Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore) is setting up a joint research institute in Guangzhou, China that aims to develop new technologies ranging from electric vehicles and sustainable urban development to nutrition and food science.
The Sino-Singapore International Joint Research Institute is set up in partnership with the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City (SSGKC) Administrative Committee, the SSGKC Investment and Development Co., Ltd. and South China University of Technology (SCUT).
The four-party agreement was inked today at the Istana, witnessed by Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
President Xi is on a two-day state visit to Singapore - his first to the Republic since taking up the presidency in 2013.
The joint institute will focus on research that translates to technological advances for Guangzhou City and Guangdong Province, especially the Guangzhou Development District, Luogang District, and the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City.
Several research areas have been identified including next-generation electric vehicles and intelligent urban transportation systems; nutrition and food science; sustainable urban development; pollution control and environmental restoration; as well as biomedical materials and medical instruments.
The institute is expected to involve a funding request of RMB200 million (about S$44 million) for the first five years and to occupy up to 20,000 square metres at the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City.
NTU President Professor Bertil Andersson said, "NTU has a long history of successful collaboration with our counterparts and industry partners in China. Apart from leveraging NTU's expertise in areas such as electromobility, urban engineering, sustainability and food sciences, the new partnership is also an excellent platform for faculty, students and the industry to interact and learn from one another. More importantly, this transnational research initiative can also help to solve common issues related to research and development faced by both Singapore and China."
Mr Chen Zhiying, Chairman of SSGKC Administrative Committee, said, "This institute shall be a landmark project for international joint innovation in SSGKC, and we believe that it will serve as a key driving engine for SSGKC innovation-driven industry development."
Successful research outcomes arising from the collaboration will be implemented at SSGKC with the support of the SSGKC Investment and Development Co., Ltd.
Mr Ng Kok Siong, Chief Executive Officer, SSGKC Investment and Development Co. Ltd, said, "We are delighted to have these top universities in Singapore and Guangdong--NTU and SCUT--to embark on this exciting journey with us. As the master developer of SSGKC, we are keen to establish a platform to help both local and foreign research innovation institutions to gain market outreach, and for our industries to gain access to latest innovation from the world's leading institutions."
SCUT President Professor Wang Yingjun said the new joint research institute will leverage the universities' resources in nurturing talents and scientific research to solve technological challenges in economic and societal development, and national security. "We aim to bring in top-notch teams, hasten the application of advanced technology and products, and groom innovative talents in a new system. We also hope to build a world-class research institute and raise the research standards in the region."
Professor Lam Khin Yong, Chief of Staff and Vice President (Research), NTU Singapore, said, "This collaboration between NTU and Guangzhou is a major step forward not only for the university, but also in helping boost bilateral ties between Singapore and China. Collaborative innovation has the potential to drive knowledge transfer and technology advancement. This co-operation will allow NTU to apply its research outcomes on a greater scale and benefit a wider society."
The agreement to set up the Sino-Singapore International Joint Research Institute was signed by Mr Chen Zhiying, Mr Ng Kok Siong, Professor Wang Yingjun and Professor Lam Khin Yong.
This collaboration is one of NTU's many fruitful partnerships with China in recent years.
NTU has worked with Guangzhou to set up the Centre of Excellence for Software Transfer (CREST) by the end of this year, fostering bilateral trade by training business executives of both countries.
In July, NTU also signed two research agreements with Tsinghua and Fudan Universities to develop crowdsourcing technologies and smart liveable cities, as witnessed by Singapore President Tony Tan Keng Yam and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People.
In addition, NTU has active MOUs with 30 of its China counterparts, promoting interactions between students and faculty of both
###
Media contact:
Ang Hui Min
Assistant Manager
Corporate Communications Office
Nanyang Technological University
Email: huimin@ntu.edu.sg
About Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
A research-intensive public university, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has 33,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students in the colleges of Engineering, Business, Science, Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences, and its Interdisciplinary Graduate School. It has a new medical school, the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, set up jointly with Imperial College London.
NTU is also home to world-class autonomous institutes - the National Institute of Education, S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Earth Observatory of Singapore, and Singapore Centre on Environmental Life Sciences Engineering - and various leading research centres such as the Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute (NEWRI), Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N) and the Institute on Asian Consumer Insight (ACI).
A fast-growing university with an international outlook, NTU is putting its global stamp on Five Peaks of Excellence: Sustainable Earth, Future Healthcare, New Media, New Silk Road, and Innovation Asia.
The University's main Yunnan Garden campus has been named one of the Top 15 Most Beautiful in the World. NTU also has a campus in Novena, Singapore's medical district.
For more information, visit http://www.ntu.edu.sg