University-government-private sector partnerships are truly win-win-win for tech

Professor White discusses partnerships between universities and other organisations.

A tripartite arrangement involving institutes of higher learning, the government and the private sector has worked very well for Singapore when it comes to solving its cybersecurity manpower shortage.

Professor Tim White, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Associate VP, Infrastructure and Programmes said at Cybertech Asia 2018 in Singapore that the city-state has to have a focused “whole-government”, “whole-country” approach to have an impact with manpower.

“Singapore has become very proficient in getting these groups to operate well,” he said, noting that collaboration can result in a pipeline of talent and the development of solutions unique to Singapore. "(We have a) whole-country approach which is very well-resourced. We have learned over the past few years very well how to make this work successfully."

The tripartite partnership between governments, industry and academia.

Universities need to educate, inculcate and innovate, whereas businesses need to innovate, generate and compensate shareholders, Professor White noted. The risks of partnership can include the compromise of core values for universities and the loss of freedom, against benefits such as funding received and potential jobs for graduates.

Businesses face reduced profitability and a diluted vision, against the lowered risk of co-innovation and potentially technology leadership, he added.

"They both they have to innovate so this is the way to tie these two groups together," he said. "They should speak the same language. This is really critical."

NTU, a research-intensive university, has extensive experience working with third parties, including in cybersecurity, Professor White said. Some of the forms the partnerships have taken include:

- Multidisciplinary institutes, such as the pan-university Cyber Security Research Centre @NTU (CYSREN). CYSREN currently focuses on areas like security by design, threat detection and attack attribution, as well as cybercrime, forensics, and a holistic approach towards cybersecurity.

"It's very important that a university be responsive to companies," Professor White said. "You should not be waiting around for us to sign a contract."

- Corporate labs, such as with Delta Electronics, NTU's largest engagement of its kind. Professor White noted that it has the scale to have an impact. The Taiwanese power electronics and energy management manufacturer even has 20 Delta research staff/engineers on campus, and hosts PhD students. Professor White said, "This is the type of engagement that we want, you learn about us, we learn about you."

- Joint labs, such as with BAE Systems in 2016, the first time the vendor has set up such a facility outside the UK.

- Centres of excellence, as with INTERPOL, framing "research in a way that impacts most directly".

- Collaborations, the AIA EDGE Lab for example. The lab was set up by insurance company AIA with NTU in 2015 to be an innovation centre "which seeks to deliver consumer-centric solutions that will help people in Singapore and around the Asia-Pacific region to get the insurance cover they need to lead longer, healthier and better lives."

- Further, the NTU campus acts as a site for living labs, hosting live data streams from living testbeds. "Many technologies can be tested in our buildings on campus. We can use our campus as a testbed and that is a distinct advantage for us," he said.

"Our experience if we do this is that we end up in the marketplace more quickly and more importantly we have more sustainability," Professor White observed, as partners tend to return and bring more business for the university.

Success factors for partnerships include the commitment for businesses to involve talent who are familiar with their company and the technology they offer, and for universities to zero in on the areas they should be working in that will provide jobs for students.

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