Address by Minister of State for Energy, Trade and Industry Gan Siow Huang at A*STAR T-Up Awards Ceremony

Mr. Beh Kian Teik, Chief Executive Officer, A*STAR,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

1. Good afternoon.

I am delighted to join you today at A*STAR’s T-Up Awards Ceremony 2026, to celebrate the achievements of our enterprises, researchers, and partners in the Technology for Enterprise Capability Upgrading, or T-Up, programme.

SWITCH 2026: “Powering Innovation, Creating our Future”

2. The theme for SWITCH this year, “Powering Innovation, Creating Our Future”, is particularly apt for our time.

I had the opportunity to walk through a few showcases and was very impressed by how innovation is made possible by bringing the researchers, business owners, enterprises, the ecosystem together.

3. For many businesses, I know that access to innovation, good researchers do not come easy. Some of our businesses may not have access to the latest technologies or specialized expertise to apply their concepts to real world challenges. Over the last two decades, T-Up has helped address this need by bringing together Singapore’s finest researchers and our enterprise community.

Today, I would like to highlight two ways that T-Up will continue to support our companies to innovate, grow, and stay competitive.

Translating research into enterprise growth and economic impact

4. First, T-Up brings Singapore’s research strengths directly into our enterprises.

For some companies, building in-house R&D capabilities can be challenging, particularly in fast-moving and increasingly specialised fields.

By embedding researchers within companies, T-Up gives them direct access to the research expertise they need to innovate and grow.

a. The researchers may help develop a new product, improve a process, create intellectual property, or strengthen the company’s innovation capabilities.

b. Since its launch in 2003, more than 1,000 researchers have been seconded to over 500 companies.

In the past five years alone, nearly 300 researchers have worked with more than 150 companies across a diverse range of sectors.

5. Behind these numbers lie meaningful partnerships.

a. One such example is BetaLife, a local biotechnology company developing stem cell-based solutions for diabetes and other healthcare applications.

Through T-Up, BetaLife worked with Dr. Beatrice Ho from A*STAR’s Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, who helped BetaLife advance its product development and generate new intellectual property.

BetaLife has since expanded into China through a joint venture with local partners to further advance its clinical development efforts.

b. In the construction sector, Dr Joel Stephen Short from A*STAR’s Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology worked with Genios, a Singapore company developing advanced lifting and automation technologies.

Joel helped to refine and validate key control systems for Genios’ Intelligent Lifting Frame.

This helped the company move their technology from a research prototype towards commercial deployment.

c. Beatrice and Joel are among our award recipients today.

6. This is what T-Up will continue to do: bring research and enterprise closer together, translating research expertise into new capabilities, commercial opportunities, and business growth.

Broadening access to research talent and expertise for future innovation challenges

7. Second, we must broaden access to research talent.

As innovation becomes more complex, industries such as AI, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, and sustainability will increasingly draw on scientific expertise across many different disciplines.

8. Earlier, I met our two other award recipients, Dr. Ramanpreet and Dr. Guo Ling from A*STAR’s Institute of Advanced Intelligence and Computing.

Both of them are seconded to CareCam, a digital health company.

Their experience illustrates this well.

a. CareCam had developed 3DGait, a system that turns a single tablet camera into a clinical gait assessment tool. But CareCam required specialised expertise to develop its product for wider healthcare deployment.

b. Through T-Up, CareCam tapped A*STAR’s research expertise to strengthen its AI models and support clinical validation.

CareCam has since deployed 3DGait clinically across public hospitals and polyclinics in Singapore and expanded overseas including the US.

Announcement: Expansion of T-Up

9. As more companies pursue opportunities to tackle future innovation challenges, access to a larger and more diverse pool of research expertise will grow.

10. I am therefore pleased to announce today that A*STAR and Enterprise Singapore will be expanding T-Up to include researchers from our Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs).

11. This is an important next step for T-Up.

It will give our enterprises access to a broader and more diverse pool of research expertise, while creating more opportunities for researchers from our IHLs to work directly with industry and apply their knowledge to real-world problems.

Conclusion

12. Innovation does not happen in isolation.

It happens when our enterprises are willing to experiment and invest, when researchers understand industry needs, and when both sides come together.

With the expansion of T-Up, I encourage more enterprises to seize these opportunities, work with our research community, and turn good ideas into new capabilities and opportunities for growth.

13. To all our award winners, my heartiest congratulations and thank you for your contributions to Singapore’s innovation ecosystem, thank you for making an impact in the community.