Editor’s Letter
2020 has been a year of unprecedented digital transformations. Due to the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, movement restrictions as well as lockdowns have pushed many industries to adopt digital formats and let go of traditional practices in order to adapt to allow business continuity during the pandemic. Education was no exception, with school closures, educators had to be creative and come up with new ways to impart knowledge through the computer screen. This will pave the way for new methods of teaching and change the way we look at the conventional classroom. STEM education will also adapt to this change in environment. Coming up with new ways to teach scientific concepts is no easy feat. However, the ability to adapt and be flexible in experimentation is also in part a value of STEM.
This month in our Features section we highlight the STEM Conference 2020 organised by the Science Centre Singapore, where educators, researchers and industry experts came together virtually to discuss the value of STEM education from a young age as well as how it should be ever evolving to the current global situation. Part of the conference also highlighted the importance of piquing the interest for STEM at a young age through teaching of STEM concepts using interactive learning methods.
For the Columns section we take a look at the future of digital technology in the healthcare industry and how the internet of things (IoT) and blockchain technology could pave the way for new innovations. Keeping in line with the future of healthcare, in the Spotlights section APBN shares an interview with Fabrice Leguet, Managing Director and President, Southeast Asia for Siemens Healthineers to gain expert insight to the technology gaps in the healthcare industry and how the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed for better innovation. In the interview, Fabrice Leguet also highlights the efforts by Siemens Healthineers in bridging these technology gaps to help healthcare systems as well as its response towards the recent pandemic.
Deborah Emmanuel Seah Qing En
Editor