How Singapore partners with global companies to groom top local R&D talent

With more companies innovating new products and solutions from Singapore, the Industrial Postgraduate Programme (IPP) ensures they have a pipeline of local talent for R&D roles. Meet four individuals who honed critical R&D skillsets through their postgraduate degrees, allowing them to advance their careers in globally-leading companies.

07 Aug 2024 6 min read

Clockwise from L-R: Dr Wong Yee Ling, Vision Scientist, EssilorLuxottica; Glen Kua, Research Scientist, Wilmar International; Dion Zudhistra, Senior Product Development Engineer, AMD; and Cheryl Selvanayagam, Senior Member of Technical Staff, AMD.

Clockwise from L-R: Dr Wong Yee Ling, Vision Scientist, EssilorLuxottica; Glen Kua, Research Scientist, Wilmar International; Dion Zudhistira, Senior Product Development Engineer, AMD; and Cheryl Selvanayagam, Senior Member of Technical Staff, AMD.

Eyewear store Spectacle Hut, spectacle lens brand Crizal lenses, and eyewear brand Ray-Ban are familiar names in Singapore’s shopping malls. They are owned by the world’s largest eyewear brand – Italian-French MNC EssilorLuxottica. The company has had its Southeast Asia & Korea regional hub in Singapore since 1976.

R&D is one of the company’s key functions located here. EssilorLuxottica’s Center for Innovation & Technologies (CIT) Asia has been instrumental as the Group’s hub for myopia. CIT Asia has a team of 50 scientists and engineers who are focused on developing better myopia management solutions¹.

Dr Wong Yee Ling, a Vision Scientist at EssilorLuxottica, has dedicated her research to combating myopia, a pressing public health issue in Singapore. Her team found that the prevalence of pathologic myopia in Singapore at 3.8% was one of the highest worldwide.

A recipient of the IPP scholarship supported by EDB (more details below), she pursued a PhD in Public Health at the National University of Singapore while working at EssilorLuxottica. Through the programme, she collaborated with top researchers from the Singapore Eye Research Institute to significantly advance the understanding of myopia’s epidemiology.

“Through the IPP, I collaborated with top myopia researchers from the Singapore Eye Research Institute to publish 11 peer-reviewed scientific articles to elucidate the epidemiology of pathologic myopia in Singapore. The coupling of both academia and industrial competencies through the IPP has set the stage for my career as a Vision Scientist, where I continue to contribute to the myopia management field,” said Dr. Wong.

Dr. Wong was one of three recipients of the Graduate Student Research Award (Epidemiology Domain) for the 2019/2020 academic year. The faculty award recognises graduate research students who have distinguished themselves in research, assessed by the quality and quantity of publications produced, and the public health impact of the recipient’s work.

The Industrial Postgraduate Programme: Grooming a pipeline of industry-ready local talent

Ranked as the most innovative city in Southeast Asia² in 2023 by the World Intellectual Property Organization, Singapore boasts a vibrant R&D ecosystem with over 50,000 researchers, technicians, and supporting staff. However, some companies may find it more challenging to recruit talent with the required skillsets that meet their specific needs.

The Industrial Postgraduate Programme (IPP), supported by EDB, is designed to help globally-leading companies nurture talent that can support industry needs. Participating companies partner with approved local and Singapore-based universities to scope and supervise R&D projects that are important to their business. These projects are undertaken by local postgraduate students who are concurrently employees of the company. The R&D projects also need to be aligned with national research priorities, which include – i) Manufacturing, Trade, and Connectivity; ii) Human Health and Potential; iii) Urban Solutions and Sustainability; and iv) Smart Nation and Digital Economy. The programme supports and provides co-funding for a variety of postgraduate degrees, including PhD and Masters degrees.

“The IPP programme is part of Singapore’s Research, Innovation, Enterprise (RIE) Plan to sustain and nurture our research talent pipeline, as well as improve talent flow between public institutions, industry, and the wider economy. This scheme benefits both local postgraduate students and global companies that are undertaking innovation and R&D activities in Singapore. The research undertaken by companies and students will support the development of more innovative solutions/products which will benefit the wider economy and R&D community.”

Sean See Tho

Acting Vice President, Industry & Manpower Development

Singapore Economic Development Board

Developing a patentable approach to chemical processes

Glen Kua is a Research Scientist at Wilmar International Limited, a Singaporean agribusiness group. He was accepted into the IPP programme at NUS and during his PhD, he developed a novel method to synthesise biosurfactants, which have applications as therapeutics in skin care, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. In contrast to industrial practice, his method eliminates the creation of toxic by-products while achieving good yields. He has submitted a patent application for this novel approach and his work was published in Angewandte Chemie, a highly cited German scientific journal.

A chemical engineer by training, Glen’s PhD research is not only aligned with Wilmar’s objectives, which are to devise green production technologies for industrial enzymes and biochemicals but also contribute to national interests in sustainable development. “My research has the potential to drive advancements in green and sustainable production of valuable chemicals,” said Glen.

Accelerating next-generation computing experiences

High-performance and adaptive computing leader AMD, which had two candidates go through the programme, has benefited from their research in semiconductor packaging technology and failure analysis techniques.

Cheryl Selvanayagam, a Senior Member of the Technical Staff, has developed advanced packaging solutions for chiplet packaging and has published more than 10 articles in various journals and conferences on mechanical simulations and machine learning. She also highlighted the business advantages of the programme, where she was able to meet and network with industry experts, which she said helped bridge the gap between scholarly concepts and practical industry needs.

“Navigating uncertainties inherent in research fostered resilience, which prepared me to manage complex challenges and adapt to changes in job roles and functions,” said Cheryl.

Dion Zudhistira, a Senior Product Development Engineer, developed a groundbreaking approach for preparing unique pillar samples with embedded defects, which can be applied to semiconductor nodes that are 3nm and below. This technique allows for reliable extraction of a tiny area in a chip that can be viewed from all directions, instead of just from one direction as is the current industry practice. This facilitates better analysis of defects and device failure, which is crucial as chip technology becomes more advanced, making defects harder to spot. “I am proud to have made a significant impact on the industry and AMD's competitiveness,” he said.

Singapore continues to invest resources in its thriving innovation ecosystem so that companies of different sizes can create new products and businesses from here. Learn more about how businesses can innovate for growth from Singapore. For more information on the IPP programme, please contact client_services@edb.gov.sg.