Doctors in Singapore could soon be printing human skin, corneas and heart tissue, and saving lives as a result.

The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is building a new $30 million research centre for additive manufacturing which will house some of the latest 3D printing machines available. When the centre opens in May next year, it will also have what is likely to be Singapore's first bioprinter which is a machine capable of producing real human tissue, layer by layer.

The research centre called the NTU Additive Manufacturing Centre will be funded by the Economic Development Board.

In order to grow the pool of talent needed to feed the growing additive manufacturing industry, NTU is also introducing PhD and masters' degree programmes specialising in this area in August. Students under both programmes will contribute to the research conducted at the centre.