Keynote Speaker & Panelist

PROFESSOR HANG CHANG CHIEH

Founding Executive Director

Professor in Dept of Electrical & Computer Engineering, NUS

Professor Hang Chang Chieh received the Ph.D degree in Control Engineering from the University of Warwick, England, in 1973. Over the course of his career, he has been in many notable positions such as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the National University of Singapore and the Executive Deputy Chairman of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).

Prof Hang received the 1998 Public Administration Medal (Gold) for his leadership and contributions in the university, and the 2000 National Science & Technology Medal for his leadership and contributions to science and technology development in Singapore. He was elected a Fellow of IEEE (USA) in 1998 and a Foreign Member of the Royal Academy of Engineering, UK in 2000. He served as the founding Deputy Chairman of the National Science and Technology Board (predecessor of A*STAR) from 1991 to 1999, and the founding Chairman of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) from 2001 to 2009. Currently, he serves as non-executive Chairman of 3 high-tech companies and as a board member of a listed company in Singapore.

Panelist

MR. LUKE TAY

Founder, Cornucopia FutureScapes

Mr. Tay leads a Singapore-based, globally oriented foresight and strategy practice with a focus on food security, sustainability, technology, geopolitics, urban and national development, and cross-stakeholder international collaboration.

An international futurist and agrifood investor, he advises corporates, startups, institutions, governments, and international organisations, and supporting foresight capability development, future-ready strategic transformation, and new agrifood and sustainability initiatives. Focal topics include food system resilience and supply chains, ESG, carbon markets, environmental citizenship, countering misinformation.

Before founding Cornucopia, Mr. Tay served for two decades in leadership and management roles in the agrifood and transport spheres of the Singapore public service.

A historian and political scientist, Mr. Tay graduated summa cum laude (BA, MA) from the University of Pennsylvania.

Panelist

DR. CHEN ZHI XIONG

Associate Professor, Assistant Dean (Education) NUS Medicine

Associate Professor Chen is the Assistant Dean (Education) of NUS Medicine. He is Chairperson of Asia-Pacific Biomedical Science Educators Association and Board Member of International Association of Medical Science Educators. A/P Chen is Principal Investigator of Neurodevelopment and Cancer Laboratory at NUS Centre for Cancer Research and Joint Scientist of KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital. Involved in the education of medical, dental, pharmacy and life sciences students, A/P Chen is exploring ways to broaden health professions education and promote trans-disciplinary learning with specific interests in the role of medical sciences in health professions practice, faculty development, student affairs and medical education technology.

Moderator

DR. KIHOKO TOKUE

Managing Director, Leave a Nest Singapore

Dr. Tokue is Managing Director of Leave a Nest Singapore, and Founder of Leave a Nest Malaysia. She was born in Tokyo but raised in Southeast Asia, studied a bachelor’s degree in America and then moved to Australia for a Master’s and PhD degree carrying out fieldwork. Currently she is creating a platform in ASEAN to nurture the next generation of innovators and startups, involving business development partners from industry. Her dream is to one day bring a change to a world with advancement of science and technology and with true understanding and appreciation for nature.

Guest Speaker

DR. JOE INOUE

Representative Diretor CCO, Leave a Nest

Dr Joe Inoue received his Ph.D from Tokyo Pharmaceutical University Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Currently, he is the Professor of advanced pharmaceutical sciences at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Kumamoto University and a Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Keio University. Apart from his accolades in the pharmaceutical sciences, he is also involved with the Japanese government in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Additionally, he is also a Visiting Professor at Musashino University Faculty of Entrepreneurship and took up the role as an advisor to numerous companies such as Humanome, Metagen, Cyding, BIOTA.

Panelist

DR. HO CHAW SING

Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster (NAMIC)

Dr. Ho is the CEO of NAMIC, a national accelerator he co-founded that focuses on translational research to catalyse and scale industrial adoption of digital additive manufacturing technologies. In this role, he overseas Singapore’s development and implementation of additive manufacturing (AM) Research Innovation and Enterprise(RIE) strategies. Before joining the public sector, he spent 16 years at HP and Globalfoundries. Chaw Sing is an ASTM International board member and serves as an Adjunct Professor at NUS College of Design and Engineering. Active in the deep-tech ventures and AM community, he oversees the Chair’s Advisory Group in ISO’s AM standards committee as well as Singapore’s AM Technical Committee. He is an advisor to a number of startups and R&D organizations including the Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise under the National Research Foundation and Singapore Maritime Institute, among others. He earned his doctorate and undergraduate degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering from NUS.

Panelist

DR. SUDARSHAN ANANTHARAMAN

Senior Manager, MVP Studio Technology Transfer and Innovation NUS Enterprise

A Physicist with more than 20 years of experience of in R&D, Product Development and Project Management, working for MNCs in Consumer Electronics (Sony) and Environment & Human Health industries (Perkin Elmer) and Contract Manufacturing (Flex). Currently with the Technology Transfer and Innovation department of NUS Enterprise as part of MVP Studio, working with NUS startups to help build their Minimum Viable Product (MVP). During the past 5 years, he has mentored and participated in design and development of prototypes for 25 GRIP teams.

Panelist

MR. RISHAB PATWARI

CEO and Co-Founder, Hivebotics

A computer engineer by training, Rishab is the co-founder and CEO of Hivebotics, an autonomous robotic cleaning start-up using robots to perform essential but menial cleaning jobs. Their flagship robot, Abluo, aims to mitigate the labour crisis in the cleaning industry and improve the quality of the cleaning process by streamlining the toilet-cleaning process for humans. Abluo is being prepared for public testing and commercial launch later this year.

Moderator

DR. RYUTA TAKEDA

Director, Center for National Policy Research, Leave a Nest

Ryuta Takeda received Ph.D. from The Ohio State University, and trained as a pure scientist in a biotech field. After joining Leave a Nest, he initiated the ASEAN largest Deeptech entrepreneur platform “TECH PLANTER” in Japan, and managed to spread it to 10 countries to explore Deep Tech to match Deep Issues. In USA, from 2016-2019, he held TECH PLANTER in Silicon Valley and Boston. As well as managing international teams and businesses in Leave a Nest, he also developed a lot of international PoCs and collaborative researches between MNC and startup and different startups, so called international co-creation activities.

Kaman

Founded Kaman Inc. in November 2020, dedicated to fostering a regionally circular economy. Currently spearheading the launch of Megloo, a community-oriented shared reuse container service aiming to reduce disposable takeout containers. This initiative was selected as the first domestic project in Japan by the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW), focused on eliminating discarded plastics globally.

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Innovare

Innovare is a Japanese startup company that aims to realize a carbon-neutral and circular economy in Thailand and ASEAN countries by utilizing new biomass materials called natural rubber seeds. Innovare make biodiesel fuel, glycerin, and other valuable products by patented biorefinery process, and generate social impacts globally and locally.

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Buoy

We can mold mixed plastic waste into beautiful artifacts with our patented technology. Using this technology, we build the social business that makes an ecosystem commercializing marine plastic waste. Now, we work with over 20 volunteer groups in Japan and are expanding our business outside.

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LOOVIC

Use Japanese “Omotenashi” technology can solve the global trend of increasing tourism, Navigation to satisfy & eco mobility for new local cultures.It has change the tourists losing time and, furthermore, overlooking the surrounding scenery in the new location.

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Zip Infrastructure

Aiming to realize “a world without traffic jams and within a 5-minute walk from any station,” we are developing Zippar, an urban self-propelled ropeway that is low-cost, highly punctual, and capable of free routing, including curves. A commercial model is currently under development in Fukushima Prefecture.

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Code Meee

Seaside Robotics

Seaside Robotics is dedicated to conserving coastal environments, using robots to gently clean beaches and other shorelines. Our approach prioritises the protection of natural habitats and wildlife, tackling plastic pollution with minimal disruption. This innovation reduces the need for manual labor in these delicate ecosystems.

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MiiBio

Our company, Miibio is a biotech-startup from the University of Tokyo that contributes to a carbon-neutral society. We have original photo-switchable protein technology that controls the metabolic pathways of microorganisms with using light and provides solutions for scaling up bio-productions.

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ARK

PlantX

PLANTX integrates manufacturing technologies for an innovative food supply system utilizing plant factories with artificial light. We’ve achieved a breakthrough with the world’s first “closed” cultivation machine and plant growth control software. These systems enhance food production efficiency, stability, versatility, and facilitate research on cultivating high-value plants with specific beneficial ingredients. Our goal is to establish a sustainable food supply system, introducing a new paradigm in global food and agriculture.

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Panelist

MR. DOMINIQUE KULL

Co-founder, and CEO, SGProtein

Dominique is a seasoned Executive with vast intercultural experience. An Engineer by training with an Executive MBA from IMD, Dominique combines engineering and business know-how, giving him a broad background. Having worked in the food manufacturing industry in Europe, the US, and Asia, he gained in-depth expertise and extensive knowledge in various roles.

After many years in the corporate world, Dominique co-founded SGProtein in 2021, also leading the company as CEO. His passion for food innovation and scaling of new processes led him to move into a new venture where he helps companies to bring their products to the mass market.

Panelist

MR. YOTA TAKAKURA

Founder, and CEO, Innoqua

Born in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan in 1994, he graduated from the Faculty of Engineering, Tokyo University, and conducted research on supporting musical instrument practice using machine learning supervised by Professor Junichi Rekimoto. He established Innoqua Inc. In April 2019, in which he conceived and promoted research and development of ‘Biosphere transfer technology®’ to reproduce coral reefs and other marine ecosystems in indoor spaces. In October 2021, he became a director of the Rohto Children’s Mirai Foundation. In the same year, he was selected for Forbes Japan’s ’30 Under 30′ list.

Panelist

DR. RITU BHALLA

Assistant Director, Agriculture Research and Innovation (AGRI) Centre, Republic Polytechnic

Dr Ritu Bhalla is currently the Assistant Director for the Agriculture Research and Innovation (AGRI) Centre at Republic Polytechnic (RP). The AGRI centre looks into applications of advance technologies for urban farming. Dr Ritu oversees research and industry engagements at the Centre. She is instrumental in bringing together expertise and technologies from various schools at RP to offer solutions that will increase the quality of crops and streamline farm operations. She plays a key role in curriculum development for agriculture-related courses at RP and has been an advocator for training on new technologies that will enable farms to increase productivity.

Dr Ritu has over 15 years of research experience in understanding the pathways that lead to the production of natural products in plants and understanding the functional genomics of plants that influences primary growth, total yield and secondary functions such as production of essential oils and flavonoids that add to the quality of plants. She has several papers, book chapter, patents from her work in plants and a peer reviewer for international journals.

Her current projects involve the production of food crops through hydroponics and the use of external factors to increase secondary metabolite accumulation in plants that enhance its quality. She was a part of a team at RP that has developed software that allows farmers to develop light recipes for plants. She is interested in research investigations leading to improving the crop quality of leafy greens, herbs and microgreens for indoor farming.

Moderator

DR. CHEAH HEE

Assistant Manager, Leave a Nest Singapore

Dr. Cheah Hee graduated with a Bachelor degree (Hons) in Environmental Engineering from the National University of Singapore (NUS). He is passionate about the environment and believes that more can be done to create a sustainable environment for everyone to live in. This pushes him to pursue a PhD degree in Environmental Engineering from NUS, in search for answers. Cheah Hee joined Leave a Nest Research Development division in hopes to bridge research work from academic institutions around to world to meet various industrial needs.