News Release

New program to boost science and technology leaders' advanced management capabilities

Business Announcement

Nanyang Technological University

Nanyang Business School (NBS) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, has jointly launched a new advanced management programme for leaders in Science and Technology with the Rady School of Management at the University of California, San Diego.

The Leadership and Innovation in Science and Technology (LIST) programme will equip scientists and technological innovators with the vital management skills that will enable them to commercialise their innovations. Translating research discoveries into commercial enterprises that can generate value for society is not always simple. Experience in countries such as the United States has shown that many successful research discoveries fail to succeed in the market place primarily because the scientists and technologists lack the commercial savvy and management training to create successful business ventures.

The new accelerated one-month residential programme is designed to prepare high-potential science and technology professionals and managers for leadership positions to overcome this challenge. It will complement and support the huge capital that Singapore and the United States have invested in the fields of life sciences and other high-end technological industries in recent years.

The memorandum of understanding between the two schools was signed by Professor Gillian Yeo, Interim Dean of NBS and Professor Robert Sullivan, Dean of Rady School of Management at San Diego, USA on 16 April 2010. The MOU was signed in the presence of Mr. Philip Yeo, Chairman of the Advisory Board of NBS, and Chairman of SPRING, Singapore. The Chancellor of the University of California, San Diego, Professor Marye Anne Fox also graced the occasion.

The programme consists of six intensive courses and focuses on developing the skills necessary to translate research ideas into commercially viable growth ventures. The six courses will be offered over two segments with each segment lasting two weeks. The first segment of three courses will be offered at the NBS campus in Singapore in November 2010. The remaining three courses will be offered at the Rady School campus at San Diego, California in the summer of 2011.

A unique feature of the programme is that the participants are also trained to identify and qualify a scalable and sustainable business opportunity using a professionally prepared business presentation and plan. The plan will be presented to and evaluated by venture capitalists during the second segment of the programme at San Diego.

Professor Gillian Yeo, Interim Dean of NBS said: "This programme is consistent with NBS's and Rady's vision to educate business leaders for innovation-driven organisations". Chairman Philip Yeo added that this programme will allow our researchers and scientists to better commercialise their innovative ideas and research discoveries.

Apart from managers, technologists and scientists in local companies and research institutes, the programme will also be very appealing to US companies setting up R&D centres in Singapore.

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