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NUS Establishes World First Revolutionary Materials Science Research Centre

Singapore has positioned itself as a centre of research and innovation at the heart of the world’s most dynamic economic region. With the global technology landscape becoming increasingly competitive, Singapore must constantly embrace innovative technologies to sustain and boost economic competitiveness. This necessitates a hands-on approach to creating an innovation culture, as well as a somewhat hands-off approach to allowing intellectual germination, particularly through entrepreneurship and research.

To this date, government agencies and public universities have been proactive in assisting the country in developing innovations in science and technology. The National University of Singapore (NUS) recently established the Institute for Functional Intelligent Materials (I-FIM), the world’s first institute devoted to the design, synthesis, and application of Functional Intelligent Materials (FIMs). The I-FIM will be Singapore’s sixth research centre of excellence (RCE), and the fourth hosted by the National University of Singapore (NUS).

We look forward to I-FIM playing a significant role in our research landscape and becoming a globally renowned institute that will attract, retain and support world-class academic investigators, enhance graduate education in NUS, and create new important knowledge in materials science.

– Singapore’s Education Minister

The Research Innovation and Enterprise Council formed the research centre of excellence scheme in 2007 to attract research talent, improve graduate education in Singapore universities, and training quality research personnel.

The first five research centres of excellence boosted Singapore’s research ecosystem, and their outstanding research has assisted Singapore in dealing with complex challenges such as Covid-19. When fully operational, I-FIM will have over 100 researchers and PhD students working in its facilities on the NUS Kent Ridge campus. Over the next ten years, the centre will provide 50 PhD scholarships and over 100 post-doctoral fellowships.

I-FIM researchers are already working on material-level solutions, such as a targeted drug delivery agent. A novel drug delivery agent based on 2D-electrolytes, for example, will allow for targeted drug delivery. This is especially important for diseases like cancer because the smart material only releases the drug payload when it detects the presence of a cancer cell, leaving healthy cells unharmed. The 2D-electrolytes also show promise in other applications, such as artificial muscles and energy storage, where materials must be responsive to environmental changes. Another example is the emerging living materials composites that extract electrical power from bacteria through a tight synergy of biotic and abiotic elements.

Furthermore, the I-FIM Principal Investigator said that the new materials developed at I-FIM can be used in a variety of fields, including life sciences and medicine. With the novel approach to materials research that I-FIM will take, applications such as artificial photosynthesis, artificial neurons, and even artificial tissues will now be possible.

NUS President was quoted as saying, “Materials research is poised to play a pivotal role in tackling some of the most pressing global challenges. For this reason, we have designated it a key area of focus at NUS, and over the years have amassed some of the world’s most prolific and prominent talents in this important field.”

Given the wide range of FIM applications, the researchers intend to first investigate those that are most impactful and useful to Singapore, while striking a healthy balance between being ambitious and realistic. The I-FIM team also anticipates the formation of spin-off companies in the fields of big data, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and robotics, both for materials design and for specific applications. I-FIM will establish the foundational expertise and infrastructure for the advancement of machine learning and AI solutions for smart technologies and material science in Singapore and around the world.

Singapore’s innovation ecosystem, which includes high-quality infrastructure, a growing pool of dynamic start-ups, well-trained talent, and strong government support, is a major draw for global businesses. Because of these characteristics, Singapore has become one of the most innovative places to do business. According to the annual Global Innovation Index 2017, it was ranked first among Asian nations for innovation, and it also held the top global position for innovation input, where the quality of human capital and research was a key pillar.

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Qlik’s vision is a data-literate world, where everyone can use data and analytics to improve decision-making and solve their most challenging problems. A private company, Qlik offers real-time data integration and analytics solutions, powered by Qlik Cloud, to close the gaps between data, insights and action. By transforming data into Active Intelligence, businesses can drive better decisions, improve revenue and profitability, and optimize customer relationships. Qlik serves more than 38,000 active customers in over 100 countries.

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CTC Global Singapore, a premier end-to-end IT solutions provider, is a fully owned subsidiary of ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation (CTC) and ITOCHU Corporation.

Since 1972, CTC has established itself as one of the country’s top IT solutions providers. With 50 years of experience, headed by an experienced management team and staffed by over 200 qualified IT professionals, we support organizations with integrated IT solutions expertise in Autonomous IT, Cyber Security, Digital Transformation, Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure, Workplace Modernization and Professional Services.

Well-known for our strengths in system integration and consultation, CTC Global proves to be the preferred IT outsourcing destination for organizations all over Singapore today.

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Planview has one mission: to build the future of connected work. Our solutions enable organizations to connect the business from ideas to impact, empowering companies to accelerate the achievement of what matters most. Planview’s full spectrum of Portfolio Management and Work Management solutions creates an organizational focus on the strategic outcomes that matter and empowers teams to deliver their best work, no matter how they work. The comprehensive Planview platform and enterprise success model enables customers to deliver innovative, competitive products, services, and customer experiences. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with locations around the world, Planview has more than 1,300 employees supporting 4,500 customers and 2.6 million users worldwide. For more information, visit www.planview.com.

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SIRIM is a premier industrial research and technology organisation in Malaysia, wholly-owned by the Minister​ of Finance Incorporated. With over forty years of experience and expertise, SIRIM is mandated as the machinery for research and technology development, and the national champion of quality. SIRIM has always played a major role in the development of the country’s private sector. By tapping into our expertise and knowledge base, we focus on developing new technologies and improvements in the manufacturing, technology and services sectors. We nurture Small Medium Enterprises (SME) growth with solutions for technology penetration and upgrading, making it an ideal technology partner for SMEs.

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HashiCorp provides infrastructure automation software for multi-cloud environments, enabling enterprises to unlock a common cloud operating model to provision, secure, connect, and run any application on any infrastructure. HashiCorp tools allow organizations to deliver applications faster by helping enterprises transition from manual processes and ITIL practices to self-service automation and DevOps practices. 

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IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service.

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