New partnership to strengthen Singapore’s AI-in-healthcare talent pipeline

Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine) and SGInnovate have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at strengthening Singapore’s talent pipeline in artificial intelligence, deep technology and healthcare. The signing ceremony took place at the Experimental Medicine Building Learning Studio on NTU’s main campus on 25 August 2026.

Under the partnership, students will gain industry exposure through projects, internships, traineeships and engagement with Singapore’s wider innovation ecosystem.

The agreement comes as LKCMedicine welcomes the inaugural cohort of its Master of Science in AI in Medicine programme. The partnership is intended to connect students with industry partners, entrepreneurs and researchers, giving them exposure to how AI and deep-tech innovations are applied in real-world healthcare settings.

Speaking at the ceremony, Professor Andrew Tan, LKCMedicine’s Vice-Dean of Innovation and Enterprise, said the school wants its graduates to be more than users of technology, but professionals able to “ask the right questions, understand the strengths and limitations of AI” and contribute to its responsible adoption in healthcare. He added that practical, real-world experience is what allows students to apply classroom knowledge, test ideas and understand how innovation translates into outcomes.

SGInnovate’s Executive Director (People), Juliana Lim, said demand for cross-domain talent is growing alongside the biomedical sector. She noted that biomedical and health-related companies now make up one in five companies on SGInnovate’s platform, a proportion that has grown by 66 percent over the past five years, with full-time biomedical tech job opportunities up by close to 50 percent over the same period. Lim said the partnership brings together the strengths of both organisations “for the benefit of our ecosystems.”

The agreement builds on existing collaboration between the two organisations. Students from the first Master of Science in AI in Medicine cohort have already had opportunities to learn about pathways into AI and scientific research, while discussions are under way on internships and other opportunities within SGInnovate’s deep-tech network.

At the event, representatives from Gray Matter Solutions, ChemT Bio, HealthGen and Oncoshot spoke to the roughly 50 LKCMedicine students in attendance about entrepreneurship, innovation and career pathways across the AI and healthcare sectors.

Through the MOU, LKCMedicine and SGInnovate aim to deepen the links between education, research, industry and entrepreneurship, with a view to preparing graduates for an increasingly AI-enabled healthcare landscape. Tan said the partnership’s success would ultimately be judged by the ideas it produces, the innovations that reach practice, and the impact graduates go on to have on patients, healthcare and society.