The 2025 ST Education Forum, a special edition marking significant anniversaries for The Straits Times (ST) and Singapore Management University (SMU), centered on the theme of "Our Shared Future," with a focus on Southeast Asia's opportunities and challenges. The forum featured a distinguished panel including Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Heng Swee Keat, Mr. Aaron Tan, founder and CEO of Karo, Mr. Piyush Gupta, CEO of DBS Bank, Judge Hammond of SMU Borde Trustees, and Mr. Audi, entrepreneur and investor reshaping Indonesia's health and creative industries.
DPM Heng, the guest of honor, highlighted the diversity of Southeast Asia in terms of land size, GDP, culture, and religion. He recalled the region's turbulent past in the 1960s but emphasized the significant progress made in the last three decades, largely driven by a focus on economic development through ASEAN. He pointed out that ASEAN's GDP has grown substantially, both in absolute terms and as a percentage of global GDP. He emphasized the importance of peace and stability for economic development. DPM Heng further underscored the importance of strengthening ASEAN unity amidst diversity. He urged the region to build on this unity to harness synergy and strength from its diversity. He advocated addressing the "four Ds": de-globalization, the digital revolution, decarbonization, and demographics. He emphasized the importance of deepening ASEAN integration, making full use of the digital revolution, taking climate change seriously, and understanding the implications of a youthful population in the age of AI and robotics.
Piyush Gupta reflected on Southeast Asia's economic successes over the past 45-50 years, highlighting its role as a manufacturing base, a consumer market, and a connector. He argued that the region's success is primarily due to its people and businesses, and emphasized the need to empower talent and build a large talent pool. He noted that the region has a young, digitally native population with great creativity, and stressed the importance of providing access to higher education and fostering mobility among young people. Gupta also emphasized the need for applied research to find Southeast Asian solutions to unique regional problems.
Aaron Tan shared his experience in operating across Southeast Asian markets, noting the extreme diversity in managing companies and people in different countries. He emphasized the importance of understanding local cultures and customs to bring out the best in people. He explained how they adapt their people practices to ensure that their employees are able to contribute their best.
Audi shared his experience in the movie and healthcare industries. For the movie industry, he emphasized shared stories that resonate with Southeast Asia, and with this in mind, the need to set up an academy where ASEAN directors work together to create shared stories. For the healthcare industry, he suggested that healthcare is one of the industries that has restrictions because you cannot easily get a degree in one country and work in another country, however, he learned that healthcare management can be shared.
The forum also addressed questions from the audience. One question concerned Myanmar, where the importance of norms of behaviour were expressed in the country. Another question concerned addressing the discrepancies in incomes across different regions. The audience asked about taking media as a way to build a connection.