Singapore Management University (SMU) and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) inaugurated the SMU-TCS iCity Laboratory (iCity Lab) on 9 May 2012
Singapore, 15 May 2012 (Tuesday) – The Singapore Management University (SMU) and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS) a leading IT services, business solutions and consulting firm, inaugurated the SMU-TCS Intelligent City Laboratory (“iCity Lab”) on 9 May 2012 (Wednesday).
The inauguration ceremony was held at the iCity Lab Experience Centre located at the SMU School of Information Systems (SIS). Equipped with interactive technology, this Experience Centre will serve as a venue for city managers and urban planners to experience the new ideas and technologies which the Lab will be developing.
This collaboration initiative was announced on 5 August 2011, which aimed to develop, as well as establish industry standards and IT frameworks for the emerging intelligent city model of urban development.
The SMU-TCS iCity Lab is focused on harnessing technology and develop solutions to put people at the centre of city management. Mr. TEO Chin Seng, Executive Director of iCity Lab, highlighted the research plan for the Lab and explained in detail how the lab would create futuristic solutions for delivering citizen services and managing the city of future. The Lab will collaborate with TCS innovation Labs on research and development in the areas of cloud computing, mobile applications, business analytics etc. to enhance the governance experience for city administrators and living experience for citizens in Asia and Worldwide. The Lab will also formulate strategies and business models for cloud-based platforms.
In addition, the SMU-TCS iCity Lab will offer scholarships for qualified SMU post-graduate students currently studying in the Master of IT in Business (MITB) programme, as well as provide research funding for SMU faculty. Scholarship recipients will use their MITB Capstone stage to work on exciting projects to develop new and powerful visual data analytics and applications which will then be showcased at the Experience Centre.
TCS Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Mr. N.Chandrasekaran, inaugurated the lab with SMU President, Professor Arnoud De Meyer and congratulated the parties involved in the successful tie-up between SMU and TCS.
TCS Chief Executive, Mr N. Chandra, said, “Big Data, Mobility, Social and digital media, Cloud computing are the hot technology trends bringing in tremendous change in business and lifestyle and that gives us huge opportunities. We are working on such technologies across the globe and engaged with customers with innovative solutions. There will be newer technologies as we go forward which will bring up newer opportunities. We need to be geared up for the change and ensure that we stay ahead in the innovation curve. I strongly believe that the SMU-TCS iCity lab can do it and I wish them all the very best.”
SMU President, Professor Arnoud De Meyer, said, “The iCity project is a bold step towards applying technology to help cities become more effective and efficient in addressing and serving the needs of their populations. We can look forward to the innovativeness of the work being undertaken as part of this joint effort. There will be risks to manage and uncertainties to navigate around but overcoming such hurdles constitutes the spirit and essence of innovation. I am confident that the dynamism and capabilities of SMU and TCS will create a synergistic and catalytic force to generate novel ideas and new platforms which will provide the foundation for the better planning and management of cities, and for improving the lives of urban residents in future decades.”
About the SMU School of Information Systems
The SMU School of Information Systems (SIS) was set up in 2003 to extend SMU's research and education efforts into the areas of Information Systems Technology, Information Systems Management, and problems at the intersection of IS technology and management. SIS is distinct from the other five schools of SMU in that it is the only academic unit within the University which falls under Singapore's Science & Technology cluster of academic units as defined by the Ministry of Education. The School possesses deep technology-based research and creation capability in four strategically-selected areas of IT, Systems and Applications: Data Management & Analytics; Intelligent Systems & Decision Analytics; Software Systems; and Information Security & Data Privacy. The fifth strategic area of the School is Information Systems & Management, where the faculty investigates a range of issues pertaining to the managerial aspects and business impact of IT within public and private sector organisations, and across collaboration networks, value chains, markets and industries. Since its inception, SIS has established a strategic partnership with Carnegie Mellon. Recently, through SIS, SMU and Carnegie Mellon launched the Living Analytics Research Centre (www.larc.smu.edu.sg). More information on SIS can be found at: www.sis.smu.edu.sg
About Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS)
Tata Consultancy Services is an IT services, consulting and business solutions organization that delivers real results to global business, ensuring a level of certainty no other firm can match. TCS offers a consulting-led, integrated portfolio of IT, BPO, infrastructure, engineering and assurance services. This is delivered through its unique Global Network Delivery Model™, recognized as the benchmark of excellence in software development. A part of the Tata group, India's largest industrial conglomerate, TCS has over 238,500 of the world's best-trained consultants in 42 countries. The company generated consolidated revenues of US $10.17 billion for year ended March 31, 2012 and is listed on the National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange in India. For more information, visit us at www.tcs.com. More about TCS Co-Innovation Network (TCS COIN™) and Innovation Labs can be found at
www.tcs.com/about/tcs_diference/innovation/Pages/default.aspx