Chew Shou Zi spoke at a graduation ceremony for PhD students at Nanyang Technological University.

The ceremony is part of NTU's 2026 convocation with over 14,000 students graduating.

575 graduates received their doctorate degrees across two ceremonies.

Mr Chew said graduates are entering the workforce in a time of big change.

He said this is a pivotal point in history with fast and big changes.

He advised graduates to seek the unknown.

Mr Chew told graduates to use their knowledge to solve real-world problems.

He said they should seek out new experiences and be open to uncertainty.

The community will remind them of their purpose, added Mr Chew.

Mr Chew told graduates to keep their curiosity and protect their creativity.

Mr Chew reflected on his roots and his journey to becoming TikTok CEO.

He said education is a lifelong passport that keeps growing.

His world was small when he was in primary school.

He grew up in Yio Chu Kang and later attended Hwa Chong Institution.

Attending Hwa Chong pushed him out of his comfort zone.

This sparked his curiosity and showed him his potential.

Singapore is a small island nation but has a big global footprint.

Mr Chew built his career on following curiosity and doing things differently.

His father bought him a computer when he was young.

He used the computer to play games, which fueled his love for technology.

He studied economics and worked at Goldman Sachs before attending Harvard.

He chose to study at Harvard because he was fascinated by global business.

He saw a big shift in investments into new ideas and technology startups.

It was eye-opening to see how much life was changing.

His curiosity kept resurfacing and brought him back to technology.

He wanted to be part of world-changing technology and innovation.

He followed his calling and his finance background helped him.

He worked at Facebook and a venture capital firm before joining ByteDance.

He became TikTok's CFO and later CEO, praising his knowledge of the company.

Mr Chew said running TikTok is one of the greatest pleasures of his life.

He learned that technology is about unlocking human potential.

It's about taking an idea and giving it scale to reach millions.

He believes the impact of their field is to enrich people's lives.

The world is theirs and he can't wait to see what they do with it.