Bosch announces strategic partnerships with the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) and the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), with MoUs inked in conjunction with Singapore’s President Halimah Yacob’s first state visit to the Bosch IoT Campus in Berlin, Germany.

Together with Minister for Education Ong Ye Kung, Madam Halimah witnessed the endorsement of the two Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during their recent visit to the Bosch Internet of Things (IoT) Campus in Berlin – a tech hub that houses the IoT and start-up community in Germany.

With more than 330 associates, the campus works in tandem with international start-up communities on business model development, prototyping, testing, and validation of IoT products and solutions.

The signed partnership will see Bosch Rexroth and ITE set up an exchange program for students in the field of mechanical and mechatronics engineering. This enables students of Bosch Rexroth and ITE to acquire technical skills and knowledge outside of the regular work environment, learn different approaches to Industry 4.0 and enhance their language skills, and cultural understanding.

Spanning a period of five years beginning 2020, selected ITE students will take part in a two to three weeks assignment at different Bosch Rexroth locations in Germany. Concurrently, ITE will provide and arrange training attachment places at its Singapore location for Bosch Rexroth apprentices. The trainings will include practical implementation examples from different production areas ranging from manual workplaces to fully automated production.

According to Bosch President SE Asia Martin Hayes, students will benefit from state-of-the-art e-learnings and training systems of the Bosch Rexroth Academy.

“With Industry 4.0 and beyond, what truly makes the difference is the workforce, one that is well-trained with skill sets that are future proof. This can be achieved through the programme that we are signing today. Through our continued partnerships with educational institutions in Singapore, we hope to make a lasting contribution in sharpening the competitive edge of future workforces,” says Hayes.

Over the past years, Bosch claims its partnered with several local agencies and educational institutions to foster skills, especially in advanced manufacturing. Just recently, the company announced its collaboration with SkillsFuture Singapore to open the Bosch Rexroth Regional Training Centre offering training programmes and certification on Industry 4.0 for students as well as small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). In addition, Bosch says it partnered with Singapore Polytechnic in July 2018 to develop the first Smart Connected Solutions Lab and Rexroth I4.0 Innovation Lab on campus, to advance Singapore’s manufacturing ecosystem.

Under the second collaboration, Bosch has laid out the plan to establish an innovation hub for grow – the company’s global in-house innovation and start-up incubation network – in Singapore, to capture future growth in Southeast Asia and leverage on Singapore’s thriving innovation landscape.

The new innovation hub in Singapore, supported by EDB, is part of the Government’s mandate to work towards an innovation-led economy, and support for large companies such as Bosch in developing new business ventures.

With the establishment of the grow innovation hub in Singapore, Bosch will accelerate and incubate internal start-ups locally, capitalising on the company’s globally recognised accelerator and incubation capabilities.

According to Bosch Board Member Peter Tyroller the accelerator program will also be available to external corporates interested in utilizing Bosch’s agile business model development methodology, offering the validation of innovative ideas in a fast, structured and cost-efficient way.

“Singapore has developed a thriving start-up ecosystem in recent years and it is our goal to further strengthen the entrepreneurial landscape by becoming the go-to innovation launchpad for local and foreign Bosch entrepreneurs. I believe that this partnership will create new ventures in the digital field that enable us stay ahead of the innovation game and shape Bosch’s future business development in the region,” says Tyroller.

Through its various internal start-up innovation programs, Bosch claims to break technological grounds by developing localized, smart IoT technologies for Southeast Asia. One such example is the Bosch’s Intelligent Microgrid for Asia (BIMA), an AI powered energy management system just recently implemented in a clinic in Indonesia to avoid blackouts and ensure a reliable and stable energy supply. Another Singapore driven innovation is AquaEasy, Bosch’s IoT aquaculture solution that utilises sensors and algorithms to help shrimp farmers increase their yield sustainably.

Commenting on Bosch’s contribution to the region, EDB Executive Director Gian Yi-Hsen says the establishment of Bosch’s 2.0 Innovation Hub is a significant addition to the innovation and venture building eco-system in Singapore.

“Singapore’s strong technical capabilities, intellectual property protection and highly-skilled talent pool will enable companies like Bosch to innovate and develop new ventures from Singapore, capturing opportunities emerging in the region for long-term growth,” says Yi-Hsen

(Ed. Robert Bosch (South East Asia) Pte Ltd is a regional subsidiary of the Bosch Group, representing the Group’s interests in Southeast Asia, where it is present in all ASEAN member countries. The Bosch Group employs roughly 410,000 associates worldwide (as of December 31, 2018). The company claims it generated sales of 78.5 billion euros in 2018. Featured image of Madam Halimah Yacob with sensors at the Bosch IoT Campus in Berlin courtesy of Bosch.)