Called 'Contemporary Organic Synthesis, Methods and Techniques', the UK-Singapore symposium will run from Feb 25 to Feb 27 at the Biopolis.

Organic synthesis is a critical discipline to the continuing growth of the chemical industry and a major contributor to society.

It has applications across pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals, agrochemicals, specialty chemicals as well as electronic and related industries.

The British High Commissioner Paul Madden said: 'This event is an important catalyst to stimulate further collaboration in this field of science, which offers many diverse applications - including life saving medicines.'

'I am pleased to announce that we are also issuing a new call for proposals for travel grants to enable researchers from Singapore and the region to engage with their UK counterparts to cement collaborations and advance the pace of scientific discovery.'

At the symposium, world-class researchers and excellent young speakers will be giving presentations on cutting edge R&D work.

All lectures will be suitable for researchers in academia and industry, as well as students from graduate level.

The plenary speakers include Professor K C Nicolaou of The Scripps Research Institute in USA and Professor Chris Abell of UK's Cambridge University.