It was a proud moment for the school as GIIS SMART Campus was officially inaugurated in February 2019, by Mr Ng Chee Meng, Minister, Prime Minister’s Office, Adviser to Pasir Ris – Punggol GROs and MP for Pasir Ris – Punggol GRC. It was a momentous occasion as Mr Ng Chee Meng unveiled the plaque and touched the crystal ball declaring the campus officially open.

Parents, students, staff and special guests were all part of this grand celebration which was held in the multi-purpose hall of the school. Other distinguished guests present at the occasion were His Excellency Mr Jawed Ashraf, India's High Commissioner to Singapore, board members of Global Schools Foundations, Mr Koh Juay Meng, Chairman of Punggol North CCC, as well as partners and associates of GIIS.
 
On his arrival, Mr Ng Chee Meng, was welcomed by students who waved and cheered for him with messages written on placards. The Programme started with a stunning dance performance by students that was a fusion of Chinese and Malay dance, celebrating the Peranakan culture. This was followed by a heart-warming choir medley of National Day Songs. The patriotic lyrics of the medley overwhelmed the audience including Mr Ng Chee Meng, who shared that he was teary-eyed during the performance.

GIIS students have been serving in National Service (NS) for several years now and two alumni were present on the occasion to share how the school prepared them for NS. The alumni spoke about the special training programme that GIIS organises for the students who are going to join NS.

The chairman, Mr Atul Temurnikar, addressed the audience and said that the SMART Campus is the result of the efforts of the entire team and the aim is to make one such campus in every country wherever the school is present. He thanked the Singapore Government and Punggol GRC for their continuous cooperation, without which the SMART Campus would not have been a success.

Followed by the official opening, Mr Ng addressed the audience. He welcomed the new campus in the Punggol town and said that the “SMART Campus brings dynamism to the smart town of Punggol.” Seeing the vast number of skills-based labs and futuristic learning facilities of the campus, Mr Ng Chee Meng congratulated the school by saying that “with 21st century learning as the central theme, you are on the right track.” He urged the students to go beyond the classrooms and apply their experiential learning in the country of Singapore. He specially complimented the students for the great cultural performances which he said: “brings forth the values that GIIS brings to the Singapore society.”

Later, Mr Ng Chee Meng visited the Environment Lab and Radio Studio of the campus and interacted with the students there. He looked deeply interested in all the displays that students had exhibited at the Environment Lab and discussed the projects with the students. Mr Ng Chee Meng was also impressed to see the state-of-the-art facilities at the Radio Studio. A handful of students asked him questions about the Radio Studio and the National Service at the Radio lab. After responding to the queries, he commented that “I can see our future leaders here.”

The official opening of the SMART Campus turned out to be even more special as it was done by an honourable minister who has also served as Education Minister previously. The school is all set to create new benchmarks in the field of holistic education that prepares students for 21st-century skills.