We are creating some awesome events for you. Kindly bear with us.

Singapore identifies four frontier technology focus areas for digital economy

Singapore identifies four frontier technology focus areas for digital economy

Minister of Communications and Information, Dr. Yaacob Ibrahim (above) outlined four frontier technology focus areas for the development of Singapore’s digital economy in his speech at the the Infocomm Media Business Exchange (imbX) opening ceremony.

In collaboration with industry partners, IMDA will invest and build capabilities in these four areas to build a strong infocomm media foundation. These four fields are considered to have bright prospects in their own right, and to have great potential to transform other industries and enhance people’s lives.

The four areas and some planned and ongoing initiatives within them are as below:

Artificial Intelligence and Data Science

At InnovFest Unbound Dr. Ibrahim talked about a 5-year SG$ 150 million national programme in Artificial Intelligence (AI), called AI.SG. This initiative will be driven by a government-wide partnership comprising National Research Foundation (NRF), the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office (SNDGO), EDB, IMDA, SGInnovate, and the Integrated Health Information Systems (IHiS).

NRF has also established a Data Science Consortium in collaboration with the National University Singapore (NUS), the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), the Singapore Management University (SMU) and the Agency for Science,Technology and Research (A*STAR).

It will facilitate collaboration between Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs), research institutes and industry in data science R&D, with the aim of facilitating industry adoption of cutting-edge data science and analytics technologies. The Consortium will work in partnership with the Economic Development Board (EDB) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) to engage companies in six sectors: finance; healthcare; customer and retail; manufacturing; logistics; and transport.

In addition, under the TechSkills Accelerator’s (TeSA) Company Led Training programme, the first TeSA Fintech project with DBS Bank was announced. It will develop more fresh professionals with capabilities in Agile Development, DevOps, Information Security, and Data Analytics for
the financial services sector.

New partners are coming on board, inlcuding Tata Consultancy Services and DerivIT to train fresh professionals in fintech, data analytics, and software development.

Cybersecurity

Dr. Yaacob highlighted the involvement of companies like Singtel, ST Electronics (InfoSecurity), Quann, Accel, and Deloitte in Cybersecurity Associates and Technologists, or CSAT, programme to train more cybersecurity professionals. CSAT is a joint initiative by CSA and IMDA for collaborating with companies to train and up-skill fresh ICT professionals and mid-career professionals for Cyber Security job roles. Trainees have opportunities to undergo On-the-Job training programmes and participate in local and overseas attachments identified by the CSAT Training Partners.

The government has also established the National Cybersecurity R&D Programme since 2013, with funding of up to $130 million over five years, to develop R&D expertise and capabilities in cybersecurity to improve the trustworthiness of Singapore’s cyber infrastructure.

Immersive media

Virtual and augmented reality technologies (VR/ AR) are expected to be used across various industries, such as retail, architecture, construction, education, healthcare, defence to improve processes, reduce costs and enhance outcomes.

Dr. Yaacob talked about two initiatives in this area. One is a pilot for testing the feasibility of using VR technology as a tool in the teaching and learning of social studies in Singapore schools.

Sites of interest could include landmarks such as the Central Sikh Temple, Chinese Garden and Geylang Serai market for teaching students about the early settlers in Singapore or it could be an offshore fish farm or an organic vegetable farm for learning about agricultural activities in Singapore. The VR technology was piloted in five primary schools, covering around 400 students in March 2017.

IMDA is also collaborating with Tan Tock  Seng  Hospital (TTSH)  and  local  tech  and  visual  effects  company  SideFX  Studios (SideFX) to jointly leverage immersive tech to enhance clinical training. The  project to be launched in May 2017 will use VR / MR (mixed reality) to create innovative immersive tech clinical training simulations.

These technologies can help increase productivity by reducing the requirement of valuable and limited clinician time to conduct training. Moreover, it can help optimise the utilisation of resources such as training rooms, manikins and task trainers and reduce costs by replacing the need to perform incisions directly on physical manikins that have expensive skin replacement parts

Internet of Things, and future communications infrastructure

IMDA will be partnering the industry to develop and put in place key components of future-ready and resilient communications infrastructure, including enhancements to the Nationwide Broadband Network, IoT networks, 5G mobile network, and sensor networks. These will enable businesses to leverage high-speed networks, real-time communications, and high accuracy location positioning to better deliver their services.

IMDA will be waiving frequency fees for 5G trials with immediate effect to promote greater technological innovation and forward the development of 5th generation mobile networks. 5G is viewed as a comprehensive wireless-access solution with the capacity to address the demands and requirements of mobile communication beyond 2020.

PARTNER

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.

PARTNER

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.

PARTNER

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.

SUPPORTING ORGANISATION

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.

PARTNER

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. 

PARTNER

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.

Send this to a friend