Mr Lee Yi Shyan graduated from the National University of Singapore in Chemical Engineering in 1986. He completed an executive management programme at the Harvard Business School in 1997 and a management programme at Tsinghua University in 2001.
Beginning his career at the Ministry of Defence as a systems engineer in 1987, Mr Lee later joined the Economic Development Board (EDB) in 1991. At EDB, he held senior positions in human resources, services industry development, China operations and industry development for the chemical sector. Mr Lee was based in Washington DC and Chicago from 1993 to 1997, and in Suzhou, China, from 1997 to 1998. He was appointed Deputy Chief Executive of the Singapore Productivity and Standards Board in 2000, and a year later, as Chief Executive Officer of International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, an organisation responsible for taking Singapore companies to the global market.
In the May 2006 General Elections, Mr Lee was elected a Member of Parliament for the East Coast Group Representation Constituency (GRC). He was later appointed as the Minister of State for Trade and Industry, and the Minister of State for Manpower. Currently, Mr Lee is the Senior Minister of State for National Development, and Trade and Industry.
In the Ministry of National Development, Mr Lee dedicates his attention to urban planning and sustainable development. He also oversees construction productivity and industry development, and Town Council operations. In addition, he chairs the World Cities Summit Mayors Forum.
Over at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Mr Lee focuses on promoting trade and investments with China, the Middle East and Russia. He is currently the Co-Vice Chairman of the provincial business council with Tianjin Municipality. He was the Co-Vice Chairman and Co-Chairman of the provincial business councils with Jiangsu (2006 to 2010) and Shandong provinces (2006 to 2011) respectively. Mr Lee currently co-chairs the Abu Dhabi-Singapore Joint Forum and the Gulf Cooperation Council-Singapore Free Trade Agreement Joint Committee, and is also the Deputy Co-Chair of the annual Russia-Singapore High-Level Inter-Governmental Commission.
Mr Lee was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award by the Centre for Creative Leadership (USA) in 2009, and the Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award by the Faculty of Engineering, National University of Singapore in 2013.
An avid sportsman who jogs, swims, skis and plays badminton for recreation, Mr Lee is also the President of the Singapore Badminton Association. Mr Lee is married with two children.
Presentation Title
Sustainable Development Needs New Approach
Abstract
Engineering innovations have brought about modern living. As our cities develop further, we are likely to face greater constraints posed by the physical environment; and greater stress imposed on the city dwellers. How do we develop greener cities that minimise its carbon and resource footprints? How do we enable cities to be smarter that understand or even anticipate the residents’ needs? We need new approaches.