Principal Forum
Understanding the Challenges & Approaches Facing the Strategic Deployment of I & E (Innovation & Enterprising) Programmes
29 October 2004, Friday, MDIS HQ

Innovation and Enterprise (I & E) is an important life-skill that will better prepare our young to stay relevant and thrive in a future of uncertainty and change. To prepare Singaporean for this next phase, the Ministry of Education has focused effects on delivering the Innovation & Enterprising concept across the Education System.

In support of this key initiative, Alpha-Plus Training Consultants have organised a Principals’ Forum designed to address challenges and opportunities faced by school principals. This Forum aims to uncover the challenges faced by school principals and addresses pertinent deployment issues such as suitability of programmes, time and cost effectiveness, leveraging limited resources and ensuring maximum interaction for students.

Why sign up for this PRINCIPALS’ FORUM on INNOVATION & ENTERPRISING Spirit Programmes?

1. This Forum will focus on key issues of Strategic Deployment of Innovation & Enterprising spirit. These are issues that Principals, as CEOs, have to provide strong leadership in. Properly deployed Innovation & Enterprising spirit programmes will impact young lives across the nation.
   
   
2. The speakers are experienced practitioners of Innovation & Enterprising spirit from the private sector who are intimately involved in the Innovation & Enterprising spirit movement. They are able to provide fresh perspectives & insights on strategic deployment of Innovation & Enterprising spirit programmes.
   
   
3. The Presentations are designed to provide stimuli and reference points to enable Principals to formulate & re-think their approaches to Innovation & Enterprising spirit programme deployment. The Forum Discussion encourages the meeting of minds by allowing open sharing of views, clarifications and insights amongst the attendees and the speakers.

Synopsis of Presentations
The Student-Centred Approach
to Strategic Deployment of Innovation & Enterprising spirit Programmes
by Richard Mak, Managing director – Alpha-Plus Training

Innovation and enterprise is an important life-skill that will better prepare our young to stay relevant and thrive in a future of uncertainty and change. Nurturing the spirit of Innovation & Enterprising is in essence, developing a mindset and outlook of creativity, initiative and self-reliance.

As educationists, we appreciate the value of nurturing the Innovation & Enterprising spirit in our students. However, do our students share our sentiments on this issue? How do we boost the students’ interest in Innovation & Enterprising spirit programmes? How do we engage most if not all students in Innovation & Enterprising spirit programmes given limited budget and tight resources? How do we strike a balance between Innovation & Enterprising spirit programmes with the host of existing school activities?

Richard Mak is a pioneer in Innovation & Enterprising spirit programmes with tertiary institutions and a Master Trainer in Innovation & Enterprising spirit programmes. He will highlight the challenges that our educational institutions face in the strategic implementation of Innovation & Enterprising spirit programmes. He will share a framework that enables the Innovation & Enterprising Spirit and how the Student-Centred Approach can be a possible solution that could addresses the challenges our educationists face.

Dangers of INNOVATION & ENTERPRISING Education
By Roderick Chia – IDEA

Traditional education focused on single right answer, either “black” or “white” but no in between. Such training promote obedient and efficient workforce that may no longer be enough for the new Singapore. In recent year, the new phase in education focused in promoting the spirit of Innovation & Enterprise. Such discipline focused on managing the “grey”, an area that bring about fear in most educators, who had gone through traditional education themselves. What should the schools do to prepare themselves for such paradigm shift? Where to draw a line, where there isn’t any? What are the dangers and pitfalls if they are executed poorly?

Roderick Chia, an inventor as well as an entrepreneur with a keen interest in education, would share his view and interact with participants over the “Danger of Innovation & Enterprising Education”.

Profile of the Forum Organizer & Supporting Organization
The Principals’ Forum is organized by Alpha-Plus Training Consultants Pte Ltd and supported by IDEA (Innovators and Entrepreneurs Association Innovators and Entrepreneurs Association).

Profile of Forum Discussion Chairperson & Speakers Profile of Forum Discussion Chairperson Douglas Abrams is a Partner and Managing Director of Parallax Capital Management, a funds management company based in Singapore, where he co-manages the private equity business, focusing on venture investing in early-stage companies. He is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore’s Entrepreneurship Centre where he lectures on New Venture Creation and Technopreneurship for undergraduate and post-grads. He also
supervises the NUS in Bio-Valley Program. He is on the organizing committees for the Start-Up Singapore and the Global Start-Up @ Singapore business plan competitions. He has served as a judge in the Lee Kuan Yew Global business plan competition, the Wharton business plan competition and the Ngee Ann Polytechnic Life Sciences business plan competition. Mr. Abrams is the Co-Deputy Director of the South East Asia Business Angel Investor Network.