Research in Singapore

Singapore is known to be a very structured society. That is its strength and that is its limitation. Thigs work so well because of discipline and structure. But sometimes that comes in the way.

So can one really establish a truly innovative research center here? The one that will be first to do research in a new area — to establish a new area? That is an interesting question.

In my discussions with top people — Deputy President for Research and Technology and his associate — at NUS it is clear that there is a strong resolve at the University and Govt level to change the culture in Singapore in this direction. That is nice to see. Maybe Singpaore is on the way to becoming an innovative research place also in addition to its other successes. We will have to wait to see whether that happens.