Singapore, 13 July 2017 (Thursday) — The 9th edition of the Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition (李光耀全球创新创业比赛), organised by the Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship (创新与创业研究院) at Singapore Management University (SMU), has attracted 550 submissions from close to 400 universities in 68 countries.  These include submissions from leading universities such as Cambridge University of UK; Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and University of California, Berkeley of USA; Indian Institutes of Technology; as well as Shanghai Jiaotong University, Tsinghua University, and Zhejiang University of China.

Themed 'Smart City', the competition was launched in March 2017 calling for innovative proposals that address the opportunities and challenges a smart city faces in the areas of health, living, mobility and services.

The number of submissions received this year has surpassed the competition’s past records - an almost 300% increase in submissions compared to the last edition in 2015 which received 184 entries from 140 universities.

“We are excited to see a record number of submissions this year,“ said Hau Koh Foo, Director of the Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at the Singapore Management University. “This reflects a growing interest in smart city innovations globally and Singapore as a potential testbed for such innovations.”

A judging panel consisting of experts and professionals is currently shortlisting the best teams for the finals. Participating teams will be evaluated on the innovativeness of business idea, commercial feasibility, impact of idea, and execution capability. The 10 finalists for each of the four categories will be announced on 28 July.   

During the week of 11 September, these finalists will participate in an all-expenses paid trip to Singapore where they will get to visit key innovation hotspots and learn more about the smart city and startup ecosystem here.

The finalists will compete to win up to S$1 million in cash, investment and in-kind prizes. The finals, including an awards presentation, will be held on 15 September and will feature Michael Seibel, Chief Executive Officer of Y Combinator, a leading start-up incubator and accelerator in USA, as the keynote speaker.

Austria’s University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien won the competition in 2015. The team created BLITAB, the world’s first tactile tablet for the blind and visually impaired people, and has since successfully commercialised the product.

The Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition is supported by Wilmar International Limited, with the Smart Nation Programme Office as Knowledge Partner.

For more information about the Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition, please visit http://smu.edu.sg/lky.

For more information, please contact:

Teo Chang Ching

Senior Assistant Director

Office of Corporate Communications and Marketing

DID: (65) 6828 0451

Email: ccteo [at] smu.edu.sg

Amelia Chen

Senior Manager

Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Singapore Management University

DID: (65) 6808 5133

Email: ameliachen [at] smu.edu.sg