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The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI) have awarded funding to three consortiums and comprising a total of 30 enterprises and research institutions, to research, design, build and operate a fully electric harbour craft over the next five years.
These electrification pilot projects will demonstrate both commercial and technical viability of specific use cases for full-electric harbour craft and will support Singapore’s broader plans to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by the maritime transport sector.
Singapore has 1,600 licensed diesel-powered harbour craft that provides services such as the transport of personnel and supplies, to ships calling at the port. The funding for these projects will enable various technologies and charging infrastructures to be studied, test bedded and deployed across different types of harbour craft and operating profiles, through use cases proposed by the consortiums. The use cases involve two passenger ferries of different capacities and a lighter craft.
By bringing together industry and academia, innovative and commercially viable solutions can be developed to support the deployment of electric harbour craft in Singapore. Beyond the technologies and solutions, new business models will also be developed by the consortiums to enable the wider adoption of electric harbour craft.
MPA and SMI had launched the joint call for proposals on the electrification of harbour craft in September 2020 after a series of workshops with the industry. The call for proposals drew strong interest from the maritime community with 73 maritime companies and 10 institutes of higher learning and research institutes submitting a total of 16 proposals.
These proposals were evaluated based on their potential technical, operational and commercial viability, as well as the strength of local capability development. The three selected proposals, adopting either new build or retrofit strategies, will tap on MPA’s Maritime GreenFuture Fund for the research, testing and piloting of low-carbon technologies.
Senior Minister of State for Transport said, that to build a sustainable hub port, they plan for the 1,600 harbour craft operating in our waters to run on low-carbon fuels. One possible solution is the electrification of our harbour craft fleet, which reduces carbon emissions and has zero pollution.
As the maritime sector adopts cleaner energy solutions, there is an increasing demand for electric-powered marine vessels and sustainable charging infrastructure. MPA will capture opportunities brought about by the global energy transition.
Electrification of Harbour Crafts is critical for the multi-pronged initiatives by MPA in the journey of maritime decarbonisation. One of the fastest ways for the Port of Singapore to transit to net-zero carbon emissions is to allow Singapore’s harbour craft segment to benefit from it. MPA, SMI, and other industry partners will be working closely to develop electric vessels and their charging solutions and to co-create an innovation-led ecosystem for marine electrification.
MPA was established with the mission to develop Singapore as a premier global hub port and international maritime centre (IMC) and to advance and safeguard Singapore’s strategic maritime interests. MPA is the driving force behind Singapore’s port and maritime development.
SMI develops strategies and programmes to achieve its mission with key focus areas in sectors such as port, shipping and maritime services. SMI charts the maritime research strategy and promotes greater industry-academia research and development (R&D) collaborations to be undertaken in Singapore.
Singapore is one of the leading international trading hubs and is recognised as a leader in the global maritime sector. As reported by OpenGov Asia, has been focusing on digitalisation to help companies innovate and improve productivity over the past few years and they have had major success which can be attributed to the government’s pro-business policies, their industry transformation map and their strong drive for and investment in innovation and technology solutions.
The Maritime Innovation and Technology (MINT) Fund was set up to develop Singapore as a centre of excellence for maritime R&D and technology solutions. Since 2003, MPA has allocated a total of $265 million to the MINT Fund to accelerate industry technological innovation and capability development, and the fund has supported more than 350 industry projects.

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India recently launched a single national portal for biotech researchers and start-ups that are seeking regulatory approval for biological research and development projects. The Biological Research Regulatory Approval Portal (BioRRAP) will allow stakeholders to see the approvals accorded against a particular application through a unique BioRRAP ID.
According to the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for the Ministry of Science and Technology, Jitendra Singh, the portal is expected to strengthen interdepartmental cooperation and enhance accountability, transparency, and efficacy in the functioning of agencies that regulate and issue permissions for biological research.
BioRRAP is the first public mechanism that tracks requisite regulatory approvals for research proposals online. The portal will keep researchers notified on the stage of their application in terms of regulatory clearances. It allows users to see preliminary information on all research work carried out by a particular researcher/organisation.
Singh pointed out that other than biotechnology, biodiversity research, the latest methods of ecological conservation, and bio-surveys are gaining momentum in India due to the effect of climate change on them. Research in various biological fields is continuously expanding, supported by grants from both the public and private sectors. Many of these projects fall under the purview of regulatory agencies that must first approve them before they can be launched. BioRRAP makes the approval process easier and quicker.
India is poised to become a global bio-manufacturing hub and will figure among the top five countries of the world by 2025. Biotechnology has fast emerged as an academic and livelihood avenue for youth in India. There are over 2,700 biotech start-ups and more than 2,500 biotech companies currently active in the country. By 2025, the contribution of the Indian biotechnology industry to the global biotechnology market is expected to grow to 19% from 3% in 2017. The bio economy’s contribution to the national GDP has also grown steadily in the past years to 2.7% in 2020 from 1.7% in 2017.
The COVID-pandemic highlighted the need to link research applications submitted to various regulatory agencies for approval as well as the need to have a repository of the research works being undertaken in the public and private sectors. This not only helps to understand India’s scientific strength and expertise but to formulate policies to support and bolster scientific innovation.
Earlier this week, the Ministry for Communications, Electronics, and Information Technology (MietY) recently launched a portal for the centralised right of way (RoW) approvals called GatiShakti Sanchar. It enables telecom service providers (TSPs) and infrastructure providers (IPs) to apply for RoW permissions to lay down optical fibre cables and set up mobile towers. It is a collaborative institutional mechanism between central, state, and union territory governments, local bodies, and service providers, as reported by OpenGov Asia.
As all applicants can apply at a single common website, the portal makes the process of RoW permissions and the subsequent approvals faster and more efficient. This, in turn, could help rollout 5G services more quickly, for which base transceiver stations (BTS) are installed at short intervals, an official at the launch event noted. The portal has a dashboard displaying state and district-wise pendency statuses. It also offers automated alerts on application processing updates and centralised help desk availability.
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Western Sydney will be at the heart of Australia’s high-tech manufacturing capability with the investment of AU$ 260 million in a national-first shared-use research facility to be built on the doorstep of the new Western Sydney International Airport. The full-scale Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility (AMRF) will be the focal point of the new Bradfield City Centre, the 115ha urban and employment area next to the airport.
The region’s Premier stated that the AMRF will be at the leading edge of Australia’s advanced manufacturing revolution helping to strengthen the region’s economy now and into the future. The Premier stated that the government is securing a brighter future for families and the country, right here in Western Sydney. The NSW Government is building what matters to make Western Sydney an even better place to live, work, learn, play and raise a family.
The AMRF will create new high-paying jobs of the future in Western Sydney by making Bradfield City Centre the national capital of advanced manufacturing bringing industry and universities together. The Minister for Enterprise, Investment and Trade and Minister for Western Sydney said the AMRF was planned to be operational in 2026.
It was noted that Western Sydney has one of the largest concentrations of manufacturing businesses in Australia. The AMRF will allow manufacturers from Western Sydney the support to transition to new ways of doing business, creating the high-value components for the next generation of space, aerospace, defence and medical technologies.
This means a greater number of jobs and further investment into Western Sydney. However, more importantly, the move places Western Sydney at the centre of some of the biggest global industrial trends of this century, the Minister said.
The region’s Treasurer stated that the facility will change the face of manufacturing in Australia on the doorstep of the new International Airport. He noted that the high-tech machines that are being purchased will provide businesses and researchers in Western Sydney access to some of the most advanced manufacturing technologies in the world. This investment will return dividends for the taxpayers of NSW through private investment and premium jobs as the new city and industries grow together.
Modelled on examples of successful precincts overseas, such as the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre in Sheffield UK, the AMRF will have a manufacturing hall and collaborative workspaces. It will bring together businesses, engineers and researchers to prove out new technologies, scale up and commercialise.
The Western Parkland City Authority will also be releasing the first of an AU$ 23 million package of tenders for advanced manufacturing equipment to be installed in the pilot of the AMRF due to open in 2023. The first tender package, released this week by the Western Parkland City Authority, is for precision additive manufacturing equipment to be used in the aerospace, defence, automotive and medical industries.
Over the next 20 years, Australia’s manufacturing industry will evolve into a highly integrated, collaborative and export-focused ecosystem that provides high-value customised solutions within global value chains. The sector will focus on pre-production (design, R&D) and post-production (after-sales services) value-adding, sustainable manufacturing and low volume, high margin customised manufacturing.
There are immense strategic growth opportunities for Australia’s manufacturing sector. Turning them into reality will require significant technological innovation by public and private research communities. The key science and technology areas include:
- sensors and data analytics
- advanced materials
- smart robotics and automation
- additive manufacturing (3D printing)
- augmented and virtual reality
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Presidential Staffer of Indonesia Angkie Yudistia emphasised that people with “functional limitations” have the fundamental right to obtain population documents to access all public services in a variety of fields.
These services include healthcare, social assistance, education, as well as a variety of projects that offer financial incentives to businesses, economic recovery programmes at the national level, and other programmes run by both the government and private organisations. The following step is to spread awareness of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) that are owned and operated by these people with “functional limitations.”
“I would like to thank the Ministry of SOEs [Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises] through its ecosystem which has helped create an inclusive economy, especially for people with disabilities,” Angkie said.
She acknowledged that the realisation of an inclusive economy is a priority that needs to be pushed so that it can be immediately implemented in accordance with the regulations that are currently in place. Moreover, she requested the Provincial Government of the Special Region of Yogyakarta to work in conjunction with the Population and Civil Registration Office to expedite the collection of data pertaining to people with “functional limitations.”
The Yogyakarta Provincial Government views the partnership with each other, including the collection of data on people with disabilities, as a very positive development. Furthermore, Angkie referred to Government Regulation Number 70 of 2019 on Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation of the Respect, Protection, and Fulfilment of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as the regulation that oversees their country’s Master Plan for Persons with Disabilities.
In order to take one of the concrete steps toward the goal of making Indonesia more accessible to people with disabilities, the Inclusive Indonesia Synergy Movement was launched in the form of a synergy between the Indonesian government, the private sector, organisations, and also people with disabilities.
This movement’s goal is to make Indonesia more inclusive of people with disabilities. We expect that different multi-sectors will be able to help one other through this synergy in order to maximise the capabilities of people who have disabilities.
She expressed her gratitude for the various training, apprenticeships, and assistance for entrepreneurial endeavours that have been organised by the Ministry of SOEs ecosystem and are presently being conducted out in Yogyakarta for over 200 persons with disabilities.
The goal of this project is to realise disability independence in the economic sector so that no one is left behind in the growth of the country. It is anticipated that this will serve as a pilot project for several multi-sectors. The commitment of the government to defend and respect the rights of people with disabilities has been given a tangible form with the creation of the National Disabilities Commission.
The establishment of the commission is also a symbol of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s commitment to the implementation of Law Number 8 of 2016 on Persons with Disabilities and Presidential Regulation Number 68 of 2020 on the National Disabilities Commission. Both pieces of legislation were passed under his administration.
The establishment of the commission is a step in the process of ensuring the protection and fulfilment of the rights of persons with disabilities based on equal rights as citizens of Indonesia. This will be accomplished via the establishment of the commission. They can partake in the benefits of development while also contributing to the growth of the nation. The Indonesian government has issued a call to action to encourage everyone to assist the commission in carrying out its duties and responsibilities.
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The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) has launched the “IPOPHL Learning Activities Workspace” – ILAW – as part of its digital transformation journey, making it the first intellectual property (IP) office in Southeast Asia to offer an online IP learning system to promote IP awareness.
According to Rowel S. Barba, Director General of IPOPHL, ILAW is part of the IP Academy and strives to safeguard the health and safety of stakeholders during the pandemic, as well as the ease of everyone who wants to learn IP.
ILAW is aligned with IPOPHL’s aim to create an IP-conscious Philippines through balanced and effective IP learning and education. This, in turn, will promote innovation and creativity among our people and drive more inclusive socio-economic growth and development in the country.
– Rowel S. Barba, Director General, Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines
In the future, the IP Academy, the national centre for IP education and professionalisation, wants to collaborate with educational institutions, government organisations, and worldwide partners through ILAW. The IP Academy, through ILAW, corresponds with IPOPHL’s BRIGHT Strategic Goals and intends to promote the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ IP learning activities.
Currently, ILAW offers introductory courses on intellectual property, trademarks, copyright, and patents. The courses include lecture slides, interactive games, and video presentations that are entirely in Filipino.
Visitors can also search for and register for upcoming IPOPHL-hosted master courses aimed at more advanced IP learners. Over 1,000 people have registered on the ILAW platform thus far, including foreign registrants from China, Sri Lanka, Palestine, India, Kuwait, Nigeria, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.
Several government agencies lauded IPOPHL such as the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), WIPO Academy, ASEAN Secretariat, Philippine Trade Training Centre – Global MSME Academy (PTTC-GMEA), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) Global IP Academy all sent messages of support to IPOPHL.
The ILAW reaffirms IPOPHL’s commitment to integrating IP awareness knowledge and education with IP human resource development and to providing in-depth IP training to varied stakeholders in the Philippines, including teachers, MSMEs, entrepreneurs, creators, inventors, women and youth.
IPOPHL Promotes Gender Inclusivity and Enhances National Innovation
Meanwhile, IPOPHL has pledged to do more to empower women to foster innovation in the Philippines. In addition, the agency developed the Juana Patent and Juana Design Protection Incentive Programmes (JPIP) to encourage women inventors and designers to participate in the country’s innovation sector.
Because the pandemic heightened the risks for vulnerable groups such as women, the JPIP arrives at an opportune time to aid them in recovering from the pandemic’s economic and livelihood losses by assisting them in capitalising on their ingenuity and protecting their intellectual property.
The JPIP will waive certain expenses for approved applications, expanding IPOPHL’s women’s programmes from the Juana Make a Mark Programme.
The new initiative will let women inventors and innovative, women-led MSMEs and start-ups save more money by waiving application, publication, and substantive examination expenses. JPIP-processed applications will also be prioritised and sent through IPOPHL’s fast lanes.
IPOPHL’s innovation initiatives aided the Philippines’ ranking in a recent WIPO statistic that rated nations based on the proportion of women inventors who applied under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) — the international method for patent protection.
As the second-most populous country in this WIPO ranking, the Philippines had women inventors account for 38% of all PCT applications processed through IPOPHL, increasing their contribution to 22% by 2020. To raise women’s knowledge of the new programme, IPOPHL has recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Philippines’ Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
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Four major strategies on the Food Services Industry Transformation Map (ITM) 2025 have been revealed recently during its launching led by Gan Kim Yong, Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry fostering innovation and internationalisation as well as developing native regional brands.
The Food Services industry plays a vital role in our economy and contributes to the vibrancy of the lifestyle scene in Singapore. We want to help food services companies capture the strong consumer demand locally and, in the region, brought on by changing consumption patterns and trends in areas such as wellness and sustainability.”
– Dilys Boey, Assistant Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise SG-Lifestyle & Consumer, Food and Agritech
Boey added that to be successful in this extremely competitive field, they encourage businesses to be daring and creative in their exploration of new concepts and business models. The ITM 2025 outlines the growth strategies for the Food Services industry and bolsters the desire to create brands of which the country can be proud.
Innovating to generate new revenue streams is the first strategy. This aims to foster an innovative and vibrant Food Services industry and to develop homegrown brands with regional potential that will make the Enterprise SG collaborate with additional Food Innovate partners and larger organisations, to provide end-to-end support spanning from knowledge sharing to food product R&D and go-to-market networks.
The ITM will advise foodservice companies on how to strengthen their green branding to appeal to the environmentally concerned consumer, while the Enterprise SG will assist them in implementing sustainable solutions or incorporating sustainable practices into their operations like the Enterprise Sustainability Programme. A closer sustainability cooperation between foodservice companies and partners in the innovation or technology ecosystem to drive food resilience and sustainability goals will be encouraged.
The second strategy revealed was developing localised brands and assisting with internationalisation. ITM supports more food service providers to penetrate new markets, boost regional expansion, and internationalise by utilising different formats. Those new to internationalisation can utilise a carefully curated market accelerator programme to overcome potential industry-specific difficulties and launch their first international venture.
Enterprise SG will focus on assisting enterprises with an existing international presence to expand their presence by identifying new opportunities in rising locations. This is particularly pertinent for the regional markets, considering their near proximity to Singapore and their rapidly expanding populations.
Developing digital leaders and enhancing enterprise capabilities is ITM’s third strategy. Digitalisation remains essential to the transformation of the market. ITM 2025 will continue to promote the widespread use of foundational technologies through the Productivity Solutions Grant, which encourages businesses to deploy cost-effective, scalable digital and automation solutions.
With the implementation of the new Food Services Industry Digital Plan later this year, businesses will receive a revised digital road map to assist them in utilising innovative technology to meet their demands. The changes will also assist Food Services SMEs in transitioning from simple point solutions to integrated solutions to achieve efficiency and protect their organisations with data protection and cybersecurity technologies.
Food enterprises with scalability potential are encouraged to establish more comprehensive digital and data-driven strategies and champion seamless online-to-offline and offline-to-online customer experiences.
The last unveiled strategy was increasing job transformation and establishing quality positions for locals. To survive and grow in a fiercely competitive market, food and beverage firms must stay ahead of their business transformation initiatives and cultivate a resilient workforce core.
As organisations evolve, the ITM will boost local talent streams to support new business models and fulfil the rising demand for emerging employment. Enterprise SG will assist more businesses in launching talent development programmes to cultivate local talent in fields such as digital marketing, food technology, data analytics, restaurant management, chefs, and more.
The Food Services business plays a crucial role in Singapore’s economy, and in recent years it has achieved significant strides in digitisation and productivity enhancements. Enterprise SG will drive cross-sector relationships in line with ITM priorities.
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RMIT and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe announced a new Digital Energy TestLab that aims to enable students and researchers to simulate intelligent electrical systems for smart cities in a Victorian first.
Harnessing the power of data analytics, Internet of Things (IoT), simulation and the same hardware and software used by new generation national networks, the future energy workforce can evaluate and model real-world scenarios and optimise energy systems for smart cities, including national and local energy grids.
It builds on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) RMIT, the German industrial manufacturing company and another German multinational industrial control and automation company signed in 2021 to drive industry and workforce transformation.
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor of RMIT’s STEM College and Vice President of Digital Innovation welcomed the latest strategic initiative, saying it opened new education and research pathways to one of the nation’s most critical topics – the future of energy for smarter and more sustainable cities.
He noted that energy impacts every industry and every home in Australia. The region’s cities need smarter energy grids and systems that support our sustainable development agenda. He added that with a growing mix of energy types coming into the market, the focus is on developing new technological solutions and new workforces to help progress the region’s economy through Industry 4.0 towards a more sustainable future.
By working in interdisciplinary teams engaged with industry, RMIT’s students and researchers are gaining valuable soft skills in teamwork, systems thinking and problem-solving, while using the latest in digital technology that will set them up for life and work.
The Digital Energy TestLab features two modelling options for students: the national grid simulation that mimics complex energy scenarios using the Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO’s) data and a microgrid system that mimics more complex energy flows from multiple traditional and renewable sources of diverse sizes.
It is the latest addition in a network of TestLabs with universities across Australia, designed to build capability across a range of critical areas from energy and agribusiness to advanced manufacturing.
The Chairman and CEO of the Australian branch of the partnering company stated that Australia’s progress towards net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 hinged on using innovative technologies and people who could harness them to deliver innovative solutions.
He said he was proud to continue to work with RMIT and other Australian key educators to help drive better outcomes for the nation on critical topics such as digitalisation and energy.
He added that through the contribution of the tech firm’s technology in the TestLab, students will now have firsthand experience working on data that can help maintain grid stability in the event of situations such as natural disasters and outages.
Students also can understand the dynamics and impact of various generation sources such as wind and solar power, storage, electric vehicle charging and other infrastructure.
The CEO of Engineers Australia stated that “engineering was at the heart of solving society’s greatest challenges, including the future of energy.” She added that now Australian engineers will have access to the best tools and, therefore, will be able to develop the real-world skills necessary to guide the region through the journey to a more dependable, cost-effective and environmentally sustainable energy future.
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Earlier this week, two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) were renewed at the 7th India-Canada Joint Science and Technology Cooperation Committee (JSTCC) meeting. The MoUs were signed by the Indian Ministry of Science and Technology with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and National Research Council Canada (NRC), respectively, under the 2005 Agreement for Scientific and Technological Cooperation.
According to a press release, the focus areas of the collaboration include national missions, quantum computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and cyber-physical systems, among others. An official at the event pointed out that a large number of Indian students are studying in Canadian universities and the renewal of the MoUs would help intensify the exchange of ideas and expertise between the two countries. Representatives from several ministries and research institutions from both countries attended the meeting.
India and Canada benefit from strong bilateral relations and are committed to deepening ties, with science, technology, and innovation being key pillars of the relationship, the release noted. Under the terms of the agreement made in 2005, the JSTCC meets every two years to review ongoing collaborations between Canadian and Indian researchers and set priorities for the next period in fields like agriculture and food security, healthcare and healthtech, clean technologies and environmental research, marine and polar research, quantum tech and AI, and human capacity development and researcher mobility. Both countries agreed to continue monitoring progress on key priorities in bilateral science, technology, and innovation projects during the 2022-2024 period.
India plays an active role in the global technology research and development ecosystem by facilitating academic and scientific relationships with other countries. In March, India and Finland worked out a detailed plan to establish an Indo-Finnish Virtual Network Centre on Quantum Computing, for which India has already identified the three institutes that will work with Finnish counterpart institutions. Last month, India and Israel held a two-day workshop that explored photonics-based quantum computing, sensing, encryption, quantum magnetometry, atomic clocks, and free-space quantum communication.
At the beginning of May, the Indo-German Science and Technology Centre (IGSTC) proposed setting up a joint AI initiative for start-ups, research, and applications in healthcare and sustainability. The two sides are already collaborating on electric mobility, cyber-physical system, quantum technologies, future manufacturing, green hydrogen fuel, and deep ocean research.
Most recently, India and Japan held a working group meeting to discuss enhancing cooperation in 5G, Open Radio Access Networks (O-RAN), telecom network security, submarine cable systems, massive MIMO (multiple-input, multiple-output), connected cars, quantum communications, and 6G innovation.
OpenGov Asia reported that the countries recognised the need to nurture cooperation to grow the digital economy through joint digital transformation projects in areas like the Internet of Things (IoT) and AI. They also discussed providing opportunities to Indian IT professionals to work with Japanese firms. 2022 marks the 70th anniversary of India-Japan Diplomatic relations. Being a key driver of development, ICT provides opportunities for the countries to jointly build a robust digital foundation for the present and future world. The 7th JWG agreed to enhance cooperation in ICT areas under a memorandum of cooperation (MoC).