Singapore’s National Research Foundation (NRF) will set up the Singapore Data Science Consortium, a national partnership that aims to improve strengths in data science and analytics.
The consortium includes the National University Singapore (NUS), the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), the Singapore Management University (SMU) and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).
The consortium will strengthen collaborative research between institutes of higher learning, research institutes and industry in data science R&D, with the aim of facilitating industry adoption of the latest data science and analytics technologies to address real-world challenges. It will also train Singapore’s pipeline of talents with data science capabilities.
The consortium will help the industry to identify and shape their data science problem statements, match companies to potential R&D partners, and conduct industry engagement events and workshops, in order to facilitate adoption and commercialization of data science technologies.
Companies in six sectors will be engaged – finance, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, logistics and transport. Through the consortium, companies will be able access the latest data science technologies and expertise from academia, access publicly-funded intellectual property to develop new products and services, or create solutions to existing market challenges.
Data has been identified as a significant growth multiplier for Singapore. Regionally, more than 50% of Southeast Asia’s data centers are located in Singapore. The ability to analyze complex data and predict relationships will build on Singapore’s existing strengths, creating data-driven solutions that can improve the lives of citizens or build products and services for regional or global markets.
“The Singapore Data Science Consortium will build stronger public-private R&D collaboration by bringing together the key stakeholders – public agencies, data scientists and companies – in the data science ecosystem to realize innovation from the knowledge generated by our research efforts,” NRF CEO professor Low Teck Seng said.
“It is through this synergy that we create solutions that have direct relevance to meeting industry needs or in addressing our national challenges.”