Social Innovation Speaker Series

The Social Innovation Speaker Series is a platform where Cedarians have the opportunity to attend talks conducted by industry professionals in social innovation. The aim of the series is to sensitise students to social issues in society, and to inspire them to take action to come up with solutions.

The Speakers

Featuring Guest Speakers from SUTD In conjunction with Youth Day Celebration and Cedar Social Innovation Day (CSI 2020), Ms Low Hong Yee (Associate Head of Pillar, Engineering Product Development Director, DManD Centre), Apple Koh (Lecturer at SUTD) and Ms Bhuvaneswari (Engineering Product Development) spoke to our students on “Why Engineering Matters and how ladies can do their part. They shared about the importance of engineering and the critical role that female engineers can contribute.

Dr Charlene Tan (National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University)
In 2019, Dr Tan gave a lecture to the Year 3 students on Becoming a Lifelong Learner through Intergenerational Learning. This session seeks to address students’ misconceptions about the elderly and encourage students to become lifelong learners by learning from the elderly.

Mr Thomas Prehn (Director, MindLab Denmark)
Mr Prehn addressed our students (20 Jan 2017) on how they as individuals could be empowered to carry out social innovation work through ground-up initiatives. He shared how as a cross-governmental innovation unit, MindLab is able to co-create ideas together with Danish citizens on how to improve the quality of living in Denmark.

Mr Poon King Wang (Director, Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities at Singapore University of Technology and Design)
Mr Poon has addressed our students on several occasions (from 2013 - 2017) on the importance of using technology to change the way we perceive social issues and the increasing relevance of innovation in Singapore’s economy.

Ms Farah H Sanwari (Executive Director, Sustainable Living Lab)
Ms Farah delivered a talk to our IP2 students on 17 Oct 2016 during their Imagineering Programme to motivate them to come up with solutions that would enhance society’s capacity to act. She presented her own initiative, Repair Kopitiam, where residents repair older household items instead of discarding them.

Mr Jonathan Chang (Executive Director, Lien Centre for Soial Innovation)
During his lecture with the Cedarians on 12 Oct 2015, Mr Chang recounted his motivations of becoming an advocate for social entrepreneurship. He also shared with our students the importance of adopting a resilient, yet adaptable mindset when carrying out projects.