AS SINGAPORE unveiled its gleaming new $560 million Fusionopolis research and development complex at one-north last October, a very different scenario was unfolding in the United States.
In Boston, Massachusetts, Harvard University was putting on hold indefinitely the plans for its new Allston science campus owing to the financial crisis.
This is more than just a striking coincidence to Mr Lim Chuan Poh, the 47- year-old chairman of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star). It is, he believes, emblematic of a wider global trend.
Not only have US university endowments shrunk, but 48 out of 50 US state governments have sunk into the red, forcing them to cut back state funding to areas such as scientific research, he said.
In contrast, Singapore keeps pouring cash into R&D - with public sector spending set to more than double in the period between 2006 and 2010 to $13.5 billion over the 2001 to 2005 period, he says.
The cash dry-up in some traditional R&D centres versus the cash splurge here is highly instructive. In the competitive world of science and innovation, money talks volubly. And it is Singapore that is talking the loudest.
This is leading scientists, young and old, from around the world to turn their eyes to Singapore, allowing the Republic to upstage rival cities across the US and in Japan, in its bid to become a global centre for world class research.
Mr Lim, who became A*Star's chief in April 2007, believes future competition between countries will be over talent and not cost- competitiveness.
One of his key roles is to ensure that there are enough scientists and researchers to keep the multinational corporations invested here, as Singapore restructures its economy to focus on high- tech manufacturing and R&D in sectors ranging from drugs and medical devices to media and information communications technology.
The strategy is not new, but Mr Lim says the winners in this competition will be those who can produce results.
'We have got to give scientists their oxygen to do good research,' he says. 'That's why they find the environment here very conducive. They can focus their minds and do wonderful research.'
It's not just anecdotal evidence backing up Mr Lim's claims. He points to a study done by the Boston Consulting Group this year in which Singapore was ranked the world's most innovative economy, edging out South Korea, the US and Japan.
Tellingly, what put Singapore at the top was its input - investments in infrastructure, most notably the multibillion dollar Biopolis and Fusionopolis projects.
In the same survey, in terms of innovation output, the Republic was ranked seventh, but Mr Lim says that all these investments will soon pay off in kind.
He said that the opening of Fusionopolis just 600m from Biopolis means Singapore is now positioned to 'do something truly transformational in research'.
Mr Lim, who was named by Science magazine as one of eight key global figures to watch this year, is referring to the much vaunted research space that embraces both biomedical sciences and the physical sciences and engineering.
'It's almost like the holy grail for all institutions and universities to be able to draw on different disciplines. But to make it happen is very difficult.'
Yes, it may be difficult, but Singapore is making it happen, Mr Lim proclaims.
A new joint council was set up in April this year to supervise integration between the biomedical research and the science and engineering research councils.
It has already borne fruit in biomedical engineering, where Mr Lim says breakthroughs have occurred simply through getting clinicians and engineers to talk to each other.
There is, for example, a race car game that lengthens the attention span of children suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and a robotic cradle that could help stroke patients regain mobility in their limbs.
Both have potentially significant implications as they do not require the administration of any drugs and have got the international research community talking.
'Everyone knows this is the space to go into, but the reward goes to those who can make it work well. It is about execution,' he says.
Mr Lim certainly knows something about execution, having had a distinguished 23-year career in the Singapore Armed Forces. His meteoric rise through the ranks was capped by his appointment as Chief of Defence Force at the age of 39.
Before joining the science agency, he also spent four years at the Ministry of Education working to revamp the research framework for polytechnics and universities.
But despite the fact that he has never worked in a lab himself, he firmly believes that science and technology will help create the future for Singapore.
And as more scientists come here, Mr Lim says they are realising that the infrastructure, steady government funding and diversity of scientists are making the research environment truly unique.
'Singapore has to be different. We cannot just be an Asian research hub...If you want a truly international world class research hub in Asia, this is the place.'
He cites how Japan may be strong in research, but is limited by the lack of diversity in its labs where only 10 per cent of its PhD graduates are foreign students. Here it is almost 80 per cent.
Challenges remain, however. One is generating enough scientists given the relatively small population here.
A*Star has already unveiled a slew of measures to attract young scientists from all over the world to Singapore. At the same time, it continues to send its scholars to overseas universities - by 2010 there will be 1,000 of them.
It has also opened more entry points for students who may be interested in a career in research to join at different stages of their lives.
Together, all these strategies are creating a dynamic flow of a diverse group of scientific talent in and out of Singapore.
Another challenge: For all the progress Singapore has made, it has only been at this for nine years, and it is still playing catch-up with established research centres such as Boston and San Diego.
To that, Mr Lim says: 'We have to be smart. We cannot afford to say let's wait 30 to 40 years. How can we work with them to leverage off whatever they have built and then adapt, collaborate to do something like that in Singapore? This is something that Singapore has to continue to do for the foreseeable future, and probably way out into the future.'
But ultimately, one of the most important measures of A*Star's success is whether all this will actually grow the Singapore economy. Will the corporations come and will they hire the scientists that Singapore produces?
The results so far have been promising. The number of researchers hired by the private sector grew at a compounded annual rate of 9.4 per cent from 2000 to 2007. More significantly, the number of PhDs has shot up 17.3 per cent, albeit from a smaller base.
'The moment you can train the people and the private sector wants to come in and access the talent - that is the alignment we want.'
From soldiers to students to scientists, the one constant in Mr Lim's career has been the importance of talented people.
And so for A*Star he has no doubt that he must continue to focus on developing and attracting talent to make sure that Singapore remains a world-class international research hub.
'The moment you have the best talent all the other things we can overcome, all the opportunities we will be able to avail ourselves of them.'
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