16 UK and Singapore universities form an alliance to accelerate entrepreneurship and innovation collaboration

Date: 8 April 2021

The UK-Singapore Universities Alliance for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (UKSAEI) – the first alliance of its kind to accelerate collaborations in entrepreneurship and innovation between the two countries – was launched on 8 April 2021, witnessed by H.E. Kara Owen, British High Commissioner to Singapore, and H.E. Lim Thuan Kuan, Singapore High Commissioner to the UK.

UKSAEI brings together world leading universities from the UK (Bath, Coventry, Cranfield, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, King’s College London, Newcastle, Nottingham, Manchester and Strathclyde) and Singapore (Nanyang Technological University Singapore, National University of Singapore, Singapore Institute of Technology, Singapore Management University, and Singapore University of Technology and Design) to share knowledge and facilitate collaboration in commercialisation and innovation.

Enabling knowledge exchanges on technology transfer and commercialisation, cross-border licensing of technologies, and training the next generation of entrepreneurs, the Alliance will boost efforts in accelerating ideas to market and value capture, and deepen cooperation between innovation ecosystems in the UK and Singapore.

The Alliance will aim to:

• Facilitate, share knowledge and co-operate in the respective efforts of UK and Singapore universities in the areas of technology transfer and commercialisation through active engagement with government and industry.

• Develop cross-border licensing of technologies and human capacity building as well as to support and encourage innovation.

• Act as the catalyst for commercialisation activities.

• Actively facilitate and enable collaboration between universities, public research institutes, government and industry players in the innovation ecosystem in Singapore and the UK to co-create value.

H.E. Kara Owen, British High Commissioner to Singapore said,

Both the UK and Singapore are strongly committed to investing in R&D, innovation and enterprise, and recognise the importance of collaborating internationally in these areas to support economic growth. Collaboration in knowledge and education is a top priority for the SG-UK Partnership for the Future, with science and innovation at its heart.

The Alliance builds on the extensive links between UK and Singapore universities to make a practical contribution to the role innovation and enterprise development will play in post-COVID-19 recovery. Congratulations to everyone on the launch of this Alliance.

H.E. Lim Thuan Kuan, Singapore High Commissioner to the UK said,

I am honoured to be able to witness the launch of the UK-Singapore Universities Alliance for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Since the signing of the Singapore-UK Innovation & Research Partnership Agreement in 2014, Singapore’s collaboration on research, innovation and enterprise with the UK has been growing from strength to strength.

I welcome this ground-up initiative and the aim of the Alliance to facilitate commercialisation and innovation among our IHLs. I wish them every success. Congratulations to all involved on the launch of the Alliance!

The Alliance is supported by the British High Commission Singapore, the UK Science and Innovation Network in Singapore, and the UK Universities in Singapore Network.