Story by Jonathan Tan
Aptly themed ‘Embracing Transformation in the Digital Age’, this year’s U Future Leaders Summit focused on giving today’s working people fresh perspectives on coping with digital disruptions and adapting to an ever-changing business landscape.
The summit, which took place on 18 November 2016 at the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre, saw NTUC Secretary-General (SG) Chan Chun Sing giving an update on the U Future Leaders Innovation Exchange (IEX), which is part of the U Future Leaders suite of programmes.
Learning from Each Other
A collaboration between NTUC and its network of multinational corporation (MNC) partners, IEX will feature educational tours to the labs of companies at the forefront of innovation in Singapore. Besides facility visits, participants will also get to tap the experience and expertise of the companies’ thought leaders through round-table discussions.
“We don’t have to re-invent the wheel, we can learn from each other, cross-pollinate the ideas and move on to a higher plane. So every now and then, we will have our ‘U’ network partners open up their companies, share their most innovative processes and we will invite like-minded partners to sign up. For learning, we want to go in-depth, not just at the superficial level,” said SG Chan.
Poised to begin in early 2017, IEX’s pioneer group of MNCs include Dentsu Aegis Network, DHL, Intel, Mastercard, Microsoft, Proctor & Gamble and Unilever.
For a start, the first two tours will be to Intel and Dentsu Aegis Network on 3 February 2017 and 17 February 2017 respectively. The group size will be kept to some 20 people, with participation exclusive to union members who have participated in NTUC’s U Future Leaders Programme.
New Perspectives
The summit, which drew 1,200 participants, featured keynote presentations from industry leaders and panel discussions with Labour Movement partners and members from the Committee on the Future Economy on topics such as preparing for the future. Live streaming of the one-day event on the NTUC Membership Facebook page also attracted an estimated audience of 2,000.
Drawing on experiences of past editions, this year’s summit saw the introduction of a new ‘Experiential Learning Engagement’ exhibition. Open to the public, the exhibition offered visitors an opportunity to visit booths for tips on personal career development.
“Through the U Future Leaders Summit, we want to allow our working people to have access to exclusive industry insights, important cross-sectoral skillsets and connect with the employers of tomorrow.
“With a more holistic U Future Leaders Programme, we want to equip them to be future-ready as the employees of tomorrow,” said Vivek Kumar, director of U Future Leaders and U Associate.
Registration for IEX is currently open. For more information, visit www.ntuc.org.sg/ufutureleaders.
