JTC and NTU set up joint center to drive innovation in industrial infrastructure
JTC Corporation (JTC) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) today announced the setting up of a joint research centre to promote the growth and development of economically viable and sustainable industrial infrastructure solutions in Singapore.
The NTU-JTC Industrial Infrastructure Innovation (NTU-JTC I3) Centre is set out to expand Singapore's R&D scope in diverse fields such as land reclamation and specialised marine infrastructure, energy and water recycling, underground infrastructure design and construction, and novel construction methods and systems.
Leveraging on NTU's technological knowledge and engineering expertise with JTC's infrastructure and business experience, the Centre will be funded by JTC with an annual operations budget of S$1 million over five years. NTU will be contributing 12 of its faculty and research experts as well as space to host the Centre's researchers and staff. JTC is committing 10 staff, with JTC's Assistant Chief Executive Officer Mr David Tan as a member of the steering committee and JTC's Director for Engineering Planning Division as the Centre's Co-Director. Eight JTC staff are appointed as co-leaders to manage the research thrusts.
Based in NTU's College of Engineering and hosted by the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the NTU-JTC I3 Centre will focus its research efforts in four areas. They are: reclamation & marine infrastructure, sustainable infrastructure, underground infrastructure, and infrastructure systems & materials. It also aims to build new capabilities and to scale up technical leadership competencies and capabilities in the area of industrial infrastructure. The Centre also hopes to attract NTU's top students and faculty in pursuing projects and careers in this area.
With this new partnership, JTC and NTU can forge closer collaboration on a more structured and systematic platform in facilitating R&D projects. This will also enable NTU to better align the University's infrastructure development research with industry needs.
The agreement to set up the new Centre was inked today by Mr David Tan, JTC's Assistant Chief Executive Officer, Technical & Professional Services Group, and Professor Freddy Boey, Deputy President and Provost of NTU. Also present at today's ceremony were JTC's Chief Executive Officer Mr Manohar Khiatani and some 150 guests.
This initiative is in line with JTC's efforts to expand its innovative capacity. JTC's Chief Executive Officer Mr Manohar Khiatani said, "Over the years, research collaboration between JTC and NTU has increased. As JTC's research needs started to intensify, we felt that it was timely to build on these synergies by reviewing a longer-term partnership, in place of ad-hoc projects. At JTC, we are constantly pushing ourselves to develop unique infrastructure solutions to sustain Singapore's competitive edge as an investment location. Furthermore, in the face of resource constraints, it is imperative to derive greater efficiencies in land optimisation and to address the challenges of environmental sustainability."
Professor Freddy Boey, Deputy President and Provost of NTU, said, "NTU and JTC share many common goals in developing new knowledge and cutting-edge technologies in the areas of sustainability and infrastructural development. I am confident that with the establishment of the new Centre, both NTU and JTC will be able to strengthen the technological capabilities of our industry partners and contribute more to the education and R&D of sustainable infrastructure development for Singapore and beyond. The direction of the new Centre is also aligned with NTU's strategic goal to achieve excellence in sustainability research." Sustainability is high on NTU's agenda, as part of its strategic blueprint to make its mark globally in five key areas by 2015. These are: sustainability, future healthcare, new media, innovation and the best of East and West.
Among others, the Centre will pursue projects that look into alternative materials for land reclamation. JTC and NTU will work together to identify innovative solutions to convert weak soft soil derived from land excavation and sea dredging into usable land fill. The Centre also plans to collaborate with overseas institutions in addition to NTU's research centres such as the DHI-NTU Water and Environmental Research Centre, the Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute (NEWRI) and the Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N), on new research projects.
Provided by Nanyang Technological University
