SMART NATION INNOVATIONS WEEK 2017 ABOUND WITH OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE DIGITAL ECONOMY

SMART NATION INNOVATIONS WEEK 2017 ABOUND
WITH OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE DIGITAL ECONOMY

Further investments in building infrastructure, frontier capabilities
and supporting tech enterprises announced

SINGAPORE
– 12 May, 2017 – The third Smart Nation Innovations Week
concluded on 4 May 2017. Participants had a glimpse into the
possibilities offered by the convergence of networks, data and information and
communication technologies. The pillar events – Tech Saturday (Upsized!),
innovfest unbound, arise, convergence, futurenow and fintech360 –
welcomed more than 22,000 local and international guests from 52
countries.  

“We are entering into a different era today,
where our world of mainframes and desktops is making way for cloud and the
digital economy. Singapore needs to innovate and enhance our growth strategy,
to overcome our physical limitations and bring good jobs and opportunities to
all Singaporeans in the digital age. No Singaporean will be left behind,” said
Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Communications and Information, during his
speech at innovfest unbound’s opening ceremony.

Announcements to boost digital infrastructure,
frontier technology capabilities and small and medium enterprises were also
made during the week, furthering Singapore’s charge towards a successful future
enabled by technology.

Speakers at innovfest unbound included local
business owners like Min-Liang Tan, CEO and Co-Founder of Razer and
international leaders in the technology space like David Hanson, Founder and
CEO of Hanson Robotics Limited. There were also insightful keynote speeches
from senior executives at Bayer AG, Facebook and Tencent that sparked
discussions on the future impact of technology across various sectors.

Tech
Saturday (Upsized!), 29-30 April

Wireless@SG
gets enhanced!

Tech Saturday (Upsized!) featured the new
look and feel of Wireless@SG. Singapore’s largest free Wi-Fi service has
undergone enhancements to offer a new login experience and greater connectivity.
Wireless@SG now extends automatic login to non-SIM devices, a move which will
eliminate the need for usernames and passwords. Wireless@SG also welcomed
broadband service provider MyRepublic to its pool of operators offering the
free Wi-Fi service. MyRepublic is the fifth addition to the group comprising
M1, SingTel, StarHub and Y5ZONE.

innovfest
unbound, 3-4 May

At
innovfest unbound, organized by NUS Enterprise and unbound in partnership with
IMDA, Minister for Communications and Information, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim announced
the following:

AI.SG
will be driven by a government-wide partnership comprising the National
Research Foundation (NRF) Singapore, Smart Nation and Digital Government
Office, Economic Development Board, Infocomm Media Development Authority,
SGInnovate and the Integrated Health Information Systems. The new programme
will boost Singapore’s Artificial Intelligence capabilities and play a part in
powering the nation’s future economy, especially in sectors like finance,
healthcare and city management solutions.

NRF,
in collaboration with the National University of Singapore, the Nanyang
Technological University, the Singapore Management University and the Agency
for Science, Technology and Research, will set up the Singapore Data Science
Consortium, a national partnership that will deepen Singapore’s existing
strengths in data science and analytics.

Through
the signing of individual Memorandum of Intents (MOIs) with the three leading local
banks, IMDA-accredited companies will be provided with increased access to
innovative projects to build their track record in the banking sector and scale
internationally. The local banks will gain access to innovative high-growth
Infocomm Media (ICM) companies that specialize in IoT, analytics and Artificial
Intelligence, and Cybersecurity. Currently, the banks are in various stages of
discussions and deployments with accredited companies such as V-Key and DC
Frontiers. To-date, Accreditation@IMDA has helped IMDA-accredited companies
generate over S$70 million worth of government contract opportunities, and out
of which more than 88 government projects have been won.

IMDA
has pre-approved close to 50 digital solutions for SMEs. One of the
pre-approved digital solutions, Graffiti Garage’s NEUTO Technology: Smart
Hydrogen Dry Cleaning System and another pathfinder solution, Asahi Security
Technologies’ 3D IoT Platform for Smart Buildings under the SMEs Go Digital
programme were also showcased at innovfest unbound. The showcases showed how
IMDA and the private sector are working together to offer digital solutions for
small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to embrace innovation and seize
opportunities for growth in the digital economy.