JC2 Dialogue session with distinguished speaker

J2 students engaged Senior Minister of State for Defence Mr Heng Chee How in a hybrid dialogue on digitalisation and Total Defence in Singapore's digital economy.

Last updated 30 April 2026

For this year’s J2 Dialogue session with our distinguished speaker, the college had the honour of hosting Senior Minister of State for Defence, Mr Heng Chee How (SMS Heng), who shared with us about the impact of digitalisation on Singapore and the importance of Total Defence as the nation makes further strides into the digital economy. The format of this year’s engagement was that of a hybrid mode – half the J2 cohort were present with SMS Heng in the Hall for a face-to-face dialogue, while the rest attended the engagement session via Zoom virtual conferencing in their respective homerooms.

Seven people wearing face masks stand in a row indoors under a decorative banner in a tiled hallway.

A group photo upon the arrival of SMS Heng

Large school hall filled with hundreds of students in uniforms seated at desks facing a stage with a screen.

The J2 dialogue session with distinguished speaker took on a hybrid mode this year with half the cohort present in the Hall with SMS Heng

In preparation for the event, the college’s National Education & Service Learning (NESL) committee put together a preparatory Civics lesson so that J2 students could explore the topic in greater depth and consolidate the questions that each class had for SMS Heng.

Two masked adults stand over masked students seated at a table with a laptop in a crowded school hall.

Many groups had the opportunity to engage in lively discussions with SMS Heng in the Hall

Students in white uniforms and black face masks sit at desks with laptops in a large school hall.

Our J2 cohort were immersed in the rich discussion that the event afforded them

A student stands speaking into a microphone in a crowded classroom, with masked students seated at desks.

Students were eager to present their views to SMS Heng and their peers

The engagement session started off with SMS Heng’s opening speech on ‘Total Defence for a Digital Economy’. After that, students were tasked to discuss one of two questions crafted by both NESL committee and MINDEF in their allocated groups, and collated key points of their discussions on a virtual platform, Padlet. During this time, a number of groups had the honour of interacting with SMS Heng, who moved around the Hall to observe the rich discussions that were taking place. At the end of the discussion, three groups were selected to present their views to the rest of the cohort. The engagement session ended with SMS Heng’s closing speech and the Question and Answer session, where he answered a few questions posed by our students.

Three masked speakers sit at a red-skirted table on a stage, addressing a seated audience.

SMS Heng fielding questions from students during the Q&A segment

A student in a blue hoodie stands at a microphone among seated masked students in a school assembly hall.

Our students had a wide variety of questions for SMS Heng regarding the event topics

It was truly a refreshing experience for our J2 cohort, being able to engage in lively face-to-face interactions and stimulating discussions after two and a half years of virtual conferencing brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.