Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday said there is immense scope for India and Singapore to work together to prepare a future ready workforce for the entire globe.
Speaking at the conclusion of the third edition of the Singapore-India Hackathon, jointly organised by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, the minister said the endeavour is to build a skilling ecosystem in India.
"Mapping India's future is our priority. We hope to benefit from Singapore's experience," he said in his address after distributing prizes to the winning teams at the event organised at the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITG).
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He said India deeply appreciates Singapore's skilling philosophy of leaving no one behind in training for decent jobs and building a confident nation.
"Our collaboration in the field of knowledge, skill and innovation will not only benefit India but also countries in the global south who are looking towards us to lead the way," he said.
Pradhan said industry relevant course curriculum is another area of priority for the country on the lines of what has been achieved by Singapore in building a skilling ecosystem and education with innovation for quality industry-academia engagement.
"There is immense scope for India and Singapore to work together to achieve mutual priority, particularly towards preparing a future ready workforce for the entire globe. Skill development and knowledge collaboration are an important element for bilateral strategic partnership," he said.
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Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, also that country's finance minister, said the hackathon event is unique and precious as it "brings out best youths and minds to solve global challenges together".
"It is supported by the leaders of both the countries and is conceived from (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi's vision. I am very happy to come to Gandhinagar for the finale event for the first time post the (COVID-19) pandemic," he said.
PM Modi had initiated the first Singapore-India Hackathon in 2018 on an official visit to Singapore, with the past two events held in Singapore in 2018 and India in 2019 at IIT Madras.
In a written message, PM Modi said, "The Singapore India Hackathon comes at a time when India has assumed the presidency of G20. The mantra of the G20 Presidency, 'One Earth, One Family, One Future', is the manifestation of the ancient Indian concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, which means the world is one family."
"The essence of this vision is to come together to build a shared future. The Singapore-India Hackathon is an initiative that encapsulates this noble thought,” he stated in the message.
A tool to help regulators detect potential suspects of insider trading created by students of NTU, Amity University, and Dwarkadas College of Engineering took the top student prize at the third edition of the Singapore-India Hackathon.
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In the start-up category, Haqdarshak, won for enabling 2.8 million Indians to unlock close to SGD 700 million in government welfare services.
Held under the G20 Presidency in IIT Gandhinagar, the hackathon's finale was attended by over 600 students, start-ups, investors, policy-makers, corporates and academics from India and Singapore.
The teams competed to showcase solutions for six problem statements, namely financial fraud detection, financial inclusion and credit offering, sea-level rise and coastal flooding, optimising food recycling, monitoring carbon footprint, and boosting Singapore-India trade connectivity.
