Hyper Interdisciplinary Conference was conducted by Leave a Nest Singapore on the 27th of January 2024 at the NUS Engineering Auditorium, College of Design and Engineering. The event was a huge success, attracting over 150 participants consisting of researchers, students, corporate executives,  and startups. We are grateful for the support we received from our partners in Alphabetical order, delightex, RTHD Singapore, IPOS, JETRO Yokohama and College of Design and Engineering NUS.

The event kicked off with the opening address from project leader Ambrose Chia. He talked about the value of gathering minds together to spark new technologies and applications of existing technologies to improve society and to create a Knowledge Hub in Singapore.

Following the opening address was the first panel session of the conference, consisting of Panelists Dr. Ho Chaw Sing, Co-founder and CEO of NAMIC, Mr. Rishab Patwari, CEO of Hivebotics, Dr. Sudarshan Anantharaman, Senior Manager of MVP Studio Technology Transfer and Innovation, NUS Enterprise and Moderator Dr Ryuta Takeda, Director of Leave a Nest Co, Ltd. The panel addressed the processes of prototyping and production to turn ideas into products that improve society.

The panel also featured Guest Speaker Dr. Joe Inoue, Chief Culture Officer of Leave a Nest Co, Ltd., who spoke about knowledge manufacturing to bring science and technology beyond the academic and research areas to solve deep issues around the world.

The morning session concluded with an exciting sharing from researchers with various backgrounds sharing about their ideas and new knowledge about their research area. This also included some startups sharing about their technology and solutions.

Following the poster session was the Keynote session of the event, consisting of Panelists Professor Hang Chiang Chieh, Founding Executive Director and Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in NUS,  Mr. Luke Tay, Founder of Cornucopia Futurescapes, Dr. Chen Zhi Xiong, Associate Professor and Assistant Dean of NUS Medicine and Moderator Dr Kihoko Tokue, Managing Director of Leave a Nest Singapore. The panel discussed the view of Singapore as a knowledge hub and how new resources may be uncovered in our tiny country.

The panel also featured a special section by Keynote Speaker Professor Hang Chiang Chieh, who spoke about knowledge hub development and technology readiness level.

Following the second poster session was the second panel session of the event, consisting of Panelists Mr. Dominique Kull, CEO and Co-founder of SG Protein, Mr. Yota Takakura, Founder and CEO of Innoqua, Dr Ritu Bhalla, Assistant Director of the Agriculture research and innovation centre at Republic Polytechnic and Moderator Dr Cheah Hee, Assistant Manager of Leave a Nest Singapore. The panel addressed the importance of food security in Singapore and how we can achieve food sustainability after that. Many points of view were being raised and we learnt that education plays a very important role in ensuring food security. Although technology and innovation were also important, a change in public behavior was suggested to be a possible first step towards ensuring enough food in the near future.

The event concluded with closing remarks from Dr Kihoko Tokue, Managing Director of Leave a Nest Singapore.