Singapore's science and tech success offers lessons for the UK

Professor Alice Gast with Singapore's President Dr Tony Tan at Imperial College London in 2014

As Singapore turns 50, leaders from Imperial College London and Rolls-Royce, have praised the country's investment in R&D.

Writing in City AM, Imperial’s President Alice Gast and Rolls-Royce’s director of research and technology, Imperial alumnus Ric Parker, argue that Britain could learn from Singapore’s investment “in smart, merit-based science and technology”. 

They write that: “Over the past 20 years, in the public and private sectors, Singapore has spent more on R&D than most countries as a percentage of GDP and on a per capita basis. And it’s not slowing down: from 2000-2012, Singapore nearly doubled R&D investment. The results are clear. From the high-tech efficiency that sweeps travellers through Changi Airport, to the world-beating personalised medical care in research hospitals; it’s all a product of smart planning and prudent investment.”

Professor Gast refers to her experience serving on the Singapore Ministry of Education’s Academic Research Council where “Experts from around the world review proposals, enabling talented people to collaborate, innovate and make exciting things happen. The outcomes are transforming lives. Singaporean scientists’ breakthroughs in quantum technologies can be harnessed for secure communication; their innovations in sensors tell you when milk has expired or a wound needs redressing.”

Racing ahead

In this environment, they add, “Singapore’s universities are racing ahead. Their blend of home-grown and foreign talent brings researchers together in a highly effective and collaborative environment. Singapore is second only to the UK for the percentage of national research output in the top 1 per cent of the most highly cited academic publications. Only Finland and Denmark have more engineers per million people.

Students at LKCMedicine

“As UK leaders question how to raise productivity, Singapore is doing it. Almost 50 per cent of its manufactured exports are classed as 'high technology'; at S$135bn (£62.9bn), these R&D-intensive exports are an important economic driver. It is this environment that inspires Rolls-Royce and Imperial College London to invest time, resource and brainpower in collaborating with Singaporean partners.”

Both Imperial and Rolls-Royce are among the UK’s leading collaborators with Singapore. Imperial’s joint medical school with Nanyang Technological University admitted its first students in 2013, while Rolls-Royce represents 1.5 per cent of Singapore’s manufacturing GDP.

Last year, Singapore’s President Dr Tony Tan visited Imperial as part of his UK state visit. 

Alice Gast and Ric Parker’s full article can be read in City AM.