IEEE to open new branch at Fusionopolis

IEEE is collaborating with A*STAR and the Singapore Economic Development Board to enhance Singapore’s position as a global business center.

IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional association, announced plans on Monday to expand its operations in Singapore, with a relocation of its local branch office to Solaris@Fusionopolis, to be at the heart of Singapore’s science and engineering research. The move will enable IEEE to expand its services for the R&D community, as well as provide greater support for its growing membership and activities in the Asia Pacific region. 3,100 of IEEE’s 400,000 members are based in Singapore, according to an IEEE report.

IEEE is collaborating with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore’s lead public research agency that is dedicated to fostering world-class scientific research in areas related to biomedical sciences, physical sciences and engineering; and the Singapore Economic Development Board, the lead government agency responsible for planning and executing strategies to enhance Singapore’s position as a global business center.

IEEE will use the office to facilitate future activities that will include the expansion of continuing education programs for members and the local technology community, roundtable workshops and seminars featuring industry leaders, as well as other technology themed events. Supporting this expansion are IEEE locations in Bangalore, India (opening 29 October); Beijing, China; and Tokyo, Japan.

IEEE’s expansion plans come as Singapore presses on with its R&D ambition, with a planned investment of S$16.1b in public research over the next five years (2011-2015). The investment is aimed at accelerating knowledge-creation and innovation activities in the country to reach 3.5% of GDP by 2015, which will put it among the most research-intensive economies in the world.

“IEEE has made a strategic decision to have a presence in this district, which will enable us to more efficiently collaborate with local agencies in order to expand our operations in the Asia Pacific region,” said E. James Prendergast, IEEE executive director. “We look forward to continuing to work with A*STAR and the Singapore Economic Development Board, both key contributors to local business and technology ventures.”

Gracing IEEE’s opening ceremony in Solaris@Fusionopolis, Mr Lim Chuan Poh, Chairman of A*STAR, said, “The expansion of IEEE’s operations in Singapore is timely as the local R&D community gears itself up for the next lap in Singapore’s R&D. Two key imperatives in the new Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2015 are deriving greater economic outcomes from Singapore’s R&D investment, and increasing synergies within academia and with industry. IEEE, through its activities such as roundtable workshops and seminars, will play an important role towards facilitating greater dialogue and enabling collaborations between the public and private sector research communities .”

Prof. Low Teck Seng, IEEE Fellow and A*STAR’s Managing Director, said, “IEEE’s presence at the heart of science and engineering research in Fusionopolis is fitting  so that it can be responsive to the needs of the R&D community. We look forward to more platforms for IEEE members to meet, discuss and collaborate, both locally and globally, to push the frontiers of science, technology and benefit society.”

Mr Yeoh Keat Chuan, Assistant Managing Director, Singapore Economic Development Board: “We warmly welcome IEEE’s decision to expand its operations here. As Singapore grows in importance to global businesses, we will continue our efforts to build up industry clusters which include highly respected industry standards and professional organisations such as IEEE. Their presence will deepen industry knowledge and strengthen our competitiveness through continuous training and promoting best practices among engineers.”