B2 | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 2021 |

BREAK FAST TIMING S’pore, Europe can 7:08PM Day 18 be natural partners NEED FOR TRUST Geopolitics has come to the forefront of most companies’ in three areas: Chan considerations when reviewing investment decisions... It will not simply be a question US$100 billion (S$132.6 billion) to of geographical These relate to the business environment, over US$300 billion by 2025. “There are tremendous opportu- proximity, but one of digitalisation and green economy, he says nities for us as Singapore is closely shared values and packed into this growth, with the one of shared values and trust that highest number of tech unicorns trust that translates Jolene Ang translates into tangible policies.” headquartered here for the region. into tangible policies. Singapore has established itself We continue to provide a platform as an international business hub by for start-ups to aggregate capital Europe can be a “natural partner” demonstrating its ability to be a re- from Singapore to grow their for Singapore in three areas, Trade liable, neutral partner for busi- global operations,” he said. and Industry Minister Chan Chun nesses, he added. Singapore has embarked on ini- TRADE AND INDUSTRY MINISTER Sing said yesterday. “We have every intention to tiatives to build digital bridges to Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing said yesterday that Singapore has ’’CHAN CHUN SING, on providing a These are: providing a secure strengthen this competitive posi- harness such opportunities, Mr demonstrated its ability to be a reliable, neutral partner for businesses, and it secure and reliable environment for businesses. and reliable environment where tion of ours... We offer predictabil- Chan pointed out. has “every intention to strengthen this competitive position”. PHOTO: EUROCHAM businesses can anchor themselves; ity, because of the coherence and These range from government- connecting people, businesses and consistency of our policies.” to-government memorandums of ideas through digitalisation; and He noted that this was demon- understanding to high-standard chains and global production foot- South-east Asia, as well as the busi- dean (executive education) and as- working towards sustainability by strated when, at the height of the digital economy agreements to es- print, he added. ness opportunities, risks and chal- sociate professor in practice at growing the green economy. Covid-19 pandemic, Singapore tablish forward-looking trade Yesterday, EuroCham and the lenges in the region. LKYSPP, said the school will lever- Mr Chan was speaking at the Eu- kept its borders open to allow es- rules and collaboration in nascent School of Public Pol- Mr Federico Donato, EuroCham age its expertise on policy, gover- ropean Chamber of Commerce in sential goods to flow unimpeded areas of the digital economy. icy (LKYSPP) at the National Uni- president, said it affirmed the im- nance and organisational excel- Singapore’s (EuroCham) annual and for companies to fulfil their In the long term, climate change versity of Singapore announced portance of collaboration between lence, as well as geopolitics and sus- general meeting at the Grand Hyatt commercial obligations. will also create opportunities, par- that they will be deepening collabo- industry and academia. tainable development in Asia. hotel in Orchard. Mr Chan also said digitalisation ticularly in the green economy, ration in the areas of executive edu- “By fostering a collaborative rela- It will support EuroCham’s mem- On providing a secure and reli- and digital trade have created sig- said Mr Chan. cation and advocacy. tionship, our members, students bers and the business community able environment, he said: “Geopoli- nificant opportunities for invest- Singapore is keen to work closely Both signed a memorandum of and professors benefit from the ex- “in navigating through a diverse tics has come to the forefront of ment and development. with European businesses as they understanding that covered areas change of professional experience and increasingly complex market- most companies’ considerations He cited a recent study by have distinguished themselves in including the development of exec- and research expertise, providing place, and the challenges of a post- when reviewing investment deci- Google, Temasek and Bain show- how they produce their products utive education programmes focus- an optimal framework for innova- Covid environment”, he added. sions... It will not simply be a ques- ing that the digital economy in in more sustainable ways, such as ing on the economic, political, tech- tion and growth for both parties.” tion of geographical proximity, but South-east Asia should triple from the way they organise their supply nological and social trends of Mr Francesco Mancini, vice- [email protected] Mum and daughter with a passion for early childhood education

Yeo Shu Hui Yesterday, the beaming 23-year- old watched her mother, Ms Jaslyn Teo, 52, receive her Master of Early Childhood Education degree at an When Ms Jenine Koh was in pri- SUSS graduation ceremony. Ms mary school, she attended the stu- Koh is expected to obtain her de- dent care centre that her mother gree at the university’s next convo- ran alongside a pre-school. As a cation ceremony in October. child, she saw first-hand how her Ms Teo found her passion at the mother helmed the pre-school and age of 38, when she decided to the student care centre as the head make a mid-career switch from be- of both. ing an interior designer to an early “It was the start of everything,” childhood educator. she said. She went on to pursue a She said: “I really love children, Diploma in Early Childhood Educa- and having two kids in the family tion with Leadership from Ngee makes me wonder sometimes Ann Polytechnic and enrolled in about how to be a good parent in the Bachelor of Early Childhood managing and regulating their Education with Entrepreneurship emotions.” at the Singapore University of So- In 2011, she enrolled in the Ad- cial Sciences (SUSS) in 2017. vanced Diploma in Early Child- hood Leadership at the Seed Insti- tute. She joined SUSS in 2013 and obtained her bachelor’s degree in early childhood education with management in 2017. For Ms Teo, lifelong learning means staying relevant and con- nected. “In order to stay relevant, you need to learn beyond the class- room. This applies not only to chil- dren, but to adults as well,” she said. Ms Teo, who was a centre head in a pre-school until February this year, is now keeping her options open, and looks forward to mentor- ing more teachers in the early child- hood education sector in her next position. She added: “Just seeing the chil- dren in the centre and hearing their parents recognise your ef- forts in nurturing their children – there are no words to describe how I feel, and this is what motivates Ms Jenine Koh with her mother, Ms Jaslyn Teo, who received her Master of Early Childhood Education degree from Singapore University of Social Sciences yesterday. me to continue.” Ms Koh is expected to obtain her Bachelor of Early Childhood Education with Entrepreneurship, also pursued at SUSS, later this year. ST PHOTO: TIMOTHY DAVID Following the outbreak of Covid-19 last year, SUSS postponed the graduation ceremony for its ment Programme. cuses on family and criminal law. FULFILLING ROLE class of 2020 to this year. The cere- Ms , Minister in Professor Cheong said he hoped mony is now being held in batches the Prime Minister’s Office and the graduands can approach issues Just seeing the children in the centre and till May 6. Second Minister for Finance and and serve society holistically, to At yesterday’s ceremony, SUSS National Development, who was not only be more compassionate hearing their parents recognise your president Cheong Hee Kiat noted also present, said: “Each of you but also to become more resilient efforts in nurturing their children – there that the pandemic has disrupted should think of yourselves as part as problems and tough times arise. are no words to describe how I feel, and lives, work and relationships for ev- of our mission to create the Singa- “Most problems do not remain un- eryone, but he was heartened to pore of tomorrow.” solvable, and look smaller when you this is what motivates me to continue. see members of the university com- There are 2,432 graduands from have a positive spirit, and surmount- munity supporting one another the class of 2020 and among them able if tackled one step at a time. through this difficult period. are the first batch of 11 graduates And especially, if some others come President Halimah Yacob pre- from the SUSS School of Law. alongside to help,” he said. sented certificates to participants These students were from the Ju- MS JASLYN TEO, on her love for early childhood education. of the SUSS Executive Manage- ris Doctor programme, which fo- [email protected] ’’

Rise Rise Woman accused of flouting MC curbs to leave home multiple times 6.57am 10.29pm Set Set

7.07pm 9.50am Dominic Low with five counts of exposing others Housing Board block in Bedok Great World City shopping mall, Sparkletots pre-school in Bedok to the risk of infection under the In- North Street 2 to the PAP Commu- where she watched a movie at the North was found to be a Covid-19 fectious Diseases Act. nity Foundation (PCF) Sparkletots cinema there on July 17. cluster in March last year. TIDES Court documents state that Foo pre-school at Block 184 Bedok She is said to have taken a taxi Foo’s case is expected to be Today: 12.30am (3.1m), A woman who had been given sick was found to have upper respira- North Road to pick up her son daily back to the block in Bedok North heard again on June 10. 7.15am (0.1m), 2.03pm (2.9m), leave for respiratory illness is ac- tory tract infection and given a from July 14 to 16. She allegedly Street 2 on the same day. For each offence that she is 7.37pm (1.1m) cused of flouting it by taking her medical certificate requiring her to walked with him to the pre-school Foo also allegedly took a Grab found guilty of, she can be jailed for Tomorrow: 12.30am (3.1m), son to and picking him up from a stay at home between July 14 and each day from July 15 to 17. ride to and from the MacPherson up to six months or fined up to 7.15am (0.1m), 2.03pm (2.9m), pre-school in July last year. 18 last year. Foo is also accused of taking a Lane block on July 18. $10,000, or both. 7.37pm (1.1m) Malaysian Michelle Foo Shi But the Singapore permanent res- Grab ride to an HDB block in Her alleged actions are said to Ching, 24, was charged yesterday ident is said to have walked from a MacPherson Lane, and another to have occurred after another PCF [email protected]