Speech by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the opening of Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE)

RIEC members, University Presidents, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen

Introduction

I am delighted to be here with you this afternoon to open the CREATE Campus, the Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise.

R&D is an important activity in a knowledge-based economy like Singapore. It is important because through R&D, we discover new knowledge. Through R&D, we drive innovations that improve our lives and through R&D, we develop new economic opportunities. So R&D is integral to Singapore’s development strategy. It gives us an edge against larger and better resourced countries. It helps us to stay abreast of scientific breakthroughs that will transform our lives. It prepares us in skills and expertise that will enable us to exploit new industries and new economic opportunities, as we have done with semiconductors or with the BMS - biomedical sciences. And through R&D, we also retain and develop our own talented scientists and researchers.

Therefore, our policy and practice has been to have steady, long-term investments in R&D, starting with good schools and teachers, emphasizing science and technology in our system, whether it is through a National Technology Plan; whether it is through STEM subjects in schools – STEM standing for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics; or whether it is through consistent R&D funding, through economic cycles, so as to avoid a “feast and famine”, ‘boom and bust” problem.

We have gradually built up the R&D budget over the years. The budget for this five-year plan, 2011 to 2015, is S$16 billion and that is 20 per cent more than the previous five-year budget despite the economic slowdown. But it is necessary because R&D is a long and uncertain process and we must invest resolutely, consistently and, we hope, wisely and judiciously so as eventually to get the results which we want.

I think we are making good progress in R&D. If you look at scientific publications, the annual numbers have doubled over a decade. If you look at practical innovations, we have developed some innovations that will benefit Singaporeans, for example, safer corneal transplants for Asian eyes. We have yielded economic benefits as well. R&D products contributed more than S$10 billion to the economy in 2010 and we have seeded new growth sectors like Water, like Biomedical Sciences, like Clean Technologies and there are positive spillovers to many aspects of our lives, whether it is in healthcare or whether it is a cleaner environment.

Several factors have made this possible in Singapore. First, our whole system, our ethos is based on rationality. We look at empirical evidence and we adopt what works and we discard what does not work. We call it pragmatism but actually, there is principle in it. We analyze and tackle our problems rationally and our society and Government are organized on the principle of meritocracy, making things work, putting people in place who can deliver. At the same time, we constantly experiment with new ideas to improve ourselves so as not to be trapped by the status quo. That is why science is respected and can flourish in Singapore.

We also have other advantages in promoting science and technology and R&D. Our intellectual property regime is robust and is enforced fairly and incorruptibly. We have a global outlook, outward-looking, open to talent and multinationals. We have a strong network of good friends around the world and I thank the RIEC, who are some of our very good friends who have spent much time and energy with us, giving us the benefit of their valuable support, their insights and their advice.

CREATE

CREATE is the latest effort to enhance R&D in Singapore. We do R&D in many institutions here, in the universities, in the A*STAR research institutes, in corporate labs. But CREATE is different. CREATE will bring together, in one campus, leading global research institutions with our own institutions in Singapore to develop practical innovations and economic opportunities for us. It is the first of its kind worldwide. We call it a “collaboratory”. It is a laboratory because there are 15 interdisciplinary research groups from ten renowned universities with very strong global research records. And it is a collaboration because we have created an environment that encourages a cross-fertilization of ideas through partnerships - partnerships between research institutions, partnerships across scientific disciplines, partnerships with industry and with Singapore institutions through multi-disciplinary projects which will yield benefits in many directions.

We see this in some of the projects already being pursued. For example, the Technical University of Munich and NTU are working on an electric taxi as a model of electric vehicles or as a future means of urban transport. UC-Berkeley, NUS and NTU are designing more energy-efficient and lower-carbon buildings in tropical climates, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University and NUS are working on improving energy and environmental sustainability in megacities. These are research projects which will yield tangible benefits not only to Singapore but also to other societies and cities as well.

CREATE has attracted many foreign research institutes and scientists. When it is done, I think we are hoping there will be 1,200 scientists working in this set of buildings here. And that is how science is done everywhere in the world. All the leading research centres anywhere have a diverse mix of scientists from many nationalities. There is no place which is in the first rank and which has scientists all from one city or one country. And all the more so in Singapore, given our small size and our small population base, it has to be an international endeavor. Hence, R&D in Singapore will always involve collaborations with institutions and scientists from many countries.

But our objective is not for the foreign institutions or foreign scientists to do R&D in Singapore as standalone entities. We want to be something more than just a hotel for R&D or a pop-up lab. We would like the activities and the people we attract here to integrate into our larger R&D eco-system, to build partnerships with the local institutions and researchers and gradually to create a deep-rooted vibrant R&D centre in Singapore. So it is not an accident that CREATE is on the NUS campus at the key point which links up two important pieces of NUS - the old part and the new University Town on the other side.

We need to develop our own capabilities to achieve this rooting and indigenization of the whole activity. We need to nurture a pipeline of scholars, groom Singaporeans for leadership positions in research institutes and foster the collaboration and mutual understanding and trust which will enable the whole system to grow and to prosper over time. I am sure that CREATE will contribute to this goal and in due course, in the fullness of time, we will reap the full benefit of our investments in R&D.

National Innovation Challenge on “Land and Liveability”

R&D is not just about basic research or esoteric science. Another challenge is to apply R&D to our living context and to improve our lives in tangible ways and especially so for our most complex challenges, like energy resilience, environmental sustainability, urban solutions. This was why we set up a series of National Innovation Challenges, which will focus on using research to make a tangible difference to our lives.

The first National Innovation Challenge we launched last year was on “Energy Resilience for Sustainable Growth”. The aim was to develop cost-competitive energy solutions to help Singapore improve our energy efficiency, to reduce our carbon emissions and to increase our energy options. The research will focus on our top priorities like carbon capture and storage or utilization, like smart grids or green buildings. And now, the first projects are in the final stages of evaluation and award of the first call for proposals.

We have decided this year to launch a second National Innovation Challenge and that is on “Land and Livability”. The aim is to support an economically-vibrant, highly-liveable and resilient city of the future with enough land to sustain growth. It is strategically important for us. We have done much to make Singapore the “Most Liveable City in Asia”, with more green spaces, well-planned townships, efficient road and rail networks. But we want to continue to grow our economy and we need to grow our population to some extent. But land will always, therefore, be scarce in Singapore and it will get scarcer as the economy and population grow, despite all the reclamation which we can do. And, therefore, we have to keep on finding new ways to use land intelligently and creatively.

The National Innovation Challenge on “Land and Liveability” aims to do this by focusing on two broad research thrusts. First, to create new space cost-effectively, whether it is building underground, whether it is floating structures on which we can put power stations or waste disposal facilities. Secondly, we need to optimize the space we have while keeping Singapore liveable, for example, by distributing our homes and offices better so that people do not need to commute so much and we can relieve the traffic congestion on the roads and we do not need to use so much of our space for road space.

This NIC will engage many partners. We need experts to tap on the knowledge of emerging trends, technological advances and existing capabilities so that we can identify what are the promising research areas to pursue. We need the industry and agencies to translate findings into practical and economically-viable solutions for us, some of which hopefully can then be exported overseas. And we need the Government and the population to be involved because finally, if we are going to change the city and change the way we use space and organize ourselves, the state has to take the lead, make things happen and people have to understand and make the system work because you are not just talking about the behaviour of molecules in a test-tube, you are talking about human beings in a living city. So it is a challenge, it is a big and hairy challenge, but one which I think will be valuable for us.

Conclusion

We have made good progress in R&D over the last ten-odd years that we have embarked on this, but it is still a long journey. We are still an upstart compared to countries like Switzerland or Israel, or research hubs like Boston. But we are making steady progress and we are determined to succeed. What matters is not just the resources which we invest in R&D but also how the research grows our economy and improves our lives. Ultimately, it is the output which counts. CREATE and the new National Innovation Challenge on “Land and Liveability” are two of our latest steps forward and there will be more to come. So I am confident of their success and look forward to many more exciting projects in the years ahead. Thank you very much.