A*STAR’s RIE2015 efforts have helped local enterprises stay competitive

In RIE 2015- A*STAR embarked on more than 8-900 industry projects with companies to develop innovative technology. 45% of these were with local enterprises- reflecting that local companies increasingly recognise the importance of R&D and innovation in improving their productivity- and developing new products that will enable them to be more competitive on the global stage.

A*STAR also helped local companies expand their innovative capacity by lending them R&D expertise. In RIE2015- over 160 companies benefited from the secondment of more than 300 researchers.

A*STAR also played a key role in developing Singapore’s entrepreneurial ecosystem- seeding more than 70 start-ups. More than 1-000 licenses were signed in the past five years- enabling companies to tap on the innovations produced within A*STAR. More than 70% of the licenses signed with companies were with SMEs and start-ups.

Collectively- these efforts have created value for Singapore- catalyzing over S$1.6 billion in industry R&D spending through collaborations with A*STAR.

Looking ahead- RIE2020 seeks to ensure excellent science and impact by supporting the best ideas across disciplines- encouraging collaboration- and investing strategically in both curiosity-driven and mission-oriented research. As A*STAR continues towards greater emphasis on economic outcomes and national priorities- the organisation will step up its role in integrating research performers and collaborators from across the ecosystem.

Click here for the full transcript of Chairman A*STAR’s opening remarks.

Read more below:

• Business Times: A*STAR surpasses 5-year targets; industry R&D spend exceeds $1.6b
• Straits Times: A stellar showing by science and tech agency
• TODAY: More SMEs- start-ups adopting technologies offered by A*STAR