Singapore has been a driving force for global innovation for many years, referred to as 'a mini Silicon Valley' by Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman.
1 of only 3 city states in the world, Singapore rose to fifth place in the 2018 Global Innovation Index, an annual ranking that measures the innovation performance of 126 countries. Placing behind only Switzerland, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK, Singapore scored highly on foreign direct investment, high and medium-high tech manufacturing and high-tech net exports, positioning the city state as a focal point for international collaboration.
A share of £1 million is available for partnerships between the UK and Singapore which develop disruptive and game-changing innovations in a variety of fields. The funding is available through Innovate UK and the EUREKA Network. EUREKA is an intergovernmental network, bringing together 41 member states to facilitate wider international cooperation and innovation.
Singapore/UK collaborative R&D
The competition aims to support the development of collaborative research and development projects between the UK and Singaporean companies. Although the competition scope is open to any sector, applications are particularly encouraged in:
- medical technology
- smart mobility and logistics
- advanced manufacturing
Projects must be collaborative, including at least 1 business from Singapore and 1 from the UK, independent from each other, and show:
- a clear game-changing, disruptive and innovative idea leading to new products, processes or services
- a strong and deliverable business plan that demonstrates awareness of market potential and needs
- a clear route to market within 2 to 3 years of project completion
Competition information
- the competition opens 17 June 2019. The registration close date is 19 September 2019, and the deadline for both the Innovate UK document and EUERKA application submissions is 26 September 2019
- organisations of any size may apply
- up to £350,000 is available per project
- an online briefing event will be held on 1 July 2019 where organisations can find out more about the competition and process of applying
