Helmholtz delegation visits Singapore

The first stop on the trip was Singapore. The city state is considered one of the most innovative countries in the world and a real powerhouse in areas such as life sciences, digitalisation and artificial intelligence. The country's universities occupy top positions in international rankings and investment in research and development is high. The interplay between urbanity, sustainability and digitalisation in urban development is also considered exemplary. This makes the metropolitan region, which has a population of almost six million, an important strategic research partner in the region. The delegation visited the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and AI Singapore among others. Another highlight was the visit to the SCG Cell Therapy start-up founded by Helmholtz researcher Ulrike Protzer. Representatives from Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB), Helmholtz Munich, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR ) and the German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) among others were present.

The delegation was particularly impressed by the activities in the areas of transfer, entrepreneurship and innovation at the institutions visited. The areas of digital health, preventive medicine, sustainable construction and artificial intelligence / foundation models proved to be particularly promising fields of cooperation. A number of concrete follow-up projects were agreed, including an exchange of young data scientists between AI Singapore and the Helmholtz Information & Data Science Academy (HIDA). The second stop on the seven-day trip to Asia is South Korea.

Read about the second part of the trip to South Korea

16.04.2024