INDUSTRY & INNOVATION
NUS CDE student innovators propose bold ideas at National Engineers Day 2026
As part of National Engineers Day (NED) 2026, student innovators from CDE put their ideas to the test at the Engineering Innovation Challenge (EIC), a national platform that encourages students to apply engineering knowledge to real-world problems.
Held on 14 August, NED brought together engineers, educators, students and industry professionals to celebrate the role of engineering in shaping Singapore’s future. Organised by the Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES), the event featured industry-led seminars, learning journeys and EIC, where student teams presented practical solutions for resilient city living.
For the CDE teams, the challenge was not only about building prototypes, but also about learning how to make difficult design decisions, work across disciplines, and communicate the value of engineering solutions clearly.
Read more here.
NUS CDE Innovation Mindset Workshop: Testing ideas, building impact
At the Innovation Mindset Workshop on 19 August — held as part of the lead-up to CDE Innovation Day on 21 October — students heard from alumni on the realities of entrepreneurship: from finding customers and co-founders to navigating rejection, raising funds and building credibility in traditional industries. Moderated by Remi Choong from Elev8.vc, the panel speakers were:
- Qingyang Chang (Civil and Environmental Engineering ‘21) – ConcreteAI co-founder and CEO
- Raphael Chew (Business Administration ‘26) – co-founder and CEO of Ecovolt, developed through the Innovation & Design Programme (iDP) at CDE
- Vishnu Saran (Materials Science and Engineering ‘19) – Invigilo co-founder and CEO
Read more here.
Seatrium Professorship Forum 2026 advances dialogue on energy transition in maritime and offshore
“Our shared aspiration is not merely to study the energy transition but to actively help shape it,” said Prof Teo Kie Leong, CDE Dean, in his opening address at the Seatrium Professorship Forum 2026.
Hosted by CDE on 27 August at the University Cultural Centre, this collaboration with Seatrium brought together leaders from academia, industry, and government to explore innovative clean energy solutions for the maritime and offshore industry. The event was graced by Mr Ang Wee Keong, Chief Executive of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, as Guest of Honour, and featured Prof Nigel Brandon, Seatrium Visiting Prof and Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at Imperial College London, as keynote speaker.
The keynote by Prof Nigel Brandon examined how electrochemical technologies could support a lower-carbon future across maritime, offshore and port operations. He spoke about fuel-flexible solid oxide fuel cells, flow batteries for long-duration energy storage, and new materials for cooling and electrolysis.
The panel discussion then turned to the challenge of scale and deployment. As Mr Mark Gainsborough, Chairman of Seatrium, noted in his opening remarks, the real test lies not simply in generating good ideas, but in translating them into solutions that work at the scale the industry demands.
Moderated by Dr Peter Govindasamy, Executive Director of the Energy Studies Institute at NUS, the panel featured Prof Nigel Brandon, Mr Ang Wee Keong, and Prof Ng Szu Hui, Head of the Department of Industrial Systems Engineering and Management.
Together, the speakers highlighted that progress in the energy transition will depend not only on technological innovation, but also on regulation, economics, talent and sustained collaboration across academia, industry and government.
Through partnership initiatives such as the Seatrium Professorship and Forum, CDE will continue to support conversations and collaborations that connect research with real-world application.
Read more here.