The AWS Singapore CIC will work with challenge sponsors like non-profit organizations, education institutions, and government agencies to identify pressing social challenges, test new ideas with Amazon’s unique innovation methodology, and access AWS technologies and technical experts to develop industry-focused solutions for potential commercial adoption. The AWS Singapore CIC will also work with co-innovation labs and challenge sponsors to promote the use of cloud technologies within industries, upskill the workforce with digital skills, and introduce successful innovations across ASEAN and to other CICs globally.
The CIC will drive innovation in five areas – Smart Cities initiatives like urban living, sustainability, and digital government; focused industries like healthtech and edtech; burgeoning fields like quantum computing and space and satellite technologies; national security and defense like cybersecurity and homeland security; and workforce development like digital skilling. These focus areas align closely to Singapore’s Smart Nation agenda which aims to transform the city-state through technology.
Collaborating with the first co-innovation lab to develop Smart solutions addressing citizen needs
AWS Singapore CIC’s first co-innovation lab collaboration is with the Smart Urban Co-Innovation Lab (SMARTLab), which will connect industry leaders in the Smart City arena. The SMARTLab is Southeast Asia’s first industry-led lab for Smart Cities solutions development initiated by CapitaLand Investment, a leading global real estate investment manager with a strong Asia foothold. The AWS Singapore CIC and the SMARTLab collaboration will uncover challenges and innovate on solutions in nine areas: advanced manufacturing, cloud computing, healthcare, intelligent estates, smart mobility, smart wellness, sustainability, urban agriculture, and urban logistics.
Singapore-headquartered CapitaLand Investment is already working with AWS to create an Intelligent Estate data exchange as part of the SMARTLab and AWS Singapore CIC collaboration. The data exchange aims to consolidate data from different parts of any building, including electricity usage, air conditioning, footfall, indoor air quality, and lighting conditions, to name a few. This can help building owners, and facilities and estate managers innovate on sustainability and environment health safety solutions to reduce their carbon footprint and provide building occupants an optimal environment to work, live, and play.
“Singapore is taking the concept of Smart Cities to new heights with the cloud,” said Aylwin Tan, chief customer solutions officer at CapitaLand Investment and the SMARTLab director. “We look forward to accessing technology resources and the expertise of AWS Singapore CIC to develop unique ideas and pilot innovative solutions for Smart Cities. This collaboration between AWS Singapore CIC and the SMARTLab will seek to develop a new generation of companies skilled in tapping the potential of cloud computing in the Smart Cities arena.”
“We look forward to collaborating with the AWS Singapore CIC and SMARTLab as a challenge sponsor. We will innovate with private and public sector organizations to develop cloud-based solutions to address community issues in the urban living, healthcare, and digital upskilling areas, and improve lives of our residents.” said Jessica Tan, deputy speaker of the Parliament of Singapore and chairman of the East Coast town council.
Providing access to the deepest and broadest set of cloud technologies
Co-innovation labs and challenge sponsors collaborating with the AWS Singapore CIC can access more than 200 fully featured AWS services. These include compute, storage, databases, networking, analytics, robotics, machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), mobile, security, hybrid, virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR), media, application development, deployment, and management.
“Cloud technologies are helping cities across our region move fast, accelerate innovation, and develop and scale solutions quickly to solve societal challenges,” said Peter Moore, regional managing director for Worldwide Public Sector in Asia Pacific and Japan at AWS. “The AWS Singapore CIC is part of our commitment to continue supporting both the private and public sectors deliver their missions and creating positive social impact.”
Taking the Smart City agenda to the cloud
For the third year running, Singapore has been named the world’s smartest city on the global Smart City Index, which relies on feedback from residents on how technology has improved their lives. For example, the city state has developed a financial planning portal called the Singapore Financial Data Exchange (SGFinDex) that allows citizens to consolidate their financial information for more effective financial planning. Singapore is moving fast to digitize and seize opportunities for further innovation that can then be deployed to some of the larger cities in the region. The AWS Singapore CIC will enable this through collaborations with other AWS CICs regionally and globally.
"The AWS Singapore CIC is a wonderful example of how leading tech companies can bring together the private and public sectors across the wider economy. These collaborations will accelerate technology adoption, and address real-world challenges towards Smart and sustainable cities, serving communities in Singapore and the wider region,” said Ang Chin Tah, senior vice president, Digital Industry Singapore.
The AWS Singapore CIC joins a global network of AWS CICs around the world, including Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Germany, India, South Korea, and United States. Learn more about the AWS CIC Program, including the recent launch of the UC Davis Health CIC powered by AWS.
