The SB Innovation Fellowship program is designed to provide a deep and comprehensive training in health and medtech innovation, catered to the Singapore and Asian context. The goal is to produce the next generation of health and medtech innovators for Asia.
In 2021, Singapore Biodesign was conferred the prestigious Global Affiliate status by Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign. The program will continue fostering ties with our Silicon Valley partners - Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign and Fogarty Innovation. This comes in the form of a 3-4 weeks implementation boot camp at Silicon Valley towards the end of the fellowship training year to further hone projects.
The training phase will be led by SB Faculty and Singapore trainers starting with an introductory 5-day Biodesign bootcamp. The programme will provide greater context to understanding Asian needs, with the clinical immersions focussed primarily in Singapore and regional hospitals i.e. China and Indonesia. The immersion will also allow for interaction with the ecosystem beyond the clinical community.
Fellows can also expect to spend more time on project execution supplemented with dedicated mentoring and in-depth domain expertise workshops to derisk their product solution and business plan. This is further bolstered by a 3-weeks implementation bootcamp at Silicon Valley.
Training will be carried out by the Fellowship Mentor Panel, SB Core Team which includes the Fellowship Head, Curriculum Head and Fellowship Mentors.
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Firstly, the training you receive is highly experiential, and consists not only of a tailored curriculum to the Biodesign process, but also an opportunity for hands-on learning by working on your project and frequent interaction with expert mentors.
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Secondly, the Fellowship provides you with an end-to-end view of the early stages of the health technology innovation process. From clinical immersion and needs finding in Singapore and regional Asian countries, to invent and implementation planning; you will gain hands-on practice by navigating critical risks and experience unique opportunities across a broad range of activities. This training is further supplemented by our lecture series and domain-expert workshops, coupled with one-on-one (fellowship team) mentoring.
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Thirdly, the Fellowship is interdisciplinary and team-based. You will gain essential soft skills and learn a tremendous amount from interacting with your peers whilst honing your teamwork.
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Finally, the skills and connections you build are practical, targeted, and immediately applicable to a career in health technology innovation. Leveraging on the extensive local and international Biodesign network, the Fellowship will present an unprecedented headstart to springboard your project and to navigate the complex healthcare ecosystem.
At the end of the program, the Innovation Fellows are presented with a graduation certificate in Biodesign, and gain exclusive access to the Fellows Alumni network.
Up to 8 Fellows from multidisciplinary backgrounds will be selected each Fiscal Year. Fellows sponsored by our partners may also be included in the teams.
We advise interested applicants to attend our events and to interact with our team, mentors and alumni to better understand the culture and training process. Alternatively, do attend one of our recruitment roadshows to find out more!
We typically receive ~75 applications each year and ~15% of applicants get through to the final interview.
Receive a monthly stipend of up to SGD$8,500 (as per last drawn salary, taxable, without CPF).
Other HR benefits will also be provided (i.e. leave and medical insurance)
Singapore Biodesign is hosted by A*STAR Singapore and is not a qualification-awarding institution. We will only certify your participation in the fellowship, endorsed by A*STAR and joint programme partner Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign upon completion of the prescribed programme.
It is not a requirement to complete your AST, but that would be an advantage and preferred if you have attained an Associate Consultant position and/or equivalent.
There is no specific age limit imposed on the applicants.
Such experience would be advantageous, but not mandatory.
We will not require the supporting documents at the recruitment phases. If you are selected as the final candidate, you are required to submit all supporting documents together.
Referee letters will only be required at the 2nd round, and to be submitted by the referees to the office directly.
The goal of the Innovation Fellowship is to learn the Biodesign process of innovation from start to finish. Accordingly, we ask that you work on needs and technologies that you and your team identify and invent together as part of the Fellowship process. If you have an existing medical device idea, you may contact our office separately to share and seek corresponding advice.
No, Fellows have to commit to the Innovation Fellowship on a FULL-TIME basis during the 6 months. Engagement in other work or studies is not allowed.
However, Clinicians may opt to apply for 1 day/week of clinical practice hours on weekends, subject to approval. These clinical practice hours are optional and will be on top of the full time Innovation Fellowship commitment.
Innovation Fellows are expected to contribute back to the nation’s ecosystem building efforts post-training. Fellows are required to submit a needs database of all the needs gathered during the Fellowship training back to SB one month before the completion of the programme.
Upon successful completion of the SB Programme, the Fellow is required to hold employment in a public or private enterprise located in Singapore for a period of 12 months in any relevant HealthTech appointment(s) which SB may deem appropriate. During the 12 months, each fellow is also required to contribute back to SB a minimum of 40 hours of service via lectures, project coaching and/or mentoring at SB training programmes.
Fellows who fail to complete the SB Fellowship or fail to fulfill the SB Fellowship bond, will be required to pay back all monies projected to be expensed by SB to or for the benefit of the Fellow for up to first three months of training, whichever is higher.
The Fellowship will span 6 months and will commence from the first week of August.
The Fellows will be trained in Singapore under the supervision of mentors from Singapore Biodesign. Towards the end of the Fellowship, the Fellows will spend time in Stanford to further refine and develop implementation plans for their top projects under the guidance of experts from Silicon Valley.
Yes. Fellows are required to submit tax deduction to IRAS on their own.
No. Each year, SB selects a different clinical subspecialty as the focus for the Fellowship. We believe that by working in an area where Fellows are not necessarily experts, will give the Fellows a different perspective where they are more likely to question existing paradigms and recognize interesting opportunities.
A*STAR as the host institution, owns the intellectual property. We work closely with A*ccelerate (A*STAR's tech transfer office) to help translate inventions coming out of the Fellowship, where appropriate.
Our Fellows are expected to contribute back to the health technology innovation ecosystem according to their strengths and career goals after the Innovation Fellowship. SB Fellows continue to pursue a career in healthcare post-fellowship in four key paths: CEOs/Co-Founders, Project Managers, Business Development Managers and Clinician Innovators.