Keppel Corporation (Keppel) and the National University of Singapore (NUS) today announced the setting up of the Keppel-NUS Corporate Laboratory, in collaboration with the National Research Foundation (NRF), Prime Minister's Office, Singapore. The laboratory, which will be based at the NUS Faculty of Engineering, will be established with an investment amount of S$75 million.
The launch of the Keppel-NUS Corporate Laboratory was graced by Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr Teo Chee Hean, who is also Chairman of NRF.
The Keppel-NUS Corporate Laboratory is the second laboratory to be established under the NRF's Corp Lab @ University scheme, which is established to support Singapore's autonomous universities in their conduct of industry-relevant research with companies as partners.
Keppel, which has been working closely with NUS Engineering for more than 10 years in the field of offshore engineering, is the first local company to establish a laboratory of this scale, in collaboration with a Singapore university. The move signifies a deeper collaboration between the industry and academia. In the long term, the Corporate Laboratory aims to nurture engineering students for the offshore industry, providing opportunities for talented and motivated students to get hands-on experience with valuable exposure to the practical needs of the offshore industry.
The Keppel-NUS Corporate Laboratory will create a synergistic industry-university partnership to pursue three main research thrusts which are centred on Future Systems, Future Yards and Future Resources to meet the future challenges of the offshore industry. Its vision is to be a global technology centre of excellence in the pursuit of resources in a safe and responsible manner from harsh environments and ocean beds, preserving and sustaining our environment. Its mission is to undertake R&D through Keppel's core competencies and NUS' research expertise for solutions to Deepwater, Arctic and other fields.
Leveraging on the expertise of NUS research centres such as the NUS Centre for Offshore Research & Engineering (CORE) and NUS Tropical Marine Science Institute (TMSI), as well as Keppel's research unit Keppel Offshore & Marine Technology Centre, the Corporate Laboratory will develop capabilities and technologies to maintain Singapore's position as a global leader in the offshore and marine industry.
Professor Low Teck Seng, Chief Executive of NRF, said: "This collaboration is an inflexion point because it is the first time a local MNC is investing a substantial amount of money to engage a university in both the breadth and depth of research. This corporate laboratory will capitalise on Keppel's expertise in the offshore and marine industry, as well as the research and technological capabilities that our universities have built over many years. The Corp Lab @ University scheme is a proactive approach to catalyse the translation of research into accrued benefits for Singapore."
