Transcript Document

@Poh Kam WONG
University as driver for open innovation
& international collaboration in national
innovation system: The case of National
University of Singapore (NUS)
Professor Wong Poh Kam
NUS Business School & Director,
NUS Entrepreneurship Centre
@Poh Kam WONG
Imperative for Open Innovation and
International R&D Collaboration
• In a world of widely distributed knowledge, companies cannot
afford to rely entirely on their own R&D, but are increasingly
tapping on external sources of knowledge through R&D
collaboration, buying or licensing processes or inventions from
others, and licensing invention to external parties
• Likewise, regional/national innovation systems need to be
increasingly open as innovation activities become increasingly
globalized & regional clusters become differentiated into tiered
nodes in the global innovation network
• This is particularly critical for newly industrialized economies
(NIEs), which need to make sure that they develop one or more of
their key innovation clusters into higher-tiered nodes in the global
innovation networks, or risk being marginalized
@Poh Kam WONG
University as Driver for Open Innovation in
National/Regional Innovation System
• The open nature of the university model for knowledge
production & exchange
– Open Culture of Scientific Commons vs. Proprietary IP
system for technology commercialization in private firms
– High flow of talents (students but increasingly professors as
well) in university model vs. moderate churn in firms
– Spatial proximity of, & porosity of boundary between,
diverse disciplinary fields, facilitate cross-disciplinary
research
• Increasing adoption of “Third Mission”
– Adapting the traditional university model to incorporate a
technology commercialization role in addition to the
traditional roles of teaching & research
@Poh Kam WONG
University as Driver for Open Innovation in
National/Regional Innovation System
• Increasing globalization of knowledge production & exchange
network
– “Small world” nature of most local R&D innovation clusters
despite globalization, hence the need for nodes with international
ties to bridge local innovation clusters
– Open model of university, with both dense local ties and
extensive inter-regional/international ties, is well suited to play
this connectivity hub role
• How well university can play this Open Innovation Driver Role in
regional innovation system depends on it’s ability to:
– Integrate its open science model with the technology
commercialization role
– Integrate itself into the global knowledge production & exchange
network
@Poh Kam WONG
University as Driver for Open Innovation in
National/Regional Innovation System
• Integration of open science model with technology
commercialization role
– Incorporation of technology commercialization role as an integral
part of the university’s mission, but without sacrificing the push
for excellence in basic science
– Linking Basic R&D with Translational R&D, & Strategic focus
on the “Pasteur Quadrant” (Use-inspired basic research)
– Increasing importance of IP commercialization, while maintaining
culture of open science
– While R&D collaboration with, & licensing of technology to,
industry represents the key mechanism for open innovation by
university, in the context of NIEs where existing high tech
industry is weak, commercialization through spin-offs may be
even more important
@Poh Kam WONG
University as Driver for Open Innovation in
National/Regional Innovation System
• Integration of university into the global knowledge production &
exchange network
– Openness to foreign talents at all levels (professors, researchers,
students, industry collaborators)
– Downstream” open innovation role: University as anchor to
attract foreign MNCs to establish R&D operations in the local
economy, and as facilitator of industry R&D collaboration
– “Upstream” open innovation role: University as facilitator for
International R&D collaboration networks and consortia
involving foreign universities & research institutes
– International experience & networks for students and academics
– Adoption of global benchmark and international best-practice in
faculty promotion and tenure (P&T) and R&D management
@Poh Kam WONG
University as Driver for Open Innovation in
Singapore: The Case of National University of Singapore
• Case Study of the experience of National University of
Singapore (NUS) in seeking to become a driver for Open
Innovation and International Collaboration in the national
innovation system of Singapore
– The national innovation strategy framework of Singapore in
recent years
– The changing open innovation role of National University of
Singapore (NUS) in Singapore’s NIS
– Lessons and Implications for other NIEs
@Poh Kam WONG
Singapore’s National Policy Framework
for Innovation and R&D in the 2000’s
@Poh Kam WONG
The Context: Singapore’s Transition
towards a Knowledge Economy
Between 1960 and 2000, Singapore achieved GDP growth rate of 8% p.a.,
driven by the manufacturing sector and sustained by her development as
a major regional business and communications hub for global MNCs
Distinctly new phase of development emerging in the new millenium:
Shift towards Knowledge Based Economy incorporating:
High tech innovation and manufacturing
Knowledge intensive business services
Creative content production and distribution
Mirrored by a shift in the primary focus of the national innovation system:
Creation of IP-based knowledge and commercialization of innovation
Development of entrepreneurial mindsets and capabilities
Becoming an integral node in the global innovation network
@Poh Kam WONG
Emerging Institutional Framework for S&T Policy
in Singapore as of 2008
Cabinet
RIEC
National
Research
Foundation
Ministry of Trade
& Industry (MTI)
Ministry of
Education
Higher
Education
Division
EDB
ASTAR
Ministry of
Communications &
Information Technology
SPRING
IDA
Ministry of
Defence
DSTA
Other
Ministries
DTG
DSO
Academic
Research
Fund
Universities
(3)
Polytechnics
(5)
Science &
Engineering
Research Council
Bio-Medical
Research Council
(BMRC)
Public research
institutes/
centres (PRI/Cs) (13)
Ad Hoc Committees:
Ministerial Committee on R&D Policy (2004-2006)
Economic Review Committee (ERC)(2002-03)
T21 Committee (1999-2003)
Committee on Competitiveness (1997-98)
Economic Planning Committee (1985-86, 1989-91)
EDB – Economic Development Board
ASTAR – Agency for Science, Technology & Research
SPRING – Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board
IDA – Infocomm Development Authority
DTG – Defence Technology Group
DSO – Defence Science Organisation
DSTA – Defence Science & Technology Administration
RIEC - Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council
Source: Wong & Singh
(2008)
@Poh Kam WONG
Increasing Emphasis on R&D and Innovation
• A high-level Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council (RIEC), chaired by the
Prime Minister, was established in 2006 to provide strategic direction &
coordination of policies to promote R&D and innovation
• A new National Research Foundation (NRF) was established in early 2006 to
provide secretariat support to RIEC, and to co-ordinate research of different
agencies to implement the following five strategic thrusts :
– Intensify national R&D spending to achieve 3% of GDP by 2010;
– Identify and invest in strategic areas of R&D;
– Fund a balance of basic and applied research within strategic areas;
– Provide resources and support to encourage private sector R&D;
– Strengthen linkages between public and private sector R&D.
• NRF was allocated S$5 billion National Research Fund between 2006 and 2010
to fund new research & innovation initiatives to complement those already
undertaken by the existing Agency for Science, Technology & Research
(A*STAR), which oversees the 12 major public research institutes (PRIs) in
Singapore. The primary focus of NRF funding will go towards strengthening the
R&D and innovative capabilities of Singapore’s universities
@Poh Kam WONG
A*STAR’s R&D Focus
Biomedical PRIs
•Institute of Molecular & Cell Biology
•Genome Institute of Singapore
•Bioinformatics Institute
•Institute of Bioengineering & Nanotechnology
•Bioprocessing Technology Institute
•Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences
•Institute of Medical Biology
Science & Engineering PRIs
•Data Storage Institute
•Institute for Chemical & Engineering
Sciences
•Institute of High Performance Computing
•Institute of Microelectronics
•Institute of Materials Research & Engineering
Source: A*STAR website, http://www.a-star.edu.sg/a_star/2-About-A-STAR
@Poh Kam WONG
NRF Strategy for Promoting new R&D
Capabilities to complement A*STAR
Source: NRF (2006). “ National Research Foundation set up to provide national framework for strategic R&D efforts”, NRF Media release, 3
January 2006, http://www.nrf.gov.sg/NRF/uploadedFiles/News_and_Events/3Jan06_EDB.pdf
@Poh Kam WONG
The Changing Open Innovation Role of National
University of Singapore (NUS) in Singapore’s
national innovation system
@Poh Kam WONG
Changing Role of NUS in Singapore’s shift
towards a knowledge-based economy
Until the late 1990s, NUS, as the oldest and leading university in
Singapore, has emphasized the traditional twin academic missions
of providing excellent education to the nation’s population, and
contributing to the creation of new knowledge through
engagement in R&D activities geared primarily towards scientific
publications
NUS has continued to pursue excellence in these twin academic
missions and has indeed made significant achievements by the
mid-2000s, as evidenced by various international ranking…
But the university’s role in the 21st century has taken on additional
dimensions in response to the changing need of the Singaporean
economy…
@Poh Kam WONG
Summary Profile of National University of
Singapore (NUS) (FY 2006/7)
Established 1905; Largest and oldest of 3 public universities
Broadest scope of courses and disciplines
Indicator
Faculty members
Research staff
Undergraduate students enrolled
Graduate students enrolled
Total research funding
Total no. of research projects funded
Journal publications in SCI/SSCI (CY 2007)
Patents filed
Patents granted
Cumulative US patents granted (CY1990-2006)
Cumulative journal publications (Jan 1997 - Oct 2007) 2
1
2
FY 2006/7
1,944
1,464
22,689
6,616
S$185.9 mil
17591
3,192
150 1
40 1
206
27,083
Figure for FY2005
Thomson ISI-indexed journal articles only
Source: NUS Annual Research Report 2005-2006, National University of Singapore; NUS Annual Report 2007, National University of Singapore; Database
of the USPTO
@Poh Kam WONG
Ranking of NUS in the World University Rankings
by the Times Higher Education Supplement, 2004-07
Ranked 33rd in the 2007 Times Higher Education Supplement
of top 200 universities in the World (4th-highest in Asia)
Overall
Biomedicine
Science
Technology
Social Sciences
Arts and Humanities
2004
ranking
18
25
35
9
10
17
2005
ranking
22
15
34
9
13
56
2006
ranking
19
9
22
8
11
22
2007
ranking
33
12
25
10
20
21
Source: Knowledge Enterprise Online, various issues, downloaded from http://newshub.nus.edu.sg/; The Times Higher Education
Supplement (various years)
@Poh Kam WONG
New Roles of NUS in the Context of Singapore’s
Shift towards Knowledge Economy
Contribute to the Creation of New Knowledge-based Industries
To support knowledge-based economic growth through the
creation of industrially-relevant knowledge/innovation and their
commercialization, and to attract global MNCs in new emerging
industries
Attraction of Foreign Talents
Go beyond Education for the small local population to
compete for global talents by attracting top students and
faculty from overseas, as done by top universities in USA
Fostering Entrepreneurial Mindset
In the past, high economic growth has provided NUS
graduates with good career prospects as salaried employees,
particularly in MNC subsidiaries and government
In the future knowledge economy, stable job opportunities no
longer guaranteed, need to inculcate spirit of enterprise
@Poh Kam WONG
Towards an Entrepreneurial University
"NUS aspires to stand among the
entrepreneurial universities. This is in line
with our vision to become a global
knowledge enterprise. We have taken
steps to inject an entrepreneurial
dimension. We have established NUS
Enterprise: A FREE ENTERPRISE ZONE,
where innovation and entrepreneurship
are freed from traditional rules…"
-- Prof Shih Choon Fong,
State of University Address 2002, 13 August 2002
19
@Poh Kam WONG
New Vision of NUS in the 21st Century:
Becoming a Global Knowledge Enterprise
To become a globally-oriented university, open to
and competing for students and faculty globally, and
benchmarking practice and performance against
global leaders
To make NUS a knowledge hub for Industry and
Enterprise
To inject an entrepreneurial dimension to NUS
education and research
To be a key node in the global innovation network
@Poh Kam WONG
Shift Towards Entrepreneurial University
Model
Major changes initiated by the new president in early 2000 to
shift NUS towards the entrepreneurial university model
• Incorporation of Enterprise as a “Third mission” in addition to the
traditional missions of teaching and research
• Creation of a new Organizational Division – NUS Enterprise
Broad mission to inject more entrepreneurial dimension to NUS
education and research
Appointed as first CEO an engineering school professor who had
founded a spin-off to commercialize his inventions
Second CEO a veteran venture capitalist with prior academic research
& start-up experience
• Instituted major new focus on Internationalization and Industry
Collaboration in Research, while emphasizing achieving research
excellence
@Poh Kam WONG
NUS Enterprise’s Vision of NUS
in Singapore’s
High Tech Economy
Venture capital /angel investors
& other venture businesses
attracted to work with University
World-class R&D
investments attracted to
collaborate with
University
High tech ventures created or
facilitated by the
University
NUS as a Global
Knowledge
Enterprise
Top talents (researchers, students)
attracted to work & study
in University
Source: Wong Poh Kam (forthcoming)
Talented graduates with
entrepreneurial mindsets
@Poh Kam WONG
NUS Enterprise: Major Initiatives
Reforming university policies on technology commercialization
Reorganized the Industry and Technology Relations Office
(INTRO) to make it more inventor friendly. Subsequently renamed and re-organize Industry Liaison Office (ILO) to
emphasize its dual role of industry collaboration as well as IP
management and commercialization
Expanding the Entrepreneurship Centre with educational,
research, outreach and venture support functions
Introduced significant entrepreneurship education programs -Technopreneurship Minor Programs, Overseas College
Program (NOC) and iLEAD -- to inculcate entrepreneurial
mindset among NUS students
Established Venture Support (NVS) program including
incubator, seed funds, mentorship & investor-networking
@Poh Kam WONG
Strategic Focus of Major Open Innovation
Initiatives at NUS in recent years
•Innovation Collaboration with Industry
– focus on major technological clusters being strategically
promoted by the Singapore government (e.g. environmental
& water technologies, biomedical sciences, interactive
digital media)
– focus on key global MNCs as collaboration partners
•Innovation Collaboration with Foreign Universities
– focus on selected areas of research excellence
– focus on strategic partnership with leading universities that
have significant technology commercialization & industry
collaboration track records
• Shift towards Greater International & Industry
Collaboration go hand-in-hand with shift towards NUS
Enterprise Model, which provides the link to technology
commercialization
@Poh Kam WONG
Impact of Shift towards the
Entrepreneurial University Model
Shift still in early stage; assessment of impact is preliminary
Changes in NUS between the mid 1990s and the mid 2000s
Moderate quantity expansion in traditional dimensions, with
substantial quality improvement
Education and research output
Significant change in new dimensions
Foreign talent attraction (foreign students, researchers, faculty)
Entrepreneurship promotion (spin-offs and start-ups)
Technology Commercialisation (invention disclosures, patents,
licenses, R&D collaboration with industry)
International Collaboration (upstream and downstream
collaborations)
@Poh Kam WONG
Profile of Changes in NUS, Before and After Shift
to Entrepreneurial University Model
Indicator
Teaching staff
of which % foreign
Research staff
of which % foreign
Undergraduate students enrolled
Graduate students enrolled
Graduate students as % of total student enrolment
Percentage of foreign students studying at NUS
Total research funding
Total no. of research projects funded
Journal publications in SCI/SSCI
Patents filed
Patents granted
Cumulative patents granted by USPTO
AY1996/7
1414
39.0%
843
70.1%
17,960
4,478
20.0%
13% 2
Na
1,751
1,307 4
13
4
21 6
FY 2006/7
1,944
51.9%1
1,464
78.6%1
22,689
6,616
22.6%
33.7%
S$185.9 mil
1759 3
3,192 5
150 3
40 3
206 7
1 Percentage for FY2004
2 Percentage of total student intake for 1997/8 3 Figure for FY2005
4 CY1996 5 CY2007 6 CY1990-1997 7 CY1990-2006
Source: NUS Annual Research Report (various years), National University of Singapore; NUS Annual Report; Database of the USPTO; IPOS;
ISI Web of Science; NUS Office of Research
@Poh Kam WONG
Attraction of Foreign Talent: NUS Faculty Members
and Research Staff by Nationality as at End June
1997 vs End June 2005
Increase in proportion of foreign talent among NUS faculty and
teaching staff between 1997 and 2005
Singapore
Malaysia
India
China
Other Asian
countries
US/Canada
Other countries
Total
As at end June 1997
Faculty members
Research staff
No.
%
No.
%
862
61.0
252
29.9
181
12.8
125
14.8
56
4.0
93
11.0
63
4.5
271
32.2
76
75
101
1,414
Sources: NUS Annual Report, various years
5.4
5.3
7.1
100
31
28
43
843
3.7
3.3
5.1
100
As at end June 2005
Faculty members
Research staff
No.
%
No.
%
849
48.1
232
21.3
191
10.8
98
9.0
99
5.6
112
10.3
121
6.9
461
42.4
151
138
216
1,765
8.6
7.8
12.2
100
78
23
83
1,087
7.2
2.1
7.6
100
@Poh Kam WONG
Technology Commercialisation:
Number of Patents Filed by and Granted to NUS,
FY1997-2005
The annual rate of patent applications and patent
grants has increased since 2000…
Financial Year
1997-99
2000-02
2003-05
Patent Applications
Total no. of
Average annual
patents
no. of patents
230
76.7
304
101.3
435
145.0
Patents Granted
Total no. of
Average annual
patents
no. of patents
39
13.0
72
24.0
119
39.7
Source: NUS Research Report (various years)
Note: Figures include patents filed in multiple countries
The extent of IP licensing to industry has also increased
since 2000
@Poh Kam WONG
Top 20 Organizations with Singapore Patents1,
Cumulative to 2006
NUS has
become 4thlargest holder
of US patents
granted to
Singaporebased
inventors, up
from 7th in
1995
No.
Company
Country
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
12
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd.
Hewlett-Packard Company
Seagate Technology, LLC
National University of Singapore
Micron Technology, Inc.
Motorola, Inc.
Texas Instruments
Institute of Microelectronics
ST Assembly Test Services Pte Ltd.
Matsushita Electric Industrial Company, Limited
Koninklijke Philips Electronics., N.V.
STMicroelectronics Asia Pacific Pte Ltd.
Agency of Science, Technology & Research
Tritech Microelectronics, Ltd.*
Creative Technology, Ltd.
Advanced Mircro Devices, Inc.
Thomson
ASM Technology Singapore Pte. Ltd
Infineon Technologies Aktiengesellschaft
Molex Inc
Singapore
US
United States
Singapore
United States
United States
United States
Singapore
Singapore
Japan
Netherlands
France/Italy
Singapore
Singapore
Singapore
US
France
Netherlands
Germany
United States
1Patents
Cumulative
Total as at end
2006
785
216
215
206
136
105
100
94
81
76
61
57
57
56
55
52
44
41
43
38
where at least one inventor is a Singaporean. Includes patents which are jointly assigned.
** A company called Tri-tech Microelectronics was granted a total of 56 patents before filing for bankruptcy and entering
liquidation in 1999.
Source: Database of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) (various years)
@Poh Kam WONG
Comparisons of NUS vs. Selected Leading
Universities – Patents granted by USPTO
Cumulative 1976 to 2005
2005
# of
patents
Rank among
world’s
universities
# of
patents
# of licensing
University of California
5615
1
310
265
MIT
2825
2
133
93
University of Illinois
545
10
65
63
Stanford University
1541
4
100
109
University of Pennsylvania
718
14
37
37
University of Southern California
413
31
35
35
Georgia Tech
510
22
43
43
Oxford University
98
97
9
34
Cambridge University
35
127
4
41
Imperial College
97
98
7
n.a.
National Univ. of Singapore
182
67
26
40
Name of Institution
@Poh Kam WONG
NUS’ Open Innovation Activities have increased
over time
19761989
19901994
19951999
20002007
NUS-invented USPTO patents
0
7
33
195
Share of NUS in total Singapore patents (%)
0
2.8
4.3
4.1
Share of NUS in total citations to Singapore
patents (%)
0
2.8
2.7
4.9
NUS
NA
0
9.1
29.7
Singapore1
3.7
12.0
8.0
3.9
of which % co-owned with
foreign assignees
NUS
NA
0
3.0
2.1
Singapore2
2.9
1.6
3.4
2.2
% co-invented with non Singapore
residents
NUS
NA
0
6.1
28.7
Singapore
41.5
40.2
41.3
44.8
% co-owned with other
organisations
1 All Singapore-invented patents with more than one assignee
2 All Singapore-invented patents with more than one assignee, at least one of which is foreign
Source: Computed from USPTO database
@Poh Kam WONG
Academic Entrepreneurship:
Number of NUS Spin-offs, 1980-2006
NUS’ change in policy to encouraging technology commercialization
through spin-off and start-up formation after 2000 has facilitated an
increased rate of spin-off formation
1980-99
2000-02
2003-06
Total
Total no. of
spin-offs
11
15
18
44
Source: NUS ILO and NUS Venture Support
Average no. of
spin-offs
0.55
5
4.5
@Poh Kam WONG
NUS Publications and Citations 1996 vs 2006
The new emphasis on Technology Commercialization has NOT been at the expense
of pursuit of Research Excellence:
• NUS’ annual journal article output increased almost 3-fold between 1996 and
2006
• Research quantity (publications per faculty member) and quality (citations
received per faculty member and per paper) has also increased over this time
• NUS journal articles tend to be more highly cited than the average Singapore
journal article
1996
2006
NUS journal publications
1,307
3,367
Citations to these publications
3,128
11,8971
within 2 years of publication
Faculty
1414
1820
Publications/faculty
0.9
1.9
Citations/faculty
2.2
6.51
NUS average citations per article
2.4
3.5
Singapore average citations per article
2.0
3.21
Note: Includes SCI- and SSCI-indexed articles only
1 Using citation data up to 7 August 2008
Source: Thomson ISI Web of Science
@Poh Kam WONG
Examples of Recent NUS Initiatives to
promote International & Industry
Collaboration in Innovation
Environmental & Water Technologies
Biomedical Initiatives
Interactive Digital Media Initiatives
@Poh Kam WONG
NUS Open Innovation Initiatives –
Environmental & Water Technologies
•
•
GE-NUS partnership on Water & Process Technologies
– MOU signed in September 2006, GE Water to invest SGD 130 million over
10 years to establish a Global R&D Centre on Water & Process Technologies
hosted at NUS School of Engineering
– Focus on Water Quality and Water Scarcity, aligned with Singapore’s Global
Hydrohub vision
Singapore-Delft Water Alliance (SDWA)
– Research collaboration launched in February 2007 between NUS, Delft
Hydraulics (Netherlands) and the Public Utilities Board (PUB)
– Funding of SGD 64 million over 3 years, with support from the Environment
and Water Industry Development Council (EWI) of the NRF
– Hosted at NUS School of Engineering, aims to advance S&T in water sector
through demand-driven research, post-graduate and professional education
and specialised consultancy services.; Operations were kick-started with four
research programs, involving 70 researchers from NUS, Delft University of
Technology and Delft Hydraulics
@Poh Kam WONG
NUS Open Innovation Initiatives –
Environmental & Water Technologies (cont’d)
•
•
NUS Environmental Research Institute (NERI)
– Established in early 2007, with university funding of SGD 12 million over 3 years
– Adopts a research cluster approach, accommodating cross-disciplinary research
areas and faculty-focused research units in 3 focus Areas: (i) Air, land & water
systems; (ii) Human & environmental health; (iii) Energy systems
Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS)
– Established in February 2008 by NUS in partnership with the Clean Energy
Program Office (CEPO), with expected investment of SGD130 million over 5 yr
– Aims to be a world-class solar R&D centre positioned optimally between
university science and industry, and to groom pool of solar energy specialists
– Focus on 3 key research areas: (i) silicon-based solar cells; (ii) novel photovoltaic
(PV) devices and materials; (iii) “Solar and Energy-efficient Buildings”
– Emphasis on active collaborate on research and education programs with
outstanding scientists and research centres to build homegrown capabilities,
starting with 25 researchers and expected to growth to 90 researchers in 5 years.
Additionally, expect to produce up to 50 PhD and 20 Masters students in 5 years
@Poh Kam WONG
NUS Open Innovation Initiatives – Biomedical
Sciences
•
NUS-Duke Graduate Medical School Singapore (GMS)
– Established in 2005 as Singapore’s second medical school
– Research-intensive curriculum based on Duke University model of medical education:
developing clinician-scientists who will engage in translational research
– Located next to national health specialty centres and Singapore General Hospital
•
NUS-A*STAR-USCD tripartite partnership on Biomedical Science
– Announced in March 2006, NUS, A*STAR and University of California, San Diego
will collaborate on 6 research projects in the areas of host-pathogen interactions, cancer,
stem cell biology and developmental biology
– A*STAR and NUS provide total SGD 2 million over 2-3 years, to support preliminary
work ahead of joint grant applications to funding agencies in US and Singapore
•
Singapore Gastric Cancer Consortium (SGCC) – Improving Outcomes for
Our Patients project
– Collaboration of researchers from NUS, NUH and the National Cancer Centre
Singapore (NCSS)
– Project was awarded SGD 25 million from the National Medical Research council
under its Translational Clinical Research Flagship Program
– NUS module focuses on improving early detection to enable diagnosis
@Poh Kam WONG
NUS Open Innovation Initiatives – Biomedical
Sciences (cont’d)
•
NUS-RAND collaboration: NUS Centre for Health Services Research
– Centre formed in August 2006 as collaboration between NUS Yong Soo Lin School of
Medicine and the RAND Corporation, in partnership with Ministry of Health,
Singapore Health Services and the National Healthcare Group
– Aims to promote academic expertise in health services research and to be a national
resource for research and education programs through which quality, credible data are
generated to assist decision making by healthcare providers and policy makers
•
NUS Cancer Research Centre of Excellence
– Announced in March 2008 by NRF and the Ministry of Education (MOE)
– Offers opportunity for team of eminent international faculty to work with NUS faculty
on cancer research
– NRF and MOE will support the Cancer RCE with SGD 172 million over 7 years
– Expects to train 100 graduate students and 70 postdoctoral fellows
– Specialty programs will include Cancer Stem Cell Programme, Cancer Biology
Programme, Genomic Oncology Programme and Experimental Therapeutics
Programme
@Poh Kam WONG
NUS Open Innovation Initiatives – Biomedical
Sciences (cont’d)
•
Centre for Translational Medicine (CeTM)
– Expected to be completed in 2010, CeTM is a state of the art building to be home to
more than 500 researchers and educators from the National University Health System
(NUHS), will have 41,000 square metres of teaching, learning, training and research
space with ten floors dedicated to research
– Will house translational research programs in cancer, cardiovascular diseases,
infections diseases, imaging research and other diseases, as well as NUS’s Cancer
Research Centre of Excellence and the Clinical Imaging Research Centre
– Will provide facilities to integrate research, education and clinical care, allowing
clinicians and doctors to work closely with researchers, students and scientists
– CeTM will promote active collaborations with researchers from other centres, hospitals
and research institutes, to build world-class capabilities for translational research in
Singapore
•
NUS Clinical Research Collaboration with RIKEN, Japan
– Collaboration between doctors and researchers from NUS, NUH and RIKEN (Japan’s
oldest and most established research institution), comenced in 2007, to develop and
validate a molecular diagnostic test for personalised therapy for lung cancer patients,
@Poh Kam WONG
NUS Open Innovation Initiatives – Interactive
Digital Media
•
NUS Hollywood Lab
– Opened in July 2006 in Los Angeles to foster international R&D collaboration and
technology commercialisation for IDM.
– Lab works closely with major Hollywood studios, universities and entertainment
companies in North America.
– Focus on R&D collaboration, student exchange and visiting professor programmes, and
joint business ventures between Singapore and USA.
•
Interactive and Digital Media Institute (IDMI)
– Launched in April 2007 with seed funding of SGD 11 million over 3 years, as
Singapore’s first inter-disciplinary research institute in IDM.
– Undertakes application-inspired basic research in IDM, trains graduate students from
Singapore and Asia, and transfer intellectual and human capital
– Comprises eight laboratories in mixed reality, sociable robotics, games, ambient
intelligence, multimedia sensing, cognitive and social studies, arts & creativity, and
multimodal analysis.
– Serves as focal point for IDM research in Singapore, aiming to make Singapore a
major global nucleus of new media
– NUS Hollywood Lab serves as an outpost of the IDMI to network with top IDM
institutions in the US and facilitate placement of NUS students in internship programs.
@Poh Kam WONG
NUS Open Innovation Initiatives – Interactive
Digital Media (cont’d)
•
Keio-NUS CUTE Centre (Connective Ubiquitous Technology for
Embodiments)
– Jointly set up by Keio University and NUS, with joint funding by both universities and
the Interactive Digital Media Research and Development Programme Office (IDMPO)
hosted by MDA.
– Announced in July 2008, and expected to commence operations before end 2008
– Will involve more than 50 researchers from Japan and Singapore including some of
Japan’s top researchers in IDM, who are acknowledged world-leading experts in
specialised fields.
– Premised on the emergence of a “creative” and “connected” society, the centre will
focus on pervasive content for wearable and body media, reshaping lifestyles around
the theme of ‘5 seconds of fun’.
– NUS faculty, researchers and students will have opportunities to spend time in Keio
University, one of Japan’s top universities, to build networks and research capability.
@Poh Kam WONG
Examples of NUS Internationalization
Initiatives to Create Open Innovation
Capabilities
The Singapore-MIT Alliance Program
The CREATE program
The RCE Program
The NUS Overseas College (NOC) Program
@Poh Kam WONG
Raising Innovative Capacity through International
Cooperation: The Singapore-MIT Alliance Program
Established in 1998, the Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA) is an innovative
engineering and life science educational and research collaboration
involving the National University of Singapore (NUS), the Nanyang
Technological University (NTU), and MIT, with students recruited
globally
The program is intended to combine a focus on creativity and
entrepreneurship with an intense, hands-on approach to research,
leveraging on MIT’s experience in developing industrial collaboration
and fostering innovation and entrepreneurship among its students. All
students will reside a minimum of one semester at MIT. In Singapore,
they will attend “live” MIT classes and take part in research meetings
with MIT faculty, staff and students through video-conferencing
The success of the first phase of the program, where the degree is
granted by NUS solely, to the establishment of a second phase, where the
degree is granted jointly by NUS and MIT
@Poh Kam WONG
Building Global R&D Links: The International
Campus for Research Excellence and
Technological Enterpise (CREATE) Initiative
Recognizing the importance of building strong linkages with global
institutions to enhance Singapore’s connectivity to other centres of
research in US and Europe, and accelerate Singapore’s thrusts
towards an innovative and entrepreneurial economy, the Research,
Innovation and Enterprise Council (RIEC) (chaired by the Prime
Minister) initiated in 2006 the International Campus for Research
Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE) Program
The Singapore MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART)
Centre was established in NUS as the first CREATE program.
SMART houses joint, inter-disciplinary research between NUS and
MIT professors. The first project focuses on infectious diseases &
environmental sensing.
A second CREATE with European partners is being finalized with ETH
(Switzerland)
@Poh Kam WONG
Building Nodes of Global Excellence: The
Research Centre of Excellence (RCE) Initiative
Recognizing the need for Singapore to build “peaks of global
excellence” in selected fields of knowledge in order for
Singapore to become a truly integral node in the global
innovation network, the National Research Foundation (NRF)
has committed to fund a number of new Research Centre of
Excellence (RCE) in Singapore.
NUS has made a successful bid to establish the first RCE in
Singapore, the Quantum Information Science and Technology
(QIST) Centre, with S$150 million funding from NRF to attract
up to 200 scientists from around the world
@Poh Kam WONG
Infusing Entrepreneurial & Global Mindset:
The NUS Overseas College initiative
Initiated in 2001, program aims to send 200 NUS undergraduate students per
year to five high tech entrepreneurial hubs in the world; 180 in 2008
Experiential Education: “Learning by immersion” Model
Work as interns in high-tech start-ups in host region for one year
Take entrepreneurship courses in partner universities in host region
Return to NUS to complete their final semester/year
Infuse entrepreneurial, global mindset
Influence future career choices towards entrepreneurial and innovative
pursuits
Establish social networks with overseas entrepreneurial communities to
facilitate future collaboration
Serve as catalyst for mindset change among their peers in NUS when
they return
@Poh Kam WONG
NUS Overseas Colleges
NUS College in Silicon Valley, USA
(2002)
Study at Stanford & work in the innovation “habitat”
≈
NUS College in Bio Valley, USA
(2003)
Study at UPenn & work in the US’ pharma hotbed
≈
NUS College in Shanghai, China
(2004)
Study at Fudan & work in China’s commercial hub
≈
NUS College in Stockholm, Europe
(2005)
Study at KTH/SSE & work in
Europe’s No.1 IT hub
≈
NUS College in Bangalore, India
(2006)
Study at IISc & work in India’s high-tech hub
@Poh Kam WONG
Conclusion: NUS’ role in making Singapore an
integral node in the Global Innovation
Ecosystem
Singapore has been a major hub in the global business,
trading and communications/transportation system in the
20th Century
Singapore is aiming to become a major hub in the global
innovation ecosystem in the 21st century
Attracting global innovators to Singapore
Nurturing globally competitive indigenous innovators
Building connectivity to other global innovation hubs
Since the late 1990s, NUS has sought to contribute
significantly to this vision of Singapore by pursuing a new
Global Enterprise Strategy that embraces an “Open
Innovation, Entrepreneurial University” model
@Poh Kam WONG
Lessons for Other NIEs
Universities in NIEs can play a potentially important role in the
national innovation system of these economies, by serving as an
Open Innovation hub that plugs integrally into the global
innovation network
To play this open innovation hub role effectively, universities in
NIEs need to incorporate technology commercialization as a
third mission, while maintaining its open scientific commons
culture and focusing on achieving research excellence
A focus on injecting an entrepreneurial dimension to university
education and research needs to go hand-in-hand with the shift
towards Open Innovation
@Poh Kam WONG
Selected References
Wong, P.K.(2007), “Commercializing Biomedical Science in a Rapidly Changing
“Triple-Helix” Nexus: The experience of the National University of Singapore”, J. of
Technology Transfer 32: 367-395 (2007)
Wong, P.K., Y.P. Ho and A. Singh (2007), “Towards an Entrepreneurial University
Model to Support Knowledge-Based Economic Development: The Case of the
National University of Singapore”, World Development Vol. 35 No. 6 (June 2007):
941-958
Wong, P.K. and Y.P. Ho (2007), “Knowledge Sources of Innovation in a Small Open
Economy: The case of Singapore”, Scientometrics Vol. 70, No. 2, Feb. 2007, p. 223249
Wong, P.K. and A. Singh (2008), “From Technology Adopter to Innovator: The
Dynamics of Change in the National System of Innovation in Singapore”, chap. 3 in
C. Edquist and L. Hommen (eds.), Small Economy Innovation Systems: Comparing
Globalization,Change and Policy in Asia and Europe, Elgar, 2008, p. 71-112
Wong, P.K. (forthcoming), “Towards a “Global Knowledge Enterprise: The
Entrepreneurial University Model of National University of Singapore”, in
O’Shea, R. and T.J. Allen (eds), Building Technology Transfer within Research
Universities: An Entrepreneurial Approach, Cambridge University Press