Despite its limited physical resources, Singapore is a breeding ground for some outstanding technological developments. The number of patents registered here by local companies, individuals and institutions has grown steadily from 572 in 2005, to 729 in 2007 and 827 in 2009 (IPOS).
Singapore is also one of the top 10 countries registering inventions overseas, according to a study by the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (2010). The only other Asian territory is Taiwan, in third spot.
This stellar performance can be attributed to 3 reasons.
- Strong intellectual property protection:
The country seeks to strike a balance between the protection of rights for owners of creative works and increased public access to intellectual property. Singapore has ensured that its intellectual property and copyright laws are harmonised with the underlying principles in global laws on intellectual property rights.
- An ever-increasing budget for research and development.
According to the Singapore Economic Strategies Committee Report 2010, Singapore's spending on R&D will increase from 3% to 3.5% of GDP by 2015. Commitment to grooming R & D talent
Nearly 1 per cent of Singapore's workforce, or 26,000, are research scientists and engineers.
- Between 2005 to 2010, five Research Centres of Excellence have been established within the National University of Singapore and the Nanyang Technological University, with topics ranging from quantum physics to mechanobiology. (Straits Times, July 2010).
- The Singapore University of Design and Technology has been developed in collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Zhejiang University to advance knowledge and nurture technically grounded leaders and innovators serve societal needs
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