A*STAR Graduate Academy

A*STAR Graduate Academy
Name	A*STAR Graduate Academy
Type	Research training institute
Established	2016
Country	Singapore
Parent	Agency for Science, Technology and Research

A*STAR Graduate Academy

A*STAR Graduate Academy is a Singaporean postgraduate training institute that integrates research career development with translational science and technology. It functions within the ecosystem of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research and connects talent pipelines across academia and industry in Southeast Asia. The Academy emphasizes interdisciplinary mentoring, cohort-based career workshops, and partnerships with global laboratories, companies, and consortia.

Overview

The Academy operates at the nexus of institutions such as the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Duke–NUS Medical School, and Singapore Management University while engaging with international nodes including University of Cambridge, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, University of Oxford, and ETH Zurich. It recruits candidates into doctoral and postdoctoral tracks aligned with research entities like Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Institute of Microelectronics, Genome Institute of Singapore, Bioprocessing Technology Institute, and Institute of Materials Research and Engineering. The Academy’s network spans corporate partners such as Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, Siemens, Roche, and Microsoft Research, as well as funding agencies including National Research Foundation (Singapore), Economic Development Board (Singapore), European Research Council, National Institutes of Health, and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

History and Development

Launched within the strategic frameworks shaped by figures and entities like Lee Kuan Yew, S. Dhanabalan, Goh Chok Tong, and policy blueprints from Monetary Authority of Singapore, the Academy developed through phases influenced by initiatives such as the Biopolis development, the expansion of Fusionopolis, and the growth of One North. Early collaborations referenced projects with Agency for Science, Technology and Research institutes and regional partners including Temasek Holdings, Singapore Airlines, and CapitaLand. International memoranda engaged counterparts such as Royal Society, Max Planck Society, CNRS, Fraunhofer Society, and CSIRO to foster exchange programs. The Academy’s evolution paralleled milestones like the launch of A*STAR Graduate Scholarship, amendments to frameworks influenced by reports from World Economic Forum, UNESCO, and white papers by McKinsey & Company and Boston Consulting Group.

Programs and Degrees

Programmatic offerings align with doctoral pathways and postdoctoral fellowships affiliated with universities including Imperial College London, University of California, Berkeley, Princeton University, Harvard University, and Yale University. Degree conferral is conducted through partner institutions such as Singapore University of Technology and Design and traditional partners like King’s College London and University of Melbourne. Specialized pathways include industry-linked doctorates with corporate partners like Johnson & Johnson, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Baidu Research, Google DeepMind, and Samsung Research. Professional development modules draw on curricula co-created with organizations such as Royal Academy of Engineering, IEEE, Association of Commonwealth Universities, World Health Organization, and International Committee of the Red Cross.

Research and Training Model

The Academy’s model emphasizes mentored research and translational pipelines connecting laboratories such as A*STAR Institute of Medical Biology, A*STAR Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Research Centre, Singapore Eye Research Institute, Tropical Marine Science Institute, and Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory. Trainees rotate through collaborations involving Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Bayer AG, ABB, Canon, and Toyota Research Institute. Curriculum elements incorporate methodologies from projects like Human Genome Project, Protein Data Bank, Human Cell Atlas, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, and literature standards informed by publishers such as Nature Publishing Group, Science (journal), Cell Press, The Lancet, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Career training includes interactions with bodies like Singapore Academy of Law, Singapore Medical Council, American Chemical Society, and Royal Society of Chemistry.

Partnerships and Collaborations

Formal agreements extend to multinational research organizations such as CERN, European Space Agency, NASA, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, ASEAN University Network, and consortia like Human Frontier Science Program. Industry collaborations encompass Amazon Web Services, Intel Corporation, Qualcomm, Boeing, and GE Healthcare. Strategic links with philanthropic and research donors include Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome Trust, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Rockefeller Foundation, and Searle Scholars Program. Regional academic ties involve University of Tokyo, Seoul National University, Peking University, Tsinghua University, and Indian Institute of Science.

Admissions and Funding

Admission procedures coordinate with scholarship schemes such as A*STAR Graduate Scholarship, Singapore International Graduate Award, Commonwealth Scholarship, Rhodes Scholarship, Fulbright Program, Erasmus Mundus, Chevening Scholarship, and national grants administered by National Science Foundation (USA). Funding sources include competitive grants from European Union Horizon 2020, Research Council UK, National Medical Research Council (Singapore), Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and corporate sponsored fellowships from ABBVIE, Eli Lilly and Company, and AstraZeneca. Selection panels include delegates from institutions like Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Royal Society, National Academy of Sciences (USA), Academia Sinica, and Korean Academy of Science and Technology.

Notable Alumni and Impact

Alumni have moved into leadership roles across organizations such as Temasek, Shopee, Grab (company), GIC (Singapore); research leadership at Novartis, Roche, Pfizer, Charles River Laboratories, and startups that became ventures backed by Sequoia Capital, Kleiner Perkins, Accel (company), SoftBank Vision Fund, and 500 Startups. Graduates contributed to projects and discoveries referenced by awards like the Nobel Prize, Lasker Award, Turing Award, Fields Medal, and Breakthrough Prize via collaborations with labs at Broad Institute, Salk Institute, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The Academy’s trainees have participated in translational programs that influenced regional initiatives such as Smart Nation (Singapore), Precision Medicine Initiative (USA), Blue Economy Initiative, and public health responses coordinated with World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Category:Research training institutes in Singapore