Speech by Ms Thien Kwee Eng, Director, Lifestyle
Speech by Ms Thien Kwee Eng, Director, Lifestyle
Speech by Ms Thien Kwee Eng, Director, Lifestyle
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
FOR EMBARGO UNTIL 27 SEPTEMBER, 1030 HRS<br />
PLEASE CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY<br />
SPEECH BY THIEN KWEE ENG, DIRECTOR, LIFESTYLE PROGRAMME<br />
OFFICE, SINGAPORE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOARD, AT THE<br />
MEDIA LAUNCH OF LIVE WELL COLLABORATIVE SINGAPORE<br />
27 SEPTEMBER 2010, 1030 HRS AT INNOVILLAGE, SINGAPORE<br />
POLYTECHNIC<br />
Good morning<br />
Mr. Tan Hang Cheong, Principal, Singapore Polytechnic<br />
Mr. Craig Vogel, Associate Dean of Research and Innovation,<br />
College of Design Architecture Art and Planning, University of<br />
Cincinnati & President, The Live Well Collaborative (Cincinnati)<br />
(“LWC-C”)<br />
Mr. Matthew Doyle, <strong>Director</strong> & Senior Researcher, Healthcare R&D<br />
– Worldwide, P&G, and Vice-President, LWC-C<br />
Distinguished speakers and partners of the Live Well Collaborative<br />
Singapore and members of the media.<br />
Introduction<br />
1. It gives me great pleasure to join you this morning for the<br />
media launch of Live Well Collaborative in Singapore. I would<br />
1
like to congratulate the parties involved, P&G, Singapore<br />
Polytechnic and Live Well Collaborative Cincinnati on the<br />
inauguration of this open innovation platform.<br />
2. This project is the first of its kind in Singapore and would help<br />
to establish Singapore as the Asian Hub for companies<br />
focussed on consumer insights for research and development<br />
of consumers of ages 50 and above.<br />
Singapore as a hub for Pan-Asian Consumer Insights<br />
3. We recognise that Design is exceedingly growing in importance<br />
to companies as a competitive edge to create products and<br />
services that enhances the quality of life of people and also<br />
makes business sense. To come up with a successful product<br />
requires more than the ability to sketch and build things.<br />
Instead, a deep understanding of consumer needs and deriving<br />
consumer insights, coupled with the ability to translate those<br />
insights into a useful product is the key.<br />
4. To address this, EDB plans to build up capabilities to establish<br />
Singapore as a leading base to gather and analyse consumer<br />
insights, as well as to develop products for Asian consumers.<br />
This was the result of a recommendation from the Economic<br />
2
Strategies Committee earlier this year, and would enable<br />
companies to anchor consumer-centric innovation activities<br />
out of Singapore.<br />
5. Singapore‘s multi-culturalism and strong connectivity to the<br />
region also offers companies a valuable pan-Asian perspective<br />
as it is close to key markets such as China, Indiaand Southeast<br />
Asia. This has already led to a growing interest from design<br />
consultancies from US, Europe and other parts of Asia to set<br />
up a base in Singapore. For instance, Elmwood, a design<br />
consultancy from UK recently announced plans to open an<br />
office in Singapore as an <strong>Eng</strong>lish-speaking gateway to the<br />
developing markets of East Asia.<br />
We expect to see more of<br />
such companies use Singapore to reach the growing markets in<br />
Asia.<br />
Singapore is well-positioned to support the growth of consumer<br />
centric research in aging demographic<br />
6. Besides, Singapore is the right location for studying aging<br />
Asian consumers as we are experiencing the second fastest<br />
ageing country in Asia after Japan. These aging consumers<br />
represent unprecedented purchasing power for products and<br />
3
services that meet their changing physical needs and enhance<br />
their quality of life.<br />
Significance of LWC-Singapore<br />
7. P&G’s initiative to bring the LWC to Singapore, for Asia,<br />
attests to our efforts to facilitate strategic industry<br />
collaborations that will foster consumer-centric design<br />
innovation activities. This supports Singapore’s aspirations to<br />
be a leading consumer business centre in Asia. LWC-Singapore<br />
is particularly meaningful, as it builds design research<br />
capabilities in academic institutions through industry<br />
collaborations to create paradigm-changing new solutions and<br />
concepts.<br />
8. These partnerships between industry and academia are made<br />
Closing<br />
possible through LWC’s unique model to provide mutually<br />
beneficial outcomes for both. The open innovation platform<br />
allows for non-competing companies to have shared access to<br />
insights created <strong>by</strong> faculty and students, to provide consumer<br />
opportunities with fresh eyes and unbiased perspectives.<br />
4
9. When I visited LWC in Cincinnati, I was most impressed with<br />
the variety of marketable solutions generated within it short<br />
period of its establishment. It is exciting that Singapore could<br />
now be the source of Asian-centric innovations and solutions.<br />
10. In closing, let me thank P&G for your confidence in Singapore<br />
through the years and for choosing to partner Singapore in<br />
establishing Live Well Collaborative. We at the EDB look<br />
forward to strengthening this partnership to support you to<br />
better harness the many exciting opportunities ahead,<br />
especially in Asia. I wish you every success.<br />
5