The National Research Foundation and the Ministry of Education established the Research Centres of Excellence (RCE) in 2007 to spur research excellence in the local universities. NUS is home to four RCEs - specialising in quantum technologies, cancer, mechanobiology and functional, intelligent materials - and is a partner in two other RCEs, specifically the Singapore Centre on Environmental Life Sciences (SCELSE) and Institute for Digital Molecular Analytics & Science (IDMxS)
Corporate Laboratories
Corporate laboratories are established through public-private research & development partnerships between universities and companies, and are supported by the Singapore Government.
The S$75 million Keppel-NUS Corporate Laboratory taps the practical expertise of KOMtech, the R&D subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine, as well as faculty, key laboratories and computational facilities of NUS, to create a synergistic industry-university partnership to pursue three main research thrusts, Future Systems, Future Yards and Future Resources, to meet the future challenges of the offshore industry. Research at the Keppel-NUS Corporate Laboratory has been completed.
The S$60 million Sembcorp-NUS Corporate Laboratory aims to develop solutions to optimise power generation while reducing emissions and waste residue, enhance industrial water and wastewater treatment systems, as well as transform waste into useful and high-value products such as ultra-light composites for modular construction. Research at the Sembcorp-NUS Corporate Laboratory has been completed.
The S$42.8 million NUS-Singtel Cyber Security Research and Development Laboratory seeks to develop novel data analytics techniques that allow IT service providers to detect and respond to security attacks as they occur in real time, as well as new approaches to design and implement IT systems that are able to resist a broad array of attacks.Research at the NUS-Singtel Cyber Security Research and Development Corporate Laboratory has been completed.
The S$110 million WIL@NUS Corporate Laboratory aims to address major public health issues through the development of healthier foods and ingredients, and design cost-effective and sustainable methods of producing chemical compounds using natural sources.
https://amat.nus.edu.sg/
The S$70 million Applied Materials-NUS Advanced Materials Corporate Laboratory combines Applied Materials’ leading expertise in materials engineering and semiconductor technologies with NUS’ research capabilities in applied chemistry, materials science and microelectronics process engineering, to accelerate the discovery and commercialisation of new materials for manufacturing next-generation semiconductors.
https://cisco-nus.nus.edu.sg/ The S$54M Cisco-NUS Accelerated Digital Economy Corporate Laboratory will take a 360o view to accelerate Singapore’s Digital Economy transformation by developing solutions to automate and scale business operations, develop intelligent infrastructure for healthcare, build resilient, secure and operationalize next-generation infrastructure for IoT and enterprise environments, and harness technology to augment and drive productivity of a future-ready professional workforce.
https://siacorplab.nus.edu.sg/
The SIA-NUS Digital Aviation Corporate Laboratory aims to create and commercialise innovative technologies that could accelerate the digital transformation of Singapore’s aviation sector, redefine the air travel experience and ensure safety and security in air travel. This will be achieved by leveraging NUS’s world class deep tech and multi-disciplinary research expertise across artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, operations research and analytics, optimisation, automation, sleep studies and design to develop digital technologies. These technologies will be evaluated and potentially be adopted for use by SIA.
https://www.seris.nus.edu.sg/recnus-corp-lab/rec-nus-corp-lab/
The S$77 million REC@NUS Corporate R&D Laboratory for Next Generation Photovoltaics (REC@NUS Corp Lab) bring together NUS-SERIS’ world-class research expertise in PV technologies and REC’s deep experience in upscaling innovative solar PV technology to champion bold technology innovations for more powerful, more efficient, more sustainable and less costly solar energy. Successful outcomes from the Corporate Laboratory could transform the solar industry globally and, in turn, accelerate global energy transitions.
National-Level Technology Consortia
Technology consortia are set up with support from the National Research Foundation to integrate research outcomes around a technology area. NUS is a founding member of all ten consortia. Each consortium enhances knowledge sharing and technology transfer through collaborations among academia and industry partners.
https://www.healthtec.sg/
Singapore Health Technologies Consortium (HealthTEC) aims to bridge the gap between R&D in health technologies and eventual utility in the industry and bedside by providing a platform to promote interaction and collaboration between researchers from the institutes of higher learning (IHLs) and the industry. The Consortium also acts as a national resource in R&D and commercialisation by providing seed grants and facilitating licensing of locally developed technologies.
The Singapore Spintronics Consortium (SG-SPIN) encourages researchers to explore innovations in electron spin-based technologies for sensor, memory and logic applications. It will facilitate research collaborations between institutes of higher learning and industry, and attract companies to conduct spintronics activities in Singapore.
http://luxphotonicsconsortium-sg.org
The LUX Photonics Consortium serves as a catalyst and a networking platform to translate cutting-edge research in photonics into diverse applications underpinned by the value chain created.
The Singapore Cybersecurity Consortium (SGCSC), anchored at NUS School of Computing, encourages use-inspired research, technology translation, manpower training, and technology awareness in the area of security, by actively promoting research discussions across academia, industry and government agencies.
https://www.sinergy.sg
The Singapore Consortium for Synthetic Biology (SINERGY) aims to consolidate Singapore’s capabilities in synthetic biology and harness synergies across industry sectors to create a vibrant and globally connected bio-based economy in Singapore.
http://sdsc.sg
The Singapore Data Science Consortium (SDSC), anchored at NUS School of Computing, serves as a key platform in Singapore for industry to access the latest data science technologies, applications, and expertise from the academia to create innovative solutions that solve real-world challenges.
https://www.sgmem.sg/
The Singapore Membrane Consortium (SG-MEM) is set up to promote research, collaboration, and commercialisation in innovative membrane products and technologies.
CoolestSG seeks to promote Singapore as a forerunner in cooling technologies and to translate research into deployment and commercialisation.
https://snbc.sg/
The Singapore National Biofilm Consortium (SNBC) aims to foster collaborations between institutional research and industry, to enable technology translation in biofilms & microbiomes.
https://sbip.sg/
SBIP aims to further strengthen Singapore's blockchain ecosystem, and facilitate the adoption of blockchain systems for real-world applications by engaging local companies, growing Singapore's blockchain community and researching next-generation blockchain.
Other Recent Partnerships
https://news.nus.edu.sg/press-releases/Grab-NUS-AI-Lab
NUS and Grab jointly established the Grab-NUS Artificial Intelligence (AI) Lab with the aim to solve complex, real-world transportation challenges in Southeast Asia. By combining data from the Grab platform with NUS’ research expertise in the field of AI, the Lab will map out traffic patterns and identify ways to directly impact mobility and liveability of cities across Southeast Asia.
https://news.nus.edu.sg/press-releases/singapore-energy-centre
The two partners, together with Nanyang Technological University, have launched the Singapore Energy Centre to explore innovative ideas and develop talent to meet future energy needs in Asia Pacific. The Centre aims to address the big challenges of today and in the future of how the world consumes and produces energy by fostering interdisciplinary interactions among local universities, institutes, and industry.
https://news.nus.edu.sg/press-releases/alibaba-cloud-nus-and-ez-link-collaborate-advance-singapores-digital-economy
This collaboration aims to boost Singapore’s smart computing and data-driven capabilities. It will bolster NUS’s data science curriculum and pave the way for a pilot data analytics project with EZ-Link. The collaboration will also help build local IT skillsets, meet enterprise demands and support the research and development of advanced technologies in the Big Data era.
https://news.nus.edu.sg/press-releases/starhub-nus-veniam-and-comfortdelgro-bus-launch-singapores-first-mesh-network
This collaboration led to the deployment Singapore’s first mesh network of connected vehicle, which leverages vehicles as mobile Wi-Fi access points that connect to one another and to fixed points in buildings, in NUS Kent Ridge campus. This approach helps extend overall Wi-Fi network coverage and enable a myriad of Internet of Things (IoT) devices to be connected seamlessly.
https://news.nus.edu.sg/news-reports/nus-and-microsoft-collaborate-data-science-education-and-research-launch-nus-institute
This collaboration provides a framework for both parties to work together on data science research, and to translate the research into tools and methodologies that can be used by the industry and academia in Singapore and the Asia Pacific. The framework also enables both parties to collaborate on capability and talent development in the fields of analytics and research, with the aim of fostering a pool of skilled individuals to support Singapore’s Smart Nation vision.
https://news.nus.edu.sg/press-releases/nus-and-cdl-partner-develop-novel-technologies-smart-green-living
City Developments Limited (CDL) made a gift of S$2.25 million to the NUS School of Design and Environment to establish two new research laboratories, NUS-CDL Smart Green Home and NUS-CDL Tropical Technologies Laboratory (T2 Lab), to develop sustainable solutions and technologies for smart, urban living that are suited for the tropical climate.
NUS has 37 university-level research institutes and centres which focus on critical issues confronting Asia and the world.
NUS research is broad-based and spans across a diverse mix of disciplines. There are 16 faculties and schools that engage in high impact research which contribute to advancing knowledge.
