Imperial Global Singapore took part in a UK government mission to strengthen bilateral links in science and technology onboard HMS Prince of Wales.
The HMS Prince of Wales, one of the Royal Navy's most advanced aircraft carriers docked in Marina Bay to help celebrate 60 years of UK-Singapore diplomatic relations. The carrier served as a striking setting for Imperial Global Singapore to participate in a UK government mission to strengthen bilateral links in science and technology.
Imperial Global Singapore's Academic Director, Professor Azra Ghani led our delegation at the event which was attended by UK Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology, Peter Kyle MP.
Professor Azra Ghani said: "Imperial Global Singapore was proud to help mark 60 years of UK-Singapore diplomatic relations. This was a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate our university's commitment to fostering long-term research partnerships in Singapore thanks to our regional hub with state-of-the-art laboratories and offices at CREATE.
"A highlight of the anniversary events was joining the UK-led Carrier Strike Group (CSG) on board HMS Prince of Wales and hearing Professor Ochieng's keynote speech bringing Imperial's world-class science and technology to life for an audience including the Secretary of State at Department for Science, Innovation and Technology Peter Kyle and Nikesh Mehta, British High Commissioner to Singapore."
UK-Singapore Science & Technology Symposium
Imperial's Professor Washington Yotto Ochieng, CBE, EBS, CEng, FREng was invited by the UK government to support discussions around PNT research and development (position, navigation and timing) in his role as President of the Royal Institute of Navigation. Professor Ochieng gave the keynote lecture at the Science & Technology Symposium held onboard HMS Prince of Wales.
Professor Ochieng shared the key points from his lecture:
"Our Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) relies on Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) systems such as Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), to provide services critical to the functioning of our country. It has been estimated that losing GNSS for 24 hours would result in an economic loss of about £1.4 billion.
"Using the example of aviation and its exposure to signal interference through spoofing, the keynote delved into the vulnerabilities, threats and risks of GNSS, and the work that the UK Government through the DSIT, the Royal Institute of Navigation (RIN) and Imperial are undertaking to mitigate the risks.
"The talk highlighted the government's first in the world, in setting up a UK National PNT Office (NPNTO) and its 10-points plan that should lead to a sovereign resilient PNT capability through a system-of-systems architecture.
"In parallel, and with the support of DSIT, the keynote presented a complementary programme by the RIN in creating a Resilient PNT Resources Portal with the aims to (i) provide operational guidance for non-technical decision makers, (ii) provide tools to help CNI operators and suppliers score and visualise resilience, (iii) encourage new behaviours - e.g. an annual "fire drill", (iv) encourage a continuous-improvement mentality to Resilient PNT, and (v) cultivate a Resilient PNT mindset.
"The talk also summarised the world leading research at Imperial funded by UKRI on resilient PNT including aspects relevant to the UK's resilient system-of-systems PNT architecture.
"Finally, the talk paid tribute to the government and DSIT, in particular, in leading from the front to ensure that the UK is not left behind in having its own resilient PNT capability."
Imperial Global Singapore lab tour
Professor Ochieng, alongside colleagues from the UK's Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and Dstl subsequently visited Imperial Global Singapore to tour our labs at CREATE and discuss future bilateral UK-Singapore collaborations between academia and government around areas of common interest and expertise in PNT.
Thank you to HE Nikesh Mehta and the British High Commission in Singapore for convening this cross-sector community dedicated to advancing UK–Singapore ties in science, education and beyond.
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