Keio University partners the National University of Singapore to set up joint research centre

Dated: 25 July 2008

Singapore’s Interactive Digital Media (IDM) sector gets a shot in the arm with Keio University, one of the top universities in Japan, jointly setting up an IDM research centre with the National University of Singapore (NUS). It is Keio University’s first full-scale international research centre located outside of Japan. The research centre, called Keio-NUS CUTE Centre (CUTE stands for Connective Ubiquitous Technology for Embodiments) will have a presence in both Singapore and Japan and it will focus on connected lifestyle media and embodied interactive technologies. This was announced by RAdm (NS) Lui Tuck Yew, Senior Minister of State for Education and Information, Communications and the Arts today at the 14th International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA).

Keio-NUS CUTE Centre will be jointly funded by Keio University, NUS and the multi-agency Interactive Digital Media Research and Development Programme Office (IDMPO) hosted by the Media Development Authority (MDA). IDMPO also announces its latest initiative to set aside S$70 million to attract more international institutes to partner local Institutes of Higher Learning (IHL) to set up research centres in Singapore;with Keio-NUS CUTE Centre being the first to kick off the initiative. Prior to Keio University, Singapore has successfully attracted the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to conduct research addressing the challenges faced by the global digital game research community and industry through the setup of the GAMBIT Gamelab and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Automation’s China-Singapore Institute of Digital Media (CSIDM) which focuses on language mediation.

Mr Michael Yap, Executive Director, IDMPO said: “The IDMPO aims to establish a network of world-class IDM research centres to reinforce Singapore’s position as a preferred location for innovation and R&D in IDM. These centres not only augment and complement the local IDM sector;they are also a boost to our strategic collaborations with the international research community, providing the opportunities for technology and knowledge transfer. ”

Keio-NUS CUTE Centre will start operating within the next few months and will involve some of Japan’s top researchers who are also world-leading experts in their fields such as Vice President Professor Jun Murai, globally known as 'Internet Samurai' for his long-standing contribution to technological development and its deployment in Internet protocols and operation;Professor Masa Inakage, an internationally-renowned digital artist and creative director and producer of digital entertainment including Hollywood blockbuster film Spawn;and Professor Keiko Okawa, best known for the SOI Asia, School on the Internet Asia that is connecting Southeast Asian universities for research and education. Singapore researchers will include Associate Professor Adrian Cheok, Deputy Director of Research at NUS' Interactive and Digital Media Institute and a world renowned local researcher who specialises in mixed reality and embodied media. In all, the Keio-NUS CUTE Centre will involve more than 50 researchers from Japan and Singapore.

Professor Masa Inakage, Dean of the Graduate School of Media Design, Keio University said: “We are experiencing the emergence of a "creative society", a world in which creativity, rather than productivity or efficiency, is the driving force of the global economy. The creative society is a connected society, both the Internet and ubiquitous network are in place, to redistribute resources on a global scale and to expand human creativity in everyday life. This research centre will focus on innovative researches around the theme of “5 Seconds of Fun”, to reshape our lifestyle in the connected society. We bring in experts from various disciplines including technologists, designers, and ethnographers."

The research centre will focus its research efforts in pervasive content for wearable and body media based on the principle that digital computing devices and media will no longer just be in a personal computer or mobile phone in the future. Instead of carrying digital media, one will be able to wear it, or even have it embedded directly in the body. For example, a necktie may become a display and antenna;a person’s ears could become a media controller and receiver.

Professor Hang Chang Chieh, Chairman of the Interactive and Digital Media Institute, NUS said: "The collaboration with Keio University will enable our academic staff and research students to spend quality time at a leading Japanese university. This will widen their horizon of creative media design and technologies. It will build up invaluable personal networks which are important in our effort to rapidly build up our research capability and reputation in this new area of interactive and digital media. The collaboration will also help us to recruit international talent and also promote joint research with companies."

Mr Yap added: “The move to partner international IDM research institutes with Singapore IHLs will serve to enhance Singapore’s IDM research capabilities and it is envisaged that these centres will become world-leaders in their respective research areas, drawing talented researchers from all over the world, and fuelling more innovation in the IDM industry.”