BUDGET 2019: Supporting our workers and firms

New centres of innovation for food and energy

Move to position Singapore as Global-Asia node of technology, innovation and enterprise

A centre of innovation focusing on food resilience and another on industry-led innovation in the energy sector will be opened here as part of efforts to cement Singapore's position as the Global-Asia node of technology, innovation and enterprise, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said yesterday.

He added that the Government will also prepare and develop people here to take advantage of the opportunities.

The Centre of Innovation in Aquaculture at Temasek Polytechnic will bring together high-tech marine farms in Singapore to improve the country's food resilience.

The farms will be able to pool resources, share ideas and use the infrastructure as well as tap expertise provided by government agencies, institutes of higher learning, and public research institutes.

Separately, an energy centre at Nanyang Technological University will work with the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore to drive industry-led innovation in the areas of energy efficiency, renewable energy and electric mobility.

Enterprise Singapore said the centre will enable firms to commercialise their cutting-edge innovations by providing the technical know-how to turn energy research into scalable, industry-applicable technology. The centre will also work as an incubator for energy sector start-ups, and link them with private sector-owned test beds to trial their projects.

Mr Heng said these two centres, along with other initiatives announced yesterday, will cement Singapore's position as "Asia 101" for global multinational companies looking to expand into Asia's growing markets, and as "Global 101" for Asian companies ready to go global.

To develop and prepare talent, he said current local and overseas internship programmes will be combined into a single Global Ready Talent Programme with more funding for students at institutes of higher learning who plan to intern with overseas-based Singapore firms.

The talent programme, which is not just for students, will also send Singaporeans with up to three years of working experience for postings in high-growth Singapore firms in markets such as South-east Asia, China and India.

Singapore will continue to build global partnerships so that local firms and people can forge new areas of collaboration with the international community, he added.

One of the initiatives involves organisers combining two events - the Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology (Switch) and the Singapore FinTech Festival - to draw more entrepreneurs, investors and innovators from around the world. This, he said, will increase partnership opportunities, and allow participants to collaborate in technological innovation in the fourth industrial revolution. The two events will be held in the same week in mid-November.

Mr Heng said the spirit of entrepreneurship is critical for all these endeavours to succeed, adding that it is important to have a vision of the future, and take practical steps to explore a range of possibilities and solve a myriad of problems.

HSBC Singapore chief executive Tony Cripps said the Budget further cements Singapore's Smart Nation ambitions, through its focus on driving better innovation collaboration with universities and the move to lift the skills of its domestic and international talent.

"Encouraging international expertise and also broad-based domestic upskilling programmes shows that the Government is taking a holistic approach to innovation," Mr Cripps added.

He said the continued investment in research and development, as well as the focus on the actual application of technologies already in play, means that the current and future state are being jointly considered. "Our international clients are telling us this is a prerequisite for further investment," he added.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on February 19, 2019, with the headline New centres of innovation for food and energy. Subscribe