Coaching Researchers to Help Them Relate Better to Business Needs
Ministry of Trade and IndustrySpeakers
Summary
This question concerns whether public research scientists and engineers (RSEs) can be coached in communication skills to better relate to the business needs of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) S Iswaran highlighted that the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (ASTAR) provides communication master classes for researchers and maintains an SME Office to facilitate technology transfer. He noted that the Growing Enterprises through Technology Upgrading (GET-Up) program has seconded 657 RSEs and completed 227 technology road-mapping projects as of July 2016. These efforts contributed to a 40% increase in ASTAR’s SME projects between 2011 and 2015, totaling 737 engagements. The Minister emphasized that SMEs must proactively tap into these available public sector research capabilities to drive their business transformation and productivity.
Transcript
56 Mr Thomas Chua Kee Seng asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) whether research scientists and engineers from public research institutes can be trained and coached to improve their presentation and communication skills so that they can relate better to the business needs and thinking of SMEs.
Mr S Iswaran: Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are important to Singapore's economy, comprising 99% of enterprises and employing 70% of Singapore's workforce. The Government is committed to helping our SMEs tap on innovation and technology to optimise business processes, improve productivity and enhance competitiveness. SMEs are able to gain access to research expertise and advice at the public research institutions through programmes such as Growing Enterprises through Technology Upgrading (GET-Up), which provides secondment of research scientists and engineers (RSEs) to SMEs, technical advice, and operation and technology road-mapping (OTR) services.
To help researchers improve their communication skills, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) organises regular training sessions and master classes on science communication and presentations. More than 600 researchers have attended these sessions since their inception in March 2015.
A*STAR also has a team of technology transfer and industry development professionals who link companies to relevant technologies that meet their business needs. In particular, A*STAR has established an SME Office to proactively reach out to SMEs.
These efforts have resulted in deeper and broader engagement between A*STAR’s research institutes and our SMEs. Projects with SMEs have increased by 40% from 2011 to reach 737 in 2015. Under GET-Up, A*STAR has seconded 657 RSEs to 356 SMEs, appointed 148 technical advisors to 100 SMEs and conducted 227 OTR projects for 194 SMEs as of 31 July 2016.
The Government will continue to help our SMEs to innovate. Our SMEs must also play their part by taking the initiative to tap on the capabilities and assistance available in our public sector research institutes, to develop and deploy technology solutions that can drive their transformation and growth.