INDUSTRY & INNOVATION
NUS CDE and NUH sign MOU to accelerate healthcare innovation through applied engineering and AI
CDE has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National University Hospital (NUH) as part of the official opening of the NUH Innovation Hub — a collaborative space designed to accelerate healthcare transformation through partnerships and AI-driven solutions that respond to the pressures of an ageing population, a shrinking workforce and rising healthcare costs.
Through the partnership, CDE will work with the NUH Innovation Hub to support its role as a real-world platform where engineering and medical expertise come together to develop and validate practical solutions for patient care and hospital operations.
A partnership designed for real-world impact
Under the MOU, NUH and CDE will collaborate on capability development — building pathways for hands-on learning, interdisciplinary teamwork and applied innovation. By pairing NUH’s clinical insights with CDE’s engineering expertise, the partnership is expected to:
Accelerate translation from research to deployment by enabling solutions to be tested and refined in real hospital settings.
Strengthen innovation capabilities on both sides through a two-way exchange of expertise, from frontline clinical workflows to engineering problem-solving and prototyping.
Develop future-ready talent via structured programmes and experiential learning, preparing students and staff to work across healthcare, engineering and AI-enabled environments.
Read more about the MOU with NUH here.
EDIC Project Showcase 2026 Highlights
The NUS Engineering Design and Innovation Centre (EDIC) Project Showcase took place on 17 April 2026, featuring 60+ projects by students from the NUS Innovation and Design Programme (iDP) and the Master of Science in Engineering Design and Innovation (MSc EDI) programme. Spanning healthcare, sustainability, smart solutions, robotics and immersive reality, the showcase highlighted how interdisciplinary design and engineering could translate into real-world impact—from an AI-powered concierge to smart windows and robotic boxing partners.
During the event, student teams enrolled in the CDE4301A Ideas to Start-up course also pitched their projects to a panel of industry leaders, receiving feedback and exposure to potential investment opportunities. Attendees voted for their favourite projects, and Guest of Honour Associate Professor Martin Buist, Deputy Dean (Education), presented the awards.
The winning projects were:
Most Investable Startup: Accudoc — an intelligent documentation tool that leveraged computer vision and AI to provide therapists with precise, automated tracking of patient rehabilitation progress during therapy sessions.
Most Innovative Project: EmotiMate — a tool that helped deaf and hard-of-hearing people express the emotional content of their message accurately.
Most Challenging Project: A shared-aperture stacked-patch electronically steered antenna (ESA) for Ku-band LEO satellites — aimed to address hardware inefficiency, poor scalability, and interoperability challenges in LEO satellite terminals by reducing size, weight, and power while enabling multi-operator compatibility and high-performance Ku-band operation.
Most Fun Project: The self-balancing bicycle — aimed to minimise bicycle tilt to improve rider safety by implementing a flywheel mechanism on a full-scale bicycle to achieve self-balancing functionality when stationary and at low speeds.
Most Inspiring Project: The Human Library — addressed older adults’ longing for connection by redesigning social engagement to restore their sense of being needed, heard, and meaningfully valued through their lived experience.
Best Prototype Award: ELEVIA — an AI-powered concierge that integrated AI, automation, and personalised service design to deliver a seamless, high-touch, and labour-efficient arrival journey for premium guests.
Best Poster Award: CartX — aimed to reduce the physical and navigational burden in airports through an intelligent autonomous trolley that provided follow-me assistance and indoor navigation.
Learn more about the projects exhibited at the event here.
IDEL E-Hive 2026
The Institute for Design & Engineering Leadership (IDEL) E-Hive event on 18 April showed how the next generation of tech and engineering leaders can be developed through hands-on, industry-connected learning in entrepreneurship and innovation.
Featuring projects from TechLaunch – Experiential Entrepreneurship (MT5913) and Enterprise Development – Experiential Innovation (MT5920), the showcase highlighted a shared focus on validating real needs and crafting strong, well-tested value propositions—whether starting from early-stage technologies seeking applications, or more developed technologies exploring new markets—and building pathways to adoption and impact. This also helps students grow into engineer-leaders: strategic systems thinkers and value creators who can spot innovation opportunities and engage others to deliver sustainable growth with societal impact.
Read more about the E-Hive event here.