Imperial Global Singapore celebrates a year of research collaboration and impact

The growing team at Imperial Global Singapore brought partners and alumni together to share research impact and spark ideas for the future.

Opening in early 2024, Imperial Global Singapore was Imperial’s first Global Hub, designed to strengthen collaboration between the UK and Singapore. It sees Imperial’s scientists working closely with university, industry, government and third-sector partners in Singapore to tackle some of our biggest shared global challenges.

"Imperial Global Singapore is a buzzing research environment that truly encapsulates the concept of convergence science.” Professor Azra Ghani Imperial Global Singapore Academic Director

The Imperial Global Singapore team celebrated a year of impact by hosting two events on 8 April to showcase Imperial Global Singapore’s impact in areas such as health cyber security, artificial intelligence and technologies for clean fuel.  The events took place at the Hub’s home at the CREATE Campus, an international research campus and innovation hub operated by the National Research Foundation Singapore (NRF).

Imperial Global Singapore is supported by the NRF and its major research programmes are run with strategic partners Nanyang Technological University Singapore (NTU Singapore) and the National University of Singapore (NUS). The Hub has hired 16 members of staff since its launch last year.

During the afternoon, collaborators and fellow entities from the CREATE ecosystem joined Imperial Global Singapore for focused research updates, aimed at sparking new ideas and strengthening collaboration across the Hub. In the evening, the Hub welcomed members of Imperial’s alumni community in Singapore, engaging with the wider ecosystem to celebrate the anniversary and explore opportunities for future expansion and scientific impact.

Introducing Professor Azra Ghani

Academic Director of Imperial Global Singapore, Professor Azra Ghani, who took on the role in November 2024, opened proceedings by reflecting on the growth of the Hub in terms of both numbers and research output.

Professor Ghani said: “It has been fantastic to review the progress that has been made in just one year in setting up Imperial Global Singapore – from an empty office to what is now a buzzing research environment that truly encapsulates the concept of convergence science.”

Professor Ghani has complementary roles as Director of the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis, Professor in Infectious Disease Epidemiology at Imperial College London and Visiting Professor appointment at the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine at NTU Singapore.

Her research specialities have opened new avenues for collaboration in Singapore in areas such as anti-microbial resistance and pandemic preparedness, such as her involvement with the Ministry of Health’s PREPARE programme.

An expanding research environment

Also speaking at the event was Professor Anil Bharath, the first Academic Director for the Hub and Programme Director for IN-CYPHER, the Hub’s inaugural research programme, run in collaboration with NTU.  It aims to leverage the complementary skills at Imperial and NTU to undertake world-leading research and establish Singapore as a leader in health cybersecurity and AI for healthcare.

The programme recently welcomed new industry partner Cyber Sierra and the Hub is looking to engage further with industry over the coming year, building on successful collaborations with industry through IN-CYPHER.

Enterprise is an increasingly important focus for the Hub, which aims to support Singapore-based start-ups bring innovative technology from the lab to the market.  Professor James E Moore Jr from Imperial’s Department of Bioengineering talked about growing opportunities in the MedTech sector and some of the promising spinouts emerging in this area from the wider Imperial ecosystem.

Another key focus for Imperial Global Singapore is technologies for clean fuel. Associate Professor Pei-Chen Su from NTU explained how ammonia has emerged as a promising hydrogen carrier and a potential fuel cell that can power electric cars, offering high energy efficiency and scalability.

International knowledge bridge

A key aim of all Imperial Global hubs is to bring together the brightest minds from around the world to work together on convergence science programmes. In its first year Imperial Global Singapore has convened a team of researchers that currently represent 10 universities from across the UK, Singapore, China and the Netherlands.

Imperial researchers are encouraged to seek out further opportunities for collaboration with our Singapore partners and apply to the Imperial Global Connect Fund which seeds high-impact research, education, innovation, and student experience opportunities.

Future direction

Setting out the future direction and vision of Imperial Global Singapore, Professor Ghani, commented: 

“As we continue to grow, we are looking to expand our interdisciplinary projects across the Singapore research environment, alongside working within the wider ecosystem to support the translation of scientific discovery into tangible impact.

“It has been fantastic to share our vision with our engaging and valued alumni community in Singapore.” Professor Azra Ghani Imperial Global Singapore Academic Director

“It has been fantastic to share our vision with our engaging alumni community in Singapore and we look forward to deeper collaboration.”

Imperial Global Singapore is part of a network of international hubs which are designed to build long-term collaborations with a diverse range of partners and stakeholders. Hubs in the USA and Ghana are already active, while a hub in India will be launched later this year.

For the latest news and events from Imperial Global Singapore, join our Linkedin community. You can also contact the Hub at IGSingapore@imperial.ac.uk.