MPA has established a S$100 million MINT Fund to support development programmes for the maritime technology cluster. This includes the Maritime Industry Attachment Programme; the Joint Tertiary & Research Institutions and MPA R&D Programme; the Maritime Technology Professorships; and the Platform for Test-bedding, Research, Innovation and Development for New-maritime Technologies (TRIDENT).
MPA has established a S$100 million MINT Fund to support development programmes for the maritime technology cluster. This includes the Maritime Industry Attachment Programme; the Joint Tertiary & Research Institution and MPA R&D Programme; the Maritime Technology Professorship; and the Platform for Test-bedding, Research, Innovation and Development for New-maritime Technologies (TRIDENT).
As part of its vision for developing Singapore’s maritime cluster, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has taken a holistic approach in identifying critical areas that need support along the difficult road of transforming a clever and innovative idea into commercial success.
It has established a S$100 million Maritime Innovation & Technology (MINT) Fund to support these key areas:
The Maritime Industry Attachment Programme (MIAP) acquaints engineering, IT and science students from tertiary and research institutions with the maritime industry and the opportunities it offers.
The MIAP provides students in both maritime-related courses and other disciplines with a student attachment allowance. See more details on the MIAP attachment allowance.
Students with interesting maritime R&D concepts and projects can submit them to their TRI as suggestions for their final-year or post-graduate projects. Innovative maritime R&D project ideas accepted as final-year or post-graduate projects will be awarded a top prize of S$500 or other prizes of S$250 each. Prize-winning projects will also be co-funded through the MINT Fund.
Companies are encouraged by the MPA to take in students under this attachment programme as well as to participate in their R&D projects.
Tertiary and research institutions (TRI) can make a significant contribution to Singapore’s vision of becoming an international maritime centre by helping to push the development of a dynamic maritime technology cluster, through promoting joint industry-TRI maritime R&D projects.
MPA will participate as a partner and co-fund approved R&D projects. Such collaboration allows the maritime industry to harness the latest technological advancements that will enhance their business operations, reduce their risks and costs, and even create new business opportunities.
The prerequisite for any joint TRI-MPA R&D project is that it should be relevant to the maritime industry – the project outcome must be technologies or innovations that have the potential to be developed into commercial products, systems or services.
TRIs therefore play an important role by working closely with the maritime industry in the development of technology that is relevant and commercially valuable. MPA, by co-funding early-stage R & D programmes, can help TRIs become long-term strategic R&D partners to the maritime industry.
The MPA continues to nurture the growth of the maritime technology cluster and facilitate industry-TRI collaborations.
To assist TRIs in attracting industry players to become stakeholders in their maritime R&D efforts, MPA has in place the Maritime Technology Professorship (MTP) at the National University of Singapore (NUS).
The MTP serves as an incentive for the university to develop strong links with the industry and to actively engage industry partners to co-fund maritime R&D projects in Singapore.
This can be achieved by:
Under the MTP, the industry’s funding contributions towards maritime R&D projects with the NUS or NTU will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the MPA’s MINT Fund. The fund is further enlarged by government funding, which matches the industry’s contribution dollar for dollar.
The task ahead for the universities is to reach out to maritime industry players and work with them to come up with leading-edge R&D that is industry-oriented and delivers results that the industry can use to move ahead of the competition.
Test-bedding, Research and Innovation Development for New Maritime Technologies (TRIDENT) is a platform established for the development and test-bedding of maritime innovations.
As part of the MINT Fund, TRIDENT encourages local and foreign companies as well as tertiary and research institutions to undertake maritime-related R&D, using Singapore's port and maritime facilities as the test-bed for their innovations.
TRIDENT funds up to 50% of the project costs and is available to:
For information on the MINT Fund or any of the programmes and schemes that come under it and to apply for them, please contact:
