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NCS today launched SURF@NCS as part of its Solutions for Urbanised Future initiative. SURF is focussed on driving smart city innovations to help realise Singapore’s vision as the world’s first Smart Nation.

Using a three-pronged approach, NCS will:

• Establish SURF@NCS as a living lab1 for public agencies and commercial enterprises to create and test-bed smart city innovations in the areas of Education, Healthcare, Transport and Public Safety.
• Grow a vibrant eco-system of like-minded partners for smart city development, starting with 15 global technology players, local start-ups, and research institutes.
• Train up to 120 talents in delivering and implementing smart solutions this year.

In conjunction with the launch, NCS has signed collaboration agreements with Cisco, A*STAR’s Institute for Infocomm Research (I²R) and Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) to explore smart city innovations.

The launch of SURF@NCS follows the announcement of a strategic partnership between Singtel and EDB last year to drive digital innovation, spur partnerships and build capabilities in cyber security, smart cities and analytics.

Mr Chia Wee Boon, Chief Executive Officer of NCS, said: “We are committed to accelerate our development of intellectual property and smart city solutions to help improve the lives of citizens.”

“Through SURF@NCS, we aim to partner best-of-breed technology providers to build a vibrant eco-system where we can co-create solutions to enhance essential government services and deliver game-changing enterprise innovations.”

Mr Chia added: “Pivotal to this is the availability of skilled talents. NCS will train up to 120 professionals primarily for smart city development this year. This augments the Singtel Cadet Scholarship Programme and Asia Pacific Cyber Security Competency Centre to build a pipeline of talents for the future.”

Dr Beh Swan Gin, Chairman of Singapore Economic Development Board, said: “The establishment of SURF@NCS will catalyse partnerships among leading local and foreign companies for the co-development of digital solutions in Singapore.”

Dr Beh added: “As a leading ICT solutions provider anchored in Singapore, NCS will also play a key role in training and equipping employees and students with new capabilities, so that Singaporeans can play a role in building our Smart Nation.”

A living lab for co-creation of smart city innovations

SURF@NCS is setup to provide an environment conducive for organisations to hold ideation workshops and test various technologies, applications and proof-of-concepts. It also serves as a lab for NCS to develop Intellectual Property (IP) and smart city innovations. The first IP being introduced is ISC – an Intelligent Command & Control Platform – designed to solve challenges in situations involving multiple agencies. The proprietary platform was test-bed in Little India last year, under the Safety and Security Industry Programme Office (SSIPO), established by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Economic Development Board (EDB). The outcome was a demonstration that the ISC platform helped to improve situational awareness and operational efficiency.

A vibrant partner eco-system

For a start, 15 partners have committed to collaborate with NCS in technology areas such as fog computing, Internet-of-Things (IOT) and critical infrastructure management. Among them are global companies such as Bosch, Cisco, IBM, Microsoft, Samsung and specialised technology providers like HOPE Technik, KAI Sqaure, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engine System Asia, Polycom, Quantum Inventions, WEB Biotechnology-SPYDER and Worldlabel-Parata.

NCS is also working with tertiary institutions such as Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and Temasek Polytechnic to build smart campuses and future teaching tools.

A pipeline of talents

This year, NCS intends to recruit up to 120 professionals to be trained as enterprise architects, product engineers, data scientists and subject matter experts for the implementation of smart city solutions. In partnership with the Institute of Infocomm Research (I2R), a programme will be introduced to nurture experts in data science and analytics.

Moving forward, NCS aims to work with government agencies and commercial enterprises to identify challenges, prototype ideas and deploy smart city solutions that will impact the lives of citizens for the better.

Media Contact
Wendy Tang
NCS Pte Ltd
DID: +65 6556 5629
Email: wendytang@ncs.com.sg

About NCS

NCS is a member of the Singtel Group and the leading information, communications and technology (ICT) service provider with presence in over 20 countries. NCS delivers end-to-end ICT solutions to help governments and enterprises realise business value through the innovative use of technology. Its unique delivery capabilities include consulting, development, systems integration, outsourcing, infrastructure management and portal solutions. It also provides mobility, social networking, business analytics and cloud computing services.

Headquartered in Singapore, NCS has over 8,000 staff members serving governments and large global commercial enterprises. We provide solutions across a spread of industries including the public sector, defence, homeland security, education, transportation, logistics, airport operations, aviation, healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, telecommunications and utilities.