’t follow the conventional story—resulting in a compulsory read for any active citizen.

'Now You See Us' by Balli Kaur Jaswal

Insightful and entertaining, Now You See Us follows three women from the Philippines working as domestic helpers in the homes of Singapore’s elite. As they band together to solve a murder, Balli Kaur Jaswal peels back the layers of power that define our society, opening up an invaluable conversation about the way we treat our migrant worker community.

'Claiming Susan Chin' by Tham Cheng-E

When a plane plummets into the Korean DMZ, 16-year-old Susan Chin—a Singaporean girl with Down’s syndrome—is the sole survivor. Insurers question her testimony and investigator Jean Wan is tasked to prove that the crash wasn’t an accident. As the father of a child with Down’s syndrome, Tham Cheng-E crafts Susan’s voice with nuance and depth, and offers an honest glimpse into the challenges that caregivers face.

'The Great Reclamation' by Rachel Heng

Born into a fishing village in 20th-century Singapore, Ah Boon spends his time playing with neighbour Siok Mei. One day, the discovery of a unique power he possesses brings forth an obligation to contribute to his community and impress the girl he has come to love—until the pair get caught in the devastating impact of World War II. As the nation moves towards rebirth, The Great Reclamation reveals a sweeping tale reckoning with the things we sacrifice for progress.

'The Campbell Gardens Ladies’ Swimming Class' by Vrushali Junnarkar

This winner of the 2023 Epigram Books Fiction Prize offers a glimpse into the lives of a group of Indian women determined to learn to swim. The novel’s premise may seem simple on the surface, but it gives way to a rich and heart-warming tale of cultural adaptation, personal freedom and women coming together.

'Not Without Us: Perspectives on Disability and Inclusion in Singapore' edited by Kuansong Victor Zhuang, Meng Ee Wong and Dan Goodley

Not Without Us is a call to re-evaluate the way we think of disability. An insightful collection of essays both critical and creative, this groundbreaking book shifts between lived experiences, overlooked histories and hopeful futures—examining what it means to live with disabilities in a nation moving towards inclusion.

'No Wonder, Women' by Carissa Foo

As two women connect over a balloon cactus, a mother steals glances at her daughter in the car’s rear-view mirror and a bride thinks about her best friend on the eve of her wedding. An ode to women and the myriad ways in which they love, this collection of short stories delves into the intricate bonds that women share with each other.

'Catskull' by Myle Yan Tay

Neo-noir thriller meets coming-of-age mystery in Catskull , which follows teenage outcast Ram as he dons a mask to defend his only friend from her abusive father. When his act of intimidation takes a grave turn, the line between right and wrong blurs—and we are left to question who suffers the consequences in the road to justice.

The October anniversary ‘Voices’ issue of  Vogue  Singapore is available for sale  online  and in-store from 10 October 2023.

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World » Asia » Singapore

The best books on singapore, recommended by sharlene teo.

Ponti by Sharlene Teo

If your impression of Singapore is based entirely on Crazy Rich Asians , here are some books to read to get a sense of what the country is really like. Singapore's huge economic achievements since it became an independent state in 1965 have not come without consequences, not least nostalgia for the past.  Here novelist Sharlene Teo recommends five books to get a feel for the city-state of Singapore, her homeland. We also recommend reading her novel, Ponti. 

Interview by Sophie Roell , Editor

Singapore: A Biography by Mark Ravinder Frost & Yu-Mei Balasingamchow

This Is What Inequality Looks Like by Teo You Yenn

How We Disappeared: A Novel by Jing-Jing Lee

Singapore Disrupted by Chua Mui Hoong

Nimita's Place by Akshita Nanda

1 Singapore: A Biography by Mark Ravinder Frost & Yu-Mei Balasingamchow

2 this is what inequality looks like by teo you yenn, 3 how we disappeared: a novel by jing-jing lee, 4 singapore disrupted by chua mui hoong, 5 nimita's place by akshita nanda.

Y our novel, Ponti , is set in Singapore. It’s a really nice book to read if you’re travelling to Singapore, to get a feel for what it’s like there. Ponti was shortlisted for a travel-writing award for fiction ‘with a sense of place ’ and it’s had some very nice comments from the novelist Ian McEwan . Can you tell me a bit about Singapore, for people who maybe don’t know it as well as you do?

Tell me a bit about your connection with Singapore, particularly in the context of the feel for the place that you are trying to convey in your novel.

I grew up there, by and large, for the first 19 years of my life, but it’s interesting to me, having been away now for something close to 13 years. My impression of Singapore is very much stamped in time. Ponti is a portrayal of, and a love letter to, the country that I grew up in. But it’s a complicated relationship I have with Singapore, with such a sentimentally saturated place, especially when its face keeps on changing.

Let’s turn to the books you’ve chosen to better understand Singapore. The first explores the history of Singapore: Singapore: A Biography by Mark Frost and Yu-Mei Balasingamchow. Tell me a bit about this book and why you like it.

In terms of the really extensive historical accounts of Singapore, quite a few of the canonical ones are pretty old now. There’s one by CM Turnbull , for example, that dates from 1977, and of course these historical accounts are always inflected by the politics of the writers. Obviously colonial accounts of Singapore tell a particular, subjective story, as do most texts of history-making.

Singapore: A Biography came out a few years ago, in 2013. It’s a balanced book and it takes us through the development and history of Singapore. A lot of it is compilations of oral histories, because that’s where the rich, documentary material lies. I like the way it’s both a deeply academic book, written in a very clear and straightforward manner, and also written quite lyrically. One of the authors, Yu-Mei Balasingamchow, is a novelist and a short story writer, and you can really tell that influence. There’s a kind of writerly eye to it. It’s just a fascinating and very, very useful overview of the dynamic, multi-layered essence of Singapore in history.

It covers quite a big period, starting in the 14th century and going right up to 1965. The research was done with the National Museum of Singapore, so there are also quite a lot of nice illustrations and pictures of artefacts.

The next on your list of Singapore books is This is What Inequality Looks Like. This is by a sociologist, Teo You Yenn, but it’s also beautifully written, isn’t it? And it became a bestseller in Singapore.

Everyone now assumes Singapore is all about Crazy Rich Asians , a film that has eclipsed everything else as the dominant pop cultural reference point, particularly from the Western perspective. This book is a good starting point for people who are unfamiliar with Singaporean society or who perhaps have a less complex, more cursory impression of the country.

Also, it’s a good book to approach in light of the hyper-emergence of China as a significant world power. The fact is a lot of Singaporean Chinese are descended from China. There’s an interesting power relation there, a connection to China, but not quite.

“Ponti is a portrayal of, and a love letter to, the country that I grew up in.”

People who are curious about what it is that makes contemporary Singapore society pretty singular could look to this book. It sheds light on basic class differences and social inequality. These are issues which most Singaporeans have always been aware of. Frankly, Singapore is quite a classist society and fairly materialistic.

The book is very, very illuminating because there is a massive difference between low income, mid-income and very affluent Singaporeans. Of course, these income differences and brackets affect everyone in every society, but this book is incredibly nuanced. To look at these detailed case studies of that and to read more thoroughly about it gives you a better understanding of the economic and social conditions that affect everyday Singaporeans.

Yes, because in terms of per capita income, Singapore is one of the ten richest countries in the world. I loved one of the opening comments in the book. Teo You Yenn says that, as a sociologist, she cannot really begin with the question, ‘Is there poverty in contemporary Singapore?’ because the answer to that question, based on what she knows about the world, has to be ‘Yes.’ But as a Singaporean, she can hear the question and think, ‘Hmm. I’m not sure.’

Next on your list of your Singapore books is How We Disappeared by Jing-Jing Lee, a novel. Tell me about this book and why you like it.

How We Disappeared is a historical novel about the Japanese occupation of Singapore. It’s a sweeping epic and tells the tragic story of a young girl who gets taken as a comfort woman. This is an essential read. It’s a wonderful introduction to Singaporean literature and where Singaporean literature is headed. It’s incredibly beautifully written and very understated.

It narrates a very painful and formative period of Singaporean history which doesn’t get talked about that much. There’s the whole social group of the comfort women. These are women that have been marginalised and not even acknowledged, historically, until fairly recently. It is a necessary narrative that people need to engage with more, about the costs of the war.

That’s why, as a work of fiction, it’s a great introduction to Singapore, especially for readers who might not be aware of this period of time or these historical occurrences.

Basically, during World War II, these women had a horrible time, forced to be comfort women to Japanese soldiers. But then, after the war, they also have a terrible time, because they become marginalized for having been comfort women.

They’re treated as traitors. It’s just terrible. It’s a horrible experience that has parallels throughout Asia. Women had to undergo this and it was deeply traumatic.

How comfortable is Singapore with its history, in general? Is there a lot that gets swept under the carpet?

The fourth on your list of books is Singapore Disrupted by Chua Mui Hoong, a political columnist and opinion editor at The Straits Times , which is Singapore’s main broadsheet, English language newspaper. This is a series of her articles.

Yes, she’s a political columnist. This book is a compilation of articles she has written over the years under a couple of broad categories. So she’s got one about the class divide, which This is What Inequality Looks Like touches on as well. Then there’s “Brave New World Disruption,” local politics, partly politics and the legacy of Lee Kuan Yew, who passed away a couple of years ago. He was basically the founding father of Singapore.

And his son is now in power, is that right?

Yes, that’s true.

Hasn’t the population of Singapore nearly doubled since 1990? Is that the kind of disruption she’s writing about?

There’s the age-old complaint everyone makes about overcrowding and competition for jobs and opportunities, about gentrification. There’s a huge and constant influx of expats, both white collar as well as blue collar. Every time there’s a huge influx of immigration—just as you see in the United Kingdom—that generates a certain amount of friction and hostility. So, there is that.

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There’s also the space aspect. Having to queue for ages for everything is quite a Singaporean thing to talk about, but now even moreso.

The last of the Singapore books you’ve chosen is Nimita’s Place by Akshita Nanda. This is again a novel, and it’s by a journalist who I think also writes for The Straits Times. She was born in India, but has been living in Singapore since 1995. Tell me about this novel and what you like about it.

What I like about it is, firstly, that it’s told from the much-welcomed perspective of a Singaporean Indian. In Singapore, other cultures do not tend to get as much space as the majority, which is the Singaporean Chinese perspective. It’s a wonderfully written, witty work of fiction that looks at parallel narratives. It’s a story of migration, firstly about a woman who moved to Singapore from India at a particular time in the 40s. Then it fast-forwards to pretty much the present day, to 2014, and you get some wonderfully incisive depictions of contemporary living—things like office politics or just what it’s like to live in the city. There’s wonderful evocation of detail there. It’s quite understated, and handled really well.

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I read the beginning, where she loses her job because it now has to go to either a Singapore passport holder or a permanent resident. Is that what it’s like for non-residents in Singapore—can that really happen?

It’s an ongoing social issue which I’ve heard about from people firsthand. Preference is given to people who hold a Singapore passport, and it’s unfair, as all draconian immigration laws are in the UK as well. When people try to impose a cap on immigration numbers and people have to earn above a certain income bracket—no matter how long they’ve established their lives in a particular place—that’s unfair.

Does the book pursue that issue?

It’s very much about the treatment of women and looking at issues of migration, borders, citizenship and belonging. How do we claim where we belong? How long do you have to live somewhere, how do you earn that right?

I liked another bit of the book, where her Dad is worried about her. She’s like, ‘I’m fine. Nothing ever happens in Singapore. That’s why I moved here. It’s the safest city in the world. No one even honks in a traffic jam.’ Is that true?

It is very safe, that is absolutely true. That’s another thing that I really liked reading this book: none of the details ring false. It does really incisively describe the kind of claustrophobia and complacency that comes with living in such a safe, really well-developed city.

Singapore has many different ethnic groups and more than one official language . . .

Yes, it’s multilingual.

Does it feel like a melting pot or do different groups live quite separate lives?

It’s not completely segregated at all. You do get the sense that it’s pretty cosmopolitan and multicultural.

July 29, 2019

Five Books aims to keep its book recommendations and interviews up to date. If you are the interviewee and would like to update your choice of books (or even just what you say about them) please email us at [email protected]

©Amaal Said

Sharlene Teo

Sharlene Teo was born in Singapore in 1987. She has an LLB in Law from the University of Warwick and an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia, where she received the Booker Prize Foundation Scholarship and the David TK Wong Creative Writing award. She was shortlisted for the Berlin Writing Prize and holds fellowships from the Elizabeth Kostova Foundation and the University of Iowa International Writing Program. In 2016, she won the inaugural Deborah Rogers Writer’s Award for Ponti, her first novel.

We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

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• Product Guide

Honor Magic V3 book-style foldable comes in at 9.2mm folded, available in Singapore

• Page 1 of 1 - Honor Magic V3 book-style foldable comes in at 9.2mm folded, available in Singapore Page 1 of 1 - Honor Magic V3 book-style foldable comes in at 9.2mm folded, available in Singapore Page 1 of 1 Page 1 of 1 - Honor Magic V3 book-style foldable comes in at 9.2mm folded, available in Singapore

One of the thinnest book-style foldable smartphones in the industry just got even thinner, and no expenses were spared. That’s right, we’re talking about the newly announced Honor Magic V3.

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Honor Magic V3 pricing, availability, and promotions in Singapore

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DPM Heng Swee Keat at the 7th Global Research Alliance for Sustainable Finance and Investment (GRASFI) Conference

Speech by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat at the 7th Global Research Alliance for Sustainable Finance and Investment (GRASFI) Conference on 2 September 2024.

Professor Lily Kong, President, Singapore Management University, Dr Heidi Raubenheimer, Executive Director, GRASFI Ms Nikki Kemp, Dr Hao Liang, and the Singapore Green Finance Centre (SGFC) team, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning. I am glad to join you for the 7th Annual Global Research Alliance for Sustainable Finance and Investment conference, or GRASFI, at the Singapore Management University or SMU. 

Fostering Credible Transition, Creating Sustainable Impact

Climate change is a clear and present danger for the world. This is the first time that GRASFI is gathering physically here in Asia. I hope this experience will be valuable to deepen your understanding of Asia. Asia is a big and complex region, with countries at different stages of development, and with a range of economic and social needs and resources. 

On one hand, we emit about half of global emissions. These emissions are expected to grow, driven by economic and development needs, including extending electricity to rural populations. 

On the other hand, Asia is rich in biodiversity, which is affected by climate change, but also offers a promising range of nature-based solutions. Asia is home to around a fifth of the world’s rainforests. The waters in South-East Asia, near Singapore, harbour one of the world’s most extensive seagrass beds, coral reefs, and mangroves.

The theme of the conference “Fostering Credible Transition, Creating Sustainable Impact” is most apt. With the right policies, strategies, and technologies, we can pursue sustainable growth for the benefit of people and planet. 

While climate change affects all states around the world, for tropical island states like Singapore, it is an existential risk. 

Small island states are the first to experience the impact of climate change. 

Singapore’s latest National Climate Change Study projects that mean sea levels in Singapore could rise by up to 2 metres by 2150.

But climate change will set off other complex changes in the world’s ecology, that ultimately impacts all of us, wherever you live. 

These include tipping points in our ice sheets, seawater and forests, which could amplify and accelerate climate change. 

It is critical that we address this existential challenge and avoid the tragedy of the commons. Every one of us has a stake, and everyone must do his or her part. This complex problem with multiple dimensions must be dealt with at multiple levels, with a range of policy instruments, and by mobilising a wide range of stakeholders. 

At the global level, we need to forge a consensus for a sustainable and equitable model of growth. 

International frameworks and agreements are the foundation of this, with the UNFCCC process and the Paris Agreement at the heart of it. 

Singapore is a strong supporter of this multilateral approach, including serving as ministerial facilitators in the negotiations leading up to the Paris Agreement, and more recently on mitigation and carbon credits. 

Global institutions, such as the World Bank and IMF, play important roles in mobilising climate finance. I am glad that the World Bank Group has a presence in Singapore, including an Infrastructure and Urban Hub to serve the region. 

At the country level, we must do our parts to decarbonise our economies, and adapt to the impacts of climate change. 

We can all contribute in our own way, regardless of our size, or our level of development. For instance, even though Singapore emits less than 0.1% of global emissions, we have set ourselves a target to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, and a little earlier for the public sector.

To achieve this, we launched the Singapore Green Plan 2030 – a roadmap to mobilise our industries and citizens towards sustainable growth. 

When I was the Finance Minister, I introduced a carbon tax as a price signal for carbon emissions. The government has also issued green bonds We have since laid out a schedule of carbon tax levels until 2030. 

The proceeds from our carbon tax will be used to help companies in Singapore decarbonise. 

And under our S$28 billion Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2025 plan, we are supporting R&D into new climate technologies and solutions like sustainable building materials, carbon capture and storage, and alternative fuels like biofuels and hydrogen.

Do find out more about these projects from GRASFI participants from the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, and SMU, which have strong science and technology capabilities, and research programmes in several areas of sustainability. 

We trust that these initiatives can enable us to boost resilience here in Singapore, and enable us to serve the region as a pathfinder and testbed for green solutions. 

And at the industry level, companies will need to keep pace with greater consumer preferences for sustainable products, and emerging climate regulations like sustainability reporting and cross-border carbon taxes.

Companies can either pivot their business models and portfolios to contribute and benefit from new opportunities, or risk being disrupted by others or boycotted by consumers. 

Last week, I presented an award for transformation to Sembcorp Industries, a local energy company which had pivoted from oil and gas to renewable energy. They had also achieved impressive total shareholder returns through this transformation.

As part of our wider efforts in Singapore to transform our economy – also known as Industry Transformation 2.0 - we have added two new pillars to the existing four pillars, by including sustainability and resilience. 

Sustainable Finance as a Catalyst for a Greener and More Resilient Future

Among the many stakeholders, the financial sector plays a critical role. Significant financing is needed to accomplish these ambitions at the global, country, and industry levels.  We must mobilise financial resources and allocate these effectively to meet the diverse needs.  

McKinsey estimates that Asia alone needs more than US$3 trillion annually to achieve net-zero by 2050.

But public finances in many countries are stressed, especially after the COVID-19 pandemics. 

To meet the needs for investment and capital, we will need to more effectively mobilise some of the estimated US$400 trillion of private capital. 

Sustainable finance - the pursuit of financial returns alongside environmental and social objectives - will be a critical enabler. 

As a global financial centre, Singapore hopes to play our role in advancing sustainable finance, for our region and the world. 

Last year, we launched the Finance for Net Zero Action Plan, which seeks to achieve four strategic outcomes. 

One, to promote consistent, comparable and reliable climate data and disclosures to guide decision making and safeguard against climate risks; Two, to build up a climate resilient financial sector with deep capabilities in risk management practices like climate scenario analysis and stress testing; Three, to support financial institutions in developing credible science-based transition plans; and Four, to promote innovative financing solutions such as blended finance and voluntary carbon markets.

Many of you here are experts and practitioners in sustainable finance. You have an impressive list of topics and speakers for the coming sessions. Let me take this opportunity to suggest three areas where academics, industry, and government can work together to advance sustainable finance.

The first area is to develop better definitions and outcome measures of sustainable finance. This reduces the risks of green washing, and helps guide companies and investors in decision-making.

Taxonomies which define sustainable activities, are the foundation of this.

I am glad that efforts are underway to align these taxonomies across jurisdictions, including between Singapore, China and the EU. This will facilitate cross-border transactions by financial institutions in these jurisdictions.

We can also work together to improve how we measure the impact of finance on sustainability.

For example, the conference paper by Ayako Yasuda and Keer Yang from UC Davis suggests that clearer labelling of sustainable finance products helps investors make better investment decisions.

Similarly, the Singapore Green Finance Institute (SGFIN) developed a corporate impact pricing model that leverages AI to analyse the impact of environmental performance on stock prices.

And the Singapore Green Finance Centre is developing an Impact Weighted Account Framework to help companies better assess the sustainability impact of their operations and investments.

These initiatives help us measure outcomes, and to channel capital into activities that are impactful.

Second, to shape regulations to facilitate sustainable finance flows, while keeping down regulatory costs to companies.

For example, we have seen an increase in sustainability disclosure regulations in many jurisdictions, with some countries looking to progressively implement the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) disclosure standards including listed companies in Singapore from FY2025, and large non-listed companies from FY2027.

By working together, we could better develop reporting frameworks that are simple yet effective.

I am glad that the conference will examine the impact of regulation, and on ESG ratings and disclosures, over the next few days.

Good regulations can also catalyse the flow of financing to impactful causes such as energy infrastructure, and deep tech innovations to accelerate decarbonisation.

For example, in the Handbook on Scaling Up Blended Finance by the Network for Greening the Financial System, regulatory and practical barriers were often cited as obstacles to scaling up blended finance transactions in emerging markets.

Third, while definitions, outcome measures, and regulations are important, ultimately, any system is operated by people. We must therefore uplift our skills and broaden our talent base.

As part of Singapore’s Sustainable Finance Jobs Transformation Map, we will invest $35 million over the next three years to upskill and reskill our finance professionals.

This includes expanding the range of sustainable finance training courses for working professionals, undergraduate and polytechnic students.

I encourage all of us here to develop new teaching modalities to make sustainable finance more accessible. For example, SGFC leveraged SMU’s teaching infrastructure to deliver executive courses, and provide a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) that is open to the public.

While we do our best with our current state of knowledge, we need to recognise that sustainability, and sustainable finance is a complex and fast-evolving field. So we must continue to push the boundaries of our knowledge, and deepen the capabilities of our industry.

This will require us to bring together multidisciplinary research and real-life application, and bridge the varied fields of science, technology, economics and finance.

Academic institutions, including Centres of Excellence like the SGFC and SGFIN, can play an important role by bringing academics and industry together to study important issues such as carbon markets, climate adaptation, transition finance, and nature. Our Centres of Excellence are also crucial in ensuring that the research uncovered can be applied by industry through practice notes and whitepapers, and through training courses across the career spectrum – from undergraduate to executive and C-suite levels.

Through research networks like GRASFI, we can bring together the best minds around the world, to explore, to learn and to share. 

Let me conclude. Climate change is an existential challenge, and one of the most complex challenges facing humankind.

Every one of us must do his or her part, and make adjustments at the global, country, industry and personal levels.

Academic researchers and practitioners like yourselves can help guide global efforts for decarbonisation and sustainable growth in an objective and science-based manner.

We will need to push the frontiers of innovation across different fields –in science and technology to better understand climate science and to develop new solutions; as well as in economics and finance to optimise price signals and fiscal incentives; and in the social sciences to shape norms and nudge behaviours.

By bringing together experts from all over the world, GRASFI is an important platform to exchange perspectives and learn from each other’s experiences.

I wish you a successful conference, and continued collaborations in this complex and critical work. Thank you.

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Education in Singapore

People-Making and Nation-Building

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National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

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• Provides wide spectrum of up-to-date information about educational sectors, policies, and school subjects in Singapore
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• Presents a comprehensive and valuable resource written by select team of local and international experts

Part of the book series: Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects (EDAP, volume 66)

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Five Decades of Science Education in Singapore

Education, the Colonial State and the Crisis of Merdeka

Education in Bhutan: Introduction

• Singapore Education
• Meritocracy in Singapore
• Bilingualism in Singapore
• Nation-Building
• People-Making
• Physical Education
• Geography Education
• Art Education

Table of contents (23 chapters)

Front matter, introduction.

Yew-Jin Lee

The Next Phase of Developments in Singapore’s ECCE: Quality in the Best Interest of All Children?

• Sirene May-Yin Lim, Chee Wah Sum

Inclusive Education for Children with Special Educational Needs in Singapore Schools

• Kenneth K. Poon

Primary and Secondary Education in Singapore: Bringing Out the Best in Every Learner

• Jeanne Ho, Yew-Jin Lee

Post-secondary Education in Singapore

• Trivina Kang

Higher Education in Singapore: Perspectives and Future Orientation

• Horn Mun Cheah, Laura Lyn Lee

Post-secondary Education Institutions Internships—The Singapore Experience

• Shien Chue, Ethan Pang, Priscilla Pang, Yew-Jin Lee

The Dynamic Landscape of Adult Education in Singapore

• Helen Bound, Zan Chen

The Texture and History of Singapore’s Education Meritocracy

• Charleen Chiong

From Meritocracy to Parentocracy, and Back

• Vincent Chua, Kelvin K. C. Seah

Education for the Minority Malay Community in Singapore: A Sociological Perspective

• Mohamad Shamsuri Juhari

The Dynamic Interplay Between Curriculum and Context: Revisions in Response to National, Societal, and Contextual Needs

• Christina Ratnam-Lim Tong Li, Lucy Oliver Fernandez

School Leadership in Decentralized Centralism of Singapore Education

• Salleh Hairon, Soon How Loh

Assessment Reforms in Singapore

• Kelvin Heng Kiat Tan

Chinese Language Education and Assessment Policy in Singapore (1965–2021)

• Yun-Yee Cheong

Key Developments in English Education in Singapore from the Post-independence Period to the Present

• Suzanne S. Choo, Alexius Chia, Caroline Chan

Innovating Towards Reading Excellence in the Singapore English Language Curriculum

• Chin Ee Loh, Elizabeth Pang

Paths to a Whole: Placing Music Education in Singapore

• E. I. Dairianathan

The Coherence Between Policy Initiatives and Physical Education Developments in Nation-Building

• Steven Kwang San Tan, Shern Meng Tan, Connie Huat Neo Yeo, Liang Han Wong

Editors and Affiliations

About the editor, bibliographic information.

Book Title : Education in Singapore

Book Subtitle : People-Making and Nation-Building

Editors : Yew-Jin Lee

Series Title : Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-9982-5

Publisher : Springer Singapore

eBook Packages : Education , Education (R0)

Copyright Information : The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022

Hardcover ISBN : 978-981-16-9981-8 Published: 07 April 2022

Softcover ISBN : 978-981-16-9984-9 Published: 08 April 2023

eBook ISBN : 978-981-16-9982-5 Published: 06 April 2022

Series ISSN : 1573-5397

Series E-ISSN : 2214-9791

Edition Number : 1

Number of Pages : X, 437

Number of Illustrations : 6 b/w illustrations, 10 illustrations in colour

Topics : Educational Policy and Politics , International and Comparative Education , History of Education

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Microsoft 365 Life Hacks > Everyday AI > Write your next book with AI help

Write your next book with AI help

Have a book idea that you’ve been putting off writing? Whether you’re looking to start your first book or need a helping hand with your tenth, learn how to use AI as your book-writing helper to get your words out to the world.

Overcome writer’s block

For many writers, there are those days we’re on fire and transferring the voice and words in our heads to real, written text is as easy as pie. On other days, it can be hard to muster a string of words. If you run into writer’s block while writing your book, turn to an AI companion like Copilot for help getting unstuck.

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Title generation

If you’re struggling to find a fitting name for your book, use AI to help brainstorm fitting title ideas based on what your project is about. Feed the AI a synopsis (general summary) by dropping it in your chat and ask, “What would be a fitting title for my book based on my synopsis?” Or, if you already have an existing book title, but you’re not too fond of it or think it could be enhanced, ask AI what it thinks of a title. Provide as much context into your book as feasible so AI generates title ideas that frame your book the way you want.

Completing scenes and chapters

Need ideas or more direction to complete a scene or chapter in your book? Let AI suggest a way forward. For example, if you’re writing a turning point in your book, get AI suggestions for dialogue and potential plot twists . Try sharing the setting, main conflict, and emotions you want to portray in your book and ask AI something like, “Can you suggest dialogue, emotional responses, or plot twists that would enhance this scene?”

Whether you’re writing nonfiction or a fantasy series, research gives your book a strong foundation and authenticity. Solid research creates verisimilitude (making your texts more believable, notably fiction), well-rounded characters, and a more compelling and coherent storyline. Use AI for research help with these book elements:

AI can be a great resource for writing three-dimensional characters with depth. Start by describing the current characters you have in mind. List their personality traits, backgrounds, and story roles (protagonist, antagonist , supporting character) in your AI prompt. Then, ask for suggestions on how you can deepen your characters’ development, such as portraying their inner motivations, values, and relationships with other characters. Try doing AI character research with questions like, “Based on this character’s profile, how do you think they would react under high-pressure situations?”

Time periods

If your book takes place in a certain time period, you’ll want a strong research foundation rooted in fact. Turn to AI to gather information on historical events, societal norms, fashion, technology, and language from a particular era. Let’s say you’re working on a book that takes place during the Regency era. You can prompt AI with questions like, “What were common social customs and class structures during the Regency period in London?” or “Tell me about popular architecture and fashion styles during the Regency era in London, and provide resources to continue my research.”

Some worlds we want to recreate require a strong foundation in science to make them believable. If you’re working on a science fiction novel, start by telling AI the scientific elements involved in your world-building, whether your novel takes place on a made-up exoplanet or a dystopian society that extends far into the future. For example, if you’re writing the former, you could ask, “What scientific challenges would a human colony face on an exoplanet that resembles Earth, but has twice the gravity?”

Editing, proofreading, and feedback

Once you’ve got your manuscript down, use AI to help edit, catch mistakes, and give in-depth feedback on the quality of your book. Run your manuscript through AI to identify grammatical errors or awkward phrasing by feeding parts of it into a prompt for AI book editing analysis. You might say, “Review my manuscript for grammatical and syntax errors, awkward phrasing, and redundancies.” Get in-depth feedback on parts of your manuscript and ask questions like, “Does this scene or chapter end too abruptly? How can I fix it?” or “Can you suggest ways to make this dialogue flow more naturally?”

Ready to get to work with AI book-writing help? Head on over to Copilot or read more tips on ways to use AI in everyday life .

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Make moving easier with AI help

While moving to a new place might feel like a hassle, it’s a whole lot easier with AI help. Learn how to use AI as your personal moving assistant with this guide.

How to use AI to help you train for a marathon or 5K

If you’ve always wanted to start running, AI can help you train better and smarter. Use AI to analyze your statistics and stay motivated!

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Plan your baby shower with the help of AI. Find out how to use your AI assistant to help find decorations, party games, meal ideas, and more.

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'Eruption' is a collaboration between Michael Crichton and James Patterson

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Reliability of ChatGPT in automated essay scoring for dental undergraduate examinations

• Bernadette Quah 1 , 2 ,
• Lei Zheng 1 , 2   na1 ,
• Timothy Jie Han Sng 1 , 2   na1 ,
• Chee Weng Yong 1 , 2   na1 &
• Intekhab Islam   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7754-0609 1 , 2  

BMC Medical Education volume  24 , Article number:  962 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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Metrics details

This study aimed to answer the research question: How reliable is ChatGPT in automated essay scoring (AES) for oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS) examinations for dental undergraduate students compared to human assessors?

Sixty-nine undergraduate dental students participated in a closed-book examination comprising two essays at the National University of Singapore. Using pre-created assessment rubrics, three assessors independently performed manual essay scoring, while one separate assessor performed AES using ChatGPT (GPT-4). Data analyses were performed using the intraclass correlation coefficient and Cronbach's α to evaluate the reliability and inter-rater agreement of the test scores among all assessors. The mean scores of manual versus automated scoring were evaluated for similarity and correlations.

A strong correlation was observed for Question 1 ( r  = 0.752–0.848, p  < 0.001) and a moderate correlation was observed between AES and all manual scorers for Question 2 ( r  = 0.527–0.571, p  < 0.001). Intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.794–0.858 indicated excellent inter-rater agreement, and Cronbach’s α of 0.881–0.932 indicated high reliability. For Question 1, the mean AES scores were similar to those for manual scoring ( p  > 0.05), and there was a strong correlation between AES and manual scores ( r  = 0.829, p  < 0.001). For Question 2, AES scores were significantly lower than manual scores ( p  < 0.001), and there was a moderate correlation between AES and manual scores ( r  = 0.599, p  < 0.001).

This study shows the potential of ChatGPT for essay marking. However, an appropriate rubric design is essential for optimal reliability. With further validation, the ChatGPT has the potential to aid students in self-assessment or large-scale marking automated processes.

Peer Review reports

Large Language Models (LLMs), such as OpenAI’s GPT-4, LLaMA by META, and Google’s LaMDA (Language Models for Dialogue Applications), have demonstrated tremendous potential in generating outputs based on user-specified instructions or prompts. These models are trained using large amounts of data and are capable of natural language processing tasks. Owing to their ability to comprehend, interpret, and generate natural language text, LLMs allow human-like conversations with coherent contextual responses to prompts. The capability of LLMs to summarize and generate texts that resemble human language allows the creation of task-focused systems that can ease the demands of human labor and improve efficiency.

OpenAI uses a closed application programming interface (API) to process data. Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer (OpenAI Inc., California, USA, https://chat.openai.com/ ) was introduced globally in 2020 as ChatGPT3, a generative language model with 175 billion parameters [ 1 ]. It is based on a generative AI model that can generate new content based on the data on which they have been trained. The latest version, ChatGPT-4, was introduced in 2023 and has demonstrated improved creativity, reasoning, and the ability to process even more complicated tasks [ 2 ].

Since its release in the public domain, ChatGPT has been actively explored by both healthcare professionals and educators in an effort to attain human-like performance in the form of clinical reasoning, image recognition, diagnosis, and learning from medical databases. ChatGPT has proven to be a powerful tool with immense potential to provide students with an interactive platform to deepen their understanding of any given topic [ 3 ]. In addition, it is also capable of aiding in both lesson planning and student assessments [ 4 , 5 ].

The potential of ChatGPT for assessments

Automated Essay Scoring (AES) is not a new concept, and interest in AES has been increasing since the advent of AI. Three main categories of AES programs have been described, utilizing regression, classification, or neural network models [ 6 ]. A known problem of current AES systems is their unreliability in evaluating the content relevance and coherence of essays [ 6 ]. Newer language models such as ChatGPT, however, are potential game changers; they are simpler to learn than current deep learning programs and can therefore improve the accessibility of AES to educators. Mizumoto and Eguchi recently pioneered the potential use of ChatGPT (GPT-3.5 and 4) for AES in the field of linguistics and reported an accuracy level sufficient for use as a supportive tool even when fine-tuning of the model was not performed [ 7 ].

The use of these AI-powered tools may potentially ease the burden on educators in marking large numbers of essay scripts, while providing personalized feedback to students [ 8 , 9 ]. This is especially crucial with larger class sizes and increasing student-to-teacher ratios, where it can be more difficult for educators to actively engage individual students. Additionally, manual scoring by humans can be subjective and susceptible to fatigue, which may put the scoring at risk of being unreliable [ 7 , 10 ]. The use of AI for essay scoring may thus help reduce intra- and inter-rater variability associated with manual scoring by providing a more standardized and reliable scoring process that eases the time- and labor-intensive scoring workload of human assessors [ 10 , 11 ].

The current role of AI in healthcare education

Generative AI has permeated the healthcare industry and provided a diverse range of health enhancements. An example is how AI facilitates radiographic evaluation and clinical diagnosis to improve the quality of patient care [ 12 , 13 ]. In medical and dental education, virtual or augmented reality and haptic simulations are some of the exciting technological tools already implemented to improve student competence and confidence in patient assessment and execution of procedures [ 14 , 15 , 16 ]. The incorporation of ChatGPT into the dental curriculum would thus be the next step in enhancing student learning. The performance of ChatGPT in the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) was recently validated, with ChatGPT achieving a score equivalent to that of a third-year medical student [ 17 ]. However, no data are available on the performance of ChatGPT in the field of dentistry or oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS). Furthermore, the reliability of AI-powered language models for the grading of essays in the medical field has not yet been evaluated; in addition to essay structure and language, the evaluation of essay scripts in the field of OMS would require a level of understanding of dentistry, medicine and surgery.

Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the reliability of ChatGPT for AES in OMS examinations for final-year dental undergraduate students compared to human assessors. Our null hypothesis was that there would be no difference in the scores between the ChatGPT and human assessors. The research question for the study was as follows: How reliable is ChatGPT when used for AES in OMS examinations compared to human assessors?

Materials and methods

This study was conducted in the Faculty of Dentistry, National University of Singapore, under the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. The study received ethical approval from the university’s Institutional Review Board (REF: IRB-2023–1051) and was conducted and drafted with guidance from the education interventions critical appraisal worksheet introduced by BestBETs [ 18 ].

Sample size calculation for this study was based on the formula provided by Viechtbauer et al.: n  = ln (1-γ) / ln(1-π), where n, γ and π represent the sample size, significance level and level of confidence respectively [ 19 ]. Based on a 5% margin of error, a 95% confidence level and a 50% outcome response, it was calculated that a minimum sample size of 59 subjects was required. Ultimately, the study recruited 69 participants, all of whom were final-year undergraduate dental students. A closed-book OMS examination was conducted on the Examplify platform (ExamSoft Worldwide Inc., Texas, USA) as a part of the end-of-module assessment. The examination comprised two open-ended essay questions based on the topics taught in the module (Table  1 ).

Creation of standardized assessment

An assessment rubric was created for each question through discussion and collaboration of a workgroup comprising four assessors involved in the study. All members of the work group were academic staff from the faculty (I.I., B.Q., L.Z., T.J.H.S.) (Supplementary Tables S1 and S2) [ 20 ]. An analytic rubric was generated using the strategy outlined by Popham [ 21 ]. The process involved a discussion within the workgroup to agree on the learning outcomes of the essay questions. Two authors (I. I. and B. Q) independently generated the rubric criteria and descriptions for Question 1 (Infection). Similarly, for Question 2 (Trauma), the rubric criteria and descriptions were generated independently by two authors (I.I. and T.J.H.S.). The rubrics were revised until a consensus was reached between each pair. In the event of any disagreement, a third author (L.Z.) provided their opinion to aid in decision making.

Marking categories of Poor (0 marks), Satisfactory (2 marks), Good (3 marks), and Outstanding (4 marks) were allocated to each criterion, with a maximum of 4 marks attainable from each criterion. A criterion for overall essay structure and language was also included, with a maximum attainable 5 marks from this criterion. The highest score for each question was 40.

Model answers to the essays were prepared by another author (C.W.Y.), who did not participate in the creation of the rubrics. Using the rubrics as a reference, the author modified the model answer to create 5 variants of the answers such that each variant fell within different score ranges of 0–10, 11–20, 21–30, 31–40, 41–50. Subsequently, three authors (B. Q., L. Z., and T.J.H.S) graded the essays using the prepared rubrics. Revisions to the rubrics were made with consensus by all three authors, a process that also helped calibrate these three authors for manual essay scoring.

AES with ChatGPT

Essay scoring was performed using ChatGPT (GPT-4, released March 14, 2023) by one assessor who did not participate in the manual essay scoring exercise (I.I.). Prompts were generated based on a guideline by Giray, and the components of Instruction, Context, Input Data and Output Indication as discussed in the guideline were included in each prompt (Supplementary Tables 3 and 4) [ 22 ]. A prompt template was generated for each question by one assessor (I.I.) with advice from two experts in prompt engineering, based on the marking rubric. The criterion and point allocation were clearly written in prose and point forms. For the fine-tuning process, the prompts were input into ChatGPT using variants of the model answers provided by C.W.Y. Minor adjustments were made to the wording of certain parts of the prompts as necessary to correct any potential misinterpretations of the prompts by the ChatGPT. Each time, the prompt was entered into a new chat in the ChatGPT in a browser where the browser history and cookies were cleared. Subsequently, finalized prompts (Supplementary Tables 3 and 4) were used to score the student essays. AES scores were not used to calculate students’ actual essay scores.

Manual essay scoring

Manual essay scoring was completed independently by three assessors (B.Q., L.Z., and T.J.H.S.) using the assessment rubrics (Supplementary Tables S1 and S2). Calibration was performed during the rubric creation stage. The essays were anonymized to prevent bias during the marking process. The assessors recorded the marks allocated to each criterion, as well as the overall score of each essay, on a pre-prepared Excel spreadsheet. Scoring was performed separately and independently by all assessors before the final collation by a research team member (I.I.) for statistical analyses. The student was considered ‘able to briefly mention’ a criterion if they did not mention any of the keywords of the points within the criterion. The student was considered ‘able to elaborate on’ a point within the criterion if they were able to mention the keywords of that point as stated in the rubric, and were thus awarded higher marks in accordance with the rubric (e.g. the student was given a higher mark if they were able to mention the need to check for dyspnea and dysphagia, instead of simply mentioning a need to check the patient’s airway). Grading was performed with only whole marks as specified in the rubrics, and assessors were not allowed to give half marks or subscores.

Data synthesis

The scores given out of 40 per essay by each assessor were compiled. Data analyses were subsequently performed using SPSS® version 29.0.1.0(171) (IBM Corporation, New York, United States). For each essay question, correlations between the essay scores given by each assessor were analyzed and displayed using the inter-item correlation matrix. A correlation coefficient value ( r ) of 0.90–1.00 was indicative of a very strong, 0.70–0.89 indicative of strong, 0.40–0.69 moderate, 0.10–0.39 weak and < 0.10 negligible positive correlation between the scorers [ 23 ]. The cutoff p -value for the significance level was set at p  < 0.05. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Cronbach's α were then calculated between all assessors to assess the inter-rater agreement and reliability, respectively [ 24 ]. The ICC was interpreted on a scale of 0 to 1.00, with a higher value indicating a higher level of agreement in scores given by the scorers to each student. A value less than 0.40 was indicative of poor, 0.40–0.59 fair, 0.60–0.74 good, and 0.75–1.00 excellent agreement [ 25 ]. Using Cronbach’s α, reliability was expressed on a range from 0 to 1.00, with a higher number indicating a higher level of consistency between the scorers in their scores given across the students. The reliability was considered ‘Less Reliable’ if the score was less 0.20, ‘Rather Reliable’ if the score was 0.20–0.40, ‘Quite Reliable’ if 0.40–0.60, ‘Reliable’ if 0.60–0.80 and ‘Very Reliable’ if 0.80–1.00 [ 26 ].

Similarly, the mean scores of the three manual scorers were calculated for each question. The mean manual scores were then analyzed for correlations with AES scores by using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Student’s t-test was also used to analyze any significant differences in mean scores between manual scoring and AES. A p -value of < 0.05 was required to conclude the presence of a statistically different score between the groups.

All final-year dental undergraduate students (69/69, 100%) had their essays graded by all manual scorers and AES as part of the study. Table 2 shows the mean scores for each individual assessor as well as the mean scores for the three manual scorers (Scorers 1, 2, and 3).

Analysis of correlation and agreement between all scorers

The inter-item correlation matrices and their respective p -values are listed in Table  3 . For Question 1, there was a strong positive correlation between the scores provided by each assessor (Scorers 1, 2, 3, and AES), with r -values ranging from 0.752–0.848. All p -values were < 0.001, indicating a significant positive correlation between all assessors. For Question 2, there was a strong positive correlation between Scorers 1 and 2 ( r  = 0.829) and Scorers 1 and 3 ( r  = 0.756). There was a moderate positive correlation between Scorers 2 and 3 ( r  = 0.655), as well as between AES and all manual scores ( r -values ranging from 0.527 to 0.571). Similarly, all p -values were < 0.001, indicative of a significant positive correlation between all scorers.

For the analysis of inter-rater agreement, ICC values of 0.858 (95% CI 0.628 – 0.933) and 0.794 (95% CI 0.563 – 0.892) were obtained for Questions 1 and 2, respectively, both of which were indicative of excellent inter-rater agreement. Cronbach’s α was 0.932 for Question 1 and 0.881 for Question 2, both of which were ‘Very Reliable’.

Analysis of correlation between manual scoring versus AES

The results of the Student’s t-test comparing the test score values from manual scoring and AES are shown in Table  2 . For Question 1, the mean manual scores (14.85 ± 4.988) were slightly higher than those of the AES (14.54 ± 5.490). However, these differences were not statistically significant ( p  > 0.05). For Question 2, the mean manual scores (23.11 ± 4.241) were also higher than those of the AES (18.62 ± 4.044); this difference was statistically significant ( p  < 0.001).

The results of the Pearson’s correlation coefficient calculations are shown in Table  4 . For Question 1, there was a strong and significant positive correlation between manual scoring and AES ( r  = 0.829, p  < 0.001). For Question 2, there was a moderate and statistically significant positive correlation between the two groups ( r  = 0.599, p  < 0.001).

Qualitative feedback from AES

Figures 1 , 2 and 3 show three examples of essay feedback and scoring provided by ChatGPT. ChatGPT provided feedback in a concise and systematic manner. Scores were clearly provided for each of the criteria listed in the assessment rubric. This was followed by in-depth feedback on the points within the criterion that the student had discussed and failed to mention. ChatGPT was able to differentiate between a student who briefly mentioned a key point and a student who provided better elaboration on the same point by allocating them two or three marks, respectively.

Example #1 of a marked essay with feedback from ChatGPT for Question 1

Example #2 of a marked essay with feedback from ChatGPT for Question 1

Example #3 of a marked essay with feedback from ChatGPT for Question 1

One limitation of ChatGPT that was identified during the scoring process was its inability to identify content that was not relevant to the essay or that was factually incorrect. This was despite the assessment rubric specifying that incorrect statements should be given 0 marks for that criterion. For example, a student who included points about incision and drainage also incorrectly stated that bone scraping to induce bleeding and packing of local hemostatic agents should be performed. Although these statements were factually incorrect, ChatGPT was unable to identify this and still awarded student marks for the point. Manual assessors were able to spot this and subsequently penalized the student for the mistake.

Since its recent rise in popularity, many people have been eager to tap into the potential of large language models, such as ChatGPT. In their review, Khan et al. discussed the growing role of ChatGPT in medical education, with promising uses for the creation of case studies and content such as quizzes and flashcards for self-directed practice [ 9 ]. As an LLM, the ability of ChatGPT to thoroughly evaluate sentence structure and clarity may allow it to confront the task of automated essay marking.

Advantages of ChatGPT in AES

This study found significant correlations and excellent inter-rater agreement between ChatGPT and manual scorers, and the mean scores between both groups showed strong to moderate correlations for both essay questions. This suggests that AES has the potential to provide a level of essay marking similar to that of the educators in our faculty. Similar positive findings were reflected in previous studies that compared manual and automated essay scoring ( r  = 0.532–0.766) [ 6 ]. However, there is still a need to further fine-tune the scoring system such that the score provided by AES deviates as little as possible from human scoring. For instance, the mean AES score was lower than that of manual scoring by 5 marks for Question 2. Although the difference may not seem large, it may potentially increase or decrease the final performance grade of students.

Apart from a decent level of reliability in manual essay scoring, there are many other benefits to using ChatGPT for AES. Compared to humans, the response time to prompts is much faster and can thus increase productivity and reduce the burden of a large workload on educational assessors [ 27 ]. In addition, ChatGPT can provide individualized feedback for each essay (Figs. 1 , 2 and 3 ). This helps provide students with comments specific to their essays, a feat that is difficult to achieve for a single educator teaching a large class size.

Similar to previous systems designed for AES, machine scoring is beneficial for removing human inconsistencies that can result from fatigue, mood swings, or bias [ 10 ]. ChatGPT is no exception. Furthermore, ChatGPT is more widely accessible than the conventional AES systems. Its software runs online instead of requiring downloads on a computer, and its user interface is simple to use. With GPT-3.5 being free to use and GPT-4 being 20 USD per month, it is also relatively inexpensive.

Marking the essay is only part of the equation, and the next step is to allow the students to know what went wrong and why. Nicol and Macfarlane described seven principles for good feedback. ChatGPT can fulfil most of these principles, namely, facilitating self-assessment, encouraging teacher and peer dialogue, clarifying what good performance is, providing opportunities to close the gap between current and desired performance, and delivering high-quality information to students [ 28 ]. In this study, the feedback given by ChatGPT was categorized based on the rubric, and elaboration was provided for each criterion on the points the student mentioned and did not mention. By highlighting the ideal answer and where the student can improve, ChatGPT can clarify performance goals and provide opportunities to close the gap between the student’s current and desired performance. This creates opportunities for selfdirected learning and the utilization of blended learning environments. Students can use ChatGPT to review their preparation on topics, self-grade their essays, and receive instant feedback. Furthermore, the simple and interactive nature of the software encourages dialogue, as it can readily respond to any clarification the student wants to make. The importance of effective feedback has been demonstrated to be an essential component in medical education, in terms of enhancing the knowledge of the student without developing negative emotions [ 29 , 30 ].

These potential advantages of engaging ChatGPT for student assessments play well into the humanistic learning theory of medical education [ 31 , 32 ]. Self-directed learning allows students the freedom to learn at their own pace, with educators simply providing a conducive environment and the goals that the student should achieve. ChatGPT has the potential to supplement the role of the educator in self-directed learning, as it can be readily available to provide constructive and tailored feedback for assignments whenever the student is ready for it. This removes the burden that assignment deadlines place on students, which can allow them a greater sense of independence and control over their learning, and lead to greater self-motivation and self-fulfillment.

Potential pitfalls of ChatGPT

Potential pitfalls associated with the use of ChatGPT were identified. First, the ability to achieve reliable scores relies heavily on a well-created marking rubric with clearly defined terms. In this study, the correlations between scorers were stronger for Question 1 compared to Question 2, and the mean scores between the AES and manual scorers were also significantly different for Question 2, but not for Question 1. The lower reliability of the AES for Question 2 may be attributed to its broader nature, use of more complex medical terms, and lengthier scoring rubrics. The broad nature of the question left more room for individual interpretation and variation between humans and AES. The ability of ChatGPT to provide accurate answers may be reduced with lengthier prompts and conversations [ 27 ]. Furthermore, with less specific instructions or complex medical jargon, both automated systems and human scorers may interpret rubrics differently, resulting in varied scores across the board [ 10 , 33 , 34 ]. The authors thus recommend that to circumvent this, the use of ChatGPT for essay scoring should be restricted to questions that are less broad (e.g. shorter essays), or by breaking the task into multiple prompts for each individual criterion to reduce variations in interpretation [ 27 , 35 ]. Furthermore, the rubrics should contain concise and explicit instructions with appropriate grammar and vocabulary to avoid misinterpretation by both ChatGPT and human scorers, and provide a brief explanation to specify what certain medical terms mean (e.g. writing ‘pulse oximetry (SpO2) monitoring’ instead of only ‘SpO2’) for better contextualization [ 35 , 36 ].

Second, prompt engineering is a critical step in producing the desired outcome from ChatGPT [ 27 ]. A prompt that is too ambiguous or lacks context can lead to a response that is incomplete, generic, or irrelevant, and a prompt that exhibits bias runs the risk of bias reinforcement in the given reply [ 22 , 34 ]. Phrasing the prompt must also be carefully checked for spelling, grammatical mistakes, or inconsistencies, since ChatGPT uses the prompt’s phrasing literally. For example, a prompt that reads ‘give 3 marks if the student covers one or more coverage points’ will result in ChatGPT only giving the marks if multiple points are covered, because of the plural nature of the word ‘points’.

Third, irrelevant content may not be penalized during the essay-marking process. Students may ‘trick’ the AES by producing a lengthier essay to hit more relevant points and increase their score. This may result in essays of lower quality with multiple incorrect or nonsensical statements still rewarded with higher scores [ 10 ]. Our assessment rubric attempts to penalize the student with 0 marks if incorrect statements on the criterion are made; however, none of the students were penalized. This issue may be resolved as ChatGPT rapidly and continuously gains more medical and dental knowledge. Although data to support the competence of AI in medical education are sparse, the quality of the medical knowledge that ChatGPT already has is sufficient to achieve a passing mark at the USMLE [ 5 , 37 ]. In dentistry, when used to disseminate information on endodontics to patients, ChatGPT was found to provide detailed answers with an overall validity of 95% [ 38 ]. Over time, LLMs such as ChatGPT may be able to identify when students are not factually correct.

Other comments

The lack of human emotion in machine scoring can be both an advantage and a disadvantage. AES can provide feedback that is entirely factual and less biased than humans, and grades are objective and final [ 39 ]. However, human empathy is an essential quality that ChatGPT does not possess. One principle of good feedback is to encourage and motivate students to provide positive learning experiences and build self-esteem [ 28 ]. While ChatGPT can provide constructive feedback, it will not be able to replace the compassion, empathy, or emotional intelligence possessed by a quality educator possesses [ 40 ]. In our study, ChatGPT awarded lower mean scores of 14.54/40 (36.4%) and 18.62/40 (46.5%) compared to manual scoring for both questions. Although objective, some may view automated scoring as harsh because it provided failing grades to an average student.

This study demonstrates the ability of GPT-4 to evaluate essays without any specialized training or prompting. One long prompt was used to score each essay. Although more technical prompting methods, such as chain of thought, could be deployed, our single prompt method makes the method scalable and easier to adopt. As discussed earlier, ChatGPT is the most reliable when prompts are short and specific [ 34 ]. Hence, each prompt should ideally task ChatGPT to score only one or two criteria, rather than the entire rubric of the 10 criteria. However, in a class of 70, the assessors are required to run 700 prompts per question, which is impractical and unnecessary. With only one prompt, a good correlation was still found between the AES and manual scoring. It is likely that further exploration and experimentation with prompting techniques can improve the output.

While LLMs have the potential to revolutionize education in healthcare, some precautions must be taken. Artificial Hallucination is a widely described phenomenon; ChatGPT may generate seemingly genuine but inaccurate information [ 41 , 42 , 43 ]. Hallucinations have been attributed to biases and limitations of training data as well as algorithmic limitations [ 2 ]. Similarly, randomness of the generated responses has been observed; while it is useful for generating creative content, this may be an issue when ChatGPT is employed for topics requiring scientific or factual content [ 44 ]. Thus, LLMs are not infallible and still require human subject matter experts to validate the generated content. Finally, it is essential that educators play an active role in driving the development of dedicated training models to ensure consistency, continuity, and accountability, as overreliance on a corporate-controlled model may place educators at the mercy of algorithm changes.

The ethical implications of using ChatGPT in medical and dental education also need to be explored. As much as LLMs can provide convenience to both students and educators, privacy and data security remain a concern [ 45 ]. Robust university privacy policies and informed consent procedures should be in place for the protection of student data prior to the use of ChatGPT as part of student assessment. Furthermore, if LLMs like ChatGPT were to be used for grading examinations in the future, issues revolving around fairness and transparency of the grading process need to be resolved [ 46 ]. GPT-4 may have provided harsh scores in this study, possibly due to some shortfall in understanding certain phrases the students have written; models used in assessments will thus require sufficient training in the field of healthcare to properly acquire the relevant medical knowledge and hence understand and grade essays fairly.

As AI continues to develop, ChatGPT may eventually replace human assessors in essay scoring for dental undergraduate examinations. However, given its current limitations and dependence on a well-formed assessment rubric, relying solely on ChatGPT for exam grading may be inappropriate when the scores can affect the student’s overall module scores, career success, and mental health [ 47 ]. While this study primarily demonstrates the use of ChatGPT to grade essays, it also points to great potential in using it as an interactive learning tool. A good start for its use is essay assignments on pre-set topics, where students can direct their learning on their own and receive objective feedback on essay structure and content that does not count towards their final scores. Students can use rubrics to practice and gain effective feedback from LLMs in an engaging and stress-free environment. This reduces the burden on educators by easing the time-consuming task of grading essay assignments and allows students the flexibility to complete and grade their assignments whenever they are ready. Furthermore, assignments repeated with new class cohorts can enable more robust feedback from ChatGPT through machine learning.

Study limitations

The limitations of this study lie in part of its methodology. The study recruited 69 dental undergraduate students; while this is above the minimum calculated sample size of 59, a larger sample size would help to increase the generalizability of the study findings to larger populations of students and a wide scope of topics. The unique field of OMS also requires knowledge of both medical and dental subjects, and hence the results obtained from the use of ChatGPT for essay marking in other medical or dental specialties may differ slightly.

The use of rubrics for manual scoring could also be a potential source of bias. While the rubrics provide a framework for objective assessment, they cannot eliminate the subjectiveness of manual scoring. Variations in the interpretation of the students’ answers, leniency errors (whereby one scorer marks more leniently than another) or rater drift (fatigue from assessing many essays may affect leniency of marking and judgment) may still occur. To minimize bias resulting from these errors, multiple assessors were recruited for the manual scoring process and the average scores were used for comparison with AES.

This study investigated the reliability of ChatGPT in essay scoring for OMS examinations, and found positive correlations between ChatGPT and manual essay scoring. However, ChatGPT tended towards stricter scoring and was not capable of penalizing irrelevant or incorrect content. In its present state, GPT-4 should not be used as a standalone tool for teaching or assessment in the field of medical and dental education but can serve as an adjunct to aid students in self-assessment. The importance of proper rubric design to achieve optimal reliability when employing ChatGPT in student assessment cannot be overemphasized.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to extend our gratitude to Mr Paul Timothy Tan Bee Xian and Mr Jonathan Sim for their invaluable advice on the process of prompt engineering for the effective execution of this study.

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Lei Zheng, Timothy Jie Han Sng and Chee Weng Yong contributed equally to this work.

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Faculty of Dentistry, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

Bernadette Quah, Lei Zheng, Timothy Jie Han Sng, Chee Weng Yong & Intekhab Islam

Discipline of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, National University Centre for Oral Health, 9 Lower Kent Ridge Road, Singapore, Singapore

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Contributions

B.Q. contributed in the stages of conceptualization, methodology, study execution, validation, formal analysis and manuscript writing (original draft and review and editing). L.Z., T.J.H.S. and C.W.Y. contributed in the stages of methodology, study execution, and manuscript writing (review and editing). I.I. contributed in the stages of conceptualization, methodology, study execution, validation, formal analysis, manuscript writing (review and editing) and supervision. All authors provided substantial contributions to this manuscript in the following form:

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This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the university (REF: IRB-2023–1051). The waiver of consent from students was approved by the University’s Institutional Review Board, as the scores by ChatGPT were not used as the students’ actual grades, and all essay manuscripts were anonymized.

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Quah, B., Zheng, L., Sng, T.J.H. et al. Reliability of ChatGPT in automated essay scoring for dental undergraduate examinations. BMC Med Educ 24 , 962 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05881-6

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05881-6

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