Singapore—A*STAR’s mission-oriented R&D has driven innovation, capturing over $380 million in industry investment from over 1,700 projects in the first nine months of FY 2014.

 

The agency reported that it grew new industry research clusters through public-private partnerships, generated new start-ups, and nurtured a steady pipeline of scientific talent that contributes to the vibrant Singapore’s research, innovation and enterprise ecosystem.

 

Investment in R&D will continue to be critical for Singapore’s continued shift towards a knowledge-intensive and innovation-driven economy, and our focus on productivity driven growth with less dependence on lower skilled labour over time.[1]

 

Mr Lim Chuan Poh, Chairman of A*STAR, said, “R&D needs to be at the forefront of our efforts to remain innovative and stay ahead of the global competition. Our continuing efforts to collaborate with small, medium and large local enterprises as well as the MNCs will be important for the future of Singapore, bringing growth and societal benefits to Singaporeans.”

During the year in review, A*STAR saw the launch of 19 joint labs by industry partners, an increase from 14 labs opened in 2013, bringing the total number of joint labs and labs-in-RIs (research institutes) to 40 since FY 2011[2]. The increase signifies the commitment from industry partners to deepen their research activities in Singapore, leveraging A*STAR’s spectrum of R&D capabilities ranging from biomedical sciences, chemicals, electronics, info-communications, manufacturing and materials. 

 

A*STAR has also seen a step-up in its engagement with the large local enterprises (LLEs) with joint labs being established with DBS and Singtel in FY 2014 among others. A*STAR has ongoing programmes with nine LLEs.

Over 60 per cent of A*STAR’s industry projects in FY2014 so far have been undertaken with multinational companies (MNCs) and LLEs, while the remainder were with small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs).

 

Through innovation-led projects and public-private partnerships, A*STAR has continued to spur the growth of high value-add industry clusters, such as in the aerospace sector. The Aerospace Programme welcomed Airbus as its newest member last year.[3] Another example is in the area of advanced equipment development for electronics, with A*STAR launching four semiconductor joint labs between the Institute of Microelectronics (IME) and 10 partners across the industry value chain.[4]

 

In line with its mission-oriented research aimed at helping SMEs, A*STAR stepped up its innovation-driven productivity initiatives in FY 2014 through its Technology Adoption Programme (TAP) which expanded from covering six sectors to 10.[5] These productivity initiatives were designed to enable access for easy adoption by the SMEs.

 

For example, a simple image recognition technology helped precision engineering company Feinmetall achieve greater productivity, by allowing customers to scan logos of equipment and easily access instruction manuals or training videos immediately, instead of using hard copy documents or deploying technicians on-site. In addition to Feinmetall, about 620 other SMEs also collaborated with A*STAR.

 

During the year in review, A*STAR also introduced simplified licensing initiatives to improve ease of technology transfer and time-to-market for SMEs, as well as licensing that offers SMEs first-mover advantage when adopting A*STAR technologies.

 

Sixty-six per cent of 206 commercial licenses awarded by A*STAR’s commercialisation arm Exploit Technologies Pte Ltd (ETPL) went to SMEs in FY 2014, compared to 56 per cent of 232 licenses to SMEs in FY2013. A*STAR also continues to work closely with SPRING Singapore to upgrade technological capabilities of local companies for growth through initiatives like GET-Up.[6]

 

Adding to the vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem, ETPL was also instrumental in the launch of 11 start-ups in FY 2014.

 

A*STAR continued to build up the scientific talent pipeline for Singapore in 2014, awarding 127 scholarships under the auspices of the A*STAR Graduate Academy (A*GA). To date, approximately 500 scholars have completed their PhD studies or postdoctoral fellowships and are contributing to Singapore’s R&D ecosystem in various capacities such as research with A*STAR, academia, industry, and participation in other R&D-related fields such as intellectual property management, commercialisation or research administration.

 

 

Mr Lim said, “We will continue to drive innovation that captures value for industries such as manufacturing, and to advance technologies in areas such as urban systems, both of which are critical for Singapore’s growth and development. We will also continue to build capabilities for emerging growth areas in Asia such as food & nutrition, medical technologies, and consumer care, to further economic opportunities for Singapore.”

“2015 also marks the culmination of A*STAR’s 15-year journey in realising Singapore’s integrated R&D vision at one-north. By the end of the year, the whole A*STAR family and the majority of our 18 research institutes will come together in one-north in the Biopolis and Fusionopolis campuses as we open Fusionopolis Two. This is only possible with the vision and strong and steady commitment and support from the Government in R&D,” said Mr Lim.

 

A*STAR also presented highlights from the National R&D Survey 2013, which reported that Gross Expenditure on R&D (GERD) reached S$7.6 billion in FY 2013, up from $7.2 billion in 2012.

 

Business Expenditure on R&D (BERD), which is indicative of private sector spending on research, grew to $4.5 billion in FY 2013 from $4.4 billion in FY 2012 against a backdrop of nominal GDP growth of four per cent in the same period.

 

BERD among local enterprises grew to $1.36 billion in FY 2013 from S$1.30 billion in FY 2012. Of this, $781 million came from LLEs, with a four per cent growth year-on-year, while $576 million was contributed by SMEs (five per cent growth year-on-year). This reflects the growing innovation capacity among local enterprises, and their increasing focus to undertake R&D to grow competitive businesses.

 

MNCs contributed $3.14 billion of business expenditure in R&D for FY 2013 (nominal increase from FY 2012). More information on the National R&D Survey 2013 can be found online at: www.a-star.edu.sg/Portals/0/media/RnD_Survey/RnD_2013.pdf .

 

 

 

For media enquiries and clarifications, please contact:

 

Tang Xin Ning

Senior Officer, Corporate Communications

Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)

Tel: +65 6826 6452

Email: tang_xin_ning@a-star.edu.sg

 

Dave Lee

Senior Officer, Corporate Communications

Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)

Tel: +65 6419 6508

Email: dave-lee@scei.a-star.edu.sg

 

The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) is Singapore's lead public sector agency that fosters world-class scientific research and talent to drive economic growth and transform Singapore into a vibrant knowledge-based and innovation driven economy.

 

In line with its mission-oriented mandate, A*STAR spearheads research and development in fields that are essential to growing Singapore’s manufacturing sector and catalysing new growth industries. A*STAR supports these economic clusters by providing intellectual, human and industrial capital to its partners in industry.

 

A*STAR oversees 18 biomedical sciences and physical sciences and engineering research entities, located in Biopolis and Fusionopolis, as well as their vicinity. These two R&D hubs house a bustling and diverse community of local and international research scientists and engineers from A*STAR’s research entities as well as a growing number of corporate laboratories.

 

For more information on A*STAR, please visit www.a-star.edu.sg.

 

 

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