Engineering problem-solvers of tomorrow: Sir James Dyson officially open doors to the Dyson-SUTD Innovation Studios

• The Dyson-SUTD Innovation Studios, representing a S$1m commitment, are the James Dyson Foundation’s largest donation to a Singapore education institution yet
• They form part of the James Dyson Foundation’s S$3m charitable donation to support Singapore’s engineering education 
• The Dyson-SUTD Innovation Studios are the Foundation’s first ever community spaces in Singapore to inspire interest in design engineering education 
• The studios will serve as a space where SUTD students, under the mentorship of Dyson engineers, will develop hardware and software-driven solutions to the world’s problems  
• The studios will benefit over 13,000 students across tertiary and secondary school levels over the next five years 

Sir James Dyson today officially opened the doors to the Dyson-SUTD Innovation Studios. The spaces were jointly opened with Professor Chong Tow Chong, President of the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). The opening was witnessed by Dr Beh Swan Gin, Chairman of the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB).

The Dyson-SUTD Innovation Studios, representing a S$1m commitment, are the largest ever donation to a Singapore education institution by the James Dyson Foundation – Dyson’s global charitable foundation. It forms part of the James Dyson Foundation’s S$3m charitable donation to support Singapore’s engineering education, and are the Foundation’s first ever spaces in Singapore engineered to inspire community interest in design engineering education.

Led by Dyson engineers, the studios will play host to activities such as the James Dyson Foundation Prototyping Workshop that provides secondary school students exposure to Design Thinking. In addition, the modular spaces will facilitate STEM educational activities for students in general education – such as the 3D printing challenge and the STEM workshop for scholars in the MOE Engineering and Tech Programme. Guest lectures, innovation forums and workshops related to Engineering Design Innovation, Intelligent Robotics, Smart Manufacturing and 3D Printing, and Machine Learning may also be held there.

Meanwhile, students from SUTD’s Engineering Product Development (EPD) and Information Systems Technology & Design (ISTD) pillars will have the opportunity to consult with Dyson engineer mentors in the studios, as they work in teams to develop and contribute solutions to the world’s most pressing problems in a multidisciplinary engineering environment.

The Dyson-SUTD Innovation Studios are expected to benefit over 13,000 students across tertiary and secondary school levels over the next five years. 

Earlier this year, the James Dyson Foundation announced an investment of S$3m into supporting engineering and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education in Singapore over the next five years. The investment is expected to benefit over 100,000 students aged 6 to 25 – from primary through to tertiary levels, and aims to nurture interest in engineering, and bolster national efforts in STEM learning among students in Singapore. 

The investment supports a range of educational activities by the James Dyson Foundation, and collaborations with the Ministry of Education (MOE), Science Centre Singapore (SCS), and institutions such as the Singapore University of Technology & Design (SUTD) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU). 

In May, the James Dyson Foundation officiated its collaboration with SUTD through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which was also witnessed by Mr Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Education, Singapore. The MoU is a demonstration of the Foundation’s and SUTD’s commitment to furthering mutual causes, and recognises the Singapore government's strong support for the partnership in promoting STEM education and nurturing future generations of engineers in Singapore.