IPS Update Issue June 2020

7th S R Nathan Fellow Professor Chan Heng Chee's first IPS-Nathan lecture, titled “Disruption. Democracy Falters. Capitalism Flounders. World Order Unravels”, will take place on 18 June 2020 at 6pm. The lecture will be moderated by Prof Danny Quah, Dean of Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. No registration is needed. The session will be live streamed on IPS' Facebook page.

Titled World in Transition: Singapore's Future, this lecture series by Prof Chan will examine Singapore’s place in an uncertain and fast-changing world. Watch our video, 6 Things You Need to Know About Prof Chan Heng Chee, and find out more about Prof Chan’s IPS-Nathan Lectures here.

Event Summary — IPS Online Forum on Bouncing Back from COVID-19
• 3-min read

The forum, moderated by IPS’ Dr Gillian Koh, discussed how citizens, and the public and private sectors, could help Singapore bounce back from the virus quickly and smoothly. Riding out the virus and emerging stronger will require both hard skills that inspire tech-driven innovation, and soft skills such as agile and dynamic leadership.

Event Summary — IPS Online Forum on Employment Risks in the Age of Pandemics
• 3-min read

This summary provides key points of the third session in our IPS Online series, moderated by IPS’ Christopher Gee. Panellists discussed solutions that could protect such workers against loss of income and help them overcome job insecurity, even beyond the current crisis, and spoke about the need for structural and mindset changes. 

Read the full event report by Tasha Tan of IPS here.

Commentary — “Campaigning can still be inclusive in coming poll”
(IPS Commons)
By Gillian Koh
• 5-min read

Dr Gillian Koh, Deputy Director (Research) and Senior Research Fellow at IPS, writes about the opportunities and challenges that political parties will have if they must turn to alternative modes of campaigning due to the COVID new normal, and the potential for the online medium as an inclusive tool.

Commentary — “Brave new news world”
(The Business Times)
By Ong Soh Chin 
• 5-min read

Ong Soh Chin, IPS’ Deputy Director of Strategic Planning and External Relations, writes about the transformation of the global news landscape, including what passes for news or “content”, and how we consume news. She also outlines steps we can take to navigate the minefields in this brand new news world.

Commentary — “The downside of tech — young people are becoming less critical of the news”
(IPS Commons)
By Avery Yew
• 5-min read

Due to the increased convenience afforded by digital technology, the reading of news has changed, especially among young people, Avery Yew writes. However, there are costs to this convenience, such as reduced understanding and comprehension. Reading and thinking critically is especially crucial given the age of misinformation we are in.  

This paper by IPS researchers found that Singaporeans support some surveillance in the fight against COVID-19 but are less open to unconsented cell phone data tracking. Furthermore, for the population to be more supportive of such measures in dealing with the pandemic, greater clarity on issues such as the use of sensitive data and mitigating the risk of privacy breaches is necessary.

This report by Shazly Zain summarises a discussion on technology adoption and innovation in Singapore’s healthcare sector, organised by IPS and attended by various industry professionals. The forum discussed the potential of technology adoption and innovation in healthcare, the challenges faced, and how best to adopt technology and innovation as well as empower patients.