Have you ever been to an ‘online’ city where bustling conversations about technology and innovation take place for 24 hours over five days?

Neither have we — until we attended our first SWITCH earlier this month!

Along with our innovation community builders Bridge+, CoSpace Park and NUS Enterprise at Singapore Science Park, this year marks CapitaLand’s inaugural participation at SWITCH. Under the theme of Innovation Made Real @ Singapore Science Park, we came together to present a series of panel discussions and fireside chats honing in on the latest innovations related to medtech, foodtech, agritech, smart cities and urban solutions, and trade connectivity from 7–11 December 2020. 

Hear what our community builders have to say in the video below!  

To kickstart our inaugural participation at SWITCH, we gathered our community builders Brian Koh from NUS Enterprise, Eugene Tan from Bridge+ and Felicia Teo from CoSpace Park to discuss the importance of community building in driving innovation. 

According to Brian, the proximity of NUS Enterprise to Singapore Science Park has helped to boost entrepreneurship by connecting students with over 300 corporate partners and accelerators. As purposeful co-working spaces, Bridge+ and CoSpace Park frequently cross-collaborate to increase the vibrancy of the Singapore Science Park community through networking events and tenant engagement activities.

The ‘Online’ City Experience

As a digitally enhanced festival, SWITCH brought together many tech giants and innovation enterprises from all over the world to exhibit in an ‘online’ city known as the Digital Village. Here’s where you can find Singapore Science Park’s Innovation Made Real digital booth!

Highlights from Innovation Made Real @ Singapore Science Park

Amongst the Innovation Made Real line-up, MedTech in a COVID-19 World was perhaps the most timely event of all. In this panel session, reputable MedTech companies such as Johnson & Johnson and Capere Surgical Systems Singapore came together to discuss the frantic medical technology boom that occured in the wake of the pandemic. For example, medical device company Johnson & Johnson has leveraged on digital technology this year to expand their reach through remote coaching, case support, and online professional education at the Johnson & Johnson Institute, a learning centre for healthcare professionals. 

Across the panel, the speakers agreed that some of the medical technologies used in response to COVID-19 were already in place, but the pandemic greatly accelerated the industry’s ability to innovate. Peter Hawkes, Head of Business Development of Asia Pacific of Johnson & Johnson concluded, “My hope is that we can learn from the agility and innovative mindset that we’ve displayed this year. The next 5 to 10 years post-pandemic will be an exciting time for MedTech.” 

On the topic of Construction Tech, we had the pleasure of attending an intimate sharing session by 6 BEAMP (Built Environment Accelerate to Market Programme) awarded start-ups — Vebits, Aespada, QiSquare, Getronics, Vulcan AI, and VRCollab — at the Innovation in Built Environment panel. The representatives from each of these organisations shared about how their innovative solutions complement the existing Built Environment infrastructure today to help companies gear up for the future, in particular during this unprecedented period of uncertainty. 

Another insightful event that left a lasting impression was the Fireside Chat with Prof Yu Chien Siang on Cyber Security, who is a Chief Innovation and Trust Officer at AI start-up Amaris.AI.

In this session, Prof Yu shed light on some hard truths about the world of cybersecurity, such as the lack of innovative developments, challenges in leadership, and the rise of new cyber threats. To adapt to a future of uncertainty, Prof Yu’s advice is that AI start-ups should stay quick on their feet and always be ready to embrace new challenges. 

Final Thoughts  

Through Innovation Made Real @ Singapore Science Park, SWITCH 2020 showcased the incredible potential of new innovations that are changing our world for the better. From engineering alternative sources of meat protein to growing an agrifood system for a sustainable future, our community builders Bridge+, CoSpace Park, NUS Enterprise at Singapore Science Park showed us a glimpse of an exciting future.

Curious to know how a future powered by innovation looks like? Watch the festival replay below to find out! 

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