OPENING REMARKS FOR MR S. ISWARAN, MINISTER FOR TRADE & INDUSTRY (INDUSTRY) AT THE 2016 A*STAR SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS CEREMONY ON 27 JULY 2016, 3:00 PM, AT THE AUDITORIUM AT MATRIX@BIOPOLIS

Mr Lim Chuan Poh, Chairman, A*STAR, 

Scholars, parents and family members,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Introduction

Good afternoon.  I am pleased to join you this afternoon to celebrate the award of A*STAR scholarships to 109 well-deserving recipients.  My heartiest congratulations to all of you.


Innovation is key in enabling Singapore to leverage technology advances to compete in the Future Economy 

When I last spoke at this ceremony in 2013, I highlighted the importance of R&D for the competitiveness of the Singapore economy. 

The Government’s sustained commitment to R&D over the past two and a half decades has built a strong foundation for a future-ready economy.  Through R&D, we have created opportunities in new and emerging industry sectors, strengthened our competitive advantage in existing ones, and moved our economy up the value chain.

One of the new industry sectors made possible by R&D is Food & Nutrition.  Demand in the global food industry has reached an all-time high, with sales of fortified, natural and organic products projected to reach US$1 trillion by 2017[1].  A*STAR has helped to position Singapore as a leader in nutrition research to tap on this promising market.  Leading nutrition companies such as Nestle and Danone have chosen to site their R&D activities here, generating spillovers in know-how, products and talent for our local enterprises.  Business expenditure on R&D in Food and Nutrition has increased almost three-fold from $81 million in 2010 to $218 million in 2014, while the number of researchers in the sector more than doubled to reach 700 over the same period.

R&D and the innovation it fosters will play an even more significant role in positioning Singapore’s economy for the future.  We are entering an era of increasing complexity.  International developments such as Brexit and security incidents around the world create greater uncertainty in the global economy.  At the same time, the advent of new technologies is disrupting business models and jobs.  Companies like Uber, Spotify and Whatsapp have leveraged Information and Communication technology (ICT) to break the strongholds of traditional industry heavyweights, allowing smaller players and even individuals to compete in sectors such as transport, entertainment, and communications. 


R&D and an innovative talent pool with deep STEM capabilities are fundamental to building a knowledge-based innovation economy

Singapore must be prepared for such changes, and be able to turn them to our advantage.  The S$19 billion Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2020 plan announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in January this year signals the Government’s sustained commitment to R&D and innovation.  A key thrust of RIE2020 is to harness research and technology to build up the innovation capacity of our companies for sustainable growth. 

A* STAR plays a key role in this effort.  A* STAR and its Research Institutes work closely with our economic agencies to understand technology trends in industry, invest in the development of the essential talent and capabilities, and foster deep partnerships with industry partners to create open innovation platforms, and co-create innovative solutions.  With its finger on the industry pulse, A* STAR can, does and must respond nimbly to ensure the lasting competitiveness of our economy and key sectors. 

One domain which we focus on is Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering.  Manufacturers are increasingly moving towards high-mix, low-volume production activities for greater flexibility in addressing consumer demands.  Consequently, A*STAR and our Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) are building capabilities in robotics, additive manufacturing, advanced materials and digital manufacturing which will enable “Factories of the Future” that can create complex products much more efficiently and cost-effectively than today.  Investments in smart, automated systems will enable seamless information flow from the production floor through to the supply chain that would lead to quantum leaps in productivity and quality.  The shift towards advanced manufacturing will create job opportunities involving the manipulation of algorithms, data, cutting-edge processes, and complex equipment, across diverse sectors such as Aerospace, Electronics, Chemicals, and Precision Engineering. 

Health and Biomedical Sciences (HBMS) is another domain of focus with particular emphasis on Singapore’s healthcare needs.  An example of this is in the treatment of diabetes.  The National University of Singapore’s Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health has projected that the number of diabetic patients in Singapore could rise from 440,000 in 2014 to 670,000 by 2030, and to 1 million by 2050.[2]  Research is a key pillar in MOH’s “War on Diabetes” to help us gain a better understanding of biological dynamics of food and nutrition, and tap on new methods such as biotransformation to develop food products that can potentially reduce blood glucose levels.

Another research priority in health and biomedical sciences is precision medicine, where diagnosis and treatment are tailored to each individual’s unique genetic makeup to increase efficacy and reduce side-effects.  This has been made possible by genetics, informatics and imaging R&D, which has led to the ability to pinpoint disease causes at the molecular level, and identify biomarkers which can be used to develop potential treatments.

Our R&D efforts to address Singapore’s healthcare needs, as well as in industry sectors such as Food and Nutrition, Consumer Care, Pharmaceuticals & Biologics Manufacturing and Medical Technology, will create a wide range of job opportunities, comprising roles across the entire research value chain from clinical research to the development of therapeutic solutions. 

We need Singaporeans with deep knowledge and expertise in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) to meet this critical need for talent.  I am therefore pleased that our consistent investments in talent development have nurtured a strong knowledge base, and more importantly, resulted in the creation of good jobs.  The number of R&D-related jobs in our ecosystem has grown from 27,300 in 2004 to 42,100 in 2014, of which 73 percent are filled by locals.[3]


The A*STAR scholarships and fellowships reflect Government’s commitment to providing opportunities for our young to develop their innovation capacity and scientific expertise, enabling them to make a difference to our economy and society.

In particular, the A*STAR scholarships have been an integral part of our efforts to develop a strong and deep pool of scientific talent.  A*STAR scholarships offer capable and committed students the opportunity to pursue their scientific training at top local and international universities.  This academic training is complemented by valuable exposure to diverse research environments, in the form of attachments to A*STAR research institutes, academia and industry.

Since 2001, A*STAR’s scholarships and fellowships have developed a pool of more than 1,400 Singaporean PhD talent.  Of these, about 600 scholars and fellows have completed their PhD studies or postdoctoral training, and are contributing to the R&D ecosystem in diverse ways.

A scholar who has made significant scientific breakthroughs is Dr Wan Yue, a Junior Principal Investigator at A*STAR’s Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS).  She pioneered the development of new genomic tools to study ribonucleic acid (RNA) structures and aims to apply them to identify RNA-based drug targets in pathogens.  Her work opened up a whole new area of research that has revolutionized the RNA field and garnered international recognition.  She was the first Singaporean to be awarded the prestigious Branco Weiss Fellowship in 2014.  In 2015, she was awarded the Young Scientist Award, and selected as a regional finalist for the MIT Technology Review’s 35 Innovators under 35 (MIT TR35).  This year, Wan Yue was also awarded the A*STAR Investigatorship, a prestigious research award given to promising researchers from around the world to conduct independent research at A*STAR.

Dr Wesley Zheng is a scientist at A*STAR’s Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE).  While pursuing his PhD at Stanford, Wesley and his colleagues developed lithium-sulphur battery technology, which offers three times the specific energy[4] of lithium-ion batteries used today.  Wesley also found a way to improve the performance of lithium metal electrodes by coating it with a film of carbon nanospheres.  This helps to prevent non-uniform deposition of lithium metal, which causes unstable battery performance, and mitigates safety concerns such as short-circuiting and fire hazards.  Wesley’s battery technology has garnered great interest from both academia and industry, with potential application in future electric vehicles and grid storage systems. 

While many of our A*STAR scholars have found success in traditional research paths in A*STAR, academia and industry, more of them are also forging their own paths as technopreneurs.  

Mr Teo Zhiyuan, an A*STAR scholar currently pursuing his PhD at Cornell University, developed a data network system that is less prone to failure, more responsive, scalable and user-friendly, in comparison to most existing products.  Zhiyuan’s system was deployed on part of Cornell’s operational data network, and has successfully served over 1,000 faculty, researchers, students and visitors on a daily basis for over 14 months.  Zhiyuan has since established his own start-up, IronStack, to commercialise his data system.  Two of Zhiyuan’s PhD advisors were so convinced of the business opportunities of his technology, that they have joined his company as technical and business advisors.  Zhiyuan has also secured a postdoctoral position at Cornell Tech’s Runway Start-up incubator programme, which aims to hone skills in building and developing businesses. 

Dr Asha Shekaran, a researcher from A*STAR’s Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI), is currently seconded to Engine Biosciences, a biotechnology start-up founded in 2014 which applies combinatorial genetics technology in the fields of drug discovery and cell therapy.  As the lead biological scientist in the startup, Asha’s expertise is key to the company’s development of treatment modalities that target different forms of cancer.  One of the projects that her team is working on involves the engineering of immune cells to target and kill cancer cells more effectively.  Asha is also working on a second project to investigate combinations of micro RNA that may target pathways involved in liver cancer, and which could be developed into potential treatment modalities.  Her work in both projects are vital, considering that cancer is a leading cause of mortality in Singapore and the world, creating a great need for more effective treatment options. 


Conclusion 

Like these outstanding individuals, our youth have important roles to play in the next chapter of the Singapore story.  I urge all our scholars to make full use of the invaluable opportunities that are provided by the A*STAR scholarships to grow as researchers and innovators. 

As you embark on your studies and the next phase in your life journey, do also remember all who have helped you get to where you are today – especially your parents and teachers – and the trust and confidence that has been placed in you.  You must resolve to uphold the highest standards and values of research and public service, seek to make a difference in the lives of your fellow citizens, and give back to society and the economy, in Singapore and beyond.  

On this note, I would like to congratulate all our A*STAR scholarship recipients once again on receiving this prestigious award.  I wish you all the best in your academic and scientific pursuits, and look forward to your contributions to Singapore in your future careers.
Thank you.