During the inauguration of Dyson’s new Singapore Technology Centre on February 13, Mr S. Iswaran, Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry), spoke about Dyson and Singapore’s strong partnership since 2007 and shared the success of this partnership as a testament to the strong alignment between Dyson’s ambition to be a global technology leader, and Singapore’s vision of developing an innovation-led economy.
To accelerate the company’s R&D efforts, Dyson’s new technology centre will house several important facilities to include:
On lines of the recent launch of the CFE report, which envisions new pathways for Singapore’s economic development, Mr Iswaran said, “We will continue to work with our partners to build deep capabilities in our people and our enterprise eco-system to support innovation and internationalisation. These efforts will better position our enterprises to seize opportunities in growth sectors such as Advanced Manufacturing and the Digital Economy, as well as create good job opportunities for our people.”
A close collaboration between the private and public sectors will be a key to these developmental efforts. Besides the new centre, Dyson will also be establishing its Advanced Manufacturing (AM) team in Singapore to implement Industrial IoT technologies, both within its manufacturing facilities in Singapore as well as the region.
Collectively, Dyson’s new Centre, with the Global Technology Centre of Excellence and Advanced Supply Chain Control Tower, as well as the Advanced Manufacturing Team, will create an additional 190 jobs. These would include 160 new positions for Research Scientists and Engineers (RSEs), over the next 5 years.
See: CFE Identifies Advanced Manufacturing as a Growth Area to Boost Singapore’s Economy
In its efforts to position Singapore as an innovation-led economy and build deep capabilities, it is important to equip people with knowledge and expertise in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), to ensure that they are industry-ready.
Mr Iswaran further highlighted in his speech, “Singapore has consistently been a top performer in various international rankings that measure students’ competencies in Mathematics and Science. In 2016, our local universities produced over 6,700 Bachelors’ graduates in the fields of Computing, Engineering and Science. We must build on these strengths, and we can better prepare our young engineers to meet the needs of the industry. This means providing them with opportunities to work on real-life engineering problems and gain practical experience.”
Dyson has been investing in Singapore’s young talent through its on-the-job training programmes. One such outstanding example of talent brought into the Dyson board, from the Nanyang Technological University in 2012 is Mr. Teo Boon Sheng. Boon Sheng is working as an Advanced Design Engineer with Dyson and is also a part of the company’s Global Pioneers Programme that aims to groom future leaders to take on new roles outside their core responsibilities.
Boon Sheng is currently working on a project which involves utilizing market insights and feedback to develop strategies for marketing campaigns. Boon Sheng was also given the opportunity to spend some time at Dyson’s Malmesbury campus in England, where he was involved in various R&D projects. Such opportunities provide invaluable exposure and experience for our young engineers.
Today, Dyson employs over 1,000 employees in Singapore, with competencies in Research, Design and Development, Supply Chain Management, and Advanced Manufacturing. This new centre will work closely with Dyson’s headquarters in Malmesbury, England, to achieve a 24-hour Research and Development (R&D) cycle and accelerate the company’s R&D efforts.
Also read: CFE Report Released: Focused on Preparing Singapore to be Future-Ready
Image credit: careers.dyson.com
