Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2025 Plan includes a programme to help nation respond nimbly to future infectious diseases
By Audrey Tan, Science and Environment Correspondent, The Straits Times, 12 Dec 2020
A $25 billion plan charting Singapore's research landscape was launched yesterday, a critical investment that will help the country emerge stronger from the shadow of Covid-19 while ensuring that it shores up its defences against future threats.
This includes a national research programme to help Singapore respond nimbly to future infectious diseases.
The pandemic has accelerated technological trends and structural changes that will reshape the global economy, and has thrown up new challenges for societies, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said yesterday during a virtual press conference to lay out the Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2025 plan.
"Science, technology and innovation will be critical to overcoming Covid-19 and in enabling us to emerge stronger," added Mr Heng, who also chairs the National Research Foundation (NRF).
The $25 billion is equivalent to around 1 per cent of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP). This proportion has remained relatively constant over the years, and puts Singapore's public investment into research on a par with other small advanced economies such as Sweden and Denmark, said NRF.
One-third of the budget will go towards basic research, whose benefits may not be immediately obvious. The five-year blueprint will focus on four key areas - health, sustainability, the digital economy and manufacturing, with firm support for basic research.
The scope under each domain will be expanded to meet the broader spectrum of national needs, said Mr Heng.
For instance, research into manufacturing will now also include studies into the air and sea links that connect Singapore with the rest of the world, while urban solutions and sustainability will now include research into the new challenges posed by climate change.
Health and biomedical sciences have been expanded to human health and potential to address a key national priority - a rapidly ageing population, Mr Heng noted. "We seek to bring the best out of every individual by focusing on improving prenatal and early childhood development, learning outcomes in children and adults, and the health and contribution span of our seniors."
Besides the four areas, there will be $3.75 billion set aside for "white space" research, up from $2.5 billion in RIE2020. This is funding dedicated to new or emerging areas of research that may arise and is open to proposals from all agencies.
The commitment underscores the importance of research even during difficult times, said NRF chief Low Teck Seng.
During the current crisis, the scientific community in Singapore rallied even during the early stages of the pandemic, pivoting away from their original research areas and applying their expertise to Covid-19.
"Investments in science and technology are an investment in the future," said Professor Low, noting that such investments could also provide good jobs for Singaporeans, and enhance and contribute to the nation's GDP growth.
For instance, investing in water technologies had not only helped this water-scarce nation overcome its resource constraints, but also built a thriving industry.
In a Facebook post yesterday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the scientific mindset is critical. "The scientific mindset - exploring the world and understanding it rationally and empirically - is crucial to Singapore. This is true not just in R&D work, but more fundamentally to the ethos of our whole society."
PM Lee, who chaired the RIE Council meeting on Thursday night, added: "Our continued investments in R&D will sustain our competitiveness and bolster our status as a tech and innovation hub."
$2.2 billion over next 5 years to go towards grooming Singapore's future researchers and scientists
$300 million increase from previous plan underlines efforts to remain competitive, boost innovation
By Lester Wong, The Straits Times, 12 Dec 2020
A total of $2.2 billion will be spent on training future researchers and scientists over the next five years under Singapore's Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2025 plan.
The plan maps out the country's research and development strategy over the next five years.
The allocation for training scientists and researchers accounts for about one-tenth of the RIE2025 funding pie and represents an increase of about $300 million from RIE2020.
Increased funding in the area underscores Singapore's efforts to remain competitive and boost innovation in the wake of Covid-19.
The money will go towards funding about 4,700 postgraduate scholarships, a 10 per cent increase from RIE2020, as well as 1,000 new traineeships and jobs.
These include more than 800 research assistant and research fellow positions in Singapore's universities and research institutes; 175 apprenticeship positions in AI Singapore, which is a national programme to catalyse, synergise and boost Singapore's artificial intelligence capabilities; and 30 traineeships in local deep-tech and software development start-ups under SGInnovate's Summation programme.
At a virtual press conference yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said that technology and innovation have created tremendous opportunities for businesses which are able to master them, but exposed those that are not able to keep pace with sharper competition and disruption.
"Compared to MNCs, many local enterprises are in the early stages of their innovation journey," said Mr Heng, who is chairman of the National Research Foundation. "They have less experience in working with the research community and are less able to translate research innovations into new products, services and solutions for the market."
A common challenge among companies, he added, has been to identify new technologies relevant to their industries and the right people to apply these technologies.
To this end, a new Innovation and Enterprise Fellowship programme will also be launched under RIE2025 to expand the talent pool with skills in technology commercialisation.
The programme will provide individuals with mentorships and on-the-job training via attachments with public and private sector platforms, including corporate laboratories, private sector incubators and accelerators.
Government-owned venture firm and deep tech developer SGInnovate - which has launched its own programme to train talent in robotics engineering roles - is among 11 partners that have joined the programme so far.
Communications and Information Minister S. Iswaran, who was also at the press conference, said talent development is crucial for Singapore to build a strong foundation of scientists and engineers who will "push the boundaries of technology" and help the country succeed as a trusted digital innovation hub.
"(Scientists and engineers) must also be complemented by product managers and strategists that can translate research findings into useful products and services, and bring these ideas to market quickly," he added.
Cyber security, 5G, AI 3 key drivers of post-Covid-19 digital economy in Singapore
By Irene Tham, Tech Editor, The Straits Times, 12 Dec 2020
Artificial intelligence, 5G and cyber security will be the key drivers in growing Singapore's digital economy in a post-Covid-19 world.
Outlining the country's research plans to 2025, the National Research Foundation (NRF) said yesterday that new opportunities exist at the intersection of AI, 5G and cyber security, and in digital tools that engender trust in areas such as food, medicine and vaccine provenance.
At a virtual press conference announcing Singapore's seventh Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) plan, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat noted that the pandemic has increased the impetus to innovate and digitalise.
"We must continue to maximise the value created by digital innovation, and better integrate technology and governance," added Mr Heng, who is also Finance Minister and chairs the NRF.
One key area, as outlined in the RIE 2025, is AI-enabled cyber-security tools, as they are more capable than human beings in sniffing out security threats in critical infrastructure.
AI-enabled cyber security is key if 5G networks are to form the backbone of Singapore's digital economy, with the network potentially supporting mission-critical applications such as driverless car navigation and remote surgery.
Minister-in-charge of Cyber Security S. Iswaran said: "The new value is in the interstitials and the points of intersection."
"All of these (technologies) will undergird the next bound of economic growth... these technologies can catalyse paradigm-shifting applications," Mr Iswaran, who is also Minister for Communications and Information, added at the virtual press conference.
For example, AI and 5G can transform manufacturing, healthcare and transportation via smart factories, telemedicine and autonomous vehicles, respectively, he said. AI also powers highly automated smart factories, where the future of manufacturing lies. An emerging area Singapore is eyeing is electric and autonomous vehicles.
Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing said: "I am quite sure we have no competitive advantage in producing certain parts of the cars like the windscreen and the tyre."
"We want to focus on the high-value parts in the car manufacturing process that includes computational (and) navigation systems, and integrate them into a product that is of value to the market."
In this way, Singapore will not be easily overtaken by players that offer cheaper production, he added.
A portion of the research plan's $25 billion funding will go towards expanded missions. These include:
• AI systems to improve decision-making at air and sea ports. Control systems with AI sensors can detect if aircraft have vacated a runway even in poor visibility and better direct ground traffic;
• Quantum computing techniques to enhance cryptography methods in cyber security to better safeguard 5G applications and connectivity between data centres; and
• Blockchain technologies to authenticate the provenance of food, medicine and vaccines. A blockchain is a decentralised digital database that ensures authenticity and transparency in record keeping.
DPM Heng also reiterated Singapore's continued focus on basic research in fields such as quantum computing.
It is known that quantum computing can be highly beneficial to scientific developments due to the new and faster way of processing information. For example, the Centre for Quantum Technologies at the National University of Singapore is working with ST Engineering to develop new cyber-security tools which produce encryption codes that are unbreakable.
One-third of RIE 2025's $25 billion funding will go towards basic research.
Cutting carbon a new focus area for Singapore under five-year research masterplan
Focus on low-carbon alternatives to position industries for the future
By Audrey Tan, Science and Environment Correspondent, The Straits Times, 12 Dec 2020
As Singapore steps up its efforts to combat and survive climate change, research in the sustainability space will now focus on reducing emissions from human activity.
"Decarbonisation is one of our new focus areas in RIE2025, and will be a key addition to our sustainability efforts," said Dr Yeoh Lean Weng, senior director for urban solutions and sustainability at the National Research Foundation (NRF).
Under the $25 billion Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2025 plan announced yesterday, four key areas have been earmarked, one of which is urban solutions and sustainability.
The other three are human health and potential; manufacturing, trade and connectivity; and smart nation and the digital economy.
Previously, Singapore's sustainability research efforts had focused on areas such as water security and energy efficiency.
But Dr Yeoh said that under the new research blueprint, studies would be conducted into low-carbon alternatives, such as hydrogen and carbon capture, utilisation and storage.
This will position industries in Singapore to be competitive in a low-carbon future, and also support the country's international commitment to achieve net zero emissions as soon as viable in the second half of the century, he said.
Other new focus areas in urban solutions and sustainability include climate science, developing healthy cities, and enhancing the efficiency and productivity of the built environment.
Worldwide, there is a growing view that the pandemic and climate change can be tackled simultaneously by rebuilding economies that are greener and more resilient, and creating new jobs and less destructive industries. Human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels are contributing to climate change by releasing heat-trapping emissions into the atmosphere.
Some countries have responded by rolling out green stimulus plans that include research into clean energy solutions. Germany, for instance, committed €130 billion (S$211 billion) to pandemic recovery, with about 30 per cent to be spent on activities that will cut emissions, Bloomberg reported.
But the NRF said in response to queries from The Straits Times that many countries' green recovery plans include funds for capital expenditure in the use of green technologies, such as building energy efficiency measures, public transport infrastructure or subsidies for the deployment of solar photovoltaic systems.
These go beyond research and development, and so should not be directly compared with the RIE budget, said the NRF spokesman.
Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said during yesterday's virtual press conference that it was crucial for Singapore to focus on the pressing issues of climate change, decarbonisation, healthy cities and the built environment now.
"Some may require long-term R&D investment and effort before we can reap tangible outcomes," she said.
But she noted that research cannot occur in a vacuum. "To tackle such complex, cross-cutting challenges, we must also look for solutions beyond the natural sciences and engineering," she added. "We will tap other disciplines, such as social and behavioural sciences, since influencing human behaviour is key to creating real change."
Preparing for Disease X: Singapore to boost defences against future outbreaks in post-Covid-19 world
By Audrey Tan, Science and Environment Correspondent, The Straits Times, 12 Dec 2020
With the spectre of Disease X looming, Singapore is making sure that diagnostics, treatments and vaccines will be ready fast when another crisis strikes, with a new battle plan against future outbreaks.
Under the new Prepare programme, the Republic will work closely with other researchers in the region to keep a close watch on pathogens circulating in animal populations. If such viruses jump into humans, they could cause a new, unknown disease and seed an outbreak.
The idea of the programme is also to marshal the forces of scientists and transform discoveries into solutions - from pinpointing the source of an outbreak to developing the best drugs for patients.
"This programme will support faster timelines to produce diagnostics, faster timelines to test and develop new therapeutics, and faster timelines to test and maybe to develop vaccines," the Health Ministry's chief health scientist, Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, told The Straits Times.
The new national research programme for epidemic preparedness and response (Prepare) was announced yesterday as Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat launched the country's $25 billion plan charting the country's research landscape over the next five years. Prepare will span five years, and will be helmed by the Ministry of Health (MOH).
Prof Tan said the new programme is meant to be translational in nature - which means applying scientific findings to real-world situations - although funding will still be available for basic research. "What this new programme would do would be to build the enablers in terms of data, tissue, pathogen materials, as well as the networks that are working around infectious diseases or public health interests," he said.
For instance, this could include providing funding to build more long-term, core infrastructure such as those that would enable the secure storage of data, or building a "bank" where clinical and biological samples can be stored.
He cited how patient serum samples from the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) had come in handy for researchers working on a Covid-19 antibody test. The pathogens that cause Sars and Covid-19 are from the same family - coronaviruses.
"We were able to use these samples to help us to validate whether the test kits we were developing had a cross-reactivity against the 2003 Sars virus. So, those kinds of samples can be very useful when we are dealing with current pathogens," Prof Tan explained.
Establishing networks between researchers from different institutions and disciplines is important, he said. This could help foster collaborations between different groups of scientists in the areas of diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines that would lead to better outcomes.
For example, the development of a diagnostic test requires researchers with expertise not just in biology, but also microfluidics (a field of science involving the manipulation of fluids on a small scale) and sensor systems, he said.
Productisation is also an important element of bringing scientific research from bench to bedside, said Prof Tan. Such translational activity will better meet the needs of Singapore's Health Ministry and other public health agencies in epidemic control.
Prof Tan pointed out that the research community in Singapore has contributed significantly to the public health response to Covid-19. However, the pandemic had also yielded learning points, which is what the new research programme is designed to take in.
"This will further strengthen our ability to do R&D to help with future epidemics and outbreaks."
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