Record high attendance of 3,900 at TechInnovation 2017

The sixth edition of TechInnovation concluded successfully, with over 3,900 participants from more than 40 countries in attendance, a 44% increase from last year’s turnout.

The annual two-day technology marketplace is Singapore’s premier technology brokerage event, bringing together technology providers and seekers under one roof to explore business collaboration opportunities through open innovation. This year’s exhibition floor saw over 160 exhibitors showcasing more than 400 enabling and ready-to-market technologies.

Organised by IPI Singapore, TechInnovation is held in association with the Singapore Week of Innovation and TeCHnology (SWITCH). The opening address was delivered by Mr S. Iswaran, Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry). In his address, Mr Iswaran highlighted the need for Singapore enterprises to seize the initiative to tap on each other’s technology capabilities, and exploit adjacencies in production processes to access new opportunities and address complex business challenges.

Mr S. Iswaran, Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry), visiting one of the exhibiting booths at the Food Pavilion

Several announcements were made at TechInnovation 2017. They are:

• The formation of the Singapore Medtech Consortium (SMC), led by precision engineering small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) Racer Technology and supported by SPRING Singapore, International Enterprise (IE) Singapore and Singapore Precision Engineering and Technology Association (SPETA). The first-of-its-kind industry-led consortium of five complementary manufacturing SMEs, will provide end-to-end manufacturing solutions in the areas of in-vitro diagnostics, active and non-active medical devices, wearables and life science tool consumables
• The licensing agreement between medtech startup Invivo Medical Pte Ltd, the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), National University Hospital (NUH) and National University of Singapore (NUS), for the commercialisation of Percutaneous Access to Kidney Assist Device (PAKAD). The innovation makes kidney stone removal surgery simpler, shorter and safer. The technology partnership originated from TechInnovation 2015 and the agreement was signed on 29 August 2017.
• Launch of the inaugural IP HatchDay, an open innovation competition for startups or entrepreneurs to leverage Intellectual Property (IP) and technologies to develop scalable business ideas. Winners of the competition will receive funding, incubation, mentorship and support from organiser and IP bank, Piece Future and its partners.

“IPI’s greatest achievement with TechInnovation is seeing both technology providers and technology seekers mutually benefit from the event. We want this platform to continue fostering technology partnerships for all parties and to encourage open innovation practices. The success of this year’s edition is evident from the strong turnout of delegates and exhibitors seeking collaboration opportunities with SMEs. A total of 1,300 business meetings were initiated over the course of two days, between local and international participants,” said Professor Lam Khin Yong, Executive Director of IPI.

Over 400 enabling technologies showcased on the exhibition floor

Headlined on the exhibition floor this year were two new pavilions showcasing their respective technologies and applications. The Food Pavilion had 10 companies showcase their emerging technologies to create innovative products and solutions to meet the food industry’s evolving needs. The European Pavilion consisted of 15 organisations from countries such as Estonia, Finland, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands, allowing local enterprises to connect with European partners to discover new innovation opportunities.

“Exhibiting at TechInnovation 2017 has been a tremendous benefit for us. IPI has lined up an extensive number of meetings for our organisation to bridge us with industry partners over our two days here. We have already received a substantial number of business enquiries from Multinational Corporations (MNCs) and SMEs. We are hopeful that a lot of positive synergies will come out of these meetings, and extremely thankful towards IPI for arranging them,” said Food Innovation speaker, Alan Phua, Master Builder at Alchemy Foodtech.