NUS, NTU launch nationwide initiative to boost Singapore start-ups

SINGAPORE: Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat has announced the launch of a new national platform to foster start-up companies developed by local universities and research institutions.

Known as the National Graduate Research Innovation Programme, this initiative is a joint venture by the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU), designed to bridge the gap between research and commercial viability.

The programme will begin next year and aims to support early-stage start-ups from all Singapore autonomous universities and research institutes, including the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR).

Over 12 months, participants will be given opportunities to refine their initial ideas, gauge market demand, and establish viable business models.

With a commitment of $50 million in financial and in-kind support from NUS and NTU over five years, this platform will provide essential resources and guidance to drive innovation and commercialization of new technologies.

The initiative will bring together aspiring entrepreneurs, researchers, and innovators, tapping into Singapore’s diverse strengths in science, engineering, business, and design.

By combining NUS’s Research Innovation Programme with NTU’s Lean Launchpad, the platform leverages past success; NTU’s Lean Launchpad alone has fostered over 400 start-ups and 160 spin-offs to date.

This collaborative effort seeks to nurture up to 300 start-up teams by 2028 to create more than 150 spin-offs by 2030.