@Poh Kam WONG
University’s role in supporting innovation &
entrepreneurship: Lessons from National
University of Singapore (NUS)
Professor Wong Poh Kam
NUS Business School & LKY School of Public Policy
Director, NUS Entrepreneurship Centre
@Poh Kam WONG
University’s role in supporting Innovation
& Entrepreneurship
• The open nature of the university model for knowledge
production & exchange
– Open Culture of Scientific Commons vs. Proprietary IP
system for technology commercialization in private firms
– High flow of talents (students but increasingly professors as
well) in university model vs. moderate churn in firms
– Spatial proximity of, & porosity of boundary between
diverse disciplinary fields, facilitating cross-disciplinary
research
• Increasing adoption of “Third Mission”
– Adapting the traditional university model to incorporate a
technology commercialization role in addition to the
traditional roles of teaching & research
@Poh Kam WONG
“Third Mission” Challenges: Integration of open
science model with technology commercialization &
academic entrepreneurship role
– Incorporation of technology commercialization role as an integral
part of the university’s mission without sacrificing the push for
excellence in basic science
– Balancing “Pasteur Quadrant” (Use-inspired basic research) &
shorter-term applied research
– Implementing proprietary IP commercialization management
while maintaining culture of open science
– While R&D collaboration with, & licensing of technology to,
industry represents the key mechanism for open innovation by
university in advanced economies, in the context of NIEs where
existing high tech industry is weak, commercialization through
entrepreneurial spin-offs may be even more important
– Changing mindset of faculty and students
@Poh Kam WONG
University role in supporting Innovation &
Entrepreneurship
• Lessons from the experience of National University of
Singapore (NUS) in seeking to become a driver knowledgeeconomy development by fostering industry linkages and
entrepreneurial spin-offs
• Lessons from other Asian universities based on a recently
completed 2-year comparative study of university technology
commercialization and academic entrepreneurship involving 11
leading Asian universities
@Poh Kam WONG
Comparative R&D Indicators, Selected OECD/Asian Economies
Grouping
OECD
G-5
Industrialized
Small
Countries
Asian NIEs
Country
OECD Average
Japan
Germany
U.S.A
U.K
France
Finland
Switzerland
Sweden
Israel
Ireland
Netherlands
Denmark
Norway
Australia
New Zealand
Korea
Taiwan
Hong Kong
China
India
Malaysia
Singapore
Singapore
Year
2004
2004
2005
2006
2004
2005
2006
2004
2005
2005
2005
2004
2005
2005
2004
2003
2005
2004
2006
2005
2001
2006
1990
2006
R&D/GDP
(%)
2.25
3.2
2.5
2.6
1.7
2.1
3.5
2.9
3.9
4.7
1.3
1.8
2.4
1.5
1.8
1.1
3.0
2.5
0.8
1.3
0.8
0.6
0.8
2.4
Target for R&D/GDP (%)
Year
Target
2010
3%
2015
2010
2010
2010
2010
2.5%
3%
3%
3%
3%
2010
2010
2010
2010
3%
3%
3%
3%
2007
2008
5%
3%
2020
2.5%
2010
3%
Source : NSF Science & Engineering Indicators 2008, OECD Main Science & Technology Indicators 2008, national sources
@Poh Kam WONG
Changing Role of NUS in Singapore’s shift
towards a knowledge-based economy
Until the mid-1990s, NUS, as the oldest and leading university in
Singapore, has emphasized the traditional twin academic
missions of providing excellent education to the nation’s
population, and contributing to the creation of new knowledge
through engagement in R&D activities geared primarily
towards scientific publications
Since then, NUS has not only continued to pursue excellence in
these twin academic missions, but has moved decisively
towards adopting a Third Mission by implementing an
entrepreneurial university model
@Poh Kam WONG
Ranking of NUS in the World University Rankings
by the Times Higher Education Supplement, 2004-08
Ranked 30th in the 2008 Times Higher Education Supplement
of top 200 universities in the World
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Overall
18
22
19
33
30
Biomedicine
25
15
9
12
17
Science
35
34
22
25
31
Technology
9
9
8
10
11
Social Sciences
10
13
11
20
18
Arts and Humanities
17
56
22
21
30
Source:The Times Higher Education Supplement (various years) ;
THE-QS World University Rankings http://www.topuniversities.com/worlduniversityrankings/
@Poh Kam WONG
New Roles of NUS in the Context of Singapore’s
Shift towards Knowledge Economy
Contribute to the Creation of New Knowledge-based Industries
To support knowledge-based economic growth through the
creation of industrially-relevant knowledge/innovation and their
commercialization, and to attract global MNCs in new emerging
industries
Attraction of Foreign Talents
Go beyond education for the local population to compete for
global talents by attracting top students and faculty from
overseas, as is done by top universities in USA
Fostering Entrepreneurial Mindset
In the past, high economic growth has provided NUS
graduates with good career prospects as salaried employees,
particularly in MNC subsidiaries and government
In the future knowledge economy, stable job opportunities no
longer guaranteed, need to inculcate spirit of enterprise
@Poh Kam WONG
Key Changes in NUS, Before and After Shift
to Entrepreneurial University Model
Indicator
Teaching staff
of which % foreign
Research staff
of which % foreign
Undergraduate students enrolled
Graduate students enrolled
Graduate students as % of total student enrolment
Percentage of foreign students studying at NUS
Total research funding
Total no. of research projects funded
Journal publications in SCI/SSCI
Patents filed
Patents granted
Cumulative patents granted by USPTO
1
AY1996/7
1414
39.0%
843
70.1%
17,960
4,478
20.0%
13% 2
< S$100 mil
1,751
1,307 4
13
4
21 6
FY 2007/8
2,103
51.9%1
1,710
78.6%1
23,330
7,020
23.1%
34.6%
> S$200 mil
1,759 3
3,2705
96
30
2447
2
Percentage for FY2004
Percentage of total student intake for 1997/8
3
4
6
7
Figure for FY2005
CY1996 5 CY2008
CY1990-1997
CY1990-2008
Source: NUS Annual Research Report (various years), National University of Singapore; NUS Annual Report;
Database of the USPTO; IPOS; ISI Web of Science; NUS Office of Research
@Poh Kam WONG
Comparisons of NUS vs. Selected Leading
Universities – Patents granted by USPTO
Cumulative 1976 to 2005
2005
# of
patents
Rank among
world’s
universities
# of
patents
# of licensing
University of California
5615
1
310
265
MIT
2825
2
133
93
University of Illinois
545
10
65
63
Stanford University
1541
4
100
109
University of Pennsylvania
718
14
37
37
University of Southern California
413
31
35
35
Georgia Tech
510
22
43
43
Oxford University
98
97
9
34
Cambridge University
35
127
4
41
Imperial College
97
98
7
n.a.
National Univ. of Singapore
182
67
26
40
Name of Institution
@Poh Kam WONG
NUS Publications and Citations 1996 vs 2006
The new emphasis on Technology Commercialization has NOT been at the expense
of pursuit of Research Excellence:
• NUS’ annual journal article output increased almost 3-fold between 1996 and
2006
• Research quantity (publications per faculty member) and quality (citations
received per faculty member and per paper) has also increased over this time
• NUS journal articles tend to be more highly cited than the average Singapore
journal article
1996
2006
NUS journal publications
1,307
3,367
Citations to these publications
3,128
11,8971
within 2 years of publication
Faculty
1414
1820
Publications/faculty
0.9
1.9
Citations/faculty
2.2
6.51
NUS average citations per article
2.4
3.5
Singapore average citations per article
2.0
3.21
Note: Includes SCI- and SSCI-indexed articles only
1 Using citation data up to 7 August 2008
Source: Thomson ISI Web of Science
@Poh Kam WONG
Academic Entrepreneurship:
Number of NUS Spin-offs, 1980-2006
NUS’ change in policy to encouraging technology commercialization
through spin-off and start-up formation after 2000 has facilitated an
increased rate of spin-off formation
• Average number of spin-offs based on NUS IP increased from less
than 1 per year before 2000 to 5 per year after 2000
•More than 60 start-ups by NUS professors, students and alumni
received seed-funding and incubation/mentoring services from NUS
Entrepreneurship Centre since 2000, > 10 have received follow-on
investments by external investors
@Poh Kam WONG
Lessons from NUS’ experience
• Set Appropriate Strategic Vision
• Strong & Sustained Commitment by Top Leadership
• Introduce new organizational mechanisms to support
change
• Recruit the right people to lead the change
• Study global best practice, but innovate one’s own
approach based on own unique context; learn and
adapt over time
• Build strategic international linkages
@Poh Kam WONG
New Vision of NUS in the 21st Century:
Towards a Global Knowledge Enterprise
A leading global university centerd in Asia,
influencing the future
• To become a globally-oriented university, in the
distinguished league of the world’s leading
universities
• To become a bold and dynamic community, with a
“no walls” culture and a spirit of enterprise which
strives for positive influence and impact through our
education, research and service
• To be a key node in the global knowledge network,
with distinctive expertise and insights relating to Asia
@Poh Kam WONG
NUS’ Envisioned Role in Singapore’s
High Technology Economy
Venture capital /angel investors
& other venture professionals
attracted to work with University
World-class R&D
investments attracted
to collaborate with
University
High tech ventures created
or facilitated by University
NUS as Global
Knowledge Enterprise
Top talents (researchers,
students) attracted to work &
study in University
Talented graduates with
entrepreneurial mindsets
15
@Poh Kam WONG
Introduce New Organization Mechanisms to
implement Change
•Corporatization of NUS to give it greater autonomy & flexibility
•Creation of a new Organizational Division – NUS Enterprise
Broad mission to inject a more entrepreneurial dimension to NUS
education and research
Holistic approach to promoting innovation and entrepreneurship
CEO reports directly to president
Budget initially pegged as a fixed % of overall university budget,
growth in future years to be achieved by its own revenue/fund raising
• Establishment of new International Collaborative R&D mechanisms
with leading universities and industry partners around the world
Inviting foreign universities & MNCs to establish joint research lab
within NUS campus (e.g. CREATE)
Building a global network of entrepreneurship education & start-up
hubs
@Poh Kam WONG
Recruiting the Right People to lead change
• Appoint change leaders who understand both academia and industry
–Appointed as first CEO an engineering school professor who had
founded a spin-off to commercialize his inventions
–Second CEO is a veteran venture capitalist with prior academic
research, start-up and government experience
–Director of NUS Entrepreneurship Centre is an academic with
entrepreneurial and angel investing experience
• Extensive tapping of people with industry experience, both in
Singapore and internationally
–Advisory Committee comprising entrepreneurs, investors and senior
business leaders
–Use of investors and entrepreneurs as adjunct lecturers
–Network of Mentors drawn from venture investment & entrepreneurial
community, both in Singapore and Overseas
@Poh Kam WONG
Integrated, Holistic Ecosystem Approach
Experiential Education
Industry Engagement &
Partnerships
NOC / iLEAD:
ILO
Immerse NUS students in
Promote the transfer of
leading entrepreneurial and
University-generated
academic hubs around the
knowledge and technology
world with the aim of
to industry.
nurturing tomorrow’s global
entrepreneurs.
Pipelines
• work & study in new
environment & culture
• 1st hand insights into the
mechanisms of a startup
• study in a prestigious
overseas university
• network with renowned
entrepreneurs
• Protect, manage &
commercialise IPs
• industry connection &
partnerships
• pro-actively engage
faculty and R&D cluster
Continuing Education - NEX
Entrepreneurship
Support
NEC
Providing entrepreneurial
support by providing the
‘software’ (people,
knowledge, nurturing) and
‘hardware’ (incubator space,
network, funding).
• Mentoring & nurturing
• Incubator &venture
support
• Networking & outreach
• pro-actively develop spinoffs
• Monitor and benchmark
through research on
entrepreneurship
@Poh Kam WONG
NUS Enterprise Incubator: A holistic
ecosystem approach
Generation of Pipelines
• Ideas/projects pipeline from
NOC/ILO/NUS community
• Partnerships with IHLs, Polys,
RIs and overseas counterparts.
• Start-Up@Singapore
competitions
• Technology Scouts
Funding & Infrastructure
• Use university seed fund to
leverage co-funding from
government agencies (NRF,
SPRING, MDA, IDA)
• Infrastructural support like
NUS R&D labs, IP advisory,
legal/accounting services
NUS
Enterprise
Expertise & Management
• Incubator Managers
• Mentor Network (Global & Local)
• Capability Development &
Training (e.g. Marketing)
• Entrepreneurs-in-Residence
Incubation
Outputs
- Collaborations (Industry)
- Licenses
- Spin-offs
Physical Incubators
• University-wide
• Faculty-based
• Overseas launching
pads
Priority technology
focus synergized with
strategic sectors being
promoted at the
national level
@Poh Kam WONG
Learn from the Best, but Pioneer One’s Own
Approach based on one’s unique
circumstances
• Global Experiential
Entrepreneurship Learning: NUS
Overseas College (NOC) Program
• The Singapore-MIT Alliance Program
• The CREATE Initiative
• The RCE Initiative
@Poh Kam WONG
Infusing Entrepreneurial & Global Mindset:
The NUS Overseas College initiative
Initiated in 2001, program aims to send 200 NUS undergraduate
students per year to five high tech entrepreneurial hubs in the world;
180 in 2008
Experiential Education: “Learning by immersion” Model
Work as interns in high-tech start-ups in host region for one year
Take entrepreneurship courses in partner universities in host region
Return to NUS to complete their final semester/year
Infuse entrepreneurial, global mindset
Influence future career choices towards entrepreneurial and
innovative pursuits
Establish social networks with overseas entrepreneurial
communities to facilitate future collaboration
Serve as catalyst for mindset change among their peers in NUS when
they return
@Poh Kam WONG
Experiential Entrepreneurial Education
(2002) NUS College in Silicon Valley, USA
Study at Stanford & work in the innovation “habitat”
≈
(2003) NUS College in Bio Valley, USA
Study at UPenn & work in the US’ pharma hotbed
≈
(2004) NUS College in Shanghai, China
Study at Fudan & work in China’s commercial hub
≈
(2005) NUS College in Stockholm, Europe
Study at KTH/SSE & work in Europe’s No.1 IT hub
≈
(2008) NUS College in Bangalore, India
Study at IISc & work in India’s high-tech hub
≈
(2008) iLEAD, Singapore
Study in NUS & work in Singapore’s knowledgeintensive enterprises
≈
(2009) NUS College in Beijing, China
Study at Tsinghua & work in China’s high-tech hub
@Poh Kam WONG
Building Global Educational Links:
The Singapore-MIT Alliance Program
Established in 1998, the Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA) is an innovative
engineering and life science educational and research collaboration
involving the National University of Singapore (NUS), the Nanyang
Technological University (NTU), and MIT, with students recruited
globally
The program is intended to combine a focus on creativity and
entrepreneurship with an intense, hands-on approach to research,
leveraging on MIT’s experience in developing industrial collaboration
and fostering innovation and entrepreneurship among its students. All
students will reside a minimum of one semester at MIT. In Singapore,
they will attend “live” MIT classes and take part in research meetings
with MIT faculty, staff and students through video-conferencing
The success of the first phase of the program, where the degree is
granted by NUS solely, to the establishment of a second phase, where the
degree is granted jointly by NUS and MIT
@Poh Kam WONG
Building Global R&D Links: The International
Campus for Research Excellence and
Technological Enterpise (CREATE) Initiative
Recognizing the importance of building strong linkages with global
institutions to enhance Singapore’s connectivity to other centres of
research in US and Europe, and accelerate Singapore’s thrusts
towards an innovative and entrepreneurial economy, the Research,
Innovation and Enterprise Council (RIEC) (chaired by the Prime
Minister) initiated in 2006 the International Campus for Research
Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE) Program
The Singapore MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART)
Centre was established in NUS as the first CREATE program.
SMART houses joint, inter-disciplinary research between NUS and
MIT professors. The first project focuses on infectious diseases &
environmental sensing.
A second CREATE with European partners is being finalized with ETH
(Switzerland), and a third with Technion University, Israel
@Poh Kam WONG
Building Nodes of Global Excellence: The
Research Centre of Excellence (RCE) Initiative
Recognizing the need for Singapore to build “peaks of global
excellence” in selected fields of knowledge in order for Singapore
to become a truly integral node in the global innovation network,
the National Research Foundation (NRF) and the Singapore
Ministry of Education (MOE) have committed to fund a number
of new Research Centre of Excellence (RCEs) in Singapore.
NUS has so far successfully won the bid to establish three of the
four RCEs in Singapore
• the Centre for Quantum Technologies (CQT)
• The Cancer Science Institute of Singapore (CSIS)
• The Mechanobiology Research Centre
@Poh Kam WONG
NUS International Collaborative Innovation
Initiatives – Environmental & Water
Technologies
•
•
GE-NUS partnership on Water & Process Technologies
– MOU signed in September 2006, GE Water to invest SGD 130 million over
10 years to establish a Global R&D Centre on Water & Process Technologies
hosted at NUS School of Engineering
– Focus on Water Quality and Water Scarcity, aligned with Singapore’s Global
Hydrohub vision
Singapore-Delft Water Alliance (SDWA)
– Research collaboration launched in February 2007 between NUS, Delft
Hydraulics (Netherlands) and the Public Utilities Board (PUB)
– Funding of SGD 64 million over 3 years, with support from the Environment
and Water Industry Development Council (EWI) of the NRF
– Hosted at NUS School of Engineering, aims to advance S&T in water sector
through demand-driven research, post-graduate and professional education
and specialised consultancy services.; Operations were kick-started with four
research programs, involving 70 researchers from NUS, Delft University of
Technology and Delft Hydraulics
@Poh Kam WONG
NUS International Collaborative Innovation
Initiatives – Environmental & Water Technologies
(cont’d)
•
•
NUS Environmental Research Institute (NERI)
– Established in early 2007, with university funding of SGD 12 million over 3 years
– Adopts a research cluster approach, accommodating cross-disciplinary research
areas and faculty-focused research units in 3 focus Areas: (i) Air, land & water
systems; (ii) Human & environmental health; (iii) Energy systems
Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS)
– Established in February 2008 by NUS in partnership with the Clean Energy
Program Office (CEPO), with expected investment of SGD130 million over 5 yr
– Aims to be a world-class solar R&D centre positioned optimally between
university science and industry, and to groom pool of solar energy specialists
– Focus on 3 key research areas: (i) silicon-based solar cells; (ii) novel photovoltaic
(PV) devices and materials; (iii) “Solar and Energy-efficient Buildings”
– Emphasis on active collaborate on research and education programs with
outstanding scientists and research centres to build homegrown capabilities,
starting with 25 researchers and expected to growth to 90 researchers in 5 years.
Additionally, expect to produce up to 50 PhD and 20 Masters students in 5 years
@Poh Kam WONG
NUS International Collaborative Innovation
Initiatives – Biomedical Sciences
•
NUS-Duke Graduate Medical School Singapore (GMS)
– Established in 2005 as Singapore’s second medical school
– Research-intensive curriculum based on Duke University model of medical
education to develop clinician-scientists to engage in translational research
•
Cancer Science Institute of Singapore (CSIS)
– Announced in March 2008 by NRF and the Ministry of Education (MOE) with
SGD 172 mil funding over 7 years
– Offers opportunity for team of eminent international faculty to work with NUS
faculty on cancer research, expects to train 100 graduate students and 70
postdoctoral fellows
– Specialty programs will include Cancer Stem Cell Programme, Cancer Biology
Programme, Genomic Oncology Programme and Experimental Therapeutics
Programme
•
NUS Clinical Research Collaboration with RIKEN, Japan
– Collaboration between doctors and researchers from NUS, NUH and RIKEN
(Japan’s oldest and most established research institution), commenced in 2007,
to develop and validate a molecular diagnostic test for personalised therapy for
lung cancer patients
@Poh Kam WONG
NUS International Collaborative Innovation
Initiatives – Interactive Digital Media
•
Interactive and Digital Media Institute (IDMI)
– Launched in April 2007 with seed funding of SGD 11 million over 3 years, as
Singapore’s first inter-disciplinary research institute in IDM.
– Undertakes application-inspired basic research in IDM, trains graduate students
from Singapore and Asia, and transfer intellectual and human capital
– Comprises eight laboratories in mixed reality, sociable robotics, games, ambient
intelligence, multimedia sensing, cognitive and social studies, arts & creativity,
and multimodal analysis.
•
NUS Hollywood Lab
– Opened in July 2006 in Los Angeles to foster international R&D collaboration
in IDM with major Hollywood studios, universities and entertainment companies
in North America, and to promote student exchange and visiting professor
programmes, and joint business ventures between Singapore and USA
•
Keio-NUS CUTE Centre (Connective Ubiquitous Technology for
Embodiments)
– Jointly set up between Keio University and NUS in 2008 to support
collaborative R&D in IDM in Singapore, will involve more than 50 researchers
from Japan and Singapore, focusing on pervasive content for wearable and body
media
@Poh Kam WONG
Lessons from other Leading Asian Universities
• Comparative study of leading Asian universities (Tokyo University,
Tohoku University, Kyushu University, Tsinghua University, National
Taiwan University, Hong Kong University of Science & Technology,
KAIST, IIT Mumbai and IIT Madras, Multimedia Universiti Malaysia,
Mahidol University Thailand)
• Overall, trend of increasing emphasis on technology commercialization
& academic entrepreneurship by all the universities
• But some diversity of approaches adopted due to differences in
national contexts & stages of development
• Influence of top-down government policy evident in several economies
• Except for the Japanese universities, relatively higher emphasis on
spin-offs than industrial licensing vs. the advanced economies
• Perceived lack of interest by researchers and lack of understanding of
industry were biggest barriers to technology commercialization