In Singapore, public research can be conducted in either one of the institutes of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) or one of the research laboratories in universities or polytechnics.
A*STAR institutes
A*STAR is the main government agency for applied research. 2,000 international researchers are employed in its 14 institutes, located in Biopolis and Fusionopolis. The researchers work in the engineering or biomedical sciences.
A*STAR – Biomedical Research Council (BMRC)
The Biomedical Research Council (BMRC) supports, oversees and coordinates public sector biomedical research and development activities in Singapore. The different research fields are distributed over institutes and consortia, which are housed mainly at Biopolis.
- Bioinformatics Institute (BII)
- Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI)
- Experimental Therapeutics Centre (ETC)
- Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS)
- Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN)
- Institute of Medical Biology (IMB)
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB)
- Singapore Bioimaging Consortium (SBIC) / Clinical Imaging Research Centre (CIRC)
- Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS)
- Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN)
A*STAR – Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC)
The Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) deals with the same objectives as the BMRC regarding engineering sciences: electronics, information and communication technologies (TIC), chemistry. SERC manages centers which are located mainly at Fusionopolis, Singapore’s iconic hub for science and technology research:
- Data Storage Institute (DSI)
- Institute of Microelectronics (IME)
- Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC)
- Institute for Infocomm Research (I²R)
- Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences (ICES)
- Experimental Power Grid Centre (EPGC)
- Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE)
- Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech)
- National Metrology Centre (NMC)
- Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC)
A*STAR – Joint Council (A*JC)
The A*STAR Joint Council (A*JC) promotes and supports multidisciplinary research with resources and an interaction platform to catalyse and explore new scientific opportunities and technologies. A*JC aims to be a bridge between BMRC and SERC. The A*JC came into being in 2007, after the redefinition of research priorities as outlined in Singapore’s Science and Technology Plan 2006-2010.
