Earlier this month, the National University of Singapore (NUS) welcomed Costa Rica’s Chancellor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Manuel González Sanz. Minister Gonzalez was in Singapore on an official visit to the NUS start-up incubator, Blk71.

Minister González was hosted by NUS Enterprise CEO Dr Lily Chan, who gave a presentation on Blk71’s inception and the entrepreneurial programs conducted by NUS Enterprise. She also highlighted initiatives such as Modern Aging Singapore and InnovFest Unbound.

Two guest speakers — Mr Evan Cheah, Director of the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise; and Mr Chong Choon Leong, Senior Manager of ITE Education Services (Middle East, Africa and Latin America) gave the Costa Rican delegation an overview of their respective organizations.

Mr Cheah explained how the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise has helped governments worldwide as a “one-stop shop” for those wanting to tap on expertise found within Singapore’s public sector. Mr Chong presented on the ways ITE Education Services has enabled other countries to develop innovative vocation-based training modeled on Singapore’s Institute of Technical Education system.

During the short question-and-answer session following the presentations, the Costa Rican guests were keen to know about the educational landscape in Singapore and the tertiary-level options available. They also wanted to find out how Singapore had identified the industries it should develop.

Costa Rica recognizes the leadership of Singapore and how it has developed a diversified and knowledge-based economy, said Minister González. The Central American country, like Singapore, also relies on human capital as a pillar of its economy.

“Until now, we don’t have much experience…in start-ups or creating the entrepreneurial mindset. We need to have our young people being not just job seekers but job creators,” explained Minister González.

The visit ended with a tour of Blk71 facilities including Plug-In@Blk71, which is jointly hosted by NUS Enterprise, Media Development Authority Singapore and Singtel Innov8.

Minister González subsequently gave a lecture at Yale-NUS College titled “Costa Rica: Disarmed Democracy and the Rule of International Law” on 11 March.