AIT Singapore: Young sciencepreneurs immerse themselves in the South-East Asian innovation hub for a week

Ten sciencepreneurs spent the week in Singapore to immerse themselves in the innovation hub's academic and business ecosystem. The intense program, organized by Venturelab on behalf of Leading House Asia ETH, provided invaluable insights and connections to Singapore and South-East Asia's startup ecosystem.

The Academic-Industry Training (AIT) program supports innovators in translating their academic research and knowledge into entrepreneurial ventures, particularly in the context of cross-cultural collaboration and international expansion.

Venturelab was mandated to execute the AIT Singapore program by Leading House Asia at ETH Zurich, which is responsible for the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI)'s promotion of scientific and technological collaboration with East and South-East Asia.

The program offers exposure to a vibrant and innovative ecosystem at the center of Southeast Asia, where sciencepreneurs can learn about accessing ASEAN markets. A jury composed of industry experts as well as representatives of Leading House Asia selected ten participants based on factors including the quality of the idea, its market potential, and the expected benefit of the program for the participants. The team members hail from the BFH, EPFL, ETH, and UZH and are developing research with applications in medtech, biotech, engineering, and foodtech.

GETTING TO KNOW THE LANDSCAPE



After arriving in Singapore and sharing a welcome dinner at the Lau Pa Sat Festival Market on Sunday, the week took off with an introduction to the history and geopolitics of Singapore and its technological ecosystem with Martin Pasquier, an expert on the APAC market, and Benjamin Blandin.

This was followed by a welcome event at the Singapore ETH Center (SEC) hosted by Dr. Thomas Meyer, Managing Director at SEC, and Prof. Gisbert Schneider, Director of SEC. Several experts gave presentations about the research landscape in Singapore and outlined the SEC's programs.



HOW ACADEMIA DRIVES INNOVATION IN SINGAPORE AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA

The next two days, the participants profited from insights into the way academia shapes and drives innovation in Singapore.

On Tuesday, the participants profited from a morning of presentations about the transition from academia to business with experts Pierrick Bouffaron and César Harada, both of which have extensive experience in international academic institutions and industry.

Later, the participants joined Dr. Massimo Alberti CEO of REVIVO Biosystems, who has a background in micro and nanotechnologies and shared his experience founding and leading a startup.

The group also visited the Agency for Science, Technology and Research for a presentation with Anthony Chong, Deputy Director of A*STARTCENTRAL, before a visit to the Gardens by the Bay and dinner.

On Wednesday, the participants went to the National University of Singapore (NUS), where they were introduced to the institution's Enterprise & Innovation various initiatives. The group got to know more about BLOCK71, a tech-focused ecosystem builder and connector that fosters strategic partnerships between startups, corporates, and government agencies. Three of the Swiss sciencepreneurs had the opportunity to pitch to the BLOCK71 consultant and receive feedback before a tour of the facility.



The group was invited to a dinner at the Residence of Swiss Ambassador Frank Grütter, which provided the opportunity to network in a lively and pleasant atmosphere.



BUSINESS CULTURE IN SINGAPORE & LEARNING FROM LOCAL STARTUPS

Thursday was devoted to deepening the participants' understanding of business culture in Singapore and South-East Asia and obtaining a sense of entrepreneurship in various industries.

Following another workshop with Martin Pasquier, the group met with Florian Cornu to learn more about the regional foodtech ecosystem. They then visited Angie's Tempeh, a foodtech startup that produces superfoods.

They then visited Bühler Singapore, a corporation in the food industry as well as advanced materials. They were accompanied by Dr. Aparna Venktesh, who leads the Collaborative Innovation department for South-East Asia and Oceania at Bühler.

On the final day, the participants were able to learn more about the experience and journey of local entrepreneurs on a visit to Skygreens, a vertical farming startup.

They then went to the NTUitive division at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), where they profited from a lecture and discussion about business in Singapore with Prof. Louis Phee, VP of Innovation & Entrepreneurship and Dean of NTU's College of Engineering, and Lim Boon Chow, Deputy Director of Entrepreneurial Education at NTUitive.







The day ended with a final group meal and discussion before the participants headed home.

"I gained first-hand experience about and contacts in the SEA ecosystem," said Paulius Viskaitis, founder of SmartVNS about the trip. "I learned about policy-making tendencies in Singapore, which will help with the regulatory strategy of our business, and built ideas about team building and expansion strategies, which I feel will help me avoid the 'lack of imagination' traps."

"I am impressed by Singapore's top-down approach, where 'small' countries need 'macro' management, and in the same principle, every small startup also needs macro-management," said Sailan Shui, founder of NanoDecoder.

"I really appreciate the amazing opportunity to get in contact with local VC, entrepreneurs, potential partners, universities, incubators as well as governmental agencies," said Ruiqing Ni, founder of neuroPat. "I am really impressed by the efficiency and vibrant innovation in deep tech as well as in clean energy here. The trip greatly enables me to have the first gateway to SEA region. Many thanks to ETH Leading House Asia and Venturelab for organizing and providing this fantastic opportunity!"

"Through direct contacts with industry experts, investors, and potential partners, we massively improved our business model, our soft skills, and our confidence that we can make world-class startups," said Panagiotis Martakis, founder of Irmos Technologies. "AIT Singapore gave all of us the chance to connect beyond working hours, enjoy the entrepreneurial life, and share many  beautiful moments and laughter that we will never forget!"

"Entrepreneurs, researchers, investors, visionaries, students, politicians—Singapore is a mixture of great talents and cultures that collaborate to innovate and improve the future," said Noemi Gozzi, founder of MY-SENSATION. "I fully enjoyed the challenging and inspiring discussions with speakers and the other entrepreneurs. We all know that 'the team' is the most important thing for a promising startup, but here in Singapore, we learned that also the people around you are part of your personal and professional growth. I’ll bring home a network of amazing people that support, push, and believe in you and your ideas."

"This was an amazing trip during which we gained an understanding of innovation and the business environment in the SEA region, got connected with entrepreneurship programs at different universities and governmental agencies, and were able to network with people involved with startups in Singapore," said Robin Vital, Leading House Asia Program Manager about the week. "While I am not an entrepreneur myself, I highly appreciated this interesting week and it was great to see the sciencepreneurs enjoying the program!"