CDE Industry Day 2025
Bridging Academia and Industry for Global Impact
26 September 2025
Friday 9am – 2pm
LT7A@EA, College of
Design and Engineering
Bridging Academia and Industry for Global Impact
26 September 2025
Friday 9am–2pm
LT7A@NUS College of
Design and Engineering
About the Event
Bridging Academia and Industry for Global Impact
Step into a dynamic day of discussions, idea-sharing, and networking, where the brightest minds from academia and industry come together to shape the future!
Hosted by the College of Design and Engineering (CDE) at NUS, this event showcases the strength of our partnerships with industry collaborators and the potential of working together to make a global impact.
What to Expect:
- Keynotes from industry leaders and innovation experts
- Panel discussions on Singapore’s position as a global tech and talent hub
- Research showcase featuring CDE’s latest innovations and solutions
 What You Will Learn:
- How CDE supports technology translation from lab to market
- Ways to engage in research collaboration with CDE experts
- Insights into talent development through academia-industry partnerships
Whether you are a researcher, industry professional, or part of the innovation ecosystem, this is your opportunity to connect with the CDE community and explore meaningful ways to collaborate!
CDE Industry Day 2025 Event Schedule
08:00
Registration / Breakfast
09:00
Start of Programme
09:05
Welcome Speech
Professor Teo Kie Leong, Dean, CDE
09:15
Designing the Future Together: CDE and Industry Partnerships for Global Impact
Professor Silvija Gradecak-Garaj, Vice Dean (Research and Technology), CDE
09:30
Micron’s NAND Strategy: Building Global Impact from a Small Nation
Dr. Subramanian Krishnan, Corporate Vice President, NAND Technology Integration Micron Technology
Singapore has emerged as a strategic hub in the global semiconductor ecosystem, and for Micron, it is the NAND Centre of Excellence with all functions from technology pathfinding to high volume manufacturing and assembly test co-located here. In this keynote, Krishnan reflects on how the country’s unique blend of talent, infrastructure, and policy has enabled Micron to expand and evolve in this direction. He will discuss global trends in technology in the AI era, the importance of nurturing local talent, and how students can position themselves to lead in a globalised, high-tech economy. The talk will also spotlight the role of industry and academia partnership in shaping future-ready engineering education.
10:00
Interval
10:15
Sustainability: Lessons from Academia for the Industry
Mr. Tan Szue Hann, Director, ESG Strategy, Fund Management, Keppel Ltd
An architect, sustainability professional and now an ESG strategist in fund management and investment at Keppel, Tan Szue Hann (March, Class of ’07) will share on the multiple lessons learned in strategy, planning and design thinking at NUS, that has shaped his career in the industry thus far. He will also shed some light on the success stories behind academia-industry collaborations in the built environment.
10:45
Panel Discussion: Positioning Singapore as a Tech and Talent Development Hub for Global Impact
12:00
Networking Lunch / Exhibition
14:00
End of Programme
14:10
Optional: Selected Lab Tours (Registration required)
| Time | Activity |
| 8.30am | Registration / Breakfast |
| 9.00am | Start of Programme |
| 9.05am | Welcome Speech |
| 9.15am | Designing the Future Together: CDE and Industry Partnerships for Global Impact |
| 9.30am | Keynote Speech 1
Micron’s NAND strategy : Building Global Impact from a Small Nation Singapore has emerged as a strategic hub in the global semiconductor ecosystem and for Micron, it is the NAND Center of Excellence with all function from technology pathfinding to high volume manufacturing and Assembly test co-located here . In this keynote, Krishnan reflects on how the country’s unique blend of talent, infrastructure, and policy has enabled Micron to expand and evolve in this direction. He will discuss global trends in technology in the AI era, the importance of nurturing local talent, and how students can position themselves to lead in a globalized, high-tech economy. The talk will also spotlight the role of industry & academia partnership in shaping future-ready engineering education. |
| 10.00am | Interval |
| 10.15am | Keynote Speech 2
Sustainability: Lessons from Academia to Industry Graduating from architecture, Hann shares on his career journey from architecture to sustainable development to fund management – charting new paths in industries that bring value to cities and urban development. He draws upon the lessons learned in strategy, planning and design thinking at NUS, that has shaped his career thus far. |
| 10.45am | Panel Discussion: Positioning Singapore as a Tech and Talent Development Hub for Global Impact |
| 12.00pm | Networking Lunch / Exhibition |
| 2.00pm | End of Programme |
| 2.10pm | Optional: Selected Lab Tours (Registration required) |
Programme Highlights
Keynote Addresses
Panel Discussion
Exhibition Booths
Networking Sessions
Speakers
Subramanian Krishnan
Corp Vice President, NAND Technology Integration
Micron Technology
Keynote Speaker, Panellist
Dr. Krishnan is Micron’s Corporate Vice President of NAND Technology Integration, leading a global team responsible for developing and deploying advanced NAND technologies. Based in Singapore, he has over 30 years of experience in semiconductor process engineering and integration, with leadership roles in both manufacturing and R&D. He established and expanded Micron’s Singapore R&D team, delivering multiple generations of Vertical NAND, and later took on additional leadership of the US R&D integration team and pathfinding efforts.
A senior IEEE member, Dr. Krishnan has authored technical papers, holds several patents, and actively mentors leaders within Micron and the wider industry. He also serves on the steering committee of Micron’s Women’s Leadership Network as a male ally. He holds degrees from IIT Madras and the University of Texas at Austin. His interests include golf, Indian classical music, Indic spiritual literature, and corporate leadership coaching.
Tan Szue Hann
Director, ESG Strategy, Fund Management
Keppel Ltd
Keynote Speaker, Panellist
Tan Szue Hann, MBA, MArch, is an award-winning green architect and sustainability professional. Hann is Director, ESG Strategy & Sustainability, Fund Management, and Head of Sustainability (Real Estate) at Keppel, Singapore. He is also Chairman of Sustainability at the Singapore Institute of Architects, and is co-chair of the NEXT Council at the Urban Land Institute. Hann graduated with an M Arch and BA Arch (First Class Honours) from NUS, with a visiting fellowship to UCLA in 2007, and obtained an MBA with Distinction in 2022.
Hann has also been an appointed World Cities Summit Young Leader, BCA Built Environment Young Leader, SGBC Board Member (2017-2020), and was Singapore’s 2015-16 BCA-SGBC Young Green Architect of the Year. Prior to his appointment at Keppel, he was also Director of Sustainable Development at Marina Bay Sands and Managing Director at Miniwiz. He has worked on the ParkRoyal Collection on Pickering and SPACE Asia Hub with WOHA, the BCA SkyLab with Surbana Jurong, and the Marina Bay Sands expansion project, translating sustainability goals and solutions into real estate value and uplifted spaces. He has also spoken in numerous international conferences in sustainability, real estate and urban development.
Cecilia Laschi
Provost’s Chair Professor
National University of Singapore
Panellist
Prof Cecilia Laschi is the Provost’s Chair Professor of Robotics at CDE, where she leads the Soft Robotics Lab. She is the Director of the Advanced Robotics Centre and co-director of the Centre for Advanced Robotics Technology and Innovation (CARTIN). She holds a PhD in Robotics from the University of Genoa and an honorary doctorate from the University of Southern Denmark. A pioneer in soft robotics, she explores marine applications of soft robots and their use in the biomedical field, with a focus on eldercare. She has worked in humanoid and neuro-robotics, applying brain models in humanoid robots. Prof Laschi is Editor-in-Chief of Bioinspiration & Biomimetics and holds key editorial roles in top robotics journals. An IEEE Fellow and active member of various scientific societies, she founded the IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft). She also co-founded RoboTech, a spin-off company in edutainment robotics.
Yeo Yee Chia
Deputy Chief Executive
Agency for Science, Technology, and Research
Moderator
Prof Yeo Yee Chia is the Deputy Chief Executive of the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, where he leads Innovation & Enterprise efforts, National Platforms, as well as Semiconductor research and development. He is also a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at CDE.Â
His expertise is in transistor architecture, device modelling and simulation, materials, tools and processing technologies. He spent 10 years at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). He was Director of Research and Development (R&D) at TSMC where he led organisations spanning research, pathfinding, and development. He co-developed TSMC's industry-leading 7 nm, 5 nm, and 3 nm technologies. which has impacted the world in areas such as high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics.
He has co-authored more than 700 papers and 350 US patents. He has graduated more than 40 PhD students at NUS.
He received his PhD and MS degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences from the University of California, Berkeley, and MEng and BEng degrees in Electrical Engineering from NUS. He completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School, Harvard University.
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