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A*STAR @ SWITCH 2020

POST event SWITCH 2020

A*STAR@SWITCH 2020 Highlights

The A*STAR Village played host to over 50 exhibits and hosted several panels on the topic of catalysing innovation on 9 Dec.

Here are the highlights from this year’s event!

SME DAY 2020 @ SWITCH Highlights

Dr Tan See Leng, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Trade and Industry, graced this year’s SME Day.

In his opening remarks, Dr Tan spoke about the various ways in which SMEs can accelerate their innovation journey to ensure that they stay competitive, and how government agencies like A*STAR can support their efforts. Programmes like A*STAR’s Tech Depot; Operations and Technology Roadmapping; and T-Up were highlighted in his speech.

Visit here to read Minister Tan's full speech

We also celebrated the achievements of 7 researchers who were seconded under the T-Up programme to 6 SMEs, where they helped the companies to boost their innovation capabilities and competitiveness.

Dr Tan See Leng

Congratulations to all our winners!

SWITCH 2020 T-UP award Winners

If you are an SME and are keen on learning more about T-Up and other programmes,

Conference Highlights

What makes Singapore a global innovation hub and what does it take to build a vibrant ecosystem here? We showcased heavyweights in Singapore’s Tech and Innovation scene, and introduced the backbone of Singapore’s innovation ecosystem. Collaboration and networking are essential to building up the innovation ecosystem, and also at the core of today’s partners.

Panel: Leveraging Robotics & Automation Now, Next & Beyond

With the advancement of robotics and automation, many industrial processes have been made faster, safer, cheaper and more efficient.

This online panel discussion will explore the threats and opportunities of automation, and uncover the future of robotics and automation.

Moderator: Dr Alex Lin, Interim CEO, NTUitive
Panelists:

  • Dr Marcelo Ang, Director for Advanced Robotics Centre, NUS
  • Prof Chen I-Ming, CEO, Transforma Robotics
  • Mr Gabriel Yee, Managing Director, Myrmidon Laboratories
  • Mr Leong Yong Shin, CEO, Augmentus

Panel: Smart Urban Solutions for a Sustainable Singapore

Smart cities have emerged as a possible solution for future living around the world due to the increasing population residing in cities. Solutions including sustainability in energy consumption, zero waste management, urban space creation have formed important thematic exploration across global agencies.

In a city-state like Singapore, smart urban solutions are important to ensure sustainable living for our future generations.

In this panel discussion, the panelists will deliberate on the technological advances of urban solutions, and the challenges in innovating for smart cities.

Moderator: Ms Irene Cheong, Director, NUS Industry Liaison Office
Panelists:

  • Ms Amanda Khoo, Director, NIPO International
  • Dr Kelvin Lee, Senior Technical Manager, Samwoh Innovation Centre
  • Dr Poh Seng (PS) Lee, Director of CERT, NUS and Programme Director of CoolestSG
  • Mr William Temple, CEO, Ampotech

Panel: Internationalisation of Deep Tech

The world is our oyster and Singapore’s deep tech companies have their sights set on the global market. The journey for deep tech companies to venture beyond the little red dot sound perilous. There are companies that have successfully achieved this.

This panel will dive into the challenges and considerations for overseas expansion. It includes talent, culture, the regulatory environment and the need to plug into business networks and resources. The latter includes global alliance and overseas partners centres.

Moderator: Prof Tan Sze Wee, Assistant Chief Executive, Enterprise, A*STAR
Panelists:

  • Mr Hui Kwok-Leong, Acting Director, Ecosystem Development, NUS Enterprise
  • Dr Zhou Lihan, CEO, Mirxes
  • Dr Periklis Akritidis, CTO, Niometrics
  • Ms Ruby Fang, VP Business Development, Westcom Solutions

Panel: Transforming Healthcare Amidst Crisis with Deep Tech

The global COVID-19 pandemic has turned the spotlight on Singapore's research and development capabilities. Singapore's groundwork to nurture its research, innovation and enterprise ecosystem, especially in the health and biomedical sciences, has positioned the country to respond to the crisis quickly with deep technology-driven solutions. It is important for Singapore to continue to invest in building new deep tech capabilities in preparation for the next public health crisis that affects every aspect of society.

This online panel discussion will feature an overview of Singapore’s research and technologies that contributed to combating the COVID-19 pandemic, and discuss the way forward to prepare for future public health crises.

Moderator: Dr Sidney Yee, CEO, DxD Hub
Panelists:

  • Prof Dean Ho, Director, N.1 & WisDM, NUS
  • Dr Damian O’Connell, CEO, EDDC, A*STAR
  • Dr Yukti Choudhury, CTO, Lucence
  • Dr Gurpreet Singh, Founder, Respiree
  • Mr Amrish Nair, Director, Biorithm

Find out more about our programmes.


Contact us to start your innovation journey today!