SMU & National Security Coordination Secretariat partner on pilot RAHS Outreach Initiative

SMU becomes first university in Singapore where undergraduates are given access to the new Risk Assessment and Horizon Scanning software introduced by the government

Singapore, 29 October 2007 (Monday) – The Singapore Management University (SMU) has become the first university here to be an experimental test bed for the Risk Assessment and Horizon Scanning (RAHS) system, a suite of software tools to assist analysts in anticipating and detecting emerging strategic trends and issues, including those in the National Security domain. Since October this year, a group of 30 SMU undergraduates from the Lee Kong Chian School of Business has been deploying the RAHS technology to scope and frame the risk landscape of agricultural commodity trading as part of their “Introduction to Agri-Commodity Trading” course.

The RAHS Outreach Initiative (ROI) in SMU is a first-ever collaboration between the National Security Coordination Secretariat (NSCS) and SMU, allowing university students access to government software and to tap on the RAHS tools as part of their coursework. These tools allow the students to develop models to better understand the various trading risks, risk mitigants and inter-playing factors in international commodities. It introduces them to a different dimension in the analysis of agri-commodity trading through the use of new concepts and technology.

Undergraduates who have a very good understanding of the concepts and who use the tools effectively as part of their coursework could be awarded internships through NSCS. Student feedback on the RAHS tools will go towards improving the existing software.

Comprising classroom teaching, computerised simulation sessions and site visits, the “Introduction to Agri-Commodity Trading” course is taught over 10 weeks from September to November 2007. SMU students enrolled in this course are pursing the International Trading Track, a new specialisation offered by SMU under its Bachelor of Business Management (Finance major) degree programme to groom young talents for a career in the fast growing and competitive trading sector. The Track is taught by the International Trading Institute at SMU.

Under the collaboration with NSCS, the students will first be trained to use the RAHS software. They will then get the chance to build models of the risk landscape of agri-commodity trading, and depict the various risks and risk-mitigating factors from the production to transport onto final destination phases. A mentoring scheme is in place for these students, who have each been assigned to a RAHS Specialist from NSCS. Their mentors will provide supervision and consultation to refine the models as the course progresses. The students will therefore have someone to turn to for guidance, so that they can more quickly grasp and optimise the wide-ranging capabilities that the RAHS system offers.

Professor Tan Chin Tiong, Deputy President and Provost of SMU conveyed that “SMU is privileged to be given this opportunity to pilot the new Risk Assessment and Horizon Scanning software. For several weeks now, a group of technology-savvy undergraduates who are training to be future commodity trading analysts has been very hands-on in using the RAHS software to develop various models. It is excellent exposure for them to learn, through the use of new technology, how to anticipate emerging trends in the environment in the context of agri-commodity trading.”

Head of Civil Service and Permanent Secretary for National Security and Intelligence Coordination, Peter Ho commented that “RAHS is a process of continuous investigation and discovery. It is important to test its application in diverse sectors and environments. To do this we need to engage partners like SMU. The signing of the MOU today is an important milestone as it marks the start of our RAHS Outreach Initiative, which aims to extend RAHS beyond Government.”

SMU is the first university in Singapore to pilot the RAHS system under the Outreach Initiative. Plans are underway for collaboration with other universities in Singapore.

About the National Security Coordination Secretariat

The National Security Coordination Secretariat (NSCS) was established at the Prime Minister's Office in July 2004 to coordinate national security policy and planning, and strategic counter-terrorism intelligence issues. Led by a Permanent Secretary for National Security and Intelligence Coordination, the Secretariat supports a ministerial-level Security Policy Review Committee chaired by the Coordinating Minister for National Security.

NSCS comprises two key agencies, namely the National Security Coordination Centre (NSCC) and the Joint Counter Terrorism Centre (JCTC). NSCC focuses on national security policy coordination and planning. This includes scanning the horizon to identify potential new threats and challenges, and providing the necessary alerts and updates for the development of effective prevention, protection and consequence management measures. Details can be found at www.nscc.gov.sg.

About the Risk Assessment and Horizon Scanning system

The Risk Assessment and Horizon Scanning (RAHS) system is a government project to put in place a new software capability that can help analysts pick up weak signals of worrying trends, crises and major turning points that might have a serious impact on Singapore . Details on the RAHS project can be found at http://rahs.org.sg.

About the RAHS Outreach Initiative

The RAHS Outreach Initiative (ROI) at SMU is a collaborative programme between the National Security Coordination Secretariat (NSCS) and the Singapore Management University (SMU). The pilot initiative will enable university students to use RAHS software tools for their coursework. In turn, feedback from a younger tech-savvy generation will be a valuable resource for the future development of software for the RAHS programme.

SMU is the first university in Singapore to pilot the RAHS system, under the Outreach initiative. NSCS is looking into similar programmes with the other universities in Singapore.