Mr Ravinder Singh, Chairman of Nanyang Polytechnic's Board of Governors,
Ladies and gentlemen,
1. Thank you to Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) for inviting me for the inaugural NYP 360 Catalyst event. I am pleased to see so many familiar faces - industry leaders and partners from various sectors present this morning. It is a testament to the impact and new possibilities that emerge when higher education and industry partner closely.
2. Through these partnerships between industry and academia, our students deepen their understanding of the industry. They get first-hand exposure to the industry itself and the business challenges, and, very importantly, they get a chance to meet you. They get valuable feedback and mentorships from industry professionals.
3. At the same time, I'm sure industry partners are quite aware there is a value to you. You benefit from the fresh perspectives of students and the expertise of the faculty from the institution that comes to participate in these programmes. Taken together, NYP students and industry professionals can co-develop impactful solutions together to address pressing business problems and seek out new opportunities.
4. The ten new partnership agreements being signed today show how more companies are unlocking opportunities to develop our future workforce and grow our industry.
5. To the industry partners present at today's event, I would like to commend you all for your strong collaborations with our polytechnics. In a rapidly changing business environment, the ability to innovate continuously will set you apart.
Achievements of NYP360
6. The NYP360 ecosystem has demonstrated the benefits of an effective industry-academic nexus. Over the past two and a half years, partnerships within this ecosystem have delivered more than 30 solutions that have changed how these companies operate, innovate, and compete in their markets.
7. The partnership between companies and NYP starts right from the first step – crystallising the problem statements. This collaborative approach draws on expertise across different schools and disciplines, and NYP's research capabilities.
8. A multi-disciplinary approach is important. The challenges that businesses face do not fall neatly within one academic discipline. Whether the task is optimising supply chains, enhancing customer experiences, or developing new products, what we know we need and what is required are integrated approaches; the combination of different areas of expertise, from artificial intelligence to sustainability to design thinking.
9. The 36 "Co-Innovators" we are recognising today span a remarkable range – from interactive media companies like Ubisoft to advanced manufacturing leaders like ST Engineering Aerospace. This diversity is no coincidence and reflects how innovation works today – it happens at the intersections between sectors, not within silos.
10. I want to take this opportunity to highlight two industry partnerships that NYP students have embarked on – one in the healthcare sector, and the other in agriculture.
11. The first is at SingHealth Polyclinics. Patients who self-monitor their blood pressure usually would submit handwritten records of their blood pressure readings for review. Clinic staff would then have to manually enter these records into their systems. This is a time-consuming exercise and one that is prone to error. And this error can directly affect the care that a patient might receive.
12. Working with NYP students, SingHealth Polyclinics developed ENHANCe, a smartphone application that uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology to automatically read handwritten blood pressure readings from photos, eliminating hours of manual data entry for the clinic staff.
13. The app also generates blood pressure statistics so the doctors can look at the app and make faster, more personalised diagnoses. All of this saves significant man hours, improves patient care and supports our push in Singapore towards healthcare digitalisation and the opportunities that the push for digitalisation will bring.
14. Another example, now from agriculture, is JAPFA, a Singapore-based agri-food company that has partnered NYP students on a livestock monitoring project.
15. The collaboration includes building smart sensors that monitor air quality in livestock farms, an AI-powered health management chatbot that address the needs of the staff that take care of the poultry and doing advanced data analysis of farm performance.
16. This project brings together expertise from NYP Schools of Engineering and IT, and this ongoing partnership with JAPFA is helping them optimise their farming operations across Vietnam and other markets.
17. This is another example of how collaboration between our institutions and industry can strengthen the capabilities of both sides. It can produce innovation, produce business-ready solutions, and provides students the opportunity and mentorship to grow, to be educated, to be experiencing the real-world business conditions both in Singapore and in the region.
18. These mutually beneficial, cross-disciplinary partnerships are worthwhile pursuits for companies seeking success in rapidly evolving markets as well as companies looking to pivot. Industry-academia collaboration can present new opportunities and possibilities.
19. For some companies, a partnership with our polytechnics can help them to redesign their models of operation and keep abreast of the accelerated changes, preventing these models from becoming outdated.
20. For other companies, such collaborations can spur innovation and allow them to reap the rewards of first-mover advantage.
21. I encourage our co-innovators and industry partners here today to continue to embrace experimentation, share your challenges openly, and commit to building capabilities together, not in isolation. Keeping up with the pace of change requires collaborations and partnerships. The solutions that emerge from industry-academia collaborations often surprise everyone by how they are able to marry academic rigour and practical business insight. I encourage all our industry partners to take advantage of the resources available to you, like the NYP360 innovation ecosystem.
22. This ecosystem and the new co-innovator tier are well-positioned to address the challenges of an increasingly competitive business environment.
23. Co-innovators can tap on NYP's research capabilities in areas including AI applications, sustainability solutions and healthcare innovation technologies, and get first consideration for licensing new intellectual property and patents.
24. They also receive first access to relevant funding opportunities and grant applications, as well as priority access to talent acquisition through internship programmes and final year projects with NYP's bright students.
25. The biggest important outcome is to get the students to have the opportunity and you, in the industry, you want to select the most appropriate students for your industry and your task.
26. These advantages put businesses like yourselves in a good position to grow, to evolve and compete. And to grow, evolve and compete in a rapidly shifting environment, you need access to that best approach, that thinking across sectors and the talent from the students that you have the opportunity to partner with.
27. NYP360 Catalyst is more than a service platform – it is a laboratory for experimentation, a pathway to competitive advantage, and a connection to Singapore's broader innovation ecosystem.
Conclusion
28. To all our industry partners here today, thank you for your enduring support. I encourage you to continue to explore new ways to work more closely with the polytechnics, whether it is in the form of co-developing curriculum, providing industry exposure for our students and faculty through internships and attachments, or partnering on projects.
29. To the 36 Co-Innovators being recognised today, thank you for leading the way on NYP360. The achievements we have seen from you are just the beginning of what is possible. I hope you will continue to work with us to ignite change across industries, develop capabilities to meet our economic needs, and build a more innovative and resilient Singapore by giving our students these opportunities.
30. Once again, congratulations to NYP on the official launch of the NYP360 Co-innovator tier. The strong showing at today's event is a testament to your commitment to providing your students with an industry-relevant education, to equip them with the right skillsets demanded by industry. I am confident that the NYP360 ecosystem will only grow from strength to strength in the years to come.
31. Thank you all very much.