Singapore-ETH Centre

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆? - On 17 March, the Science & Technology Sub-Committee of SwissCham Singapore sought to answer this question at an event entitled '𝘋𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢-𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘯-𝘖𝘧𝘧𝘴'. The event was held at the Singapore-ETH Centre and organised by Dr Felix Kottmann, Chair of the SwissCham Singapore Science & Technology Sub-Committee and President of the ETH Zürich Alumni Chapter Singapore.

Thomas Meyer (Managing Director of the SEC) set the stage, followed by a keynote from Prof. Dr. Matthias A. Tietz (St. Gallen Institute of Management in Asia) and practical venture-building from Hanno Stegmann (BCG X).

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆? To succeed in the region, companies must not only their products but also their models — empowering teams to act with start-up while staying with corporate goals.

The evening ended with vibrant discussions at a Q&A session and networking at an apero. We hope to see you at the next session!

𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝘁 #𝗦𝗘𝗖 - 8 March is , and we celebrate all our amazing colleagues at the Singapore-ETH Centre who are driving and . From to and from to in the community, their work is shaping a better future for all!

Swipe through to meet some of the brilliant women behind SEC’s research! Each of them brings unique expertise, passion, and dedication in science 🔬 to impact critical stories! Thank you for sharing your passion, Minn Lin Wong, Johanna Wörle, Hsiao-ju (Rita) Cheng, Ph.D., Michelle C., and Chi Dengkai.

Tag or shoutout in the comments below women in science who inspire you! 👇



Future Cities Lab Global, Resilient Systems (FRS), Future Health Technologies (FHT)

𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗻𝗮𝗸𝗲 🐉 𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝗘𝗖 - We had an amazing time celebrating with everyone at SEC last week! From honouring our January babies to diving into festivities, the event was full of joy and .

✨ Highlights of the day:
🍊🍊 Enjoying a creative Chinese session, led by our talented volunteers. Thank you to all who helped make this session meaningful and fun!
🍊🍊 Coming together for the annual Yusheng toss, with laughter and "Huat ah!" filling the air as we welcomed good fortune for the year ahead.
🍊🍊 Indulging in delicious food and drinks, specially curated for the occasion, and enjoying the festive spirit all around.

A special thank you to everyone who helped make this event a success! Your contributions truly made this celebration unforgettable. 🎉

Here's wishing all our colleagues and their families a prosperous Year of the Snake! 🐍 May this year bring health, happiness, and success to all.

𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿 - Thank you to everyone who joined us on 21 January for an inspiring seminar jointly hosted by , Cambridge CARES, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research & Technology Centre, and Ministry of Education, Singapore (MOE)! Together, we delved into how research and innovation can address Singapore’s in .

Here’s a recap of the insightful presentations:
📘 𝘔𝘖𝘌: 𝘛𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘌𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴
Dr Ridzuan Abd Rahim, Mdm Salha Mohamed Hussain, and Mdm Wei Hui Lee from MOE shared key challenges in mathematics and mother tongue language learning respectively, highlighting impactful initiatives such as the Learning Support for Mathematics Programme, Mother Tongue Support Programme, and CL Reading Difficulty project.

🧠 𝘊𝘓𝘐𝘊/𝘊𝘈𝘙𝘌𝘚: 𝘊𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘍𝘭𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘈𝘥𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺
Dr Kastoori Kalaivanan from CLIC presented research on flexibility (CF)—a vital skill for adapting to change and solving problems. CLIC's findings reveal CF’s unique impact on creativity and performance, offering exciting pathways to enhance .

🤖 𝘔3𝘚/𝘚𝘔𝘈𝘙𝘛: 𝘈𝘐 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘌𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘌𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯
Dr Andrés F. Salazar-Gómez from SMART showcased cutting-edge AI applications, from enhancing engagement for Malay-Muslim students in collaboration with MENDAKI Club, to workforce training using and cameras to guide physical task ex*****on in industries like marine .

🏃‍♂️ 𝘍𝘌𝘓𝘛/𝘚𝘌𝘊: 𝘌𝘮𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘓𝘰𝘸 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴
Dr Julia Chatain from SEC introduced -powered interventions that combine cognitive and motor resources for deep learning and well-being, aiming to empower low-progress learners and drive change in education.

The seminar concluded with an engaging panel moderated by SEC Director, Prof. Dr Manu Kapur with Dr Ridzuan Abd Rahim, Prof Annabel Chen, Prof Archan Misra, and Dr Julia Chatain on the synergies and differences between the programmes, and fostering collaborative pathways to address education’s most pressing challenges.

We are grateful to our speakers, panelists, and participants for their invaluable contributions. Together, we are shaping the future of education in Singapore and we look forward to more discussions in this space!

𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 💻 On 6 January 2025, the Singapore-ETH Centre hosted Professor Torsten Hoefler, Chief Architect for Machine Learning at the Swiss National National Supercomputing Center (CSCS) and full professor at ETH Zürich. The talk deep dived into the future of and high-performance .

Attended by participants from SwissCham Singapore, Alumni from ETH Zurich and researchers from various entities at the National Research Foundation Singapore's CREATE Tower, Prof Torsten shared on on:

🔍 The evolution of – from transformers to advanced reinforcement learning.
⚡ Strategies for scaling models, , and reducing computational costs by over 100x.
🌐 Innovative networking solutions like Ultra Ethernet to enable next-gen and systems.
🤖 The journey towards -like reasoning agents through inference-based techniques.

The learning session provided a comprehensive roadmap to understanding the advancements, challenges, and immense possibilities in the field of computation.

And with that, the 2024 season comes to an end! There was plenty that we accomplished this year as a team; together with you, our partners and our collaborators. Here's just a couple of the among the myriad of amazing things that we did with your support. On the second slide, we share an ode to our who won awards in their respective fields! 🎉

Award Winners on 2nd Slide:
(From top left to right)
1. Former Master’s student at ETH Zürich and Future Health Technologies research intern, Chantal Wunderlin's thesis was awarded the ETH Medal.
2. Byron Pérez, PhD researcher under the Urban Microalgae-Based Protein Production project, was awarded First Place in the GNT Young Scientist Award 2024 at the 38th EFFoST International Conference in Bruges, Belgium.
3. The LvL UP team from the Future Health Technologies (FHT) won the International Society of Research on Internet Interventions ( ) Poster Award 2024.
4. Prof. Alexander Mathys received the Academy Fellowship of the International Academy of Food Science and Technology (IAFoST) and International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST) for his research in Singapore and Switzerland.
5. Prof. Dr Olivier Lambercy, Future Health Technologies’ PI of Connected Rehabilitation Technology and Assistive Devices, won the prestigious KITE Award for an innovative Medical Engineering course developed with his team.
6. Prof. Nicole Wenderoth, Programme Director of Future Health Technologies won the Dandelion Entreprenureship Award 2024. The Dandelion Award is the first award to recognize professors for their outstanding efforts to promote entrepreneurship at ETH Zurich and beyond.
7. Future Resilient Systems (FRS) researcher Tonggui Z. received the Best Presentation Award at the 4th International Symposium of Water Disaster Mitigation and Water Environment Regulation (WDWE).

From all our researchers and staff at the SEC, Future Cities Laboratory Global, Future Resilient Systems (FRS), Future Health Technologies (FHT) and all our projects, we wish you and yours a wonderful & 2025! 🎉 Happy New Year!

On 29 November, the Singapore-ETH Centre ( ) hosted Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan from the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs for our very first SEC Day. Designed as a prelude to our 15th anniversary celebrations, the event showcased the incredible research and solutions we have fostered – together with our and – over the years.

In his opening address, Minister Balakrishnan highlighted the importance of international collaboration between small states like Singapore and Switzerland. As well as the how the National Research Foundation Singapore is contributing to making such connections possible. This partnership has been instrumental in addressing some of the most pressing challenges of our time, from to .

The day also featured a panel discussion hosted by ETH Zürich, VP for Research, Prof. Dr Christian Wolfrum with panelists: PS Prof. Chorh Chuan Tan; President of the ETH Domain Board, Prof. Dr Michael Hengartner; President-elect of EPFL Prof. Dr Anna Fontcuberta-Morral; and Senior Advisor, Centre for Strategic Futures at PMO Strategy Group, Mr Peter Ho.

Several dignitaries were in attendance as well, from Swiss Ambassador to Singapore and Brunei Darussalam, H.E. Ambassador Frank Grütter who also gave a rousing opening address on how Singapore and Switzerland excel in innovation though its sizes. Prof Tommy Koh; incoming NRF CEO Mr John Lim and CREATE Executive Director Prof Subodh Mhaisalkar were at the event as well.

In our exhibition session, our researchers showcased solutions in healthcare, planning, systems and educational technology—empowering us to enhance quality of life in Singapore and the world.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for a day of , , and future-focused . Together, we continue to build a sustainable, healthy and resilient future!

🌱 𝗨𝗿𝗯𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗹𝗴𝗮𝗲-𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀

This week marked the closure of the Urban Microalgae-Based Protein Production project—a visionary initiative addressing the pressing need for and sustainable . With urban populations projected to surge to 68% of the total global population by 2050, traditional agricultural methods alone cannot meet the growing demand for food, especially in land-scarce regions like Singapore.

Singapore’s ‘30 by 30’ goal, which seeks to produce 30% of the nation’s nutritional needs locally and sustainably by 2030, has been a guiding force for this project. By combining cutting-edge research with process and technological innovations, the project has paved the way for new tailored to urban settings.

Key Highlights:
🪴 A whole-value chain approach to microalgae-based food and process development, addressing nutrition, , and consumer preferences.
🪴 Collaborative efforts involving the Singapore-ETH Centre, ETH Zürich, National University of Singapore Department of Food Science and Technology, and A*STAR Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI), supported by the National Research Foundation Singapore through CREATE programme.

The project resulted in numerous publications, invention disclosures, and contributions to conferences, advancing discussions on sustainable food systems globally. It has laid the groundwork for scalable and eco-efficient processes that leverage microalgae’s advantages, such as low land use and rich nutritional profiles, including proteins, vitamins, & polyunsaturated fatty acids.

You can access the already accepted papers in the links below, many more to come:
https://lnkd.in/gDeURKcS
https://lnkd.in/gmKqPZcQ
https://lnkd.in/gSDNx_VJ
https://lnkd.in/gNwahv9r
https://lnkd.in/gpjJiPwr

This project’s success was only possible through the efforts of all our partners. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the P*s leading the project: Lead P*s Prof. Alexander Mathys (ETH Zurich) and Prof Liu Shaoquan (NUS); Prof. Dr Michael Siegrist (ETH Zurich); Prof. Zhou Weibiao and Prof. Huang Dejian (NUS); Dr. Melanie Weingarten (A*STAR); and the project lead, Dr Iris Haberkorn (SEC), for steering this initiative with dedication and vision.

We also express our gratitude to the National Research Foundation Singapore for its support under the Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE) programme.

Find more about the project details here
https://lnkd.in/dTMJ3zEu

Let’s continue the journey toward a more resilient, , and nutritious future for all! 💡🌎

𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗮 𝘄𝗿𝗮𝗽! We had our last SEC for the year on 14 November last week and it was a blast!

We celebrated our together and connected with the team in person, hosting gatherings in both Singapore and Zurich for the first time. Colleagues got together over breakfast and dinner at different ends of the world, and we took the time to reflect on an amazing year of achievements.

Here’s to a fantastic year behind us and an even better one ahead!

🌍 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝘁 𝗘𝗙𝗙𝗼𝗦𝗧 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰

Byron Pérez, PhD researcher under the Urban Microalgae-Based Protein Production project led by SEC, was awarded First Place in the GNT Young Scientist 2024 at the 38th EFFoST International Conference in Bruges, ! This year’s conference, themed “Future Food Systems: Innovation through Progress at Scientific Interfaces,” brought together experts to address the of production.

Byron’s research, conducted in collaboration with the Sustainable Food Processing Laboratory at ETH Zürich and the National University of Singapore, focuses on sustainable cultivation using upcycled food industry side streams, aiming to optimize nutrient profiles and enhance nutrient extraction through targeted cell disruption. His work contributes to developing , food systems aligned with the conference’s emphasis on sustainable solutions within the food sector.

We thank the co-authors of the work Prof. Alexander Mathys, Dr. Iris Haberkorn, and collaborators from NUS, Dr. Alcine Chan, Vivian Hau, and Prof. Shao-Quan Liu. We also thank the National Research Foundation Singapore for supporting the project under its Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE) programme.

Thanks as well to GNT Group and EFFoST for supporting innovative food research. This recognition highlights the importance of advancing sustainable food solutions for the future.

Congratulations to FHT researcher Natalie Tanczak, who works closely with Tegan Plunkett from the for Advanced Rehabilitation Therapies (CART) at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), for their collaborative work on stroke rehabilitation solutions. Their project, "An Exploratory Study of a Wearable Robotic Hand Orthosis in the Chronic Stroke Population in Singapore," recently earned Tegan the Best E-Poster Award at the Singapore Rehab Conference (SRC).

The SRC, themed ‘Rehabilitation Re-Imagined: Expanding The Paradigm,’ was held at the Ng Teng Fong Centre for Healthcare Innovation, bringing together experts to share cutting-edge research and advancements in the field. Congratulations again to Natalie, Tegan and the TTSH team for this well-deserved recognition!

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