October 17, 2017

Why was Biopolis established? Biopolis was launched on 18 October 2003 as an integrated cluster of research facilities, which A/P Axel Gelfert (Department of Philosophy) characterizes as a milestone in the push to integrate basic and applied research ‘under the paradigm of biomedical and molecular biotechnology’. Singapore’s industrial and economic policy has long focused on attracting the latest and most promising technologies. In the early 1980s the attempt to establish a biotechnology industry in Singapore was a push to diversify the country’s industrial base, and the mid-1980s saw government rhetoric promoting the marriage of science with industry. The institutionalization of long-term, economically beneficial and innovative research was marked by the establishment of the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) in 1985.

Gelfert, in his 2013 article, Before Biopolis: Representations of the Biotechnology Discourse in Singapore, reveals that the scientific community also played a key role in reshaping the biotechnology agenda, along with higher educational institutions and polytechnics. Scientists advocated for government funding for biotechnology to include provisions for basic research and exhorted its practical benefits. Visiting scientists contributed to the biotechnology conversation as well, emphasizing the needs of researchers. The Straits Times urged university graduates to do biotechnology research and championed collaborations between scientists and industry.

Biotechnology’s function in Singapore has evolved from just another sunrise technology that would enable product and process development, to a more multi-faceted, exploratory endeavour. This overarching approach, notes Gelfert, contributes to the city-state’s image as a place, in the words of Biopolis’ official slogan, ‘where ideas grow.’

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