Singapore to boost science and technology sector by allocating 330m SGD fund

Singapore has allocated a total funding of 330 million Singapore dollars (266.1 million U.S. dollars) into three new programs to boost its science and technology sector, the city-state's Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council said on Friday. Leading by Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the council "charts Singapore's research, innovation and enterprise policies and initiatives to transform Singapore into a knowledge- based economy." The annual meeting, the 7th this year, is attended by members made up of cabinet ministers, as well as top scientists and industry leaders from Singapore and around the world. According to the council, 200 million Singapore dollars (161.3 million U.S. dollars) will be set aside for the Innovation Cluster Program, which leverages research and technological capabilities to grow new industry clusters and create higher value jobs for Singapore. It aims to bring ideas from areas of research such as diagnostics, speech and language technologies, membranes and additive manufacturing more quickly to the market. "Ultimately, R&D has to improve peoples' lives -- (with) new drugs, healthier and safer living environment, better paying jobs, and our research needs to be translated into innovation and value, " local media Channel NewsAsia quoted Lee as saying. The National Cybersecurity Research and Development Program, with investment of 130 million Singapore dollars (104.8 million U. S. dollars) over five years, will support research efforts in areas of cybersecurity, including scalable trustworthy systems, resilient systems, combating insider threats, etc. The city state also aims to woo back top Singaporean scientists working overseas. The Returning Singaporean Scientists Scheme seeks to attract top overseas-based Singaporean scientists back home to conduct research in areas important to the growth of Singapore. It will fund the research of top returning Singaporean scientists to contribute to the local research and development scene.