Intel collaborates with Nanyang Technological University and Nanyang Polytechnic to establish Open Innovation Labs

Intel collaborates with Nanyang Technological University and Nanyang Polytechnic to establish Open Innovation Labs

This initiative aims to make innovation more accessible to students and support the development of technology ecosystems

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

SINGAPORE, July 10, 2015 – Intel Singapore today announced it will collaborate with Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) to establish Open Innovation Labs at each tertiary institution. This initiative is aligned with the Singapore government’s vision to support innovators in developing and building technology ecosystems that will drive economic growth for the country with new start-ups, products, technologies and services.

This new collaboration between Intel, NTU and NYP aims to enable students to obtain modern skillsets and spur innovation in the Internet of Things (IoT) and wearables space. This is in line with the company’s broader goal of building a community of young creative visionaries contributing to national development. It is aligned with the national SkillsFuture movement, to develop individuals with industry-relevant training, strengthen industry engagement with our institutes of higher learning, and propel Singapore into the next phase of development through skills and innovation.  

“Every Singaporean student should have the opportunity to solve global challenges through innovation,” said Mr. Sumner Lemon, Country Manager, Intel Malaysia and Singapore. “The Open Innovation Labs with Intel will help nurture local innovation and encourage creative thinking, designing, making and inventing for the next generation of Singaporeans.”

Dr. Lim Jui, CEO of NTU Innovation and NTUitive, the university’s commercialisation arm, said that the collaboration with Intel opens doors and offers new opportunities for young student innovators to turn their ideas into reality.

“NTU’s own innovation labs have been a crucial training ground for creative students and staff who are keen to tinker with ideas and inventions,” Dr. Lim said. “However, with this new collaboration with Intel, our students and staff will now have access to unique technology and expertise which gives them an extra edge when it comes to developing skillsets and prototypes needed to kick-start a company.”

            “Preparing Singaporeans for jobs of the future requires a strong nexus between educational institutions and industry. Spurring an interest in our young people to experiment, tinker and innovate solutions to solve real world problems while bringing benefits to the society has always been a critical part of education and training at NYP. As Intel is a world tech innovation leader, we are delighted to have this opportunity to collaborate with Intel to establish an Open Innovation Lab where students, lecturers, knowledge institutions and enterprises can come together to form a collaborative ecosystem, to learn, share, ideate, experiment and innovate needs-driven IOT and Wearable solutions for the market. This collaboration with Intel will encourage our students and staff to develop skills that are industry-relevant, in line with SkillsFuture,” said Ms. Jeanne Liew, Principal & CEO, Nanyang Polytechnic. 

Initial collaboration between Intel and NTU and NYP started in 2014 with activities such as the Intel Galileo Makeathon in NTU and Intel Galileo Boot Camp in NYP. Intel has also donated hardware including the Intel Galileo Gen2, Intel Edison Kit for Arduino, Intel Edison Breakout Board and DE2i-250 FPGA Board to the institutions.

Over the next six to nine months period, several initiatives ranging from boot camps, workshops, to Makeathons & Hackathons have been planned under the Open Innovation Lab initiative. One of the first activities is a workshop on IoT programming in NYP, which took place this week.

The Open Innovation Lab initiative in NTU will involve NTUitive, the university’s innovation and enterprise, while the NYP partnership will be with the Centre of Innovation for Electronics (COIE), a joint establishment between NYP and SPRING Singapore to help local companies develop and launch products in the local and global markets.

The labs are targeted mainly at students but will be open to staff and professors in the respective institutions as well.