Panel Speakers

Prof Walid Jumblatt bin Abdullah
Asst Chair (Students), School of Social Sciences & Assoc Prof, School of Social Sciences 

Prof Walid Jumblatt Abdullah received his PhD under a Joint Degree Program between National University of Singapore (NUS) and King's College, London. He works on state-Islam relations, and political parties and elections, with particular focus on Singapore and Malaysia. He has published articles in internationally peer-reviewed journals such as Democratization, International Political Science Review, Government and Opposition, Australian Journal of International Affairs, Asian Survey, Small Wars & Insurgencies, Journal of Church and State, among others. 
 
His research interests include state-religion relations, political parties and elections, political Islam, and Southeast Asian politics.

Mr Ishak Ismail  
Council Chairman for Families for Life Council 

Mr Ishak is Singapore’s High Commissioner (Non-Resident) for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. He is also Chairman for the Families for Life Council, and Chairman of the National Maritime Safety at Sea Council, and a member of the Board of Directors of National University Health System.   

Mr Ishak is currently Principal Consultant at i-Grow Partners Pte Ltd. Ishak’s previous work experiences from 2011 to 2022 were with BAE Systems Hägglunds as Regional Director (Asia), with CWT Limited as CEO Defence Services and with ST Electronics (e-Services) Pte Ltd as Senior Vice-President/General Manager. 

In 2011, Mr Ishak retired from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) in the rank of Brigadier-General after serving more than 29 years. He held various senior appointments with the SAF, including Commander 6th Division / Combined Arms Training Centre (CATC) and as the Army’s head of training. He contributed significantly to training transformation for the SAF and in developing SAF leaders.   

Mr Ishak graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Economics and Master of Business Administration from the National University of Singapore. 

Mr Eugene Ho   
Global CSR Director for future skills at SAP & serves on the boards of Common Purpose APAC

Mr Eugene is a seasoned leader in corporate affairs and social sustainability, currently serving as Global CSR Director for Future Skills at SAP. With over two decades in the IT sector, he spearheads global initiatives to empower marginalized youth through digital skills and inclusive learning pathways, building strategic public-private partnerships internationally. Formerly SAP’s Regional CSR Head for East Asia & Pacific, his leadership has earned honors for SAP including the ASEAN Business Award.

Mr Eugene serves on the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council, the board of Common Purpose Asia Pacific, and the advisory committee of Ngee Ann Polytechnic. A dedicated youth advocate, he mentors actively and champions equitable workforce development.

Ms Fun Siew Leng   
Chief Urban Designer, Urban Redevelopment Authority 

Ms Fun is currently the Chief Urban Designer at the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).  She graduated from National University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Architecture (Hons) and subsequently obtained a Master of Architecture in Urban Design from the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University.  She oversees the urban design of the Central Area which includes Marina Bay, Singapore River, Orchard Road and the Bras Basah.Bugis districts as well as new growth areas such as Jurong Lake District, Woodlands North Coast and Punggol Digital District. Her work involves working in collaboration with partner agencies, built environment sector professionals and the community to make Singapore a liveable city that is distinctive, dynamic and delightful.   

Ms Fun sits on the Board of Architects, Land Transport Authority Architectural Design Review Panel and NEST Design Review Panel for Workers’ Dormitories.  She served on the juries for Founders’ Memorial Design Competition, URA’s 20Under45 programme, Greater Bay Urban Design Awards (HK-China) as well as Singapore Institute of Planners Planning Awards. 

Mr Gene Tan   
Chief Librarian and Chief Innovation Officer, National Library Board

Mr Gene is the Chief Librarian of the National Library Board (NLB) and watches over the professional development of all librarians in NLB. As Chief Innovation Officer, he is spearheading the development of LAB25 (Libraries and Archives Blueprint 2025), a new transformative vision for the National Library, National Archives and the public libraries in Singapore. He is the currently the Executive Creative Director of the SG60 Flagship Event: The Heart & Soul Experience. 

Previously, as the Executive Director of the Singapore Bicentennial Office at the Prime Minister’s Office, Mr Gene helmed the Singapore Bicentennial which commemorated the 200th anniversary of Raffles’ arrival in Singapore in 1819. The commemoration included The Bicentennial Experience at Fort Canning which broke attendance records for exhibitions. He was also the Creative Director of the SG50 capstone event, The Future of Us Exhibition that captured the hopes and dreams of Singaporeans. Mr Gene was formerly the Director of the National Library, where he developed the Singapore Memory Project, and the former President of the Library Association of Singapore.