Singapore, 10 October 2016 | For immediate release

6th Singapore Maritime Institute Forum focuses on deepening maritime
research and technology for the next 5 years

Some 200 participants from the industry, academic and government agencies took part in the annual Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI) Forum today to share and discuss important issues that impact the sector. Themed “Deepening Maritime Research & Technology”, the sixth edition of the SMI Forum addressed the current landscape and future trends related to research and development (R&D) for the maritime industry development in Singapore.

President & CEO of Sembcorp Marine Mr Wong Weng Sun announced as new Chairman of the Board & Governing Council of SMI

Chairman of the Board and Governing Council of SMI Mr S.S. Teo announced the appointment of Mr Wong Weng Sun, President & CEO of Sembcorp Marine, as the new Chairman of SMI during his Welcome Address at the event. Mr Wong will be taking over the helm from Mr Teo with effect from 1 January 2017, where Mr Teo would have served on the Board and Governing Council of SMI as its founding Chairman for six years.

Mr Teo said, “It has been a pleasure working with Heng Chiang Gnee and his team. I like to thank MPA, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), and the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) for their guidance and support over the past 6 years.”

R&D strategy to deepen research capabilities and leverage on disruptive technologies for the maritime sector

As SMI transits into her next five-year phase from 2016 to 2020, the mission of SMI to enhance Maritime Singapore’s position as a global maritime knowledge hub through world-class R&D remains steadfast. There will be a stronger focus on deepening research knowledge and capabilities.

SMI is currently performing a refresh of its Maritime R&D Roadmap in response to emerging technologies and impending regulations in the maritime industry. The preliminary findings of the refresh exercise were presented at the event by Mr Daniel Zhang, Senior Manager at SMI. A new International Advisory Panel (IAP) will also be providing inputs towards the refreshed Roadmap when the IAP convenes in the first half of 2017.

Technology disrupts conventional modes of business operations today. The impact of disruptive technologies in the maritime sector has resulted in changes amidst times of market uncertainties. Executive Director of SMI Mr Heng Chiang Gnee moderated a panel discussion on the topic that provided valuable insights by distinguished industry and public leaders.

Head of Group Technology at PSA International Mr Oh Bee Lock spoke about Container Port 4.0, while President & CEO at Sembcorp Marine Mr Wong Weng Sun shared the shipyard’s perspective. Professor Tan Sze Wee, Executive Director (Science and Engineering Research Council) at A*STAR, also elaborated on R&D strategies for the marine & offshore industry.

Inaugural SMI Awards 2016 recognises excellence in maritime research and collaboration

The inaugural SMI Awards 2016 was announced and presented by Guest-of-Honour Mr Lucien Wong, Chairman of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). The Award Recipients of the SMI Awards 2016 are as follow:

A high-level Judging Panel was convened to assess nominees under the “Best Research Project” and “Best Researcher” award category. The composition of the SMI Awards 2016 Judging Panel is as follows:

Name	Organisation	Designation
Prof Tan Sze Wee (Chair)	Agency for Science, Technology & Research	Executive Director (Science & Engineering Research Council)
Mr Andrew Tan	Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore	Chief Executive
Mr Chow Yew Yuen	Association of Singapore Marine Industries	President
Mr Esben Poulsson	Singapore Shipping Association	President
Mr Wong Weng Sun	Sembcorp Marine	President & CEO
Mr Heng Chiang Gnee	Singapore Maritime Institute	Executive Director

The biennial SMI Awards is part of Maritime Singapore’s efforts to profile the critical role of research excellence by the maritime research community.

Top Projects of SMI Research Showcase – April 2016

With the intention to raise the profile and awareness of maritime and offshore R&D activities and to recognise research excellence, SMI presented awards to the Top Projects under the 2nd edition of the SMI Research Showcase that took place from 19 to 20 April 2016.

The Principal Investigator of each Top Project also presented their research work at the Forum before receiving their awards.

Dr Lou Jing of the A*STAR Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC) and Dr Zhen Yongda of the Singapore Polytechnic (SP) were recognised for research excellence in their studies on advanced computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to improve predictions of wave impact on semi-submersibles, and nanostructured coatings and a scalable anti-fouling coating production process for marine applications respectively.

A Special Mention award was also presented to the Singapore Management University’s Assistant Professor Dr. Tan Kar Way in commendation for her maritime policy research project.

The next edition of the SMI Research Showcase will be taking place in April 2017.

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