DPM Teo Chee Hean at the Leaders in Science Forum, one-north Festival

Developing Strong Partnerships in the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Ecosystem

Mr Lim Chuan Poh, Chairman, A*STAR
Mr Png Cheong Boon, Chief Executive Officer, JTC Corporation
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen 
Good Morning. 

I am pleased to join you today at the Leaders in Science Forum and the inaugural one-north Festival. As we celebrate the spirit of Research, Innovation, and Enterprise (RIE), it is also a good opportunity for our researchers, industry partners and educators to come together and discuss ways to collaborate better.

Enhancing Value for Singapore and Enriching Lives of Singaporeans

Research, Innovation and Enterprise is the cornerstone of Singapore’s economy. Since the first five-year National Technology Plan in 1991, we have focused efforts to develop capabilities in research and innovation. We have also invested in human capital in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. This has helped provide the knowledge base for expanding high-tech exports¹ from our enterprises, which increased more than six times from 1991 to reach $180 billion in 2015.²

RIE will continue to play an important role as we tap on scientific advances and technological breakthroughs, develop new business models and seize opportunities in new markets. Increased investments in R&D, by both government and business, in particular in our region, and a rising middle class will drive innovation for new products and services in the future economy.

More enterprises are also conducting R&D in Asia to be close to their suppliers and customers. In 2015, Asia surpassed North America and Europe, accounting for 35 % of total corporate R&D.³ This R&D investment by enterprises will lead to more products and services from Asia, for Asia and beyond.

The growing middle class in Asia will also drive consumption for new products and services.⁴ With Asia’s share of the middle class globally projected to increase from 40 % in 2015 to over 60 % by 2030⁵, there is potential for innovators and enterprises to market new products and services to consumers in our region who are currently underserved by traditional business models.

Developing Strong Partnerships in the RIE Ecosystem

Singapore, with a vibrant ecosystem of enterprises and trade linkages, is in a good position to tap on the opportunities in the region and beyond. Our investments in science and innovation will raise capabilities to capture growth opportunities.

Under the Research, Innovation, and Enterprise plan over the next five years from 2016 to 2020 (“RIE2020”), the Government will invest $19 billion in R&D and innovation activities. This is an increase of 18 per cent over the previous five-year plan. It signals our strong commitment to R&D and to the RIE ecosystem. Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering, Health and Biomedical Sciences, Services and the Digital Economy, and Urban Solutions and Sustainability are four areas where Singapore has strong national needs and where we have already developed a community doing cutting-edge research.

But we do need to develop stronger synergies and partnerships in the RIE ecosystem to help anchor Singapore as a science and innovation hub, to connect between basic research and application, and to develop new products and services that will make a difference to Singapore and the world. These include partnerships between the public and private sectors, partnerships across different domains and partnerships across borders.

First, partnerships between the public and private sectors. Collaboration between the public sector, academia and private sectors can bring new inventions and processes to market. Beyond translating R&D from our RIs and IHLs, industry-led public-private partnerships allow industry to work closely with our researchers, articulate real-world needs, spark new ideas and accelerate the development of solutions.

The Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC)⁶ is one example. The industry-led ARTC is the first centre in Asia to develop technologies for remanufacturing. The centre has entered into over 80 industry collaborations. One of these projects involves industry leaders Rolls Royce, Singapore Aero Engine Services (SAESL), International Engine Component Overhaul Pte Ltd. (IECO), and local SME Sankei Eagle Singapore. A new process that involves applying liquid coatings onto aircraft components was developed which halves the preparation time and reduces the manpower required.⁷

Several enterprises such as SembCorp, ST, SMRT, Fujitsu and Delta Electronics have set up corporate laboratories⁸ with our local universities. These corporate laboratories support the translation of R&D in areas such as cyber security, smart urban rail systems and advanced robotics. Furthermore, in these corporate labs, students and researchers can work alongside our enterprises and gain experience to prepare for employment in these high-tech sectors.

Second, partnerships across different domains. Many new innovations are occurring at the boundaries between different domains, creating new products and markets. An example is the Internet-of-Things, where the physical and digital domains converge. Previously unconnected devices and objects – from door locks to refrigerators can now be Internet-connected, smartphone-accessible, have AI-assisted applications, and respond-on-demand.

SMEs and large enterprises can also collaborate to pool resources and increase the chances of taking innovations to market, especially overseas. The Partnerships for Capability Transformation programme supports such collaborations between SMEs and large enterprises. To date, more than 650 SMEs have benefitted from over 120 projects.

An example is the partnership between HP Indigo and two local SMEs. HP Indigo worked with Super Pak Manufacturing to develop new biodegradable packaging for its ink canisters, and with Mega Plus Technology for an automated system for the new packaging. The new packaging was not only more environmentally friendly but also lighter and more compact. Super Pak has since expanded their product lines while this experience has helped Mega Plus take on more complex projects. Such partnerships are beneficial not only to the larger enterprises, but to the SMEs as well.

Third, partnerships across borders. Many of our researchers and institutions in Singapore have deep collaborations with established institutions and laboratories from all over the world.

An example is the Singapore-Stanford Biodesign (SSB), a joint A*STAR-EDB training programme with Stanford University. To date, SSB has trained more than 320 doctors, engineers, post-graduate students and industry professionals. From the SSB Fellowship, five have started their own Medtech enterprises.

Such international collaborations pool resources, bring new perspectives, and spark new possibilities which would not be possible within national or institutional silos.

Conclusion

This one-north forum is a good platform for stakeholders to discuss the role science and innovation can play in the next phase of Singapore’s development.

one-north is an appropriate place to do this. It is now home to about 400 enterprises, more than 700 start-ups, 40 incubators and 16 public research institutes. This vibrant community of scientists, researchers and innovators from both the private and public sectors will nurture our innovators and entrepreneurs of tomorrow.

Our investments in R&D will build a better future by adding value and enriching lives. Strong partnerships between the public and private sectors, across different domains and across borders will help innovators and businesses capture growth opportunities and develop new solutions.

I wish all of you a fruitful forum and a successful one-north Festival.

Thank you very much.

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[1] Definition from World Bank: Products with high R&D intensity, such as in aerospace, computers, pharmaceuticals, scientific instruments, and electrical machinery
   
[2] United Nations, Comtrade database, as of 20 Jul 2016. Singapore’s high-tech exports was $28 bil in 1991.   

[3] PricewaterhouseCoopers, “2015 Global Innovation 1000: Innovation’s New World Order”, Oct 27 2015.  

[4] Homi Kharas, “The Emerging Middle Class in Developing Countries”, Brookings Institute, 2011. 
  
[5] David Dohde, “The Swelling Middle”, Reuters, 2012. 

[6] The ARTC was launched by A*STAR and NTU in 2015 and covers repair and restoration of high value components, surface enhancement to improve functionality, performance and longevity, robotics, product verification and additive manufacturing. 

[7] An automated process whereby a machine applies a liquid coating to aircraft components, to allow for protective coatings to be applied to selected areas of the components. Compared to the manual masking of components that are not coated, this automated process potentially reduces the masking time by half. 

[8] The Corporate Laboratory@University Scheme was launched by the National Research Foundation in 2013 to support the establishment of key laboratories by industries in local universities.