SGLN Annual Conference

Tuesday, 24th March 2026

About The Event

The SGLN Fellowship Alumni Network (FAN), led by the 2025 SGLN Fellows, organised its first SGLN Annual Conference, building on the strong foundation set by last year’s inaugural event led by our pioneer Fellows. This year, the conference brought together a few hundred members of the SGLN community for a day packed with fireside chats, audience engagement sessions, and a career discovery panel.

Two sessions in particular shaped the conversations of the day. We were honoured to welcome Mr Chan Chun Sing, Coordinating Minister for Public Services and Minister for Defence, and Mdm Halimah Yacob, Chancellor of the Singapore University of Social Sciences and Former President of the Republic of Singapore.

With Mr Chan Chun Sing, the conversation explored leadership in a complex and uncertain world, including decision-making, long-term thinking, and the responsibilities leaders carry in shaping outcomes.

With Mdm Halimah Yacob, the discussion centred on leadership journeys and values, alongside broader themes of gender equality, shifting mindsets, and the role of mentorship and supportive ecosystems in enabling future leaders.

We were heartened by the energy in the room, evident from the questions, reflections, and discussions that continued between and after every session. It was a space where perspectives were challenged, connections were made, and new ideas were sparked in real time.

Organised by: SGLN Fellowship Alumni Network

Speakers

Mr Chan Chun Sing

Coordinating Minister for Public Services and Minister for Defence

Mr Chan Chun Sing was appointed Singapore’s Coordinating Minister for Public Services and Minister for Defence on 23 May 2025. He has concurrently served as Minister-in-charge of the Public Service since 1 May 2018.

Mr Chan previously served as Minister for Education from May 2021 to May 2025, where he advanced lifelong learning and broadened access to education for learners of diverse abilities, needs and interests. He strengthened professional development for educators and deepened partnerships between schools and industry to better align education with future workforce needs. From May 2018 to May 2021, Mr Chan led Singapore’s economic and industrial development as Minister for Trade and Industry. In this role, he ratified the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement and deepened international cooperation on the digital economy. He also served as Deputy Chairman of the People’s Association from October 2015 to May 2021, steering national efforts to foster social cohesion and community engagement.

From May 2015 to May 2018, he was Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress and expanded the Labour Movement network to represent all working people in Singapore. Before this, he served as Minister for Social and Family Development (2013-2015) and Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (2011-12). He was also Second Minister for Defence (2013-15) and Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts (2011-12).

Serving with the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) from 1987 to 2011, Mr Chan held various appointments including Chief of Army. He left the SAF to run in the 2011 General Election and was elected Member of Parliament for Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency.

An SAF (Overseas) and President’s Scholarship holder, he graduated with First Class Honours in Economics from Christ’s College, Cambridge University, UK. He was also awarded the 1998 Distinguished Master Strategist Award by the US Army Command and General Staff College. In 2005, he completed the Sloan Fellows Programme at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under the Lee Kuan Yew Scholarship.

Born in 1969, Mr Chan is married with three children and enjoys reading and jogging.
Mdm Halimah Yacob

Chancellor of the Singapore University of Social Sciences and Former President

Mdm Halimah Yacob, Chancellor of the Singapore University of Social Sciences, served as the eighth, and first female, President of Singapore from 2017 to 2023.

Prior to that she was, from 2013, the first female Speaker of Parliament. After getting a law degree from the University of Singapore in 1978, she joined the National Trades Union Congress and headed the women’s development secretariat and the legal services department before becoming NTUC’s deputy secretary–general. She stood for election as a People’s Action Party candidate in 2001 and was the first Malay woman to be elected an MP. Before becoming Speaker, Halimah served as Minister of State in the Ministry of Social and Family Development. Mdm Halimah was also the first Singaporean to serve on the Governing Body of the International Labour Organisation, a United Nations agency, between 1999 to 2011.