SINGAPORE - The National University of Singapore (NUS) will work with two top Indonesian varsities to bolster innovation and entrepreneurship.
Under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed on Friday (July 16), NUS - through entrepreneurial arm NUS Enterprise - will offer scholarships to students from the University of Indonesia (UI) and Gadjah Mada University (UGM) to attend the Master of Science in Venture Creation programme here starting next year.
The universities will also roll out an initiative in Indonesia to build and scale up high-impact, deep-tech ventures.
The MOU signing at innovation conference InnovFest, organised by NUS Enterprise, was broadcast live online.
InnovFest is part of the four-day Asia Tech x Singapore event - organised by the Infocomm Media Development Authority - which ends on Friday.
Professor Freddy Boey, deputy president of innovation and enterprise at NUS, inked the agreement with Dr Nurtami, UI vice-rector of research and innovation; and UGM rector, Professor Panut Mulyono.
The signing was witnessed by Professor Nizam, director-general of higher education in Indonesia's Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology.
NUS Enterprise has been involved in the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem in Indonesia since 2017 through initiatives such as NUS Overseas Colleges and NUS Enterprise Summer Programme in Entrepreneurship.
NUS Enterprise has supported more than 250 start-ups from Singapore and Indonesia to date, providing incubation support and access to markets through its Block71 global network.
Prof Boey said NUS Enterprise has continued to cultivate a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem in Jakarta and Yogyakarta, with measures that include collaborations with Singapore incubators and educational institutions.
"With this new joint initiative, we hope to... mould the next wave of start-up founders with deep-tech ventures."
Dr Nurtami said the tie-up will be mutually beneficial for the universities involved in the areas of research, teaching and community service.
"It will provide our students with the opportunities to improve their personal skills, creativity, ethics, innovation and entrepreneurship," she added.
Prof Panut noted the "longstanding friendship" between the universities and said the MOU will pave the way for further academic partnership. "It should not stop there. We want to see more opportunities in the form of entrepreneurs, start-ups and enterprises created by our alumni."
Giving a thumbs up to the MOU, Prof Nizam said: "The future of Asean depends very much on our success in nurturing creative and productive citizens, in line with the needs of the very dynamic future."
