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A flagship gathering of industry partners, alumni, and leaders to celebrate impact and chart future directions
SINGAPORE, Nov. 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — NUS-ISS celebrated more than four decades of nurturing digital talent at its Annual Luncheon 2025 held today at the ParkRoyal Collection Marina Bay. The event brought together industry partners, alumni, learners, and staff to mark NUS-ISS’ impact on Singapore’s digital talent development and its growing presence on the global stage. Themed “Celebrating Impact, Expanding Horizons”, it is the finale of the three-month NUS-ISS Learning Festival 2025.
Mr Francis Lee, Executive Director, SCS; Ms Irene Tan, Director, Director, Digital Academy Group, Government Technology Agency (GovTech); HE Medardo G. Macaraig (Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines in Singapore); Prof Bernard Tan, Senior Vice Provost (Undergraduate Education), NUS; Mr David Neo, Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, and Senior Minister of State for Education; Ms Janet Ang, Chairman, NUS-ISS; Mr Khoong Chan Meng, CEO, NUS-ISS; HE Tran Phuoc Anh, The Ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; Mr Ng Kuo Pin, Chief Executive Officer, NCS; Dr Peh Chin Hwee (Dy Group Chief Engineering Officer & SVP/Head, Video Analytics, GEC, ST Engineering; and Mr Adrian Ong (Director, IMDA)
Mr David Neo, Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Senior Minister of State for Education, graced the event as Guest-of-Honour. Joining him in commemorating the institute’s milestones and its expanding footprint beyond Singapore were Ms Janet Ang, Chairman of NUS-ISS, Mr Khoong Chan Meng, CEO of NUS-ISS, and members of the NUS-ISS Management Board.
The luncheon also served as a platform for the NUS-ISS community to look ahead and envision the next chapter of NUS-ISS. Guided by the ISS2030 strategy, the institute remains committed to nurturing the next generation of digital leaders and equipping them with the knowledge, skills, and mindset to navigate an evolving AI landscape with confidence and impact. This will be achieved through its focus on digital transformation, ongoing curriculum evolution, as well as global partnerships and engagement.
Over four decades of growth and transformation
Since its founding in 1981, NUS-ISS has nurtured over 200,000 digital leaders and professionals, partnered with more than 9,600 corporate organisations, and built a vibrant community of more than 8,200 alumni. These efforts have supported Singapore’s national agenda in IT skills development and digital transformation.
Across the public and private sectors, NUS-ISS continues to be a trusted partner in delivering high-quality curriculum in digital skills development.
Building on this momentum, NUS-ISS remains at the forefront of digital transformation by equipping public-sector leaders and officers to drive meaningful change across their organisations. Through NUS-ISS’ appointment as the Operations Partner for Digital Academy by the Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech), more than 13,000 officers have been upskilled since 2021. This leadership focus is further strengthened through new collaborations with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Social and Family Development to train senior public-sector leaders and officers over the next two to three years, empowering them to champion innovation and lead digital transformation across their ministries.
Meanwhile, the partnership between NUS-ISS and NCS in the Nucleus 2.0 programme, launched in 2019 to nurture future-ready software engineers, continues to scale new heights. This year alone, more than 400 employees received their Graduate Certificates, and another 17 employees earned their Master of Technology in Software Engineering, through the stackable learning pathway. Furthermore, NUS-ISS has collaborated with the Singapore Computer Society to train more than 700 professionals this year in sustainability, digital product management and DevSecOps, advancing digital capabilities across key economic sectors.
To meet the growing demand from industries, NUS-ISS has also launched a series of Artificial Intelligence (AI) programmes aligned with Singapore’s national AI ambitions. These programmes aim to develop talent capable of driving real-world transformation. In partnership with ST Engineering, NUS-ISS will train 400 engineers in the latest AI skills, empowering them to lead innovation and boost productivity across the organisation.
Building bridges with the rest of the world
Looking ahead, NUS-ISS will continue to expand its reach through new international collaborations designed to empower professionals and organisations beyond Singapore’s shores.
NUS-ISS has extended its reach beyond Singapore through regional collaborations. Earlier this year, the institute signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Philippines Civil Service Commission and the Private Sector Jobs and Skills Corporation to strengthen digital leadership among mid-to senior-level civil servants through practical outcome-driven programmes. This partnership demonstrates NUS-ISS’ growing influence in shaping digital readiness in the region.
Partnerships with Saudi Aramco, Digital Government Agency of Saudi Arabia, the Confederation of India Industry, and Ayala Corporation have marked significant steps forward in NUS-ISS’ mission to advance digital capabilities internationally. Through these initiatives, NUS-ISS will deliver training in artificial intelligence, leadership, and digital transformation to build strong pipelines of skilled professionals who can drive innovation within their respective fields.
Mr Khoong Chan Meng, CEO, NUS-ISS, said: “Across industries, transformation is accelerating, and jobs are rapidly being redefined with the advent of generative and agentic artificial intelligence. This makes it more urgent than ever to ensure that the professionals in the workforce today are prepared for the changes – and challenges – of tomorrow.”
“As part of this commitment, NUS-ISS has introduced a series of programmes on AI and related technologies to equip industry professionals with the knowledge and skills to harness AI-driven developments and stay ahead in this ongoing transformation. We will continue to forge ahead with fortitude, leveraging our deep engagement with industries to develop relevant programmes that continually meet the needs of both professionals and organisations,” he added.
About National University of Singapore (NUS)
The National University of Singapore (NUS) is Singapore’s flagship university, which offers a global approach to education, research and entrepreneurship, with a focus on Asian perspectives and expertise. We have 15 colleges, faculties and schools across three campuses in Singapore, with more than 40,000 students from 100 countries enriching our vibrant and diverse campus community. We have also established more than 20 NUS Overseas Colleges entrepreneurial hubs around the world.
Our multidisciplinary and real-world approach to education, research and entrepreneurship enables us to work closely with industry, governments and academia to address crucial and complex issues relevant to Asia and the world. Researchers in our faculties, research centres of excellence, corporate labs and more than 30 university-level research institutes focus on themes that include energy; environmental and urban sustainability; treatment and prevention of diseases; active ageing; advanced materials; risk management and resilience of financial systems; Asian studies; and Smart Nation capabilities such as artificial intelligence, data science, operations research and cybersecurity.
For more information on NUS, please visit www.nus.edu.sg
About NUS-ISS
Established in 1981, NUS-ISS nurtures digital talent for the industry through graduate education, executive education programmes, consultancy, applied research, and career services. NUS-ISS guides individuals and organisations to bridge future opportunities through a unique portfolio of multiple learning pathways such as blended learning and stackable programmes, leading the way in shaping the next curve of digital excellence. It offers a wide spectrum of programmes in critical industry disciplines, such as digital leadership, software development, data science, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, product management, smart health and digital innovation.
To date, over 200,000 digital leaders and professionals from across 9,647 corporate client organisations, and 8,277 graduate programmes alumni have benefitted from NUS-ISS’
suite of services. Its programmes are delivered by NUS-ISS staff with an average of more than 20 years of industry experience and supported by a strong network of partners. NUS-ISS also works with industry partners and associations locally and globally to co-create a digital learning ecosystem that inspires and shapes solutions for the digital economy.
For more information on NUS-ISS, please visit www.iss.nus.edu.sg
