Mr S Iswaran at the UK-Singapore Conference for Building Science & Technology Capacity with South East Asian Partners

OPENING SPEECH BY MR S. ISWARAN, MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY AT UK-SINGAPORE CONFERENCE FOR BUILDING SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY CAPACITY WITH SOUTH EAST ASIAN PARTNERS ON 13 JULY 2006

Your Excellency, Sir Alan Collins,

British High Commissioner to Singapore

Excellencies, distinguished speakers and guests

Ladies and gentlemen

I am pleased to join you here at this conference on Building Science and Technology Capacity with South East Asian Partners. Today’s conference, organized jointly by the British High Commission and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), marks yet another milestone under the UK-Singapore Partners in Science initiative.A key objective of the UK-Singapore initiative is to help build scientific capacity in countries in South East Asia. I am therefore delighted that representatives from many of our South East Asian neighbours and their diplomatic missions are here today.

Building Science and Technology Capacity

Science and technology affects many aspects of our lives, and many sectors of our society - from healthcare, manufacturing, education, to entertainment and lifestyle. Indeed, the knowledge-based economy that drives global development today is, at its core, about innovations and breakthroughs in science and technology.

And to compete in a knowledge and innovation-driven economy, all countries must continue to build their scientific capacity in order to better position themselves to benefit from the economic opportunities that the waves of technology afford.

Here in Singapore, the Government is committed to invest in R&D as a driver for economic growth and as a foundation for our long-term competitiveness. We will be allocating significant resources to science and technology, with the aim of achieving national R&D spending of 3% of GDP by 2010. To underscore the importance of this R&D effort, our Prime Minister chairs the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council (or RIEC) which drives policies and strategies to transform Singapore into a nation underpinned by strong R&D capabilities. At its recently-concluded meeting, the RIEC approved research programmes in three strategic areas, namely Biomedical Sciences, Environmental and Water Technologies, and Interactive and Digital Media. The aim is to build core capabilities in these areas, with the target of generating 86,000 jobs and S$30 billion in value-added from the three sectors by 2015.

Key Factors in Building Scientific Capacity

There are three key aspects to building scientific capacity.

Firstly, building scientific capacity is about developing human capital.Developing a critical mass of highly qualified and trained manpower is key to growing and sustaining technological development. Hence, we must focus on the training and upgrading of our human capital, with the aim of nurturing a broad base of talent, who are comfortable with technology and applying it to whatever trade or sector they are in. This manpower pool would form the country’s critical base of knowledge creators and wealth generators, and help accelerate the progress of science and technology.

For Singapore, nurturing and attracting scientific talent is a key focus, especially given our small population base. We have made some progress.Between 1990 and 2004, the number of Research Scientists and Engineers (or RSEs) in Singapore increased more than four-fold to about 19,000 in 2004, with the bulk from the private sector[1]. Over the same period, the number of RSEs with PhD qualifications has also risen proportionately to about 4,000. Going forward, A*STAR is continuing to build a strong pipeline of local research talent to meet our research and industry needs, through scholarship and fellowship programmes targeted at various levels.The RIEC has also identified, as a key priority, the need to build a significant concentration of talent to sustain research activity in the long term.

Second, we need to focus on building scientific capability and infrastructure.Scientific capability is developed through scientific research, technological innovation, technology transfer and technical cooperation. It may be built up in public research institutes or universities, and must be closely tied with industry and end users to create economic and societal value. Indeed, a strong nexus between the knowledge institutions and industry will help to unlock the value in research, and lead to innovative products and processes.

In Singapore, we have developed capabilities in our A*STAR research institutes, as well as our institutes of higher learning. In particular, A*STAR research institutes focus on mission-oriented research in areas that are most relevant to our industries. Through the coordinated management of intellectual property, as well as through various assistance schemes, we aim to strengthen our knowledge transfer to industry. Exploit Technologies, A*STAR’s commercialization arm set up to translate research into marketable products and processes, has licensed more than 120 technologies and spun out 8 companies since 2002. We also have a multi-agency initiative, called GET-Up (Growing Enterprises with Technology Upgrade), which helps local enterprises improve their technological competitiveness, by providing them with technological assistance and manpower. Since its inception in 2002, over 160 companies have benefited from the scheme.

In addition, a conducive and supportive infrastructure is a necessary foundation for science and technology to flourish. Here, I refer to not just good physical infrastructure (which is important), but also soft infrastructure such as intellectual property (IP) protection. In particular, a robust IP framework offers protection for knowledge that has been created and provides an equitable platform for such knowledge to be exploited commercially. It is a key infrastructure underpinning innovation and business growth. In this regard, Singapore has made efforts over the past years to strengthen our IP legislation and enforcement framework, and foster greater IP awareness. The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) was established in 2001 as our lead agency to spearhead these efforts. We also launched the IP Academy in 2003 to deepen and broaden our capabilities in IP protection, management and exploitation. These have contributed to our efforts to encourage more R&D activities in Singapore.

Third, we need to build networks as research is a highly networked activity.A well-connected network of scientists and institutions, both within and across countries, supports capacity building by encouraging greater exchange of information and knowledge, and collaboration in research and training. A networked scientific community would have far-reaching impact on uplifting the level of science and technology capability in the region, and facilitate the application of science and technology to solving problems of local and global concerns.

Conclusion

Today’s event aims to provide a platform for policy makers and experts from the UK and the region, as well as representatives of multilateral organizations, to come together to discuss science and technology capacity building in South East Asia.

I hope the discussion at today’s conference will help participants draw useful lessons on how capacity building can be best undertaken, and provide insights that would be useful to decision-makers.We can learn from one another, and adapt best practices to the unique circumstance and needs of our respective countries.I also hope that new friendships and collaborations will be forged amongst the many participants here today.

On this note, I wish everyone here a fruitful and enriching conference. It is my pleasure now to declare this conference open.

Thank you.

[1] Latest available R&D survey data is for 2004. Singapore had 18,935 Research Scientists & Engineers (RSEs) in 2004, of which 11,596 (or 61%) are from the private sector.